DOHA: Syria should have an 18 month transition period to establish “a safe, neutral, and quiet environment” for free elections, Hadi Al-Bahra, the head of Syria’s main opposition abroad, said to Reuters on the sidelines of the Doha Forum on Sunday.
In a seismic moment for the Middle East, Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Sunday, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war, ending his family’s decades-long rule.
The lightning offensive sparked concerns in Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability, as well as questions over whether the rebels will be able to ensure an orderly transition.
Al-Bahra, President of the Syrian National Coalition, said Syria should draft a constitution within six months, on which the first election would be a referendum.
“The constitution will say, are we going to have a parliamentary system, presidential system, or mixed system? And based on this, we do the election and the people choose their leader,” said Al-Bahra.
He added that the opposition had asked state employees to continue to report to work until the power transition, and assured them that they would not be harmed.
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Assad’s swift toppling followed a shift in the balance of power in the Middle East after many leaders of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, a lynchpin of Assad’s battlefield force, were killed by Israel over the past two months. Russia, Assad’s other key ally, has been focused on the war in Ukraine.
“It was like a domino effect. So it was clear that (Assad) decided to leave. I felt relief, but also a little sad. He should be held accountable for all the crimes that he did,” Al-Bahra said.
Meanwhile, Syrian rebels entered the residence of the Italian ambassador in Damascus on Sunday, but did not harm him or his security staff, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, calling for a peaceful transfer of power in the country.
The Islamist fighters, who declared President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster after seizing control of the capital on Sunday, were looking for pro-Assad troops or relevant documents, and left after firing a few shots against a wall, Tajani told a press conference.
“This morning an armed group entered the garden of the ambassador’s residence. They took away only three cars and that was it. Neither the ambassador nor the Carabinieri (embassy police) were harmed,” Tajani said.
“We are calling for a peaceful handover between the fallen regime and the new reality, so for a peaceful rather than military transition. It seems to me that at the moment things are going in this direction,” he added.
There are about 300 Italian citizens in Syria, Tajani’s office said.
The minister said his government was ready to help them leave the country, but apart from a group of 15 who crossed into Lebanon overnight, there are currently no other evacuation requests.