Umbrella group forms focus of opposition for overthrowing Assad’s regime

Syria’s main opposition groups agreed yesterday to join a newly formed National Council, giving a major boost to President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents.

Members of the Syrian National Council said that it would be an umbrella group for various opposition groups both inside and outside the country and a vehicle for democratic change.

The council aims at “achieving the wishes and hopes of our people in overthrowing the current regime… including the head of this regime,” according to a statement read by opposition figure Bourhan Ghalioun in a news conference in Istanbul.

A group of Syrian activists had declared the preliminary formation of the council last month, but its structure and goals, and a founding statement signed by major opposition factions, had not been announced until yesterday at the conference in Turkey.

The Syrian opposition consists of a variety of groups with differing ideologies, including Islamists and secularists, and there have been many meetings of dissidents claiming to represent Syria’s popular uprising since it erupted seven months ago. But the new council is the broadest umbrella movement of revolutionary forces formed so far.

Mr Ghalioun said that the council aims to present a united front for the opposition, and urged Syrians everywhere to support it.

He said the council categorically rejects any foreign intervention or military operations.