The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) Office of the Syrian Communities Abroad held a virtual meeting with heads of the Syrian communities in the host countries. In attendance were SOC’s President Salem Al-Meslet and Head of the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) Abdurrahman Mustafa.
Participants also included Coordinator of the Office Muhammad Yahya Maktabi, Secretary of the political committee Abdul Majeed Barakat, and members of the political committee Bader Jamous and Muhammad Salo.
In attendance were also heads of the Syrian community in Kuwait Muhammad al-Hariri, Head of the Syrian community in Romania Imad Qassas and his deputy Mazen Al-Rifaie, Deputy Head of the Syrian community in Italy al-Hakam Effendi, Head of the Syrian community in Gaziantep Mustafa Al-Hussein, and Head of the Syrian community in Hatay Muhannad Al-Khattab.
Al-Meslet gave an overview on the recent reform measures, pointing out that this process included amending the SOC’s by-law, accepting replacement requests from representatives of local councils, and a comprehensive assessment of the SOC’s components and members in terms of effectiveness.
He made it clear that the expansion will involve injecting new blood into the body of the SOC and ensuring real representation by co-opting representatives of revolutionary bodies, local councils, unions, associations of displaced persons and Syrian communities in the diaspora.
Maktabi said that consultations will start soon with the Syrian communities in the host countries in order to co-opt them into the SOC, adding that the SOC intends to visit these communities to discuss the mechanism for representation.
Jamous stressed that the reform process aims to ensure adequate representation, pointing to the importance of co-opting representatives of the active, influential Syrian communities in the host countries.
For their part, leaders of the Syrian communities welcomed the reform process as they stressed the need to go through with it.
Al-Rifaie stressed that the expansion of the SOC is necessary to strengthen its legitimacy as a representative of the Syrian people, while Effendi called for benefiting from the Syrian personalities and institutions that have proven their worth in the host countries.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
