This evening, at the Cairo headquarters of the Arab League, Arab foreign ministers are expected to convene for an extraordinary meeting that would discuss developments of the Arab-UN Envoy Lakhdar Librahimi to advance a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis. In press statements ahead of the meeting, Deputy Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helly said that the meeting would focus on finding a peaceful track for the Syrians to pursue to end the crisis and move on towards democracy. However, speaking on conditions of anonymity, Arab diplomats involved in the preparations for the meeting said that the ‘maximum' that this evening's meeting could deliver would be a ‘collective push' for all Syrian opposition groups to attend a meeting scheduled to take place in Geneva during the last week this month with the objective of producing a blue print for political transition. The meeting in Geneva is tentatively scheduled for 28 November but is not confirmed – “not really”, according to an assistant to Librahimi. Several Syrian opposition groups had already expressed apprehension over the chances of the meeting to produce a serious package for democratic transition in view of what they qualified as the failure of the mediators – some particularly named Librahimi – to start a political process away from the participation of Syrian President Bashar AlAssad who had been firmly, and militarily, resisting the calls to end his regime which started on a peaceful note during the heydays of the Arab Spring and then took a military turn with Assad's military launching an effective war at the demonstrators. Ahead of a new mediation tour this week, Librahim had said that he was seeing a role of Assad in the future of Syria but not at the helm. Librahimi's statement caused the apprehension of several quarters of the Syrian opposition , especially the radical Islamist stream that is categorically opposed to any participation of AlAssad or for that matter his regime in the future of Syria. According to the same Librahim assistant, the statement of the Arab League-UN Envoy were ‘misconstrued'. “He was just saying that Assad would not be at the helm anymore but he was saying it in a diplomatic way; obviously Assad is not defeated on the ground and it does not look like he would get defeated so it is wise for he opposition to realize that they need to play the game to get the gains”. Yesterday, Nabil ElArabi, Arab League Secretary General received Syrian opposition leaders to convince them that they need to pursue the Geneva II track with an eye on the fact that this meeting would not deliver a deal for transition but would rather start a ‘Syria political peace process' that would eventually allow for international-monitored presidential elections to take place late in the spring of 2014, after Assad had ended his term in office. Western capitals, according to a Russian diplomat, have finally come to see that Assad would not be removed the way other Arab leaders were during the beginning of the Arab Spring and that a deal has to be reached for him to go. The first Geneva conference which was held last year had suggested the need for the establishment of a transitional government with a wide political representation and with large executive prerogatives. Geneva II should build on this line. In Cairo this evening, Arab countries who seem to be mostly in agreement that there is no way out from the Syrian crisis except through a political deal, would discuss the nature of the demands that the Syrian opposition would be making when Geneva II convenes – “when and if rather,” as one diplomat said – and the possible concessions they could make. “This is not an easy task because there are so many different views within the Syrian opposition – some are more reconciliatory and others are more radical,” said an Arab League diplomat. The Assad regime does not attend Arab League meetings and it has hardly any support within the member states. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/85482.aspx
