What was most telling about the recent National Salvation Front meeting in London was not so much who was present and what was said, but who was absent.
What was said was nothing that hadn't been articulated in previous meetings. When asked how they plan to achieve the Front's laudable goals, things get a little murky. Yes they want to change the incorrigible regime but they want to do it without the interference of foreign governments and without resorting to violence and hint vaguely of allies within Syria ready to effect the changeover. Has the NSF found some magic formula that has eluded everyone else? If they can pull this off, I will -maybe- forgive Khaddam, the neo-democrat, his past sins.
What was absent from the meeting was substantial media coverage. Syria is, after all, in the cross hairs of the United States, a bona fide member of the Axis of evil and here is a group plotting to overthrow the offending regime. You would think every major and minor media outlet would be there to cover this momentous event. Did the NSF bungle this opportunity to turn the heat on Bashar and forget to invite the media? Or has the international media lost interest? Unfortunately, I think it is the latter. A quick Google search showed few entries related to the meeting. With Iraq burning next door and with no -as of yet- viable opposition to Bashar, Syria has fallen to the bottom of the West's to do list.
Meanwhile, the Assad dynasty having escaped yet another close call continues to celebrate by throwing more of its citizens in jail. This time it is courageous individuals from Suwayda who dared sign a petition condemning the recent arrests of activists who signed the Beirut-Damascus declaration.
I sure hope Brammertz has a couple of tricks up his sleeve.
2 comments:
The party, my friend, was dead in the water.. The star of the show was a clown, and his side-kick was a tired old man.. As you said, nothing was said that had not been said time and time again before...
Outside interest was next to zero, and Khaddam, for all his colourful past, was not worth more than a 30-second interview on Newsnight on BBC2, and a 2-minute appearance on BBC Radio 4..
The NSF have lost all credibility when they pushed Khaddam onto centre-stage.. The NSF have, indeed, bundled this opportunity.. not just by failing to promote this event properly, but primarily for relying on a corrupt and hated personality to be their star act.
They have done the Ba'athist regime a great service by fronting probably the only person who is more hated in Syria than the Regime itself!!..
I have posted some thoughts on next steps for the NSF on my blog as well. They have a lot of work to do.
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