President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Salem al-Meslet, on Sunday participated in an event commemorating the Clock Tower Massacre. The event was organized by the Syrian House in the Turkish city of Istanbul to shed light on the Assad regime’s crimes against the Syrian people.
The Clock Tower Massacre took place during a sit-in protest in the New Clock Tower Square in central Homs city on April 17, 2011. Activists considered it the beginning of a series of organized crimes that the Assad regime committed against the Syrian people.
The event began with observing a minute of silence for the victims of the massacre, followed by a documentary video detailing the events of the massacre.
The event included a speech by one of the eyewitnesses who survived the massacre, revolutionary songs and chants by the late Abdel Basset Al-Sarout.
Al-Meslet talked about the stages that the SOC has gone through since its establishment as a representative of the Syrian people, its involvement in the political process and the regime’s rejection of this process in a favor of a bloody military solution, all the way to the latest reform measures.
Al-Meslet stressed that the reform process aims to ensure the adequate representation of the active components on the ground and the Syrian communities in the host countries. He also said that these decisions are the first step to unify the Syrian opposition, reform its institutions, and get back on track in serving the cause of the Syrian people by achieving freedom, dignity and democracy.
Moreover, Al-Meslet indicated that the reform process did not target specific individuals, but rather ineffective members who no longer have a frame of reference, adding that the SOC accepted replacements by local councils that sent replacement requests years ago.
Al-Meslet made it clear that the reform process began several presidential terms ago, adding that the current circumstances provided an opportunity to approve this process. He said that the next step is the most important one as it will determine which blocs and components that will join the SOC.
He also gave an overview on the results of the meetings he held with institutions, bodies, unions and federations in rural Aleppo two days ago, stressing the SOC’s keenness to ensure adequate representation in the period to come.
He also said that the SOC is completing the expansion consultations to co-opt revolutionary groupings, unions, federations, Syrian communities in the host countries, and active representatives of the youth and women. He pointed out that these components will serve as a supplement to the SOC.
Al-Meslet also said that the reform process has not ended yet, adding that “we have to bridge the gap between the SOC and the revolutionary bodies and social base.”
He pointed out that nearly 80 percent of the SOC’s General Assembly members have changed since the founding of the SOC, stressing that nobody is immune to change, regardless of their name or position.
Furthermore, Al-Meslet reaffirmed the SOC’s commitment to the political process and the implementation of relevant UN resolutions, especially UN Resolutions 2118 and 2254 to achieve political transition and meet the demands of the Syrian people.
Al-Meslet added that UN envoy Geir Pedersen’s “step for step” proposal lacks a clear vision and is far from the essence and provisions of UN Resolution 2254. He said that the SOC is seeking to open new tracks in the political process and to set a timetable for the course of the Constitutional Committee.
He also spoke about the committee that the SOC has recently formed to investigate the remarks that the Minister of Interior in the Syrian Interim Government, Muhyiddin Harmoush, made at the latest General Assembly meeting, stressing that the SOC is working to form a body outside the SOC to discuss the matter and present the results to the Syrian people.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
