Plan takes shape for Syria opposition overhaul

Details emerged yesterday of plans to reshape Syria's opposition into a representative government-in-exile, on the eve of key talks between regime opponents.
The talks starting Sunday in the Qatari capital Doha come amid US criticism of the main exiled opposition group, the Syrian National Council (SNC), which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said this week was not representative.
Reports have emerged that Washington is pressing for an overhaul of the opposition, with long-time dissident Riad Seif touted as the potential head of a new government-in-exile dubbed the Syrian National Initiative.
Seif and about two dozen other leading opposition figures gathered in Jordan's capital Amman this week and came up with proposals for a new body to represent the disparate groups opposing President Bashar al-Assad.
Among those in attendance were some SNC members, former premier Riad Hijab, who defected in August, Ali Sadreddin Bayanuni of the Muslim Brotherhood and Kurdish and tribal representatives, participants said.
In a statement Saturday, participants sought to quell concerns the overhaul is aimed at building an opposition that would be willing to negotiate with Assad.
"Assad and his entourage leaving power is a non-negotiable precondition for any dialogue aimed at finding a non-military solution, if that is still possible," the statement said.
The Amman meeting also came out in support of "efforts underway to put in place a unified political body for the whole of the opposition," according to the statement.
It examined "the means to unify the opposition in a way worthy of the sacrifices on the ground and to secure the international, regional and Arab support needed to overthrow the regime."
The group backed the rebel "Free Syrian Army and the movements behind the revolution on the ground as legitimate means to topple the criminal regime."