Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat – Syrian National Coalition member Haytham al-Malih has launched a sharp attack on the regional and international parties concerned with the Syrian crisis, asserting that their silence has provided cover for the Bashar al-Assad regime and its crimes. Speaking exclusively to Asharq Al-Awsat, al-Malih stressed that the only way to protect the Syrian people is to provide support and assistance to the opposition Free Syrian Army [FSA] to end the struggle with a regime that has lost all legitimacy.
Al-Malih said that the political quiet that has beset the Syrian crisis represents a freezing of aid from Arab, regional and international states.
A cautious calm has prevailed on the Syrian political scene since UN Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi left Cairo earlier this week after proposing an initiative to form a transitional government. This initiative was rejected by the Syrian opposition represented by the Syrian National Coalition which expressed reservations about any political solution that includes Bashar al-Assad remaining in power in any form.
Al-Malih told Asharq Al-Awsat “Brahimi should submit a report to the UN Security Council relating the tragic situation in Syria in order to stop the war and killing machine under Chapter VII of the UN charter, particularly as he previously warned that the situation in Syria represents a threat to world peace. This necessitates the implementation of Article 39 of Chapter VII of the UN charter which authorizes the use of military force to maintain peace.”
Article 39 reads: “The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security.”
Al-Malih added: “Brahimi gave the Syrian government the green light to kill civilians when he said that the death toll will reach 100,000 this year, and this will truly happen unless he listens to his conscience and activates the Syrian file within the United Nations and Security Council to condemn the ruling regime in Damascus.”
Speaking from Cairo last week, UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters that if the crisis continues, Syria will not be divided into states “like what happened in Yugoslavia” but would face “Somalisation, which means warlords, and the Syrian people will be persecuted by those who control their fate”.
He added “the situation in Syria is bad. Very, very bad…it is getting worse and therefore if nearly 50,000 were killed in nearly two years if, God forbids, this crisis continues for another year, it will not only kill 25,000. It will kill 100,000. The situation is deteriorating.”
Al-Malih said that in his view, everybody is aware of the solution to the Syrian crisis, namely to arm the FSA with qualitative and sophisticated weapons to allow it to end the struggle. He ruled out the possibility of a political solution in Syria, particularly in light of Russia, Iran and China continuing to politically, diplomatically, militarily and financially support the Damascus regime.
Al-Malih also revealed that the Syrian National Coalition is scheduled to meet in the coming few days to discuss the implications of the political situation, as well as the situation on the ground in the country, in order to strengthen the Syrian revolution.