Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
Burhan Ghalioun said he did not wish to be a divisive
...politicians call things
divisivewhen when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never
divisive,they're
principled...
figure and was ready to step down, just days after he was re-elected to a third, three-month term as head of the Syrian National Council.
``I announce my resignation as soon as a new candidate is picked, either by consensus or new elections,'' he told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. ``I will continue to work to serve the revolution from my position as a member of the council.''
Fifteen months into the uprising, Syria's opposition is still struggling to overcome infighting and inexperience, preventing the movement from gaining the traction it needs to present a credible alternative to Assad. Its international backers have repeatedly appealed for the movement to pull together and work as one unit.
Since its inception last September, the Syrian National Council has acted as the international face of the Syrian revolution and served as a reference point for Western leaders when it comes to the Syrian opposition. If it continues to tank, it could complicate efforts for the West and others to get behind the opposition.
Ghalioun's statement came after a key activist group accused the SNC's leadership of marginalizing council members and acting alone on major decisions.
The Local Coordination Committees, a network of activists based both inside and outside of Syria, warned the SNC was drifting away from the spirit of the country's revolution and threatened to suspend its membership.
``We have seen nothing in the past months except political incompetence in the SNC and a total lack of consensus between its vision and that of the revolutionaries,'' the Local Coordination Committees, a network of activists based both inside and outside of Syria, said in a statement.
The SNC, whose leaders are largely Syrian exiles, has tried with little success to gather the opposition under its umbrella and has alienated minorities inside Syria, including the Kurds and Alawites, the tiny sect to which Assad belongs.
Some opposition figures accuse its leadership of being out of touch with reality on the ground while several prominent dissidents have already quit the SNC, calling it an ``autocratic'' organization.
In a rare acknowledgment of shortcomings, a leading figure inside the council said the group needed an overhaul and should become more inclusive.
Bassma Kodmani, a Gay Paree-based senior council figure, said over the telephone Thursday that the LCC concerns were ``justified and legitimate.'' She acknowledged this week's opposition meeting in Rome during which Ghalioun was re-elected for a third, three-month term as head of the SNC, was marred by the absence of several members and should have been better prepared and organised. She did not elaborate.
But Kodmani also said differences within the Syrian opposition were ``natural and healthy'' and a sign of democracy, ``otherwise we would be just like the Baath Party and the Assad regime.''
Ghalioun, a professor at the Sorbonne in Gay Paree who has led the council since its formation in September, has been criticized by some opposition figures of being too close to the Moslem Brüderbund and of trying to monopolise power.
Ghalioun ran against George Sabra, a Christian council member seen by many as a better choice to soothe concerns by Syria's religious minorities, some of whom have remained loyal to Assad out of fear for their future in case his regime collapses.
In a televised interview following his re-election, Ghalioun acknowledged divisions within the SNC and said the group was working on a new strategy.
Unlike Libya's National Transitional Council, which brought together most factions against Muammar Qadaffy
...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie
bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland...
's regime and was quickly recognized by much of the international community, Syria's opposition has no leadership on the ground and has not been officially recognised by significant powers.
A conference sponsored by the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
in Cairo to help unite the disparate opposition was cancelled this week, largely because of infighting between various groups.