Assad critics meet in Syria

NEARLY 200 critics of President Bashar Assad met yesterday in the Syrian capital for the first time during the three-month uprising against his rule, in a government-sanctioned gathering some activists complained would be exploited to give legitimacy to the regime.

Participants, including highly prominent critics such as lawyer Anwar al-Bunni and writer Michel Kilo, both pro-democracy activists who spent years as political prisoners said that although the meeting was approved by authorities, it wouldn’t include government representatives. They said their aim was to discuss strategies for a peaceful transition to democracy.

But some opposition figures and activists, both inside Syria and abroad, dismissed the meeting of 190 critics.

“This meeting will be exploited as a cover-up for the arrests, brutal killings and torture that is taking place on a daily basis,” said Walid al-Bunni, who was not invited because authorities “vetoed” some names.

An activists’ group, the Coordination Union of the Syrian Revolt, also denounced the conference as a “cheap ploy” that the government wants to exploit.

The divisions highlight the fractured nature of the Syrian opposition, which has long been silenced, imprisoned or exiled by Assad’s regime.

Whether the meeting might produce partners for president Assad’s proposed “national dialogue” remains to be seen.