Two quit Syrian opposition group
Source: Agencies |
March 15, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
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TWO prominent Syrian dissidents said yesterday they have quit the main opposition group that emerged from the year-old uprising against the regime in Damascus in protest over what one of the men described as an "autocratic" organization.
The resignations from the Syrian National Council dealt another blow to the opposition, which has been hobbled by disorganization and infighting since the popular revolt against President Bashar Assad started a year ago with protests calling for political reform.
One of the dissidents who resigned, Kamal al-Labwani, accused the leadership of the Syrian National Council of controlling the body's work while sidelining most of its 270 members.
"There is no council, it's an illusion," said al-Labwani, who worked for years against the Assad family regime before being jailed in 2005. He joined the council soon after being released in November.
He accused council chief Burhan Ghalioun and a few others of running the organization with an iron fist, even comparing it to Assad's ruling Baath Party.
"They are trying to build an autocratic rule inside the council," he said. "There is no group work. Everyone is working by himself and the whole council has not met once."
He said that another council member, Catherine al-Talli, also quit and said he expected many more to quit soon. Another dissident, 80-year-old lawyer Haitham al-Maleh, also said he quit over lack of cooperation.
"There is no transparency and there is no respect for other opinions," he said. "They aren't given the work the attention that it needs to fulfill the ambitions of the Syrian people."
The resignations from the Syrian National Council dealt another blow to the opposition, which has been hobbled by disorganization and infighting since the popular revolt against President Bashar Assad started a year ago with protests calling for political reform.
One of the dissidents who resigned, Kamal al-Labwani, accused the leadership of the Syrian National Council of controlling the body's work while sidelining most of its 270 members.
"There is no council, it's an illusion," said al-Labwani, who worked for years against the Assad family regime before being jailed in 2005. He joined the council soon after being released in November.
He accused council chief Burhan Ghalioun and a few others of running the organization with an iron fist, even comparing it to Assad's ruling Baath Party.
"They are trying to build an autocratic rule inside the council," he said. "There is no group work. Everyone is working by himself and the whole council has not met once."
He said that another council member, Catherine al-Talli, also quit and said he expected many more to quit soon. Another dissident, 80-year-old lawyer Haitham al-Maleh, also said he quit over lack of cooperation.
"There is no transparency and there is no respect for other opinions," he said. "They aren't given the work the attention that it needs to fulfill the ambitions of the Syrian people."
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