Free Syrian Army to continue fighting during Geneva peace talks : worldleaks

The leader of the Western-backed rebel Free Syrian Army has said that forces ordinated to him would not join the peace conference in Geneva in January. Gen Salim Idris, head of the FSA’s Supreme Military Council, told al-Jazeera that they would continue to try to topple President Bashar al-Assad. He warned Mr Assad would use the talks to buy time and continue to wage war.

Iran, which is closely allied to the Syrian government, meanwhile said it would attend if it was invited.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said his country would create an “important contribution to the resolution of the problem”. But Mr Zarif tried that there could be no preconditions.

The UN, US and Russia have been trying to carry the Syrian government and opposition to attend peace talks, the first in the 32-month conflict.

On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared that an international conference to discuss a political solution, known as “Geneva II”, would be convened on 22 January.

“The conflict in Syria has raged for too long. It would be unforgivable not to seize this opportunity to bring an end to the suffering and destruction it has caused,” he warned.

But in his interview with al-Jazeera on Tuesday, Gen Idris said: “Conditions are not suitable for running the Geneva II talks at the given date and we, as a military and revolutionary force, will not participate.”

“We will not stop combat at all during the Geneva conference or after it, and what concerns us is getting needed weapons for our fighters.”

Gen Idris said any opposition delegation would have to include “influential and significant figures from inside Syrian territory”, and that any agreement would have to meet several conditions.

The BBC’s Jim Muir in Beirut says assembling an opposition delegation that is credible and can deliver was one of the main obstacles holding up agreement on a date for the Geneva II talks for months.

General Idris’s statement pouring cold water on the conference makes it clear there is still a long way to go, our correspondent adds.

Many rebel brigades are loosely aligned to Gen Idris and the Supreme Military Council, but he is thought to have little operational control.

His influence has been decreased in recent months by powerful Islamist rebel groups who have formed their own alliances and are strongly against negotiations.

UN officials welcomed news of the talks and urged Syrians to “seize this opportunity”

Our correspondent says that puts the main opposition alliance, the National Coalition, in a difficult position.

It has said it will attend the talks, but it insists that President Assad and his associates must be absolutely omitted from the proposed transitional government and from the country’s political future.

Its other preconditions include a demand for the government to free all detainees, particularly women and children, and allow aid agencies to access rebel-held areas under siege. The government itself has always said it is ready for talks without preconditions.

Mr Ban said he expected representatives of both sides to come “with a clear understanding” that the goal of the talks was the full implementation of the Geneva Communique, issued after a meeting of the UN-backed Action Group for Syria in the Swiss city in June 2012.

It calls for an quick cessation of violence and the formation “on the basis of mutual consent” of a transitional government with full executive powers, including over military and security forces, that could include officials doing under Mr Assad and members of the opposition.

 

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Australia spying on its president confirmed, Indonesia calls back ambassador : worldleaks

Australian intelligence agencies have reportedly spied on the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and his close aides, prompting an angry Jakarta to recall its Ambassador to the country.

According to documents leaked by US whistleblower Edward Snowden and obtained by the ABC news and Guardian Australia, the country’s intelligence attempted to tap into Yudhoyono’s phone conversations at least on one occasion.

It was found through the documents the spy agencies also chased activity on his mobile phone for 15 days in August 2009. The latest disclosure has come after previous claims that the Australian embassy in Jakarta was involved in spying on Indonesia.

Angered  by the report, Indonesia today recalled its Ambassador to Australia.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the envoy was being called back to Jakarta for “consultations” after secret documents leaked by Snowden named the President as well as his wife and senior ministers as targets of the investigation.

“The Australian Government urgently needs to clarify on this news, to avoid further damage,” Indonesian presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah wrote on Twitter. “The damage has been done and now trust must be rebuilt.”

ABC said that the documents were sourced from Australia’s electronic intelligence agency, Defence Signals Directorate (now called the Australian Signals Directorate).

The DSD motto stamped on the bottom of each page reads: “Reveal their secrets, protect our own,” ABC said, adding the documents show that Australian intelligence agencies actively sought a long-term scheme to continue to monitor the President’s mobile phone activity.

The investigation targets also included senior figures in his inner circle and even the President’s wife Kristiani Herawati (also known as Ani Yudhoyono).

Others on the list of targets were Vice President Boediono, former vice president Yussuf Kalla, the foreign affairs spokesman, the security minister and the information minister.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has denied to comment when asked about the reports.

“All governments gather information and all governments know that every other government gathers information,” he said. “The Australian Government never comments on specific intelligence matters. This has been the long tradition of governments of both political opinions and I don’t intend to change that today. I should also say that the Australian Government uses all the resources at its disposal, including information to help our friends and our allies, not to harm them.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who is in New Delhi, said, “There are always challenges in any relationship. That is why they need constant nurturing and attention and that is why I keep in close communication with foreign minister Natalagawa [and] with president Yudhoyono.”

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