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| SNA deputy leader Suhair Atassi |
Key members of the Syrian National Coalition (SNA) --
including deputy leader Suhair
Atassi -- have suspended their membership of the opposition umbrella group,
a day after the election of Ghassan Hitto as opposition prime minister (see yesterday's post).
Joining Atassi in the protest move are prominent
activists and opposition campaigners Dr. Walid al-Bunni and Kamal
al-Labwani.
Bunni and Labwani walked out of the SNA meeting in
Istanbul prior to Hitto’s election by 35 votes of 48 ballots cast.
Atassi, who is SNA leader Moaz al-Khatib’s deputy, wrote on her Facebook page
a while ago: “I am the one who insisted on having a clause in the bylaws
banning any SNA member from assuming a position in the interim government. Let
it be known I was asked to resign from the SNA to be part of the government and
I refused. I said we couldn’t just flout the rules we set… The revolution
deserves better than this…”
She was saying Hitto is within, not outwith, the SNA,
which broke the rule.
Al Mayadeen TV, which speaks for the axis of Iran, the Syrian regime
and Hezbollah, quoted Dr. Bunni as saying, “Hitto was not elected but appointed
to head the interim government.”
AFP later quoted Dr. Bunni as saying, "We Coalition members
weren't elected to represent the Syrians. So the only persons Hitto represents are
the 35 Coalition members who voted for him. This government is a gift to Bashar
al-Assad's regime.
"The key issue is the timing and way in
which the voting took place. The Coalition pushed for a majority in a group that
was not elected.
"Each of us had different reasons for
freezing our membership. We will release a statement that represents us all in
the coming days.”
Speculation is rife that other SNA members
might follow in Atassi, Bunni and Labwani’s suit.
