Syrian rebels reject UN peace initiative for armed struggle

The leader of Syria’s main opposition group has rejected calls by United Nations envoy Kofi Annan for dialogue with president Bashar al-Assad’s government, saying such talks are pointless and unrealistic as long as the regime massacres its own people.

As the prospects for a diplomatic solution faltered, a Turkish official said two Syrian generals, a colonel and two sergeants defected to Turkey on Thursday, a day after Syria’s deputy oil minister also deserted Mr Assad’s regime.

The military defections are significant as most army defectors so far have been low-level conscripts.

In a telephone interview from Paris, Burhan Ghalioun, who heads the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), said Mr Annan has already disappointed the Syrian people.

Mr Annan, the former UN Secretary-General who has been appointed joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, has said his mission was to start a “political process” to resolve the conflict. He is due in Syria this weekend and will meet Mr Assad.

In comments made in Cairo on Thursday after talks with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby, Mr Annan warned against further militarisation of the Syrian conflict and urged the opposition to come together with the government to find a political solution. But Mr Ghalioun blasted such statements as unrealistic.

“These kind of comments are disappointing and do not give a lot of hope for people in Syria being massacred every day,” he said. “It feels like we are watching the same movie being repeated over and over again. My fear is that, like other international envoys before him, the aim is to waste a month or two of pointless mediation efforts.”

Syrian activists also rejected Mr Annan’s call for dialogue.

“It seems he lives on Mars,” said Mohammad Saeed, an activist in the Damascus suburb of Douma. “What dialogue are they talking about?”

Syria’s opposition is fragmented and suffers from infighting, but most factions reject talks with the government while the military crackdown continues.

The UN estimates more than 7,500 people have been killed in the past year since the revolt against Mr Assad erupted in the south and engulfed Syria. Activists put the death toll at more than 8,000. The SNC is calling for outside military intervention, but the subject remains divisive.

“Any political solution will not succeed if it is not accompanied by military pressure on the regime,” Mr Ghalioun said.

He faulted Mr Annan for “avoiding” any references to the essence of the problem, which is the regime’s use of extreme military force to crush the protests.

“As an international envoy, we hope he will have a mechanism for ending the violence,” he added.

Turkey’s state television said two Syrian generals and a colonel have defected to Turkey as Syrian forces appeared to be targeting rebel strongholds, including the northern province of Idlib, near Turkey.

The officers were among 234 Syrians who have crossed into Turkey since Thursday to find refuge in six camps, Yusuf Guler, the administrator for the Turkish border town of Reyhanli, said. More than 11,000 people have sought sanctuary in Turkey.

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos toured the camps along the Turkish-Syrian border and met Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday.

Lady Amos said the humanitarian assessment with the Syrian government was the first step toward setting up what she called a “robust and regular arrangement … which allows humanitarian organisations unhindered access to evacuate the wounded and deliver desperately needed supplies”.

She said she has submitted a proposal to the Syrian regime to ensure the regular delivery of aid and was awaiting a reply.