Denial of legitimacy

Enab Baladi Issue # 84 – Sun, Sep. 29, 2013 – Editorial

Statement No.1 issued by 13 armed formations in Syria rejected the authority of the Syrian National Council (SNC), Supreme Military Council, and the newly elected head of the transitional government. These formations explicitly expressed opposing SNC’s willingness to go through Geneva-II negotiations to reach a political settlement.  Such statement clearly reflects the profound ideological differences concerning the shape of the New Syria.

This delegitimization of SNC was to add more to the confusion of the Syrian political and military situation.  Meanwhile, a number of FSA groups in “liberated” areas are disregarding the growing violations of ISSI, last of which was the desecration of two Christian churches in Al Raqqa a few days ago. All of these factors are pushing the international community to reconsider supporting the cause of the Syrian Revolution, or even to reconsider the legitimacy of the cause itself. Having an extremist alternative of Al Assad provides a compelling justification for the world’s great powers to disregard the Syrian calls for toppling Al Assad regime, taking it for its role in balancing forces.

SNC has failed to merge with or to get closer to revolutionary forces on the ground, especially in “liberated areas”; thus, it gave other parties the opportunity to replace it, jeopardizing the course of the Syrian Revolution.

What is really alarming is that this delegitimization was by armed parties against a political one, which stoke fears of a military rule to prevail in the absence of any political bodies or representatives to fill in the gap.

Statement No.1 was a natural fit in the current Syrian context since it is a critique of the fundamental flaws of the opposition groups abroad, who never bothered to rectify the situation. At the same time, this delegitimization is a fault in itself, since it is marginalizing other groups, and promoting for military rule. Such faults, which the Syrian revolution had repeatedly encountered, unless avoided and rectified, will lead Syria into a terrifying ordeal of conflicts and loss of identity.