To boycott talks: Most opposition leaders in Syria have refused to attend the government's first open dialogue about transitioning to a democracy, calling it a sham.
In the meantime, Obama administration officials are taking a hard look at possible incentives and punishments that might compel the generals in Cairo to end the crackdown and open a dialogue on transition to democratic governance.
The Obama-Biden Web site, has an "open for questions" spot that was supposed to be a "two-way dialogue between the transition team and the change.gov community," according to the Web site.
Ashford emphasizes in the following quote the importance of adequate information and dialogue: "During organizational transitions, two types of information seem most relevant: information about the change itself and 'feedback'" [ 41].
Western diplomats and officials have told Kofi Annan, the former U.N. secretary general, to negotiate a cease-fire with Syria and to establish a dialogue aimed at "political transition," but they have given him few hints as to exactly what such a transition should look like.
Then dialogue on a political transition could start, without preconditions.
Even the dark wit of the dialogue has made the transition.
One major newspaper serving Melbourne, The Age, described the show as a "unique and visionary theatrical event" and "mind-blowing," yet gave it only three and a half stars (out of a possible five) to reflect concerns about the transitions between dialogue and music and the lack of narrative momentum in the lyrics.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian officials on Sunday formally opened what they described as a national dialogue aimed at a transition to multiparty democracy, but the country's opposition leaders boycotted the event, calling it a sham to mask the government's brutal crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that have shaken Syria's ruling Assad family.
UNITED NATIONS — Syria's foreign minister told the United Nations on Monday that the violence racking his country was entirely the fault of other nations supplying the armed opposition, that the refugee crisis was concocted by Syria's enemies and that a dialogue on a political transition was still possible.
"Now is not the time to assess blame, but to take steps that can help initiate a dialogue and move the transition forward".
