The Role of the Syrian Opposition Transitional Council

A group of Syrian dissidents have been named to form a Transitional National Council. One of the members is Shawnee State University history professor, Amr Al Azm. He speaks with host Marco Werman about the role of the council.

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Marco Werman: Opposition leaders in Syria are taking a cue from Libya.  They formally announced the creation of a transitional council to help pave the way to a future after President Assad.  The move follows a series of meetings of Syrian opposition members in neighboring Turkey. The new council includes 94 members, 42 of them are in Syria, the rest live outside the country.  That includes Amr Al Azm, he’s a Syrian dissident and Middle East historian at Shawnee State University in Ohio.  He says the council’s leader will also be based far from Syria.

Amr Al Azm: According to the list that is published it is going to be lead by Burhan Ghalioun, who is a very prominent opposition member.  He currently lives in Paris and teaches at the Sorbonne.

Werman: What role will you play?

Azm: I don’t know.  The roles haven’t been assigned and these would be assigned once the council meets and it would then assign roles for the various members who are in the council.  Those who are in the inside will obviously attempt to help coordinate activities of the opposition from the inside.  Those of us from the outside will carry on I suppose, doing what we already do anyway, which is to lobby for increased pressure trying to push the international and world community to increase the pressure to bring it down.

Werman: And Mr. Azm, how is that going to work because Syria has not had a united opposition inside the country, how will this council be able to unite the opposition?

Azm: Well, the council is a first step in that direction.  The Sunni opposition has been trying to coalesce, has been trying to unite.  It’s a very difficult task.  On the inside particularly because of the intense pressure that is brought to bear by the regime there, the fact that anyone who attempts to organize or meet is under immediate threat of being thrown into jail or worse.  And in fact, the very fact that some of these people have been named in this council you know, you could argue it has put them in mortal jeopardy now because if the regime decides to take action against them they could very easily walk into their homes and execute them there and then. The conditions of the opposition inside are very difficult.  On the outside, you must also bear in mind, that we only have our legitimacy from the inside, so it’s very hard for us also to come together and coalesce unless we have clear guidance from the inside in terms of whatever we are doing here as our efforts to coalesce, to come together and form some sort of united opposition, do these efforts have the acceptance and legitimacy of the inside? And they built a list of who’s who basically and that’s how I and many others find myself on the list.

Werman: When the Transitional Council in Libya formed it seemed to make sense since the rebels had Gaddafi on the defensive.  That isn’t the case in Syria.  Bashar al-Assad is still very much in control.  Do you feel that a transitional council for Syria may be a bit premature right now?

Azm: No, I don’t actually.  You’re right in saying that Gaddafi was initially on the run and that is why they were able to form that council, and don’t forget, they had Benghazi, okay.  And this is one thing we really lack as a Syrian opposition.  We do not have a [inaudible 3:08].  We were never able to carve out a Benghazi for ourselves. But in terms of a need for such a council, no, I think it’s very necessary because the Syrian opposition really needs to unite and coalesce, not just because we need this as a way forward to reassure the people on the inside that we have an agenda, we have a program, that the collapse of the Assad regime is not going to leave the country in a void, there’s not going to be a power vacuum and the country will fall into lawlessness or turn into Somalia. But also because we need to coordinate our efforts out here as we lobby and go out and meet with various administrations, governments and so on, so forth, and plan for the various strategies that are necessary to help bring down the regime. So, no, it is very necessary.  And also don’t forget, this is also a requirement of us as a demonstration of our seriousness and our intent as a viable opposition.

Werman: Syrian dissident and professor at Shawnee State University in Ohio, Amr Al Azm, who’s been named to the Syrian opposition’s transitional council.  Thanks very much for your time.

Azm: No problem, thank you very much.

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