Weekly Panorama: No point of continuing "SCC", Turkey follows same practice in Libya

Over the past week, Arab newspapers handled the failure of the so-called Syrian CC, in addition to the relationship between the Biden administration and Turkey, and the Libyan situation as well.

'Failures of the CC foster suspicions about the viability of its continuation'

To start with the Syrian issue, and in this context Al-Arab newspaper said: “Five rounds of the CC’s work have passed in Syria over 15 months, without any significant breakthrough, amid growing doubts about the viability of its continuation, except for wasting more time on a treadmill. "

The United Nations envoy to Syria, Geir Pederson, who had always been armed with positivity over the past rounds, went also desperate. At the end of the fifth round last Friday, he was hugely disappointed at the failure over and over, saying, "We cannot continue like this."

This sense of failure and hopelessness was mirrored in a crisis among the (opposition) delegation, whose member Awad Al-Ali recently announced his resignation, describing the ongoing negotiating process on the constitution as absurd.

Al-Ali said in a video recording that "the negotiation process, in which Geneva hosted its fifth round, is useless except that we entertain the notion that there is a political process and the interacting regime with it, but it's actually the opposite."

Activists and opponents of al-Assad believe that the failure to make any progress in the ongoing negotiations on the constitution, the international community shares part of the responsibility for it, due to a marked decline in its interest in the Syrian issue in general, but the opposition shares a large part of responsibility, whose performance has been featured some degree of "Political adolescence", and deviated from the basic constants and turned into a hostage to the agendas of the its backed forces.

They point out that the today's (opposition) always tries to suspend the failure of the "regime" to reach a political solution, but it overlooks the actual inability to impose itself, and the "Syrian regime" certainly exploits this situation for its favor.

In this regard, Mahmoud al-Hamza, Moscow-based Syrian dissident, says to “Al-Arab” that the CC has no prospects, and it was mainly a Russian idea sponsored by the United Nations, the United States and the international community to circumvent the Geneva decisions that require finding a political solution in Syria, because the country's problem is political par excellence.

Al-Hamza adds that having a new constitution should be forgone conclusion of the establishment of a transitional governing body, as stipulated in the Geneva 1 agreement in 2012, but it is clear that they wanted to circumvent the important and basic requirements that achieve a sustainable political solution and get out of this crisis in Syria through the CC.

The Syrian opposition points out that the more than a year-old committee under formation, established by foreign countries and not Syrians, and it has been working for over year in sessions empty of any content.

Al-Hamza slammed the (opposition) acceptance of this path, saying that its position was "weak and miserable", and that it had to discover that this committee early that it was nothing but a play to procrastinate in time, and the biggest proof of this is that Bashar al-Assad, with Russian support, will hold presidential elections during a few months, without any constitution, to stay in power for another seven years.

'rocky start' for Turkey-Biden administration relationship '

Concerning US-Turkish relations, Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper said: “It seemed that Turkish relations with the new US administration had a terrible start, after Ankara accused Washington of the failed coup attempt in 2016, after a report by the US Treasury issued last month accusing Turkey of being a background base for raising money for ISIS. "

In statements, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu confirmed that Washington was behind the coup that Ankara attributed to the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, who had previously denied the accusations.

Soylu told a Turkish newspaper that the United States managed the coup attempt, while carried out by Gulen’s network. According to Reuters, which indicated that since the failed coup, Turkey has arrested about 292,000 people on suspicion of having ties to Gulen, and has fired or suspended more than 150,000 government employees.

The Turkish minister's accusations to Washington came days after a report by the US Treasury Department issued on January 4, which highlighted what he described as “logistical centers in Turkey” for the benefit of “ISIS”.

Aykan Erdemir, a former Turkish parliament member and chief researcher on Turkish affairs, said in a report by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington that Turkey had been, since 2014, “a major state exploited by ISIS to smuggle militants, weapons and money into Syria.”

Ankara is seeking to repair the strained relations with Washington, which imposed sanctions on Turkey last year for its purchase of Russian air defense systems, and also with the European Union, which threatens to take measures against Ankara over a dispute with Athens in the eastern Mediterranean.

'Turkey announces support for the solution in Libya ... and sends mercenaries'

Regarding the Turkish intervention in Libya, Al-Bayan newspaper said: “While the Turkish presidency announced its hope to end the era of conflict in Libya and form a transitional government as soon as possible, reports revealed that Ankara continues to supply and send mercenaries from the pro-Syrian factions to support the affiliated forces. For the "reconciliation" government in the face of the Libyan National Army. "

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that his country hopes to end the era of conflict and establish a new administration and a transitional government in Libya as soon as possible, and that it "will continue to support the Libyan talks and provide all forms of contributions to make progress in the political process led by the Libyans."

Meanwhile, reports revealed that Turkey was ready to send a new batch of Syrian mercenaries to Libya.

The American journalist, Lindsay Snell, confirmed what was previously mentioned by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, recently, that Turkey is preparing to transfer a new batch of Syrian mercenaries from the "Sultan Murad" division, the most pro-Ankara mercenary, to Libya, despite the cessation of the war under the ceasefire. Valid since 24 October.

(A)

ANHA