CAIRO, October 17, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – While vehemently rejecting any form of foreign interference in their country's internal affairs, Syrian opposition parties have formed an alliance to introduce much-needed democratic changes to “save” the country.

The nascent Damascus Declaration for Democratic and National Change, which also got the thumbs up from leaders in exile of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, called for a radical shake-up in the country and refused cosmetic changes by the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.

After a brainstorming session in Damascus Sunday, October 16, the alliance said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by IslamOnline.net, that a democratic regime is the only way for real political reforms.

It mobilized the Syrian people and different political powers to immediately start a “change mission to save Syria” and change the country from a police to a democratic state.

“The change should be peaceful, gradual and based on harmony, dialogue and the acceptance of the other,” read the statement.

“We undoubtedly bless this move as it is a step forward and meets the aspirations of the Syrian people,” said Bayanuni.

Akram Al-Beni, an opposition journalist and political analyst, said the alliance has been formed as the country is really going through hard times and facing US attempts to isolate it in addition to a sluggish economy.

“We want political plurality,” he told IOL. “It is high time the Syrian regime listened to the other, stopped oppression and gave in to the people’s will.”

“We will not plead to the regime any more, but we will mobilize the people and raise their awareness following in the footsteps of the Egyptian opposition,” he said, referring to the Egyptian Kefaya movement and opposition parties, which started taking to the streets and breaking taboo subjects.

Egypt's main opposition parties and the Muslim Brotherhood formed on October 9 a unified coalition to run for the November parliamentary elections.

Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood has endorsed the new alliance, though it did not sign up to the declaration.

“We did not want to embarrass some parties and political powers, who has been engaged in marathon talks for months to reach this declaration since our group is still outlawed by the government,” Ali Sadrudin Al-Bayanuni, the London-based group’s head, told IOL.

“But we undoubtedly bless this move as it is a step forward and meets the aspirations of the Syrian people,” he added.

Syria outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood in 1980. The group put forward a reform program in December of last year, calling for writing a new constitution and introducing sweeping democratic reforms.

While the alliance lambasted the current “totalitarian” regime, it strongly rejected foreign intervention in the country.

“We are keen on keeping the territorial integrity of our country intact and fully aware of the status quo in the region and enormous pressures exerted on Damascus,” the statement said.

Syria has come under pressure after the February assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, whose murder brought about domestic and international outcry and led to the pullout of Syrian troops from Lebanon after nearly three decades.

The United States is further accusing Damascus of destabilizing Iraq by helping foreign fighters infiltrate into Iraq, an allegation categorically denied by the Syrian government.

US Ambassador in Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said in September that “our patience is running out with Syria.”

The New York Times revealed Saturday, October 15, a series of clashes in the last year between American and Syrian troops, including a prolonged firefight this summer that killed several Syrians.

The paper said the clashes raised the prospect that cross-border military operations may become a dangerous new front in the Iraq war.

Damascus denied a British newspaper report that it was negotiating with the United States in an effort to end its isolation in return for a “list of painful concessions.”

The British daily quoted unidentified American and Arab officials as saying that Assad could avoid international sanctions against his country if he cooperated with the United Nations probe into Hariri’s death.

Detlev Mehlis, the chief UN investigator in the assassination, is expected to release his report next week.