General Coordinator of the National Coordination Commission Hassan Abdul Azim stressed the organization’s acceptance to participate in the Cairo conference next month, noting that it will produce an opposition qualified to lead the next stage.
The statement signals an end to rifts between members of the Commission on its participation in the Cairo conference. Those who refused the Commission’s participation feared the creation of a political body to substitute the political opposition forces currently active in Syria.
"Things are going very well for the conference of the opposition in Cairo, especially with the participation of political forces, national figures and representatives of civil society organizations. The conference will be the first step to unify the vision and the efforts of the democratic opposition forces that enjoy independence of will and national decision-making, without having to be a substitute for any alliance inside Syria or abroad. The conference paves the way for another Egyptian and Arab step to obtain support from regional and international forces, to lay a solid foundation to build an opposition pole in the next stage", Abdul Azim was quoted by AKI news agency.
A group of Syrian opposition figures, including the National Coordination Commission and the Syrian National Coalition met in Cairo earlier this year, forming a committee to continue communication with all political bodies and forces of the Syrian opposition to encourage participation in the preparation for a comprehensive dialogue in Cairo. The conference’s goal is to unify the visions, programs and positions of Syrian opposition forces towards any political solution to the crisis, and to agree on a draft for a national charter and road map.
The conference will not result in a political body to substitute any of the Syrian opposition bodies, but it will form a committee to lead the regional and international movement to achieve a political solution based on the Geneva statement, although the political solution collided with the position of the regime which insists on its own interpretation of the Geneva statement.
The Syrian National Coalition has already announced its refusal to participate in the Cairo conference, while other opposition political bodies have announced their willingness to participate. The conference’s organizers said: "Military factions who believe in a political solution will attend the conference and abandon their weapons when the international community agrees to apply a political solution".
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
