By Mohamed Sheikh Yusuf, Mohamad Misto and Adham Kako
ISTANBUL
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Riad Seif, the newly-elected head of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, stressed his intention to make the coalition “more inclusive” and establish a better relationship with the Syrian public.
According to Seif, the coalition’s internal structure and guidelines -- which, as they currently stand, hinder new members from getting involved, he said -- are in urgent need of reform.
"It is difficult to expel coalition members who don’t contribute, so reform is inevitable," he said. "We [coalition members] must also discuss other important issues, such as accounting and auditing."
"Further, we must strengthen and improve our relations with local councils and revolutionary organizations [in Syria]," he added.
Seif went on to describe the coalition as "the only political institution that deserves to represent the Syrian people in the international arena; therefore, it must be allowed to expand".
He also urged other Syrian organizations, parties and groups to join the coalition, in which he believes NGOs, youth and women should play a more active role.
Emphasizing that coalition officials hoped to develop viable means of working with countries friendly to Syria, Seif pointed out that the UN was providing a great deal of aid to the country, but that most of this aid was going to regime forces.
"We want to get what was promised to us by establishing our own institutions,” he said. “We, as the coalition, want to be the only channel for aid coming in to Syria.”
"Local councils [in Syria] should be directly linked to the transitional government and should work under its umbrella,” he asserted. “What’s more, the transitional government should provide salaries for local government employees."
Negotiations committee
As for the coalition’s relationship with Syria’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC), Seif said both bodies should adopt a more “participative approach”.
"Our plan for the upcoming year is to build stronger and friendlier relations with the armed opposition,” he continued. “We want armed opposition groups to be represented in the coalition.”
Seif went on to stress that the HNC had a “specific and limited” responsibility, which, he said, was to “conduct negotiations”.
"There is no conflict between the coalition and the HNC,” he said. “Nine coalition representatives are currently members in the HNC.”
Seif was also quick to point out that the budgets of both the coalition and the Syrian transitional government were “very limited”.
"We remain underbudget,” he said. “The coalition has yet to fulfill its objectives in liberated regions [of Syria], which has led to a lack of authority."
Liberated areas, he went on, “have not been provided with sufficient public services, including education, health and general community support. So we’re trying to fill that gap”.
Public trust
Seif also lamented the coalition’s poor image among certain sectors of the Syrian public.
"Transparency in our communications with the public hasn't been achieved fully,” he said. “There have been some misperceptions [regarding the coalition’s activities] among the public.”
"There have been rumors that the coalition receives large amounts of money, leading to accusations that it is inadequate to distribute this aid fairly," Seif asserted.
He added: "We attribute these misperceptions to a lack of transparency; but we’re working on this."
Seif believes that, once the coalition gains the trust of the Syrian people and persuades them that they are being fairly represented, the popular will will emerge.
"We will empower the people by uniting them, safeguarding their rights and conveying their will to the international community," he said.
He went on to declare that Bashar al-Assad had “no place” in Syria’s future, stressing that this was a “red line” for all Syrian opposition groups.
"The Geneva Declaration and UN Security Council resolutions clearly state that there will be a ‘fully competent authority’ during Syria’s political transition,” he said. “We will not make any concessions; we only care about political transition."
On Saturday, Seif was elected president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
Born in 1946 in Damascus, Seif worked as a businessman until 1994, when he entered politics. In 2001, he was arrested by the Syrian authorities and sentenced to five years in jail.
After being elected secretary-general of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration, which was signed by 167 opposition figures, Seif was again arrested by the Assad regime and remained behind bars until 2010.
He later took part in the anti-regime protests that erupted in Syria in March 2011, eventually leaving the country -- fearing assassination -- three months later.
Seif was later involved in the coalition’s establishment and served as its first vice-president. He also remains an active member of the HNC.
*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara
