Avarende

Adoption du premier traité sur le commerce international des armes conventionnelles.

L’Assemblée générale de l’ONU vient d’adopter aujourd’hui le premier traité sur le commerce international des armes conventionnelles. La résolution – et donc le Traité – a recueilli 154 voix. 3 pays ont voté contre : Syrie, Corée du Nord et Iran. Plus grave, 23 pays ont choisi l’abstention dont de gros exportateurs d’armes comme la Russie et la Chine et d’importants acquéreurs comme l’Egypte, l’Inde, l’Indonésie ou le Pakistan. Chaque membre de l’ONU a la liberté désormais de signer le traité et de le ratifier. La Russie a déjà indiqué qu’elle ne le ferait pas.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013
We have an Arms Trade Treaty! But the hard work starts now...
▻http://armstradetreaty.blogspot.fr

On Tuesday, 2 April 2013, States gathered at the United Nations General Assembly for the adoption of the UN Arms Trade Treaty. As French President General de Gaulle famously said prior to referenda he put to the French people, “Je veux un ’oui’ massif !” And this is what was achieved today. The resolution—and thus the treaty—was adopted by an overwhelming margin: 154 votes to three with 23 abstentions.

With the benefit of “20-20 hindsight”, we should therefore heartily thank the United States for having blocked agreement at the diplomatic conference in July 2012, as the treaty text that has ultimately been adopted is much better and stronger than the draft proposed by the then-Conference President, Ambassador Moritan.
Here in the General Assembly, the treaty was considered directly in plenary meeting under Agenda Item 94 (General and Complete Disarmament). In the words of the General Assembly President, “The historic dimension of this day” is that a global arms trade treaty is “for the first time the subject of action in this Chamber.” He noted that the Conference on Disarmament had not produced significant results for more than a decade.

Conference President Peter Woolacott then took the floor. He noted that he had ruled that there was not a consensus in the Conference itself due to the objections of Iran, DPR Korea, and Syria. The final text is a compromise text but would make a difference to the broadest range of stakeholders. At this point, Costa Rica introduced the draft resolution that would adopt the treaty. The Costa Rican Ambassador stated that the treaty was a robust and balanced document.

In explanations before vote (…) Syria stated that they “were not against the treaty” but said that “we were in need of a good treaty that we will not regret later”. It had wanted a reference in the text to the right to self-determination of peoples living under foreign occupation, and specifically cited Israel in this regard. It also wanted a categorical reference to non-supply to unauthorised non-state terrorists. It did not refer to aggression. The criteria for denying exports were selective, and also represented interference in the work of the UN Security Council.

(...) Russia stated that the draft had a number of shortcomings, notably the lack of a specific prohibition on transfers to unauthorised non-state actors. It was particularly concerned about Article 6(3). Knowledge meant “full knowledge”—in Russian it would be translated as “possesses knowledge”. It would abstain in the vote.
Sudan noted the lack of a specific prohibition on transfers to unauthorised non-state actors. It regretted the lack of definitions. It would abstain in the vote.

(...) Egypt regretted the lack of consensus in the two diplomatic conferences and that a disarmament treaty was adopted by a vote. The provision of prohibitions should have included a reference to aggression. It also referred to resolutions of the Human Rights Council as being relevant for determinations of whether serious violations of human rights had occurred.

(...) China stated that it had abstained and that the process of adoption of the ATT would not constitute a precedent for future arms negotiations.

(...) The UAE welcomed the adoption of the treaty and had voted in favour of the resolution. It associated itself with the concerns to be expressed subsequently by Lebanon. It regretted the lack of a reference to the rights of people under foreign occupation.
Lebanon regretted the lack of a reference to the rights of people under foreign occupation.

(...) Iran stated that it had voted against the resolution. It had many objections (more than a dozen) to the text of the treaty, including the reference to the UN Security Council.

Statement after the vote:
The European Union stated its appreciation of the adoption of the treaty.

Lebanon speaking on behalf of the Arab Group said that they had hoped to join support for the treaty but they found that the text was not balanced.

