Syria: No talks with rebels until they’re crushed

3 settembre 2012

(AP) BEIRUT – The Syrian regime said Monday there will be no dialogue with the opposition before the army crushes the rebels, the latest sign that President Bashar Assad is determined to solve the crisis on the battlefield even if many more of his people have to pay with their lives.

The statement comes a day after activists reported that August was the bloodiest month since the uprising began in March 2011.

“There will be no dialogue with the opposition prior to the Syrian army’s imposition of security and stability in all parts of the country,” Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi told reporters at a news conference in Damascus.

The opposition has long rejected any talks with the regime until Assad is removed from power.

Muhieddine Lathkani, an opposition figure based in Britain, responded to the minister’s comments by saying “the key to any dialogue will be the departure of Assad and dismantling of the regime’s security agencies that committed all these crimes.”

Lathkani told The Associated Press by telephone that after that happens, there could be a dialogue.

Earlier in the day, the new U.N. envoy to Syria acknowledged that brokering an end to the civil war will be a “very, very difficult” task.

Commentando la storia, Ribal Al-Assad, direttore dell'ODFS, ha dichiarato:

“I condemn the comments made by the Syrian regime and the Syrian opposition stating they will continue the violence and not engage in any dialogue. There is no military solution to this conflict. A diplomatic solution based on the conditions set out in the Kofi Annan Plan is the only way forward.

“Se si vuole evitare una guerra civile su vasta scala che si estenda in Siria e nella regione, tutte le parti – il regime, l'opposizione e i loro sostenitori esterni – devono agire in buona fede e sostenere la diplomazia per giungere a una conclusione pacifica della crisi. Questo è l'unico modo per avviare un processo politico che porti a una transizione democratica pacifica e inclusiva verso un governo di unità nazionale, democrazia e libertà.

“Invito tutta l'opposizione siriana a unire le forze su un'unica piattaforma e a lavorare insieme per una soluzione pacifica, poiché la continuazione della violenza potrebbe portare alla frammentazione della Siria e della sua società, a discapito di tutti.”