Syrian Transitional Gov't to Have No Real Power If Assad Stays - Opposition

The Syrian transitional government will not have real power if Syrian President Bashar Assad remains president, a spokesman for Syria’s Tomorrow, a liberal opposition faction, said.

CAIRO (Sputnik) — On April 21, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi told Sputnik in an interview that a national unity government should be formed in the country with the participation of the current authorities, national opposition and independent politicians to work on the draft of the new Syrian constitution.

"Since the Baath [party] came to power, there are no true ministries, real administration and parliament in Syria. The right to make decisions is in the hands of the security services, secret police and intelligence agencies. This situation in the governance in Syria is a total totalitarianism. If they propose us any structure where Assad remains president, such a structure will not have any powers and a real role," Monzer Akbik told RIA Novosti.

He added that the transitional government would not be a step forward in the political transition.

Syria’s Tomorrow emerged in March in a new bid to unite liberal opposition forces under one umbrella organization. It is headed by Ahmad Jarba, the former chief of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, better known as the Syrian National Coalition (SNC).

Political transition in Syria and cessation of hostilities in the country will contribute to more effective struggle against terrorism and extremism, Monzer Akbik said.

"We need transformations to unite the Syrians in the struggle against extremists. If such consolidation does not happen and the war does not stop, we will not be able to effectively fight against extremism, which has infiltrated our territory, because of anarchy, and defeat it, particularly Daesh and al-Qaeda groups."

He added that extremists would do their best to hinder political settlement in Syria because the ongoing violence played into the radical groups' hands.