President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Nasr Al-Hariri, received commanders of the Syrian National Army (SNA) from the eastern region as well as civil and revolutionary actors at the SOC’s office in the town of Azaz in rural Aleppo.
In attendance was also SOC’s Secretary-General Abdelbaset Abdullatif, Secretary of the political committee, Riyad Al-Hassan, member of the committee Abdullah Kaddou, and Coordinator of the SOC’s office in rural Aleppo Ahmed Al-Shehadi.
Al-Hariri talked about the SOC’s role in the political process as he stressed that the political transition process must include the departure of the regime with all its symbols and pillars as well as building a new structure for the Syrian state.
He praised the SNA’s efforts to protect civilians in the liberated areas as well as its important role in forcing terrorist organizations out of these areas.
The SNA commanders talked about the marginalization of their regions throughout the rule of the Assad regime as they called for an increase in their representation in the Syrian Interim Government, the SOC and the rest of the revolution’s institutions.
They also highlighted the suffering the people of eastern Syria are going through at the hands of the PYD militia, citing the PYD’s continued forced conscription, imposition of ideology-based curricula, arbitrary arrests, and seizure of the resources of the region.
The people of the eastern region also talked about the crimes being committed by the sectarian Iranian militias against the people of the region and their attempts to impose the agenda of the Iranian mullahs’ regime on the people of the region, warning that such attempts risk creating a rift in the Syrian society.
They also highlighted the suffering of the people who were displaced from eastern Syria to the liberated areas, stressing the need for allowing them to take part in the management of the liberated areas through local councils. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)