« SYRIA PRESS REVIEW » #24

Unbridgeable chasm between Islamist and secular opposition

The international press devotes little space to Syria. This voltage drop suggests a possible flagging of NATO’s ambitions in the country.

Indeed, the main news story of the day is the collapse of the Cairo agreement between Islamist and secular factions of the pro-Western opposition, the Syrian National Council (showcase of the Muslim Brotherhood) and the Committee of Forces for Democratic Change. According to the press, the discord revolves around the recourse to foreign intervention. However sources close to the Committee assure that the agreement was rejected by the Council because it included the term "human rights," which the Islamists refuse to employ.

• The Washington Times discloses that, according to Mohammed Farouk Tayfour, leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, the Supreme Guide of the Iranian Revolution Ali Khamenei had sent three emissaries in October to negotiate with the Brotherhood in Istanbul. Three meetings supposedly took place in the presence of a Turkish broker independent from the government. Iran would have volunteered to persuade President al-Assad to share power and to offer four key ministerial portfolios in exchange for their support. The Brotherhood refused.

• The Jerusalem Post reports that the President of Liberal International, Hans van Baalen, met at length with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convince him to establish ties with the Syrian rebels.

• The Philippines newspapers headline the press conference of Foreign Minister, Albert del Rosario. Despite his Ministry’s best efforts, the 17,000 Filipino workers who have emigrated to Syria refuse to go back home. The minister mentioned the attractiveness of jobs abroad, notwithstanding the security situation.