Dispatch from Unhappy Activists in Damascus: “We Need an Alternative to the National Coalition”

 (Note: Many allegations that are made in this article are not backed up. The editors believe that putting these opinions into the public sphere helps to illuminate some of the attitudes, opinions and beliefs about the current state of the Syrian uprising from within Syria).

 Mariam Abdullah*

(Damascus, Syria) – The most prominent Syrian opposition groups outside Syria have suffered some serious problems recently. The leadership of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, also known as the Syrian National Coalition, elected Ghassan Hitto to the head of the transitional government in March.

Hitto’s election rankled many of the opposition parties in Syria, particularly those represented by the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (which is in turn accused by most of the coalition forces of being close to Assad). But Hitto also failed to win the support of some of the parties represented in the SNC itself. More than three months after Hitto’s election, the transitional government has yet to become fully operational because of differences between the external opposition parties.

More problems followed the election: the head of the SNC Moaz al-Khatib, who had the trust of many opposition supporters, resigned. He left the SNC unable to elect a new leader. Khatib complained that forming an interim cabinet was a wrong move and said that “regional powers” need to stop meddling with the SNC.

The problems are obvious to anyone paying attention to the news, and Syrians inside and outside the country have taken note of the lack of organization and unity. It has  even caused suspicion among some opposition supporters who remain in Syria.

Mohammed, 42, is an engineer and supporter of the opposition who lives in Damascus. After dabbling in political action inside Syria, he abandoned what he said was the “uncertainty” of politics, preferring the field of aid and relief work.

Mohammed rejects the idea of two Syrian oppositions, one inside the country and one abroad, and believes that the monopolization of the transitional government by the SNC is an illegal act and that elections are essential, even for an interim government, because there must be a significant shift in how the Syrian people conceive of their government and its role.

“If there must be an [alternative] government, let it be a parliament elected by the local councils and coordination committees,” said Mohammad. “Local councils and coordination committees might not be democratic but they have the most conspicuous presence on the ground and interact the most with people. The fact that these bodies [such as the SNC] do not set a good example pushes people to be pessimistic.”

This view was echoed by Ihab, a 35-year-old lawyer who has been arrested more than once because of his political opposition to the Assad regime. He describes the SNC as a “mask created by the major world powers.”

“The links between many members of the Coalition, and the Syrian National Council before it, and the Western powers, especially European countries and America, are no secret,” said Ihab. “When we accepted the National Assembly, and the coalition, it was because people believed that [the Western pretexts] that the opposition is fragmented [and hence cannot be supported] would end and the international community would take a serious stance on Syria. But instead the leaders of the external opposition committed political robbery, and I mean that in every sense of the word, at the expense of the revolution.”

Ihab said “external forces” tried to blackmail the SNC to take a lot of controversial political actions, resulting in the resignation of Sheikh Mouaz Khatib and some others. These demands included unconditional peace with Israel, a pledge to fight the Nusra Front and acceptance of Kurdish autonomy, as well as stopping any form of support for the resistance in Palestine, and, most importantly, said Ihab, that these countries will divide among themselves the contracts for Syria’s reconstruction after the war.

As for the effectiveness of the Coalition inside Syria, Ihab described it as helpless and said it has no authority over the armed groups or local coordination committees. He declared the interim government a “failed project.”

Others accuse the main bodies of the Syrian opposition of corruption and theft.

Maysa, 34, a teacher, said the coalition is one of the “biggest mistakes of the revolution,” adding “their job is to steal, steal, and steal some more.” It has become clear to the revolutionaries working on the ground, she said, that the coalition will have no role in solving Syria’s crisis after the fall of the regime.

Some opposition supporters who spoke to The Damascus Bureau suggested forming alternative bodies composed of veteran dissidents who have more credibility inside Syria.

“We do not want friends [of the Syrian People] or conferences or workshops or humanitarian aid or a transitional government in exile,” said Mansour, an online activist. “We just want a small group that can negotiate with the regime to end this conflict, which will either continue indefinitely or end in one of several worst case scenarios.”

Zoya, a lawyer in her forties, emphasized the need to negotiate with the regime and find a replacement for the current opposition, which has caused more problems than it has solved.

“Negotiation must start with those who support the regime, Russia being the first among them,” she said. “When Russia receives reassurances, it will begin to change [its position].”

“We do not want any councils or coalitions,” she continued. “Those who are outside Syria want the fighting to continue; it is those on the inside who are being killed from every direction, by bombs and rockets in addition to the shelling by the regime, which [is killing everything in sight], humans, [cities] and history.”

* Mariam Abdullah is the pseudonym for a journalist living in Syria