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.