SYRIA: Syrian opposition party calls on Bashar al-Assad's government to more actively pursue dialogue and says it has asked Russian officials to play a mediator role between the regime and opposition groups

Record ID: 280672

  • Title: SYRIA: Syrian opposition party calls on Bashar al-Assad's government to more actively pursue dialogue and says it has asked Russian officials to play a mediator role between the regime and opposition groups
  • Date: 30th April 2012
  • Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (APRIL 29, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF QADRI JAMIL, HEAD OF THE SYRIAN OPPOSITION POPULAR FRONT FOR CHANGE AND LIBERATION TALKING TO PEOPLE AHEAD OF CONFERENCE CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF THE SYRIAN OPPOSITION POPULAR FRONT FOR CHANGE AND LIBERATION, QADRI JAMIL, SAYING: "Our will for dialogue is not enough. The first party, which is the regime,
  • Embargoed: 15th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA26NCVAL8COUVTEH8GT6ECGV7Y
  • Story Text: Syrian opposition party the Popular Front for Change and Liberation on Sunday (April 29) called for unconditional dialogue with the Syrian government, in a bid to end 13 months of unrest.
    "Our will for dialogue is not enough. The first party, which is the regime, needs to move from talking about the dialogue to the act of dialogue. Secondly, some strict opposition parties have to stop refusing the dialogue and start an unconditional dialogue," said Qadri Jamil, leader of the front comprising of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, the National Committee for the Syrian Communists Union and a group of Syria national figures.
    The conference came after Jamil returned from a visit to Russia where members of the front met with Russian officials at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow to discuss Syria's crisis on Tuesday (April 26) The front has asked Russian officials to play a mediator role between President Bashar al-Assad's government and the opposition, as well as between opposition parties, Jamil added.
    "We asked our Russian friends to be mediators not only between the regime and the opposition but also between the opposition parties themselves. And they promised to do that."
    Representatives from the Popular Front for Change and Liberation have refused any foreign intervention in Syria. The front announced on April 19 it would take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections Under Syria's new constitution, Assad, facing a more than one-year revolt against his rule, set parliamentary elections for May 7.
    The poll will be the first under the constitution approved by referendum in February, which allows for multiple party elections but has been rejected by those who have joined the uprising.
    The elections will be the first to follow the constitution's new outline for political plurality, revoking a clause put in place by Assad's late father Hafez al-Assad who ruled for nearly 30 years until his death in 2000. The clause stated that Assad's ruling Baath Party was "leader of state and society".
    Under the new constitution, parties cannot be based on religion, profession or regional interests. This would exclude the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood or Kurdish parties seeking regional autonomy.
    The Syrian authorities have restricted access to independent media to many hotbeds of the uprising against Assad, but Reuters was able to film this event.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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