Syria stresses full representation of 'national'opposition in Geneva II

The Syrian parliament speaker stressed Tuesday the full representation of Syria's "national" opposition in the peace talks of Geneva II conference, according to the official SANA news agency. "We insist on the participation of the national opposition at home and abroad in the dialogue, those who have proven that they want to reach a political solution to save Syria from more destruction and woes," Gihad Laham said. In a jab at the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the main opposition umbrella group in exile, Laham said such group has no capability to take a decision before checking with their U. S. patron. The SNC has partaken in the first two rounds of the dialogue with the Syrian government in Geneva, as other opposition groups at home have been excluded. The domestically-based National Coordination Body (NCB) slammed the Western powers' exclusion of the home-based opposition and their ultimate support to the SNC. On Monday, the NCB members charged that the countries supporting the SNC, the sole delegation of the opposition to the Geneva conference, were behind the NCB's exclusion. The home-based opposition groups demanded an equal representation in the Geneva II talks in order to achieve positive outcome for the conference. The third round of talks was reportedly agreed upon by the Syrian government and the SNC, but its date has yet to be announced. During the past two rounds of talks in Geneva, the Syrian government side insisted on taking the halt of violence and terrorism as a top priority, while the SNC focused on establishing a transitional governing body with full executive authority and without any role of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.