Egyptian Salafist Considers Sinai The ’Next Frontier’

By Mohamed Fadel Fahmy for Al-Monitor. (Fadel Fahmy is an Egyptian/Canadian freelance journalist and author of Baghdad Bound and Egyptian Freedom Story).

▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/egyptsalafistsanaiusconsulatebenghazi.html#ixzz2PCWofWIl

“The Egyptian revolution came as a “gift from god,” as one of the hundreds of jihadists released from prison after the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 called it. Stockpiles of weapons have made their way into Egypt through the neighboring porous Libyan and Sudanese borders since the region has fallen into a state of lawlessness, which came with the shake-up of the security apparatuses in scarred nations searching for their new identities. Al Qaeda inspired groups in the Sinai Peninsula have puzzled the international community with their bold statements and videos posted on the net, but the various Egyptian security branches have not been able to pinpoint their direct involvement in any of the many military operations and kidnappings, or the weapons smuggling to Gaza through an intricate web of tunnels located in North Sinai, close to the Israeli border. The audacity of such militant groups has left Egypt and its neighboring countries with a national security threat that is brewing by the day, as the wave of violence and killing is broadcast on a daily basis on Egypt’s dozens of television channels and talk-shows.
Obtaining transparent information, specifically in national security cases, in Egypt has become a challenge, and the terrorism case known in the press as the “Nasr City Cell” is no exception.”

#Egypt #Jihadism #Sinai #al_Qaeda #Nasr_city_cell

Patriotism in the service of silencing dissent
Akiva Eldar

▻http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/patriotism-in-the-service-of-silencing-dissent.premium-1.512081

“When Ambassador Michael Oren says the makers of “The Gatekeepers” are compromising the state’s public relations efforts, his are just the latest words in a worrying trend of trying to quiet anyone who dares to be critical.
This past week, Ha’aretz reported that Israeli diplomats were having a hard time dealing with the film “The Gatekeepers.” Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, outdid all the others when he claimed that the heads of the Shin Bet who were interviewed for the film compromised the state’s public relations efforts, which he said were "in a kind of war.”
His statements join other similar ones that have been made of late – statements that express one of many symptoms of a dangerous disease that has been attacking Israeli society over the past few years. Other symptoms include increasing delegitmization of the left wing (and the Haredi population as well), with the purpose of silencing legitimate voices in public discourse; Culture Minister Limor Livnat’s call to artists to practice self-censorship; the Education Ministry’s dismissal of civics studies supervisor Adar Cohen because his liberal views were not to the liking of former education minister Gideon Sa’ar; the barring by Israel of Professor Rivka Feldhay from participating in a joint Israeli-German academic conference, apparently for her support for Israeli soldiers who refuse to serve in the Palestinian territories; and the attempts to shut down the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University. All these are symptoms of the attempts to suppress free speech in Israeli society.
Oren and those who share his opinion claim that criticism of the leadership’s policy is tantamount to damaging the State of Israel’s standing and harming its interests. For the regime’s spokesmen, their methods, ideology and goals are an inseparable part of the state. Therefore, disagreeing with them is equivalent to harming the state, and critics betray the state’s interests. This approach is reminiscent of the spokesmen of the Chinese regime, who use the same reason to silence criticism from within and exert tight control over the media, cultural works and academia. The approach of Oren and his colleagues must therefore justify regimes that attempt to silence criticism of anti-Semitism in their countries for fear that making such criticism public might damage their countries’ image and interests.
In professional terms, the attempt to create an absolute identity between the method of a particular group and the goals of the state is known as “monopolizing patriotism.” This is done by attaching conditions such as support of the leadership and its policies to the definition of patriotism. That is how people who do not meet those conditions are excluded from the patriotic camp and only those who meet those conditions may be considered patriots. Patriotism is thus transformed into an effective mechanism for shunning entire groups within society that do not agree with the leadership’s policies.
Oren and his ilk do not accept the basic principle that patriots who love their country and their people are allowed to disagree with the political leadership’s vision and policy. They deny the approach that heterogeneity of thought is one of the most obvious and necessary signs of an open and pluralistic society. Not for a moment does it occur to them that perhaps their goals and policy are what is causing damage to the state.
Individuals and groups in society have different opinions, and it is important that these opinions be expressed in the public discourse, in cultural expressions, in textbooks, in classroom discussions. Attempts to restrict free speech and weaken critical discussion – whose intent is actually to repair society – harm democracy and lead the state down the road of becoming a totalitarian regime in which everyone must express an identical opinion. The demand to express full support for the leadership’s methods and refrain from criticism sabotages any attempt to promote a solution to the crisis. Defining the situation as “a kind of war” is a demagogic and manipulative use of words whose purpose is to convince people to support the leadership.
Oren and those like him are dictating to the public what the government believes to be the rules of appropriate behavior. Conservative groups operating on the ground strengthen these messages by keeping track of statements that are made or written and then smearing anyone who expresses opinions that differ from the leadership’s. This is how a political climate is constructed in which people are afraid to express their opinions and where free speech, one of the most prominent characteristics of a democratic society, is restricted”.

