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| Top, Suhair Atassi, Hollande, Khatib and Fabius. Right is Monzer Makhous |
Syrian Coalition names Alawite as ambassador to
France after talks with Hollande
Dissident Syrian Alawite scientist Monzer Makhous was
designated today to take on the role of ambassador to France.
The move came after French President
Francois Hollande told reporters following his Saturday meeting with the head
of the Syrian National Coalition Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib: “There will be a Syrian
ambassador in France who will be appointed by the president of the coalition.”
Hollande
invited Khatib for talks at the Elysée
Palace after France became the first Western power to recognize the group as “the
sole representative of the Syrian people.”
Following
is Hollande’s full statement after his meeting with the Khatib-led National
Coalition delegation:
“I
received this morning Mr. Moaz al-Khatib, President of the Syrian National
Coalition, which for us is the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian
people. We discussed the manner in which this Coalition will get organized to
ensure not only its legitimacy but also its credibility.
“The
Coalition president confirmed to us that there is not only the resolve to bring
together all components of the Syrian people -- which was already well underway
-- but also to set up a centralized, Cairo-based organization to channel all
the humanitarian assistance the Syrians expect.
“There
will also be an integrated military command so that the Syrians themselves can secure
the liberation of their territory in a coherent way.
“France
recalled its eagerness for a swift solution – a solution starting with a
political transition. This is why we have taken -- I took -- the decision to
recognize the Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
I even added an appendix – namely, that there will be an ambassador of Syria to
France to be designated by the Coalition president.
“I
also directed Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, starting with Monday’s meeting
of the European Union foreign ministers, to keep lobbying so that the
recognition France has already made be followed by declarations in the same
vein from other European countries and the EU.
“Remains
the question of the arms embargo. I won’t overlook the importance of this issue,
which is [to reconcile] the Syrians’ need for military resources with the
international community’s quest for controls. Accordingly, this discussion will
likewise take place within the European Union, where the foreign ministers can
make the best arrangements.
“Lastly,
France will continue to provide direct humanitarian aid, particularly to the
liberated areas, in close collaboration with the Syrian National Coalition.
“It
was very important to have had this contact today to simultaneously demonstrate
our confidence in Syria’s future government and mobilize our efforts so that this
situation, which has lasted too long, can come to an end, a democratic end.
“I
made sure all Syria’s components are represented. Here gain, the Coalition president
gave me all the pledges, particularly the presence of Christians and Alawites
in the future configuration of democratic Syria.
“I
thank him for coming and I promise him France’s total support for a paramount
cause, the cause of liberty."
Khatib
later said Monzer Makhous would take on the role of ambassador to France.
Makhous earlier served as
coordinator of external relations in Western Europe for the Syrian National
Council, which is now part of the newly formed National Coalition of Syrian
Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
Makhous’ Carnegie profile
shows he is a member of the National Bloc, one of the founding coalitions
within the SNC, and a member of the Committee of March 15 for Democratic
Change, formed in May 2011. He is also a representative of the Alawite
opposition abroad.
Born
in Latakia in 1946, Makhous has an engineering degree and an M.Sc. in
geochemistry (1969), a Ph.D. in geochemistry and mineral resources (1974), and
a doctor of science degree in petroleum production (1993) from Moscow State
University.
He
has been involved in geochemical research since 1969, first in the Middle East
then in the Sahel, and has been teaching at the University of Pierre and Marie
Curie in Paris since the 1990s.
“The
fact Alawites have never been able to voice their anger at the regime is not
because they supported it but because they have been suppressed for more than
40 years,” Makhous told Alarabiya TV’s “Point of Order” program last December.
“The Syrian regime has
always given the impression it protects minorities, like Alawites and
Christians, and that its ouster would lead to their extermination at the hands
of fundamentalists…
“The majority of the
Syrian people managed to rise above sectarian differences and realized the best
protection for minorities is the establishment of a pluralistic, democratic
regime based on the principles of citizenship and equality before the law,” he
said.
