Though the Geneva II talks ended without any progress in the resolution of Syrian crisis but it gave a hope to the world and especially the people of Syria that at last, some feasible steps were taken for the resolution of the problem that has left more than 130 thousand Syrians dead and forced millions to take refuge in the neighboring countries. These talks were held as the second edition of Geneva I talks that were held in June 2012 but it took 18 months for world powers to decide upon a crucial meeting and this gap exacerbated the situation in the region. Talks were held in a town near Geneva by the name of Montreux. In these talks, foreign ministers of US, Russia, Britain, and many other countries participated while a delegation of Syrian government was also invited. The Western-backed Syrian opposition coalition was represented by SNC (Syrian National Council), headed by its president Ahmad Jarba.
Talks were chaired by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, who had also invited Iran for the talks but later on, the invitation to the Iranian delegation was taken back due to the pressure from US and threats of boycott from the Syrian Opposition Coalition. However, Iranian president termed these talks to be ‘meaningless and unsuccessful’ before it had started, mentioning that the important stakeholders were not invited in the meeting. On the other hand, almost all the militant groups fighting against the government of Bashar Al Assad had refused to take part in these talks, terming them to be ‘meaningless’.
Talks were aimed for the one-to-one meeting of warring factions in Syria, i.e., Syrian government and opposition so that they should come up with a mutually agreed upon resolution to the war that is getting complicated and violent with every passing day. In the beginning, rebels were successful to push the Assad’s forces into Damascus while later on, Assad’s forces were assisted by Hezbollah of Iran that changed the scenario and now the war seems to have completely got into a lockdown. Last few months witnessed the increasing triumph of Assad’s forces while lot many Al-Qaeda extremists also headed to Syria from different Arab countries for ‘Jihad’ which added to the complexity of the situation. Latest news coming from Syria are even more frightening that Al-Qaeda related militants have gained more power and autonomy in the country and now they have gone out of the control of any power. There are also reports of clashes and fighting between these militant groups and also of attack of these groups on the rebels or Syrian opposition. It is feared that if these powers came into power, there would be even more anarchy and chaos in the country and formation of a united government would be even more difficult.
At the same time, it is also a matter of grave concern that these militant groups are involved in mass human rights violations like murder, rape, looting and others inside the country and their increasing influence has produced great concern for the western powers, which in the beginning encouraged them to enter Syria from different parts of the world. Large number of extremists from some European countries also headed to Syria for so-called ‘Jihad’ and it is feared that these extremists might instigate terrorism and extremism when they will return to their homelands. On the other hand, neighboring countries also fear of the spread of terrorism and extremism inside their own borders. All these have destabilized the whole region and the Middle East seems more unstable than it was ever before. On the other hand, increasing sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia sects inside Syria may stretch its perilous impacts on other countries of the nation. Increasing sectarian violence and extremism in Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and other countries seems to have very close link with the war in Syria where both the sides are fighting on the name of sectarian beliefs and differences.
The talks in Geneva more looked like a war of words between the two Syrian sides. Assad’s foreign minister, Walid Muallem heated up the meeting by saying that, ‘No one can grant or withdraw the legitimacy of the president, other than the Syrians themselves. This is their right and duty’. He also severely criticized the rebels for their terror acts and also the West for their assistance, ‘the West claims to fight terrorism, but it secretly feeds terrorism’. Regarding rebels, he came up with the following words, ‘In Syria, the wombs of pregnant women are cut open, the fetuses killed, women are raped, dead or alive, men are slaughtered in front of their children in the name of revolution’.
Inside the conference, Muallem argued with Ban when the UN chief requested he keep his speech within the prescribed time limit. ‘You live in New York. I live in Syria,’ Muallem retorted. ‘I have the right to give the Syrian vision here in this forum.’ He also launched a furious attack on the opposition. ‘If you want to speak in the name of Syrian people, you should not be traitors or agents in the pay of enemies of the Syrian people, ‘he said.
On the other hand, Ahmad Jarba, president of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, condemned the violence Assad had unleashed from the moment protests began in March 2011 and accused him of employing ‘international mercenaries’ such as Hezbollah as well as backing Al-Qaeda groups to divide and smear his enemies. ‘It is we who are engaged in a struggle against terrorism,’ Jarba said. ‘The revolution is facing Assad’s terrorism and the terrorism he has brought into Syria.’
Outside the hotel, supporters of Bashar Al Assad and Opposition groups had held placards and chanted slogans. There was also a group that shouted in favor of peace and relief for the people of Syria.
These talks were intended to launch a ‘peace process’ in which the Syrian government and the opposition negotiate the creation of a transitional governing body by ‘mutual consent’ but both the parties did not agree upon any such setup. Syrian opposition was not in favor of any kind of role of Bashar Al Assad in the future setup of Syria while the Syrian government’s team was not ready to sideline Assad. Anyhow, it is clear that both the sides will have to show some leniency and come up with an agreement in which both the parties should agree on some points. This seems to be the only feasible solution for this problem.
Both the parties also met in a face to face meeting in the same room but the round soon ended as both the sides were too much angry and impatient and the language used against each other was not according to the political standards.
Ignoring the results of these talks, it is necessary that both the sides should agree upon some immediate issues of human suffering. There are large number of people who have got stuck in the war zones between the sides and they are facing the perilous shortage of water, food, medicine and other necessary items. Both the sides must agree to let these people come out of the area or let the humanitarian aids flow in there.
Geneva II talks gave further hope for similar talks in future and the world waits for good news about the settlement of this most bloody event of Middle East in a number of centuries.