The presidential and political bodies of the Syrian Coalition on Thursday met with a delegation of British diplomats in charge of the Syrian file in a number of neighboring countries. The two sides discussed the latest political and field developments in Syria.
President of the Syrian Coalition Riad Seif talked about the need to support the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) to be able to provide services to civilians in the liberated areas. Seif also called for empowering SIG to administer the liberated areas and restore security and stability to make possible the return of refugees to their homes.
SIG has developed a comprehensive plan to administer the liberated areas and rehabilitate state institutions, including the judiciary and the police, Hakim said, adding that the plan prioritizes the provision of essential services such as health and education.
Secretary-General of the Syrian Coalition Nazir Hakim said that the task of administering the city of Raqqa must be assigned to SIG, stressing that the people of Raqqa must be allowed to rule themselves. He indicated that this could be “through elections supervised by international bodies.”
“The PYD militia will have to leave the city of Raqqa after it has been liberated from ISIS as crucial step to restoring stability in the city and preventing the emergence of any new extremist organization,” Hakim added. He also said that the people of Raqqa reject the PYD militia, adding that “the United States made a mistake relying on these militias to fight ISIS.”
Nasr Hariri, head of the delegation of the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) to Geneva talks said that Bashar Al-Assad and his regime have committed war crimes claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. He said that “if there is someone who has the courage to find a solution in Syria, he has to openly say we could not do anything” rather than inventing excuses. Hariri was commenting on remarks by the French President Emmanuel Macaron who on Wednesday said that nobody had shown him “a legitimate successor” to Assad.
The negotiations in Geneva have become about a party that believes in a political solution and that is working genuinely to find this solution and a party that does not want this solution and seeks to sabotage it with the support of its allies, Hariri said. He added that negotiations in Geneva are taking place in the presence of a [UN] mediator who proved unable to shoulder their responsibilities. He noted that the regime has so far refused any real engagement in the political process in Geneva and has committed war crimes that are unprecedented in modern times.
Hariri stressed that the Syrian people will continue their struggle against the dictatorship of Assad, adding that this struggle will not stop until the Syrian people regain freedom and dignity for which hundreds of thousands have sacrificed their lives. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
