The great risk of legitimizing the Syrian opposition

TEHRAN,Nov.28(MNA)--The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council’s recognition of the Syrian opposition and the subsequent endorsement of the decision by the Arab League and some Western governments run contrary to all accepted international laws. During their recent meeting in Doha, the six Arab states of the Persian Gulf officially recognized a coalition of Syrian opposition groups as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. In the meeting, Sheikh Ahmad Maaz Al-Khatib was named president of the coalition and was charged with supervising and coordinating opposition parties. According to international law, governments are free to recognize new international entities, but this freedom is also subject to some restrictions. For example, governments cannot recognize rebel groups as long as they have no definable territory and no distinct leadership. Flouting these restrictions could result in serious risks for governments and may threaten international security and global stability. After more than 20 months of fighting the government, the rebels have yet to claim a single piece of Syrian territory, and Arab governments’ recognition of the rebels is a flagrant violation of international law. However, the move has provided the Syrian rebels a great opportunity to raise their profile in the international arena and attract more support, especially from Western governments. The smaller and less powerful countries will probably also follow suit and recognize the rebels, and this will create more problems for other sovereign states since insurgents and rebels in other countries will also become motivated to gain international recognition. They may also acquire representation at international organizations like the United Nations, which runs contrary to the fundamental philosophy of the body and clearly violates all international conventions. Western and Arab governments are only funding and supporting the opposition for one reason, namely to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. However, 20 months of bloodshed have only had one consequence -- destruction and misery for the Syrian people. And the illegitimate recognition of the opposition by Arab states and their Western allies only makes the prospects for peace in Syria all the more grim. Samad Ghaempanah is a political analyst and expert on Middle Eastern and African studies based in Tehran. (By Samad Ghaempanah)