No takers for talks in the Syrian opposition

Damascus: Syrian authorities are seeking negotiations with opposition leaders to end street protests that threaten to topple the Bashar Al Assad regime, according to Western diplomatic sources. They say that Bouthaina Shaaban, a top adviser to Al Assad, has been entrusted to explore ways of launching a dialogue.

But amid a harsh crackdown on protesters, a rising death toll, and reports of thousands of people detained and missing, the regime is struggling to find anyone in the opposition who wants to talk.

"We say no to negotiations, at least until the secret police are gone from Syria. And when the secret police goes, then the regime will go as well," said Rami Nakhle, an opposition activist in Beirut.

Envoy's assessment

A European ambassador in Damascus says that the hard-line elements in the regime appeared to have the upper hand for now in attempting to suppress the uprising by force.

"There are some [members of the regime] who want to talk to the opposition, but they keep telling us they have no one to talk to," the ambassador says.

The opposition has no credible, publicly visible figurehead or leadership group that can appeal across Syria's complicated sectarian and ethnic divides.