organization:national coordination committee

Syrian opposition ’congress’ excluding figures consenting to Assad survival
▻http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2015/11/24/syrian-opposition-congress-excluding-figures-consenting-to-assad-survival

The conference would not only put together a delegation to take part in the Vienna talks, he said, but would also propose a unified vision for Syria’s transition and future.

Several political, religious and military figures will be invited to the conference alongside the two main opposition bodies, the SNC and the National Coordination Committee [NCC].

However, it appears that Saudi Arabia will exclude any figure that accepts Bashar al-Assad to remain in power during the transitional period of afterwards, a Saudi government source told SNC figures who spoke to al-Araby al-Jadeed.

Syrian Opposition Group Rejects Aleppo Freeze Plan | Al Akhbar English
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrian-opposition-group-rejects-aleppo-freeze-plan

Last week, representatives from the Coalition and from the domestic National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCCDC) met in Paris.

The NCCDC, which is also known as the National Coordination Body, is part of the country’s small so-called “tolerated” opposition, operating inside Syria under tight restrictions.

The two sides agreed on a joint draft road map for the first time based on UN Security Council resolutions on Syria and the so-called Geneva communique that emerged from peace talks in the Swiss city in 2012, which called for a transitional governing body and an end to the brutal conflict.

In a statement, the National Coalition said the document “specifies that the primary goal of negotiations with the Assad regime is to establish a civil, democratic, pluralistic system that ensures equal rights and duties for all Syrians.”

A key sticking point in peace talks has been the future of Assad. The Coalition insists he must step down, while the NCCDC has called for a transitional body without referring specifically to Assad’s role.

Hotbeds of Transformation: Manna Meets Nasrallah and Jumblatt’s Secret Supper | Al Akhbar English
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/hotbeds-transformation-manna-meets-nasrallah-and-jumblatts-secret

What is important now is that the way has been paved for a prospective meeting between Jumblatt and Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. In any case, the meetings will continue with Raad and others. Earlier, the road was also paved for the head of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) Haytham Manna, from the opposition, to visit Nasrallah.

Nothing should come as a surprise. The whole political climate in the region is witnessing the beginning of remarkable transformations. Iran is at the center. Do not look anywhere else. The central decision in Tehran and Washington is that the nuclear negotiations should succeed. Ever since former US assistant secretary of state Jeffrey Feltman sat like a pupil across from the Wali al-Faqih Sayyid Ali Khamenei, Jumblatt and others sounded the alarm.