Daniel Bar-Tal is a professor of political psychology at Tel Aviv University. Akiva Eldar is the political commentator at Al-Monitor.

#Israel #Patriotism# #Free_speech# #monopolizing_patriotism #democracy

Lettre ouverte du commandement de l’Armée libre syrienne adressée aux Frères musulmans accusés de retarder la chute du régime, de diviser l’opposition pour mieux préparer l’après-Assad, et de s’approprier la révolution.

Syrian rebel fighters blast Muslim Brotherhood for ’delaying victory’
Phil Sands
Apr 1, 2013

►http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/syrian-rebel-fighters-blast-muslim-brotherhood-for-delaying-victory

“ANTAKYA, TURKEY // Syrian rebel fighters have accused the Muslim Brotherhood of undermining the revolt against Bashar Al Assad and trying to dictate opposition politics.
Rebel officers said the Brotherhood was putting narrow factional politicking over the broad interests of the revolt. “We hold you responsible for delaying victory of the revolution and the fragmentation of the opposition,” the Joint Command of the Free Syrian Army said in an open letter to the Muslim Brotherhood. There was a “deep confrontation” within the opposition between the Muslim Brotherhood and other secular, national and military factions, the FSA said. Anti-Brotherhood sentiments, particularly in Damascus, were running high, the FSA warned, with growing anger at efforts by the group to control military and humanitarian relief efforts administered by the Syrian National Coalition, the opposition bloc given Syria’s seat in the Arab League at a summit last week.”
#Muslim_Brotherhood #Free_Syrian_Army

L’ordre règne à Raqqa.

Rappel que Raqqa (à une centaine de kms de la frontière avec la Turquie) est, pour le moment, la seule capitale de province tombée aux mains des opposants au régime d’Assad (première semaine de mars) et qu’en dépit de la situation elle est efficacement administrée par ceux qui l’ont prise : les islamistes du Front al-Nusra et d’autres formations qui n’appartiennent pas non plus à l’Armée libre syrienne (ALS). Les commerces sont ouverts, les pillages ont été largement évités, les bâtiments religieux préservés, les services assurés, les administrations intactes, etc. La Brigade de Sécurité pour Raqqa y veille avec attention. L’auteur de l’article affirme que des membres de l’ALS n’ont pas été autorisés à entrer dans la ville craignant qu’ils se livrent au pillage. Des membres de l’ancien régime (le gouverneur notamment) attendent d’être jugés par des tribunaux islamiques.

How Islamist Rebels in Syria Are Ruling a Fallen Provincial Capital
By Rania Abouzeid / Raqqa CityMarch 23, 2013

▻http://world.time.com/2013/03/23/how-islamist-rebels-in-syria-are-ruling-a-fallen-provincial-capital

“Raqqa city was once dubbed the “hotel of the revolution” because it became home to hundreds of thousands of people displaced from fighting elsewhere who sought refuge in a place considered firmly in the grip of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Earlier this month, however, the city in north central Syria, which was late to the antigovernment revolt, became known for something else: it is the first and only provincial capital that Assad’s regime has completely lost — with the rebels taking control of it within the span of a week. The regime will likely lose the entire province within days. There are only three remaining regime outposts in this vast eastern tribal area that extends all the way to the Turkish border: there’s Division 17 a few kilometers outside the city; the military airport at Tabqa about 40 km to 50 km away; and Brigade 93 in Ain Issa, some 70 km away. All three positions are under heavy rebel attack and government counterattack.”

