Syrian council resists unity proposal

The largest anti-government group in Syria has resisted efforts by foreign supporters of the uprising to create one large opposition group. George Sabra, the newly elected president of the Syrian National Council said no group should be subsumed under any other group, The New York Times reported Saturday. "The SNC is older than this initiative or any other initiative, and it has a deep political and regional structure," Sabra said. Foreign governments, frustrated with the inability to coordinate aid efforts and the bickering exile movements, have proposed a larger body that would streamline efforts. The body, the Syrian National Initiative, has support from more than 50 activist groups, the United States, Qatar and other foreign backers of the opposition, the Times reported. Talks could come down to haggling over seats on the new initiative. The SNC would likely get 20 of the 60 seats, but its members said they would not settle for fewer than 40 percent of the seats. The SNC offered a counterproposal in which other groups could join its efforts in the opposition, but leave the council as first among equals, the Times said. "Let us not create a new body that will take time to be established -- ours is already there," said Louay Safi, a member of the SNC's General Secretariat.