Ali Sadr-al-Din al-Bayanuni, general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Syria, has called on the world "not to punish the Syrian people because of what was committed by the regime." He stressed that "there is a real alternative, as indicated by the Damascus Declaration, which marked the launch of national collective action that includes all opposition parties." He hoped that a preparatory committee would be formed soon to prepare for a conference for the opposition, in all its shades. Al-Bayanuni, told Asharq al-Awsat that he was not surprised by what was contained in the report of German investigator Detlev Mehlis concerning the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. He said, "The Syrian regime is professional." He added that the international community has ignored the conduct of the Baath regime in Damascus for a long time, which led to the fall of more innocent people. He noted that "the arrests among Syrians were still continuing until yesterday."
He stressed that "the regime cannot be reformed. The only solution is a radical change, as the Damascus Declaration (of the opposition) demanded" several days ago. He said "there is no longer a real justification for the talk about the lack of an alternative." He added that contacts are now under way for the purpose of forming a preparatory committee "which includes all the forces that signed the Damascus Declaration, be they at home or abroad." This is meant to prepare for holding a conference for all political forces, including Islamic, leftist, nationalist, Arab, and Kurdish forces. He remarked that change "will be carried out by the Syrians themselves. We, however, need support and a cover from the international community" to protect the people from the oppression of the regime, which may resort to more violent methods.
Lawyer Al-Bayanuni hoped that "the international community will adopt a decisive position and will remove the cover from this regime." He said, "We ask for not punishing the Syrian people twice." He added "imposing any economic sanctions will harm the people and will not harm the regime." He said that economic sanctions will be the second punishment after the suffering, which the people have gone through over the past 40 years.