The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) has elected a Kurdish activist as its new president. Abdelbaset Sayda was chosen to replace Burhan Ghalioun, who has held the post since the group was established last September, at a meeting in Istanbul. Mr Sayda, who lives in exile in Sweden, told Reuters he wanted to reform and restructure the council. Since its inception, the SNC has been plagued by divisions and complaints from activists that it is ineffectual.
There have also been accusations that the Council, which is an umbrella organisation for opposition groups, is dominated by Islamists and not inclusive enough. Paris-based academic Mr Ghalioun stepped down last month after mounting criticism of his leadership, particularly that he has failed to build stronger ties with activists inside Syria. Some hope that Mr Sayda, 56, could attract more Kurds and other Syrian minority groups to join forces with the council.
The new leader told AFP that he believed President Bashar al-Assad's regime was on its "last legs". "The multiplying massacres and shellings show that it is struggling," he said.
Reforms demanded
He has been given one month to convene another conference where the 300 or so members can sit down and agree to changes to the structure of the SNC.
The BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul says that as the Council thrashes out reforms at that meeting, they may well choose to elect another new leader.
Speaking at a news conference in Istanbul after the vote, outgoing president Burhan Ghalioun took the opportunity to urge Russia to change its stance on the Syria situation.
"They need to assert in a clear manner that Bashar al-Assad must go, so that the door to a political resolution can be opened.
"If the Russians are not yet convinced of the need for Mr Assad's departure, it means they have not yet found the way to realise the hopes of our people," he said. Mr Ghalioun was reacting to comments made by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, who said Russia will continue to oppose attempts by the UN Security Council to sanction military intervention in Syria. Speaking at the foreign ministry in Moscow, Mr Lavrov said that the issue of foreign intervention in Syria was being posed in a "radical and quite emotional way". He said foreign powers were encouraging the armed opposition to hope that "the Libyan scenario" could be repeated. "All this is a dangerous game," he said.
'No alternative' to Annan plan
As efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis continued, activists in Syria said more than 80 civilians had been killed by pro-government forces on Saturday. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they included about 20 killed in the flashpoint southern town of Deraa. The figures cannot be independently verified. Both Russia and China have opposed UN Security Council resolutions condemning the Syrian government for continuing violence.
Mr Lavrov acknowledged that Mr Annan's six-point peace plan had begun to "seriously falter" but said Russia saw "no alternative". He said that Moscow - which has resisted US-led calls for Mr Assad to stand down - was not opposed to his departure, but only against it being imposed on Syria from outside. "If the Syrians agree (to Mr Assad's departure) we will only be happy to support such a solution," Mr Lavrov said.
He also pressed Moscow's idea of an international conference on Syria that would include Iran - an ally of Damascus. "To say that Iran doesn't have a place because it is already to blame for everything and it's part of the problem... this is thoughtless to say the least from the point of view of serious diplomacy," he said.
The US has accused Tehran of arming Syrian government forces.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18384287
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filip ... new-leader
