Can negotiating body contain Syria’s opposition?

Mohamed Yousri

The Syrian opposition negotiating body issued a statement last June at the end of its meetings in Geneva, Switzerland.

In the statement, the body confirmed its adherence to what it called the correction of the opposition’s political mistakes and adherence to UN Resolution 2254.

This resolution was unanimously adopted by the Security Council on September 18, 2015.

It stipulates the need for a ceasefire and a political settlement for the situation in Syria.

The opposition negotiating body also called for reconsidering the opposition’s political practices and refraining from practicing self-destruction.

It pointed to the need to reformulate the relationship between the political community and the civil society.

Spreading the spirit

The meeting comes as part of an attempt to breathe new life into the activities of the Syrian coalition of revolutionary and opposition forces after the disagreements that occurred in the election of the independent list of the commission at the end of 2019 in Riyadh.

The commission consists of 36 members from six blocs. It has not met because of these divisions for almost four years. The last meeting was held in search of solutions to these divisions.

Predicament

Asian affairs specialist, Mohamed al-Sayed, said it is clear that the Syrian opposition negotiating body has found itself in a serious predicament in the light of the political transformations that have occurred on the Syrian political scene.

“Therefore, it is possible that it will pull the rug from under its feet both in the light of the divisions within it and the emergence of new movements by the Syrian regime, which seems to have largely succeeded over the past months in re-presenting itself to the international community as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people,” he told The Reference.

Al-Sayed added that there are other levels of political transformation inside Syria that begins to appear on the scene.

He pointed out that the negotiating body, an old political entity, is now in a critical position and it is not easy for it to tame the Syrian opposition, especially as it has become divided on its own basically, in addition to those challenges that have appeared in front of it during recent months.