Syria

29 January 2012: The Arab League has suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of an increase in violence, a senior Arab League source in Cairo said earlier today.
The move comes days after President Bashar al-Assad's government agreed to a one-month extension of the mission, which began December 26.
The mission is part of a peace initiative in Syria. The 22-member Arab League has called on al-Assad's regime to stop violence against civilians, free political detainees, remove tanks and weapons from cities and allow outsiders -- including the international news media -- to travel freely in Syria.
The mission has been monitoring government activities in various hotspots. In the last two days, opposition activists reported scores of deaths, with one group, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, reporting 135 deaths Thursday and Friday.
Violence continued to rage Saturday as an "armed terrorist group" killed seven soldiers in an attack Saturday, state-run media reported.

Comment:
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This move is seen more as a ploy to put pressure on Syria and to respond to criticism of the its ineffectiveness, rather than any significant change in the security situation. While deplorable and spreading, the violence has remained at the same, high level for the past several weeks. End Comment.

“Syria: the way forward” was the title of a conference held by the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the EU on the 8th of December 2011. In the rooms of the European Parliament, representatives of different Syrian opposition groups met together to find common ground in facing the worsening of the Syrian scenario. After an opening speech by UK Member of the European Parliament Sajjad Karim and a brief update of the situation in the field made by Mathieu Hermans (IKV Pax Christi), the representatives made their remarks, answering also questions from the public. The speakers were: Anwar Yussef (Kurdish Democratic Party), Dr Halla Diab (Organization for Democracy and Freedom in Syria), Farouk Masara (National Democratic Council), Ribal Al Assad (Organization for Democracy and Freedom in Syria), Lokman Deli (Independent), Hassan Masri Haddad (National Democratic Council), Sherko Zein Aloosh (Independent), Kawa Yousef (Kurdish Youth Movement). During the meeting, several appeals for unity among the opposition factions were made by the speakers. Despite the fact that the conference aimed at bridging the gaps among the groups of the Syrian opposition front, no member of the Syrian National Council was present. The SNC preferred to participate in another conference about Syria affairs held on the day before by the Socialist and Democrats Group of the European Parliament(“Syria at the crossroads” on December 7th).

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A conference regarding the Syrian uprising was held in Paris this weekend consequently forming a new unified voice for the Syrian opposition.

The central committee for the National Democratic Council of Syria was appointed on Sunday the 13th of November following a vote among the Syrian attendee's at the conference.

The process, strictly following the single transferrable vote method of proportional representation, appointed the following members to the committe;

Abdel Nasser Arab - UNDA

Abdulbaki Kulo - Kurdish Independent

Anwar Yussef - KDP

Farouk Masara - Opposition Ba'ath Party

Hassan Masri Haddad - Independent

Line Al Khayer - Syrian Women's Party

Mohamed Al Ajlani - UNDA

Mohamed Al Dik - Independent

Rifaat Al Assad - UNDA

On the 26th of October, the north eastern city of Qamishli in Syria saw it's first meeting of the Kurdish National Council.

252 Kurd's, belonging to youth groups, poitical movements and parties as well as individual activists, gathered and successfully created a united front with the intention of partaking in the national opposition's efforts toward achieving a democratic Syria.

The community have collectively agreed a number of recommendations they will present to the National opposition as a unified voice. Recommendations include constitutional rights relating to; the essential recognition of the Kurd population in Syria, freedom of religious practices, security of minorty groups ie. the Caldo-Assyrians and the fundamental right of equality for all.

With the Kurdish population being one of Syria's indigenious groups, such constitutional amendments are essential and long over-due, a point the al-Assad regime entirely disregards having only granted a vague form of citizenship to the Hasaka Kurds in April of this year.

The council recognisesd the achievements and importance of the Kurd youth groups who will join theKurdish union in their aspiration to achieve Syrian democracy through the combined voice of the Syrian opposition.

On September 17th, a new Syrian opposition group emerged. The Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians (CFLD), formed in Paris, was created with the explicit aim of countering the Syrian National Council’s Islamist composition. This is particularly problematic given the West’s recent show of support for the SNC despite it being unrepresentative of the Syrian opposition in general. In contrast to the very strong Islamist/Brotherhood bias of the SNC, the new secular coalition, also referred to as the Syrian Coalition of Secular and Democratic Forces (CSDF), is made up of Christian, Muslim, Kurd and Arab activists all united behind the idea of a secular and democratic Syria.

This is by no means an anti-religious coalition, but instead one that is concerned about the Syrian uprising being hijacked by Islamists, and particularly by the Muslim Brotherhood. As one of its members Sheikh Ma’shooq al-Khaznawi told France 24: “If we want Syria to enjoy a prosperous future, there must be a separation between religion and state. We do not have a problem with God and the Prophet and the Koran, but with people who are the self-appointed spokesmen of God.”

More details on their general philosophy can be found on the website of one of the organisers of the conference in Paris in which the Coalition was formed, and on the Coalition's facebook page.

The Syrian National Council, formed inIstanbul on 2nd October, has moved forward in its bid to seekinternational recognition. The EU’s foreign ministers have agreed astatement which welcomes the formation of the SNC. Thestatement on 10th October called the creation of the body, “apositive step forward," and condemned the "brutal repression led bythe Syrian regime against its population". This comes a day after Syriathreatened to take “tough measures” against any country that recognised theCouncil.
However, the words of French ForeignMinister Alain Juppe, reflect the EU’s cautious approach to the newly formedSyrian body. France was the first EU country to recognise the Libyan interimcouncil, but Juppe said that the Syrian body did not “have the same structure.”He continued, “we are not at the stage of recognition. I believe we have to getto know them better and get a better idea of their intentions.” Although thestatement stopped short of formally recognising the Council as the officialopposition this still provides the SNC with a level of international supportand legitimacy.