Blocs within the Syrian National Coalition are seeking a compromise plan to resolve their differences, in an attempt to save the body.
Sharp divisions have emerged as a result of the confounding relationship between it, the Supreme Military Council and the Interim Government, leading to the withdrawal of a number of members of the recent meetings of the General Commission of the Coalition.
One member of the Commission said that the Coalition, which comprises the opposition and revolution forces, is threatened with collapse if a consensus was not reached soon.
The member referred to the "widening gap" between the Democratic Mass and the Kurdish National Council, the Syrian National Council and the National Movement. A number of members in the Coalition also withdrew from the meeting of the General Commission after they refused to vote on the reassignment of Ahmad Toumeh to head the Interim Government, which was dismissed by the General Commission of the Coalition on the one hand, and supported by the National Alliance, allied with the Muslim Brotherhood and the mass of local councils on the other.
The member reported that a consensus plan was suggested, and the most important term in this plan is to set the governing relationship between the government and the Coalition. The term also includes the presence of observers from the Coalition on the work of the government, and that the government should not be formed on the basis of quotas, with suggestions to form a technocrat government.
On the other hand, the terms related to the restructuring of the Supreme Military Council on the basis of its representation for real and effective forces on the ground and determine its relationship with the Coalition, and the problems of the reactivation of the Assistance Coordination Unit, and the amendment of the main statute of the Coalition, remain disputed.
The member said that all blocs should decide on their position towards the Military Council today, questioning the seriousness of some parties to reach a real consensus, in a clear reference to the National Assembly.
In this context, the Political Commission of the Coalition has met to discuss the issue of the participation of a number of government officials and the member of the Coalition and its ambassador in Qatar, Nizar al-Haraki, in addition to the leader in the Military Council, Major General Mohammed al-Haj Ali, in the delegation accompanied Moaz al-Khatib in his visit to Moscow.
The Commission decided to dismiss the Acting Defense Minister, General Noor Khallouf, and warned the head of the Overseas Diplomatic Body, Hossam al-Hafiz, as he asked permission from Ahmad Toumeh before going to Moscow. Toumeh apologized for the unintentional mistake because giving the permission to participate exceeds the limits of his powers.
The meeting failed to question the ambassador of the Coalition, Haraki, due to the lack of necessary votes, and the Commission didn’t mention Mohammed al-Haj Ali, due to the lack of a mechanism governing the relationship between the Coalition and the Military Council, according to a member in the Political Commission. Meanwhile, the President of the Syrian National Council, George Sabra, stressed the eligibility of the participation of members in the revolution's institutions in a political delegation, even without prior permission.
These dramatic developments came against the backdrop of Mouaz Khatib's visit to Moscow, accompanied by a delegation that included officials in the Interim Government, the Military Council, and the ambassador of the Coalition in Qatar, although they confirmed that they represented themselves as individuals only, and it was a primary initiative to try to open a gap in the political stalemate.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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