President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Salem al-Meslet, met with representatives of executive institutions, revolutionary bodies, unions, federations, groupings and associations in rural Aleppo on Thursday and discussed with them the reform process and the completion of expansion consultations.
The meeting brought together members of the SOC’s political committee and General Assembly, Head of the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) Abdurrahman Mustafa, and SIG’s ministers.
The meeting lasted about five hours, with the participants including a broad spectrum of personalities and groupings, including managers of border crossings, heads of local and provincial councils, unions, federations, civil groupings, political parties, blocs, movements, dignitaries and the Syrian Tribal Council.
Al-Meslet gave an overview on the decisions that the General Assembly has recently taken within the framework of reform and the mechanism it followed. He stressed that the by-law that was adopted in 2012 is no longer feasible under the current circumstances, especially after the major changes on the ground and the effectiveness and presence of the SOC’s components.
Al-Meslet pointed out that the reform process came in response to the demands of revolutionary institutions and bodies, adding that the SOC is now seeking to bring about comprehensive changes both at the level of the institution’s approach and mechanism for work as well as the political track.
Al-Meslet highlighted the importance of the next step, which is to complete the extensive consultations to co-opt the active components in the liberated areas and host countries. He stressed the importance of working hand in hand to make the reform process successful, and to complete the consultations in order to ensure real representation within the SOC’s General Assembly.
Moreover, Al-Meslet reaffirmed the SOC’s commitment to the goals of the Syrian Revolution and the Syrian people’s demands for the overthrow the regime and the restoration of freedom, dignity and democracy.
For his part, Mustafa spoke about the importance of the reform process in activating the SOC and making it a real umbrella for all institutions and bodies working on the ground, stressing the need to complete these consultations and co-opt effective and influential personalities.
Member of the political committee, Abdel Basset Abdel Latif, spoke about the work of the committee that was tasked with studying the SOC’s by-law. He stressed that the committee comprised all the SOC’s components, adding that it submitted the proposed amendments to the political committee following a four-month study. The amendments were then put to vote by the General Assembly, gaining the approval of 60 members out of 64.
Member of the political committee Badr Jamous stressed the importance of the reform process in restoring the true representation of the SOC and supplementing it with active personalities. He called for the revolutionary, civil and military institutions and bodies to rally around the SOC and support the decisions it made.
Member of the political committee, Muhammad Yahya Maktabi, indicated that the reform process did not target specific individuals, but came in line with a thorough study and in-depth discussions among the SOC’s components. He added: “If we want a living institution, we need to introduce reforms.”
Participants commended the SOC’s reform measures, stressing the importance of translating these decisions on the ground and co-opting real alternatives so that the SOC remains the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and upholds its demands for freedom and dignity.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
