Readmitting Syrian regime to Arab League will not lead to sustainable peace: Opposition leader

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - A leading Syrian opposition figure on Tuesday said the normalization processes with the Damascus regime after its readmittance to the Arab League will not solve Syria's current problems nor lead to sustainable peace.

Dr. Bader Jamous, president of the Syrian Negotiation Commission, spoke at a press conference by the Geneva United Nations journalist association, ACANU, saying a political settlement must have "transitional justice" and "accountability" for those who committed atrocities.

"The normalization process with the Syrian regime without achieving a political solution will give the regime political capital and international support, allowing it to continue imposing its control over the Syrian people," said Jamous.

"Therefore, it will be difficult to make any real change in the structure of the Syrian state, achieve transitional justice and realize sustainable peace and stability in Syria."

Jamous said the Syrian regime had not made any meaningful changes and continues to detain opposition members.

For this reason, he said a political transition must be the goal.

This must include holding accountable those responsible "for war crimes and gross human rights violations" in Syria and "achieving transitional justice" to establish a free and just democratic state.

- Exacerbate suffering

Jamous said the new development on Syria would "strengthen its repressive capacity and help it implement its oppressive policies, thus, exacerbating the suffering and atrocities the Syrian people have been subjected to."

He said communication is continuing with Türkiye, which confirmed to the Syrian Negotiation Commission that a political solution to the Syrian crisis must take place in accordance with UN Resolution 2254 of 2015 on Syria.

At a separate press conference at the UN in Geneva, Jennifer Fenton, a spokesperson for the UN Special Envoy on Syria, quoted Geir Pedersen as saying he was aware of the League of Arab State Council's Foreign Minister-level resolution on May 7.

Regional engagement could help unlock progress to move forward the UN-facilitated political process in line with Security Council Resolution 2254 on peace in Syria.

"Mr. Pedersen has noted to the Security Council that we're at an important juncture in the efforts to move the political process, and we have seen renewed diplomatic attention on Syria," said Fenton.

"This renewed attention to Syria is very important if it can act as a circuit breaker and unlock stalled efforts to move the political process forward," he added.

Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

protests with unexpected ferocity.