#Raqqa #Jabhat_al_Nusra

Oppositions syriennes. L’auteur utilise les récents accrochages entre deux des groupes d’opposants syriens - les Bataillons Farouq et le Front al-Nusra – pour dresser un portrait à charge de ce dernier (considéré comme une organisation terroriste par les Etats Unis). En creux, il s’attache à dessiner une Syrie partagée entre les tenants d’un islam modéré, ambitionnant de mettre en place un régime laïc, et les islamistes pour lesquels seul un émirat placé sous le régime de la loi islamique à sa place.

Islamists, secular rebels battle in Syria over Nusra Front’s call for Islamic state
By David Enders, Mc Clatchy Newspapers
Tuesday March 26, 2013

▻http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/26/186970/islamists-secular-rebels-battle.html?storylink=addthis

“TAL ABYAD, Syria — Two Syrian rebel groups – one seeking an elected civil government, the other favoring the establishment of a religious state – are battling each other in the city of Tal Abyad, on the border with Turkey, in a sign of the tensions that are likely to rule this country if the government of President Bashar Assad falls. Four people were killed Sunday in fighting here between the Farouq Battalions, which favors elections, and Jabhat al Nusra, or the Nusra Front, which the United States has declared an al Qaida-affiliated terrorist group. Since then, Farouq has been massing men here in an example of the growing friction that’s emerged in recent months as Nusra has captured strategic infrastructure across Syria’s north and east, including oil and gas installations, grain silos and a hydroelectric dam.”

#Farouq_Battalions #Jabhat_al_Nusra #al_Qaida #Raqqa

La bataille pour Damas ? CBS News rassemble, à son tour, des informations qui tendent à démontrer que la grande offensive sur Damas (la sixième ?) est en vue. Si les financements qataris et saoudiens de fourniture d’armes à destination de l’opposition syrienne étaient largement médiatisés, en revanche l’implication des Etats Unis et d’autres Etats occidentaux était assez peu commentée. Ce n’est plus le cas puisqu’on dispose désormais d’un grand nombre de commentaires de presse sur les types d’armes exportées vers la Turquie et la Jordanie, sur le rôle de la CIA qui interviendrait pour s’assurer que ces armes finissent entre des mains « modérés et légitimes » (Kerry en marge d’une réunion de l’opposition tenue en Italie) et qu’elles rééquilibrent l’effort militaire fourni par l’Iran à Assad, enfin, sur l’abondance des matériels militaires qui arrivent en Syrie en préparation à une offensive finale sur Damas.

▻http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57576722/ap-master-plan-underway-to-help-syria-rebels-take-damascus-with-u.s.-approv

CBS/AP/ March 28, 2013, 5:26 AM
AP : "Master plan" underway to help Syria rebels take Damascus with U.S.-approved airlifts of heavy weapons

“Mideast powers opposed to President Bashar Assad have dramatically stepped up weapons supplies to Syrian rebels in coordination with the U.S. in preparation for a push on the capital of Damascus, officials and Western military experts said Wednesday. A carefully prepared covert operation is arming rebels, involving Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, with the United States and other Western governments consulting, and all parties hold veto power over where the shipments are directed, according to a senior Arab official whose government is participating. His account was corroborated by a diplomat and two military experts. Saudi Arabia and other regional powers have been arming Syria’s rebels for months, but the scale and coordination with the West — and the suggestion by the AP’s sources that the effort is linked to a plan for the rebels to try and seize Damascus — represents a potentially significant escalation in the civil war.”

