British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Syrian new opposition bloc is the sole representative of the Syrian people. (Reuters)
By AFP
Beirut
Syria’s opposition coalition on Monday named a human rights activist as its “ambassador” in London, it said in a statement posted online, the second such appointment by the newly formed coalition.
“The coalition of the opposition announces the nomination of the president of the Syrian Commission for Human Rights, Walid Safur, as ambassador to London. He is the second ambassador of the Syrian revolution,” the National Coalition said on its Facebook page.
Originally from the central city of Homs, the 62-year-old former teacher set up the SCHR in 1986 and was imprisoned several times, before moving to London, where he represented the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Syria’s opposition coalition was formed on November 11, amid much fanfare in the Qatari capital Doha.
Last week, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced that London recognized the coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people, joining France and Turkey in doing so.
He invited the group, set up in a bid to unify Syria’s fragmented opposition, to appoint a political representative to Britain, after a similar move by France.
The coalition has failed to win universal backing because of doubts about whether it is genuinely representative of all sections of Syrian society.
