Enab Baladi Issue # 103– Sun, Feb. 10, 2014 – Editorial

During the first round of Geneva II talks, the Syrian opposition’s delegation clearly expressed its willingness to be engaged in a political settlement, yet without compromising the goals of the Syrian Revolution of freedom and social justice,  delivering a strike to the government’s delegation -headed by Foreign Minister Walid AlMuallem-that attended the talks with the aim of defending a regime that lost what is left of its dignity in the International Community, particularly after targeting with mortar shells the UN delegation supervising a draft agreement between the regime and the opposition in besieged neighbourhoods of Homs.

Al Jarba, head of the Syrian National Coalition, described the delegation participated in the first round headed by Al Muallem as “having no credibility”. Today, as the second round of the talks begins, he called for the Syrian vice president Farouk Al Shara to lead the government’s delegation; the request reflects the negative impression that the government’s delegation conveyed as it leveling one-sided accusations at sponsors of the conference, and presenting them with a pack of blatant lies expecting the international community to swallow it.

The opposition delegation also insisted on discussing “transitional” that ensures a peaceful transition of power and a complete delegation of Assad authority including his authority over the army and the security forces. On the other side, Al Assad seems most unwilling to cede “his kingdom” no matter what.

Meanwhile, afar from the two sides of the table, the Syrian people still await an end to the bloodshed all over Syria brought by barrels of explosives and bombings. The question remains whether a toll of 200 causalities aday will come to an end with the end of the second round of Geneva talks, or it is an endless series of rounds has just begun for the whole world to watch, and only watch…