Geneva attendance is not a sign of defeat

A declaration by mostly Islamist rebel groups in Syria that those attending the upcoming Geneva 2 talks between Syria’s regime and the opposition would be committing treason is a truly disappointing development.

Attendance of the conference does not signal defeat by the opposition or the ruling out of Bashar Al Assad’s removal. It is instead a process of negotiations that could eventually lead to his removal. His removal should therefore not be a prerequisite to attendance, but an issue that can, and perhaps should, make it to the negotiating table. The Syrian opposition needs to challenge the notion promoted by the regime that it has no one to negotiate with, and that the opposition is merely a group of jihadists bent on achieving their ideological objectives.

It is also incumbent on the opposition to come on the world stage and clearly distance itself from the very armed ideologues that have worked tirelessly to hijack a revolution that started with a just cause of fighting oppression. Only then will the international community be assured that the Syrian conflict is not one clichéd binaries: secularists verses Islamists, or Sunnis verses Shiites. This is an opportunity for the opposition to dispel myths surrounding it and show that a united and moderate face to those who oppose Al Assad’s regime — one that can be trusted to taking a leading position in the new Syria.

At the very least, if negotiations fail, the opposition can tell the international community that it has indeed exhausted opportunities for a peaceful settlement. It cannot insist on ending the conflict through means of violence if a peaceful way out has not been explored.

While the rebel groups’ concerns are legitimate, labelling attendees as traitors and threatening to try them in some of the rebels’ kangaroo courts that have carried out some gruesome killings under the guise of judicial process is a serious cause for concern. These concerns should first and foremost be directed to some of these organisations’ regional backers, who are likely to have significant influence over them.