21 May 2013
BEIRUT: The Tlass brothers have re-emerged on the Syrian opposition scene with a new transition initiative from one and a possible nomination for a defense role in a proposed Syria conference, touted as “Geneva 2” for the other.
Businessman Firas, who has been based in Dubai since 2012, and his younger brother Manaf are the sons of Mustafa Tlass, a former long-serving defense minister. Manaf, who was a brigadier general in the Syrian army and a close friend of Syrian President Bashar Assad, left Syria last year amid rumors of a defection.
This week, Firas Tlass launched a new initiative to end the crisis in Syria based on the formation of a new constitution and transitional government, as reported by Al-Hayat, a London-based Saudi newspaper.
The initiative centers around the holding of local council elections to form a National Parliamentary Council tasked with drafting a new constitution to lead the country to presidential and parliamentary elections within a 15-month time frame.
The initiative comes ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting in Jordan for the “Friends of Syria” group of countries opposing Assad that will include U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, along with his counterparts from the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Turkey, among others. The meeting is designed to prepare for a landmark conference proposed in a rare agreement from rival backers in the Syria conference, Russia and the U.S., for a peace summit. Its aim would be to form a transitional government in the country based on negotiations with the regime for a political solution to the crisis.
The conference is in doubt due to disagreement over whether Assad could take part in any transition, and who from the divided opposition would participate in such talks. Most of the external opposition and those who support the militarized rebel movement are deeply set against any role for Assad. The president himself told an Argentinian newspaper this week he would not step down and would not negotiate with “terrorists,” his term for the Western- and Arab-backed armed opposition.
Amid discussions leading up to the Jordan meeting, sources close to the military and political opposition have told The Daily Star both Tlass brothers are in Jordan and discussions are underway for a possible role for Manaf to represent the military side in proposed talks.
The sources said the younger Tlass was being considered as a potential bridge between opposing sides who could represent the militarized groups, acceptable to Russia, the U.S. and Syrian “fence-sitters” who oppose the regime but reject violence and the external opposition.
But other military sources said there were doubts about Manaf’s legitimacy, given his closeness to the regime.
“They are trying to have a role, but most people still consider them the sons of Mustafa Tlass. They are the sons of this regime,” one of the sources said.
Copyright The Daily Star 2013.
