At the invitation of the Strategic Fiker Center For Studies, Coordinator of the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) Office of Syndicates and Unions, Abdul Majeed Barakat, took part in a seminar held under the title “The challenges facing the Syrian revolution in light of international changes.”
The seminar brought together the Association of Political Science Graduates, the Association of Syrian Revolutionary Youth, and the Revolutionary General Commission in Aleppo.
Barakat gave an overview on the impact of international conflicts and the conflicting interests of the major players on the Syrian revolution and the opposition bodies, from the Antalya conference, to the formation of the Syrian National Council, the SOC and the Syrian Negotiations Commission, to the Constitutional Committee.
Barakat pointed out that international recognition of the SOC is not enough, stressing the need to strengthen its popular legitimacy.
He made it clear that one of the major challenges facing the SOC was the transformation from a political opposition to an administration in view of the flawed structure of the international community and the divergent visions of the states supporting the revolution.
Moreover, Barakat pointed out that UN Resolution 2254 is the only resolution that the Syrian opposition can arm itself with as it divides the political solution into four baskets: transitional governance, safe environment, constitution and elections. He added that the Assad regime views the political process and the Constitutional Committee as a means to gain more time, while the Syrian opposition aims to keep the regime on the negotiations table and force out the states backing it.
Barakat stressed that the Constitutional Committee, in its current form, deviated from the image that the regime was seeking as the regime wanted it to work in Damascus and under the umbrella of the s0-called People’s Assembly. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
