Washington, DC — Leaders from 114 countries and organizations gathered in Marrakech, Morocco Wednesday for a summit of the "Friends of Syria" alliance and officially recognized the newly formed Syrian opposition coalition as the "legitimate representative" of the Syrian people.
World leaders including Morocco's King Mohammed VI, US President Barack Obama, and French President François Hollande have now joined the global alliance in calling for a speedy transfer of power to end the violence in Syria that has taken more than 42,000 lives and caused thousands to flee to neighboring countries.
In his address, King Mohammed urged members of the UN Security Council, over which Morocco currently presides, to adopt "a unified, resolute stance as quickly as possible to spare the Syrian people further tragedy and suffering, and to support the transfer of power in Syria for the establishment of a democratic, multi-party system."
King Mohammed applauded "the dynamism of the Syrian opposition for unifying the full spectrum of political opinion, at home and abroad," which he said "culminated in the Doha Declaration on the establishment of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, headed by Sheikh Moaz al-Khatib."
"This is a major political achievement for the Syrian opposition, which gives it legitimacy in the transition period," as it works to fulfill the hopes of the Syrian people in building a democratic Syrian state, said King Mohammed. He added that this should also facilitate efforts by the international community "to provide support to the coalition in a collective, efficient and orderly manner, according to each one's capabilities and competencies."
Earlier this fall, King Mohammed ordered the setting up a Moroccan field hospital at the Zaatari camp in Jordan - which he visited in October - that has aided more than 40,000 Syrian refugees. As part of a broad international humanitarian aid effort, Morocco has also sent 2,000 winterized tents, tons of foodstuff, medicine, and blankets to benefit the refugees in both Jordan and Turkey.
Full text of King Mohammed VI remarks to the 4th ministerial meeting of the "Friends of Syria"
Key findings/conclusions of the "Friends of Syria" meeting in Marrakech
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I don't know where King Mohammed finds legitimacy in a group of non-combatant Syrians, vetted, groomed, and selected by colonial powers to steal the revolution from those who have won it in the battlefield. It is a predatory move, and it is akin to a leopard or a hyena catching a prey, and then the lions move in and take it away for themselves. I take it that Mohammed's speech was written by his government and he just read it, or he was forced by diplomatic protocol to praise the group - even though he doubts the group's legitimacy. I don't know how the U.S. claim to have the support of 140 states or organizations for the group, when the U.S. mastered only 9 votes at the U.N. General Assembly against the Palestinian statehood. The late U.S. senator Edward Kennedy dismissed similar U.S. claims of having wide global support in the past by calling small countries that the U.S. forces to follow the U.S. policy as "The (US) coalition of the 'arm twisted and the unwilling'!" In every revolution, the rebels shall form the new government - not "stooges" selected by colonial powers! Nikos Retsos, retired professor