#Syria #weapons_supplies #escalation #battle_for_Damascus #Croatian_arms #Qatar #Turkey #Jordan #chemical_weapons #Kerry

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Des nouvelles d’Iran sur la Syrie. Interview conduite par Press TV [Iran, anglophone) avec Daoud Khirallah, professeur de Droit à l’université de Georgetown, qui conteste la décision prise par la Ligue arabe de donner à l’opposition syrienne le siège occupé jusqu’à il y a quelques mois par le régime de Damas. (voir video)

▻http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/03/26/295318/al-violated-its-own-charter-on-syria

26 March 2013. Arab League violating its own charter on Syrian crisis: Daoud Khairallah

“Khairallah: Well simply they can disregard the Charter of the Arab League, they can disregard any legal or moral rule and they can apply corruption and money in every way they can to prevent any peaceful negotiated solution in Syria. “

#Press_TV #Arab_League #Syria #Daoud_Khairallah

Article de Russia Today en réaction à la décision de la Ligue arabe d’octroyer le siège de la Syrie à la Coalition Nationale [Rassemblement de l’opposition syrienne]. Moscou juge « anti-syriennes » et « malheureusement [favorables] à une solution militaire » les mesures qui viennent d’être prises à Doha. Le porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères russe indique « qu’au regard du droit international, les décisions que la Ligue [arabe] vient de prendre à l’égard de la Syrie sont illégales et indéfendables dans la mesure où le gouvernement de la République arabe syrienne demeure le représentant légal d’un Etat membre des Nations Unies. ».

▻http://rt.com/news/arab-league-syria-opposition-924
Giving Syrian opposition seats at Arab League is ‘illegal, indefensible’
Moscow Published time : March 27, 2013

“ The Arab League’s move to hand the Syrian opposition the country’s official seat at a summit in Doha and the decision to give military backing to the rebels are both against international law, Moscow has said. “

#Russia #Syrian_opposition #Arab_League #military_solution #political_settlement

La Coalition Nationale syrienne vient de se voir attribuer le siège jusque-là occupé par le régime de Damas à la Ligue arabe et dispose même aujourd’hui d’une ambassade à Doha. Un gouvernement provisoire est désormais attendu. Sous la conduite Ghassan Hitto, il serait formé d’hommes d’affaires, d’économistes et de technocrates. Tout en jugeant positifs ces développements, Yezid Sayigh (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) met en garde contre la propension de l’opposition syrienne à trop délaisser ce qui fait l’essence de la mission des gouvernants : une administration efficace, la fourniture des services de base aux citoyens, la résolution des conflits et la sécurité dans les zones qu’elle contrôle, au profit des ambitions de telle ou telle de ses composantes. Il rappelle que l’opposition n’a pas encore réglé définitivement un certain nombre de questions : négocier ou pas avec Assad, gouvernement provisoire ? Gouvernement transitoire ? Gouvernement chargé d’expédier les affaires courantes ? Gouvernement installé en Syrie ou à l’extérieur ? Programme de gouvernement ? Yezid Sayigh fait valoir que l’opposition syrienne a amplement démontré son incapacité à s’organiser et que le seul exemple de bonne gouvernance dans les zones libérées est à mettre au crédit des islamistes qui se sont organisés dans la ville de Raqqa (250.000 habitants).

▻http://carnegie-mec.org/2013/03/28/syrian-opposition-s-very-provisional-government/fu0z

Carnegie Middle East Center/ Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Syrian opposition’s very provisional government
Yezid Sayigh

March 28, 2013
“The Syrian National Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (National Coalition) formally took up Syria’s seat in the Arab League this week. The outgoing chairman of the coalition, Moaz al-Khatib, who had announced his resignation only days before, represented the coalition, and the provisional prime minister, Ghassan Hitto, sat behind him. This recognition is an important diplomatic gain. But it will prove ephemeral unless the National Coalition and its provisional government can follow up speedily by delivering effective administration, basic services, dispute resolution, and security in the liberated areas, which it claims now extend over 100,000 square kilometers and include 10 million inhabitants”.

#Syrian_National_Coalition_of_revolutionary_and_Opposition_Forces #National_Coalition #al_Khatib #Ghassan_Hitto #governance #provisional_government #transitional_government #Qatar #Raqqa

Article paru dans le New York Times du 24 mars 2013 où il apparaît que les livraisons d’armes à l’opposition syrienne ne sont ni nouvelles – elles remonteraient à début 2012 - ni symboliques – 160 livraisons par voies aériennes, 3500 tonnes d’équipement (Source : Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). Une partie de ces armes vient de Croatie. La plupart d’entre elles sont débarquées à Esenboga (Turquie) puis acheminées par la route en Syrie, ce qui suppose une active coopération d’Ankara (utilisation de son espace aérien, logistique pour l’acheminement par camions, etc.). D’autres transiteraient par la Jordanie. Le Qatar et l’Arabie saoudite agiraient comme les principaux fournisseurs d’armes. Ces livraisons contredisent les déclarations officielles de l’administration américaine pour laquelle seules des armes non létales sont fournies en Syrie. La CIA n’a pas réagi mais les auteurs de l’article font valoir qu’elle est évidemment impliquée, notamment son ancien directeur David H. Petraeus. Les auteurs de l’article affirment que leurs sources sont officielles. Si tel est le cas, la question est de connaître les raisons de cette divulgation.

▻http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/world/middleeast/arms-airlift-to-syrian-rebels-expands-with-cia-aid.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1&n

The New York Times
By C. J. CHIVERS and Eric SCHMITT
Published March 24, 2013

“With help from the C.I.A., Arab governments and Turkey have sharply increased their military aid to Syria’s opposition fighters in recent months, expanding a secret airlift of arms and equipment for the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, according to air traffic data, interviews with officials in several countries and the accounts of rebel commanders. The airlift, which began on a small scale in early 2012 and continued intermittently through last fall, expanded into a steady and much heavier flow late last year, the data shows. It has grown to include more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari military-style cargo planes landing at Esenboga Airport near Ankara, and, to a lesser degree, at other Turkish and Jordanian airports.”

Utile rappel des difficultés rencontrées par les oppositions syriennes pour s’organiser et s’unir.

▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/2005-2013-syrian-oppositions-many-faces

From 2005 to 2013: The Syrian Opposition’s Many Faces

By: Mohammed Sayyid Rasas
Published Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Since the founding of the Damascus Declaration in 2005, the Syrian opposition has been marked by a divergence of political and national interests. As a result, the opposition has splintered into factions only to re-unify time and time again. Al-Akhbar considers this tumultuous history to better understand the opposition’s most recent incarnations.
There are several junctures in the history of party-based opposition in Syria. The Damascus Declaration was formed on 16 October 2005 and became the largest opposition gathering in the history of the Baath party rule, which began on 8 March 1963. It included Islamists, liberals, and Arab and Kurdish nationalists, in addition to the Marxist Party for Communist Action. The broad coalition was built on the prospects of change in Syria amidst a climate of tension between the US and Syria.
Without looking into these stops, one cannot comprehend the process of political performance of the Syrian opposition in the period following the outbreak of the Syrian crisis.However, during the meeting of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration in December 2007, cracks began to appear.
#Damascus_declaration_2005 #Syrian_opposition #Muslim_Brotherhood #Salvation_Front #Socialist_Union_Party #Party_of_Communist_Action #Kurdish_Left_Party #Marxist_Left #People’s_Party #Kurdish_parties #Kurdish_Left_Party #Baath_party #Marxist_Party_for_Communist_Action #Abdel_Halim_Khaddam #Kurdish_Democratic_Party_in_Syria #Nasreddin_Ibrahim #al_Parti #Massoud_Barzani #Kurdish_Political_Council #Jalal_Talabani #Kurdish_Democratic_Union_Party #Kurdistan_Workers_Party #Kurdish_Political_Council_parties #Syrian_National_Council #Damascus_declaration_2011 #Kurdish_national_council #National_Coalition_for_Syrian_Revolutionary_and_Opposition_Forces #Syrian_National_Coalition #Geneva_declaration_2012 #Moaz_al_Khatib #Riad_Seif

