Syria Video Discussion: The Divisions In the Opposition (Al Jazeera English)

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A discussion on Al Jazeera English's Inside Syria of the state of the opposition....

After the initial set-up of last week's recognition by the Arab League of the opposition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, the programme gets to the core issue of what exactly that opposition is --- amid the resignation of Moaz al-Khatab as head of the Syrian National Coalition, the tension over the Coalition's election of Ghassam Hitto as Prime Minister-designate, the Free Syrian Army's criticism of the Coalition and the Muslim Brotherhood, and the wider question of the relationship between opposition inside and outside Syria.

Amr al-Azm, a US-based professor, sets the challenge early on: "Decisions [on the ground] have already been made and are being carried out, irrespective of whether this opposition forms a government or not."

The other panellists are Najib Ghadbian, a representative of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces in the UN, and Robin Yassin-Kassab, a novelist and commentator.

Syria Snapshot: Inside and Outside Hama (Yassin-Kassab)

For days Syrian security forces stayed out of Hama; not even traffic police were seen in the city. During these days, no armed gangs emerged from the shadows to terrorise and loot. Christians and Alawis were not rounded up and shot. Nobody was whipped for wearing an un-Islamic haircut. All that happened was day and night demonstrations against the regime swelled into crowds of hundreds of thousands --- men and women, adults and children.

Perhaps the security forces stayed out of the city on the request of Hama’s governor, and perhaps that’s why he was sacked. Now security forces have entered the city and brought plenty of insecurity in their wake.

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