The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) Office of Syrian Communities Abroad held a virtual meeting with the Council of Syrian Community in Qatar with the aim of strengthening communication between the SOC and all Syrian communities in the diaspora.
The meeting brought together SOC’s Vice-president Abdel-Hakim Bashar, Coordinator of the Office of Syrian Communities Abroad, Muhammad Yahya Maktabi, members of the political committee, the Syrian ambassador to Qatar Nizar Al-Haraki, diplomatic staff of the embassy, Head of the Council, Muhammad Yassin Najjar, his deputy, Abdullah Abdul-Qayyum, and members of the Council.
Bashar talked about the role of the Kurdish National Council as a key component of the Syrian revolution and the official Syrian national opposition as well as its role in supporting the youth revolutionary movement and its commitment to the goals of the Syrian Revolution since day one.
Bashar stressed his rejection of the practices of the PYD militia as he said that the Council is seeking to establish interim elected local administrations in the towns and villages east of the Euphrates River similar to the local councils in the liberated areas, pending the drafting of a constitution that is agreed upon by all Syrians and the reaching of a political solution.
For his part, Najjar commended the holding of consultations with the SOC as he stressed its importance and suggested the holding of further consultations “so as to achieve unity in the face the current and future challenges.”
Member of the political committee, Muhammad Al-Khatib, gave an explanation on the work of the SOC’s Department of Foreign Relations and its role in mobilizing international support to confront the coronavirus in the liberated areas. He also talked about the diplomatic campaign the Department has launched following the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ issuance of a report confirming the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against civilians.
Participants in the meeting discussed the latest developments in the political process and negotiations. Member of the political committee, Badr Jamous, talked about preparations for the upcoming session in the work of the Constitutional Committee.
For his part, Al-Haraki gave an overview on the work of the SOC’s Caesar Act Follow-up Team and its role in supporting the implementation of the act in cooperation with the US administration.
Al-Haraki stressed that the SOC, as the legal representative of the Syrian people, presses for the complete implementation of the Caesar Act as key to protecting civilians and forcing the Assad regime to engage in the political process, He refuted the Assad regime’s allegations that the Act is worsening the living conditions in the areas under its control as the Act excludes relief aid, medical aid, and food supplies.
Coordinator of the National Committee for the Detainees and Missing Persons, Yasser Al-Farhan, talked about continued efforts to increase international pressure on the regime to release the detainees and disclose the fate of the forcibly disappeared. The Committee is also working on exposing the Assad regime’s attempts to deceive the international community by issuing bogus amnesty decrees whereby a limited number of detainees are released while detaining many times more people. He also talked about the Committee’s cooperation with the UN investigators as well as the memos the Committee has sent to the United Nations and the UN Human Rights Council regarding detainees and enforced disappearance.
Members of the Council put forward many comments and questions which were answered by members of the SOC’s political committee.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
