The Syrian opposition will meet in Cairo this month to finalise a future roadmap for the country, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus.
All sides of the Syrian opposition agree on the need to unify their positions. The hardliners, however, insist on excluding the regime led by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad from any future plans while the so-called “soft” opposition says that the matter should be left for the whole nation to decide.
According to current plans, several Syrian opposition groups intend to meet in Cairo on 22 January to discuss a common roadmap for the country’s future. Four years after the start of the Syrian revolution there is still no single programme for the opposition. This failure to unite has affected the opposition’s credibility and led to missed opportunities.
Cairo seems like a logical setting for the opposition meeting. Egypt has so far declined to offer money or arms to any of the factions fighting in Syria, and is seen as an acceptable location by most regional and international players.
Anywhere between 50 and 75 members of the Syrian opposition are expected to arrive in Cairo. Aside from the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF) and the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCCDC), various activists and businessmen are expected to attend.
Armed opposition groups have not been included in the talks, something that observers say may weaken the meeting’s outcome.