The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) received a group of prominent Turkish writers, researchers, and media workers who can influence the Turkish public opinion with the aim of developing cooperation with Turkish media; explaining the Syrian issue; and conveying the correct image about Syrian nationals in Turkey.
The meeting brought together SOC’s President, Nasr Al-Hariri, Vice-president Ruba Habboush, Secretary-General Abdelbaset Abdullatif, Co-chair of the Constitutional Committee Hadi Al-Bahra, member of the political committee and the SOC’s representative to Turkey, Nazir al-Hakim, Coordinator of the Office of Syrian Communities Abroad, Muhammad Yahya Maktabi, and member of the political committee Abdul Majid Barakat, and member of the General Assembly, Youssef Mahalli.
President Al-Hariri gave an overview on the latest on the ground and political developments in Syria. He also talked about the Assad regime and its backers’ continuing destruction of the country and its refusal to engage into a political solution.
Al-Hariri also talked about the strong relationship between the Syrian and Turkish peoples in the past, present and future, stressing that it is a strategic, important relationship for both sides. He said that the Syrian people will not forget those who stood by them in their struggle to liberate their land from terrorist organizations and who contributed to reaching a ceasefire in Idlib.
Al-Hariri pointed out that Syrian nationals in Turkey are suffering to obtain travel documents from the Assad regime’s consulate, which requires a radical solution that prevents the regime from generating revenue that it is using in its war on the Syrian people. He stressed the need to confront rumors being circulated in Turkey by focusing on the elites and the common experiences in the Syrian and Turkish societies.
Moreover, Al-Hariri reaffirmed the SOC’s commitment to the unity of the Syrian territory as a red line, pointing out that all the offshoots of the PKK terrorist organization and its practices are unacceptable in Syria. He also stressed that the atrocious crimes these organizations are committing against the Syrian people are targeting the Kurds themselves before any other social group.
Al-Hariri made it clear that the Assad regime contributed to the manufacture and incubation of the PKK terrorist organization from the beginning, adding that its leader Abdullah Ocalan once lived in Damascus and used to have full freedom of movement. He added that the Assad regime bears part of the responsibility for the death of more than 40,000 Turkish citizens as a result of the terrorist operations carried out by this terrorist organization.
Furthermore, Al-Hariri indicated that the Syrian Kurds are represented in the SOC, the Syrian Negotiations Commission, and the Constitutional Committee through the Kurdish National Council, the Association of Independent Kurds, and Kurdish national personalities. He reasserted the SOC’s keenness on preserving the relationship with the Syrian Kurds as a key partner in shaping the future of Syria.
Co-chair of the Constitutional Committee, Hadi Al-Bahra, talked about the progress in the Committee’s work and the results of the third round of talks in Geneva which concluded in late August.
Secretary-General Abdelbaset Abdullatif gave an explanation on the reality of Syrian nationals in Turkey, the work of the Syrian-Turkish Joint Committee to address their problems and encourage integration, and the Committee’s efforts to regulate the legal status of Syrian nationals in Turkey.
SOC’s Vice-president, Ruba Habboush, talked about the reality of Syrian women and their vital role in the Syrian revolution as she emphasized women’s role in shaping the future of Syria. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
