The Syrian opposition has announced the creation of internal and external opposition movements, though differences in programmes could still hinder further unity After a difficult series of deliberations and in response to demands by demonstrators to meet the needs of ongoing attempts to overthrow the Syrian regime, the Syrian opposition united last week to form two opposition blocs, one abroad and another at home, writes Bassel Oudat. Syrian opposition groups in exile held conferences in Istanbul, Brussels, Doha, Paris and elsewhere in pursuit of a unified programme, while the opposition inside Syria also held conferences intended to form a unified front of external and internal opposition movements. After the gatherings and efforts to unite the opposition ranks, the unified movement was announced at a conference held in the Syrian capital Damascus on 17 September and at another conference held in the Turkish city of Istanbul on 1 October. Both gatherings were held in the name of the nascent Syrian National Council (SNC), and both claimed to be supported by the youth activists that are demonstrating against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and the broader popular movement. The opposition inside the country, calling itself the Coordination Authority of the Forces for Democratic Change in Syria, includes 15 Arab and Kurdish opposition parties, famous independent opposition figures and representatives of the local coordination committees that have been spearheading the demonstrations. The authority issued a founding statement that declared its support for the "three no's" -- no to violence, no to sectarianism, and no to foreign military intervention -- while calling for "the overthrow of the corrupt tyrannical security regime" in Syria. While the conference took place in Damascus, the regime did not attempt to prevent it from taking place. Sources who attended the conference said that it had relied on the regime appearing to be weak if it tried to block the gathering. The opposition outside the country has called itself the Syrian National Council, and it includes representatives of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, as well as the Damascus Declaration, which includes one Arab party, four Kurdish parties and one Assyrian party, along with independent opposition figures living in Europe. The SNC issued a founding statement demanding the overthrow of the Syrian regime and asking the international community to take action to protect civilians in the country. The SNC said that it represented 80 per cent of the Syrian opposition and that it was seeking international recognition. The statements adopted similar positions on most issues apart from two. While the SNC called for the overthrow of the regime, including its head, and adopted an ambiguous position on foreign military intervention by making a direct demand for the protection of Syrian civilians, the authority in Damascus called only for the overthrow of "the corrupt tyrannical regime" and adamantly rejected outside military intervention. The SNC has indicated that it views the Damascus movement as being possibly willing to do a deal with the Al-Assad regime, especially as the later did not block the founding conference. The Damascus movement's call for the "overthrow of the tyrannical security regime" is not strong enough, the SNC said, and it does not explicitly call for the ousting of Al-Assad. The Damascus movement has criticised the SNC for seeking the protection of civilians, since this could pave the way for foreign military intervention, as it did in Libya. Its goals are to depose the regime and bring about a transition of power from dictatorship to a "democratic parliamentary and plural regime with the peaceful rotation of power." The Arab and world media took a special interest in the Istanbul conference, but they did not pay much attention to the Damascus gathering, though the latter included the majority of the country's opposition parties and its most prominent opposition figures. One quarter of the conference's delegates represented the revolutionary youth movements and local coordination committees. As a result, some observers have described the SNC as being a possible Trojan horse for foreign intervention in Syria, especially as participants at the conference in Istanbul did not explain the nature of the protection of civilians they have been asking for. Former guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, Sadreddin Al-Bayanoni, said that the Istanbul meeting took in 80 per cent of the Syrian opposition, while Hassan Abdel-Azim, head of the domestic Authority, welcomed the SNC and described its foundation as a "positive step." Attempts to unify the two opposition blocs further have thus far failed because of their differing views and differences on calls for possible outside military intervention. While the diplomatic statements issued by both sides so far imply a desire to cooperate, observers fear that the opposition blocs may move away from each other, distracting them from the task of bringing down the Syrian regime.
