National Dialogue Conference in Damascus: 600 people for Syria's future
Al-Sharaa promised to set up a committee for transitional justice, stressed the unity of Syria and the state's "monopoly" on weapons. Al-Sharaa, now interim president, was the leader of the Haiat Tahrir al-Sham group. This group overthrew the ruler Bashar al-Assad in December as part of a militia alliance. The transitional government consists largely of former HTS officials. It has announced a politically integrative process that will culminate in a new constitution and elections.
At the two-day conference, Syrians spoke about the future of the country after almost 14 years of war and 54 years of rule by the Assad regime. Among other things, recommendations for the economy and politics were to be drawn up and a new constitution was to be discussed.
Syrian civil society is calling for an inclusive process. Many have been working for years on so-called transitional justice, i.e. dealing with crimes, justice and compensation. "We will work on the formation of a transitional justice body to restore people's rights, ensure justice and - God willing - bring the criminals to justice," promised al-Sharaa.
Around 600 people from all parts of Syria were invited to the meeting in the presidential palace in Damascus. A committee of seven people, including two women , had prepared the conference. According to its own statements, it had held meetings in various regions of Syria with thousands of people to collect topics and select participants. The preparation team included people close to civil organizations, but also former HTS members.
Socially relevant actors had just 48 hours to attend after receiving an invitation. Opposition politicians objected to the short notice. They had no time to travel, criticised Jamal Suleiman, an Alawite film director and member of the Syrian opposition party Tomorrow Movement. The short preparation time was "deliberate" to "keep them away from the discussions", quoted the Syrian independent media Aljumhuryia. Hind Qabawat, a member of the preparatory committee, replied: "We are also very upset that they did not come, but that's the way it is."
Conference organizers said all Syrian groups were invited, but it is unclear how many members of minorities actually traveled to Damascus. The Kurdish self-administration in northern and eastern Syria and Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they received no invitations. The Kurdish National Council, in turn, said it had declined the invitation, saying the event was "poorly structured" and excluded Kurdish political representation.
Minorities, including Kurds , Christians , Druze andAlawites , worry about whether the new Sunni Muslim rulers will include them, as promised.
taz
