Syrian opposition ready to lead

DAMASCUS, Syria, July 29 (UPI) -- The Syrian opposition has entered a new phase of organization with the goal of taking on a leadership position once the regime collapses, an activist said.

High-ranking officials in the U.S. State Department told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that despite the repressive tactics used by Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Syrian opposition is starting to articulate an agenda for Syria's future.

"President Assad can delay or obstruct it but he cannot, however, stop it," they testified.

Najib Ghadbian, a member of the so-called Syrian Opposition Consultative Council, told London's pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat the anti-regime movement was preparing to take over the country following the collapse of Assad's regime.

Assad's government recently passed measures that allow opposition groups to organize into political parties. The reforms come as Syrian security forces continue their assault on pro-reform demonstrators, leading Washington to question Assad's regime.

"The opposition is seeking to show the world's leaders that there is an alternative to the Assad regime that is capable of filling the vacuum in the forthcoming stage," Ghadbian was quoted as saying.

Syrian security forces fired on anti-government groups protesting in Homs, killing at least one person and injuring several others Friday, CNN reports, citing the Arabic-language Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/07/29/Syrian-opposition-ready-to-lead/UPI-73261311948722/.