Ibrahim al-Amin (Al-Akhbar) énumère, de manière pas toujours logique, les ambitions de l’opposition syrienne qui vient de se donner un premier ministre par intérim, sous la « pression de certains pays comme la France, la Grande-Bretagne, la Turquie, le Qatar et l’Arabie saoudite » :
– Unifier les diverses composantes politiques et militaires syriennes - y compris le Front Al-Nosra ;
– Occuper le siège vacant de la Syrie au sein de la Ligue arabe et dans d’autres instances arabes ;
– Etre perçue comme l’égal du régime de Damas dans la perspective de futures négociations et se présenter comme le seul et unique représentant du peuple syrien ;
– Ecarter ceux qui, au sein de la coalition, ont accepté le principe d’un dialogue avec le régime, comme Moaz al-Khatib (Président de la Coalition Nationale Syrienne) ;
– Obtenir des avancées sur le terrain de manière à contrecarrer toute velléité américano-russe, avec ou sans le truchement de Lakhdar Brahimi, de contraindre à un dialogue avec Damas.

Why the Rush to Form a Syrian Opposition Interim Government?

▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/why-rush-form-syrian-opposition-interim-government

By: Ibrahim al-Amin, editor-in-chief of Al-Akhbar.

Published Thursday, March 21, 2013

“Syrian opposition groups only took the step of naming a head of an interim transitional government as a result of pressure, on the one hand, from France and Britain, and Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia on the other.
But what does this move signify, and what does it add to the agenda?
They want the interim government to be the go-to place for any inquiries about the opposition – including armed groups on the ground. For one thing, the Syrian opposition’s sponsors believe it provides them with a fresh opportunity to unite various opposition groups. They see the process of forming an interim government as a means of bringing them all together by providing them with representation and resources.
They want the interim government to be the go-to place for any inquiries about the opposition – including armed groups on the ground – as well as the sole provider and distributor of money, arms, and supplies. They hope that by channeling aid through it, all the political and paramilitary opposition factions will gradually be forced to accept it.”

#Syria #interim transitional government #Syria opposition #Arab League #negotiation #Syria National Coalition #Al-Nusra Front #Turkey #France #Qatar #Saudi Arabia

Portrait de Ghassan Hitto, nouveau premier ministre par interim de l’opposition syrienne. Citoyen américain, sa nomination - à laquelle le Qatar a grandement contribué – est perçue comme un renforcement du poids des Frères musulmans au sein de la Coalition nationale syrienne. Hostile au dialogue avec le régime d’Assad, il ne pouvait de fait que recueillir l’assentiment du Qatar, de la Turquie et des Frères musulmans. Sa nomination pourrait signifier l’échec de ceux qui considèrent aujourd’hui, par conviction, par calcul ou par résignation, qu’un dialogue avec le régime d’Assad est nécessaire pour mettre un terme aux affrontements.

Muslim Brotherhood Holds Sway Over Syrian Opposition
By: Hassan Hassan for Al-Monitor. Posted on March 21, 2013

Read more: ▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/syria-ghassan-hitto-muslim-brotherhood.html#ixzz2OHff7DbF

« Ghassan Hitto, a naturalized US citizen from Damascus, was selected on Monday, March 18, by members of the opposition Syrian National Coalition to become the interim prime minister. Little known among Syrians, his appointment is by far the clearest indication of the Muslim Brotherhood’s monopoly over the opposition’s political and military bodies. At least nine figures suspended their membership in the National Coalition in protest, including the coalition’s spokesman, Walid Buni, and Vice President Suhair Attasi, who then retracted her suspension a day later. Hitto is not known to be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but he is ideologically close to it. A Syrian close to Hitto told me that he is “100% supported and trusted by the Brotherhood.” His brother is a member who was jailed for many years, his acquaintance said, which is why Hitto fled Syria. The source located Hitto in terms of independence somewhere between Moaz al-Khatib, the coalition’s president who proved to be independent, and the Brotherhood. »

#Syria #Ghassan Hitto # Syrian National Coalition # Muslim Brotherhood #rejection of dialogue with the regime #negociated political solution #Qatar #interim government #Osama Kadi #Moaz al-Khatib