Beirut: Over 100 Syrian political and military figures assembled in Riyadh Tuesday night to start their high profile conference on Wednesday, whose aim is creating a united front for talks with the Syrian government next January. Apart from public agreement on combating Daesh, and their collective opposition to President Bashar Al Assad, the Riyadh participants have major differences that began to surface at a micro-level when the official talks started Wednesday.
Primarily, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Coalition (SNC) sees itself as the legitimate and sole representative of the Syrian opposition, with an international mandate to lead the talks at Geneva III. This is strongly contested by other groups like the National Coordination Committee (NCC), the Higher Islamic Council, and Building the Syrian State Movement (BSSM), who demand equal representation — at the least — with the SNC.
Additionally the SNC says that there is “no place” for Al Assad in the transitional period, while the NCC argues that there is no place “for the current system of government” in the future of Syria. Part of what is referred to as the “tolerated opposition”, its members are mainly ex-Baathists, Communists, Nasserists and Arab nationalists. They are critical, despite ostensible harmony, of the SNC, accusing it of being a stooge for Turkey, while the Coalition members accuse the NCC of being regime-friendly, and in some cases regime-created, given that most of their members still reside in Damascus. The BSSM believes that a ceasefire and liberties are more important at this stage than regime change, while the Islamic Council argues that Al Assad must leave in the interim period and not before it.
Also, the SNC believes that a transitional government body needs to be formed, with “full executive powers” that replaces the president of the republic in the transitional period. The NCC calls for a transitional government “with full powers”. Independents who have attended Russian-backed talks in the previous year are going for a more nuanced “cabinet of national unity” that rules in parallel with Al Assad instead of a transitional government body. The SNC wants dismantling of the Syrian army and security services — and this is backed by the 15 military groups attending — but opposed by practically everybody else at the Riyadh Conference. Most figures call for reforming the security apparatus and holding on to the Syrian army. This remains a major source of disagreement.
While most participants have called for restoration of the constitution of 1950, which reduces powers of the presidency, participants are divided on the essence of any future government. The NCC and SNC are united in wanting a secular Syria while military groups — which are far more powerful than both — insist on an Islamic character or an Islamic state. Being the most powerful participants in Riyadh they may torpedo any attempt at future secularism.
Also a topic of disagreement is what to make of the Russian operations in Syria since last September. The Turkish-backed SNC see it as “aggression” while Russian-backed figures in the NCC have either supported it or refused to condemn it.
Prominent figures like Sorbonne University professor Bourhan Ghalioun, the ex-president of the SNC did not show up in Riyadh and nor did human rights lawyer Haitham Manaa, leader of the Kamh Movement and ex-president of the NCC in the diaspora. Ex-Republican Guard officer Manaf Tlass was not invited and nor was ex-Deputy prime minister for economic affairs Qadri Jamil, who heads the Popular Front for Liberation and Change.
Also absent were Kurdish politicians including PYD leader Saleh Al Muslim, who are all persona non grata with Saudi Arabia’s Turkish ally. Mediators and stakeholders in the Syrian war were not actually present in the conference hall but present in adjacent rooms for consultation with their allies. This includes diplomats from the US, France, Great Britain, Turkey, Russia, UAE, and of course, Saudi Arabia.
