Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
June 1, 2024
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) emphasizes the illegality and gravity of recent measures, decisions, and laws enacted by the so-called Autonomous Administration, which is affiliated with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces and the security formations of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). These groups are, in fact, linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Türkiye, Australia, Canada, and several Arab countries. Of particular concern is the so-called Administrative Divisions Law in northeastern Syria, based on what the PYD calls the Social Contract. The passage of this law was followed by the PYD announcing so-called “municipal elections” to be held on June 11, in an attempt to legitimize these new administrative and municipal divisions and the alleged social contract.
The SOC stresses the highest priority of the international commitment to Syria’s independence, unity, territorial integrity, and the sovereignty of the Syrian people over all Syrian territory, in line with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. The SOC rejects any measures that consolidate divisive and separatist projects from any party and affirms that any social contract or constitution must be built on the broad participation of all Syrian citizens from all regions of Syria, involving all components and segments of the Syrian people, without exclusion or discrimination. A social contract and constitution must not be drafted regionally or according to partisan interests or sub-national agendas. The ultimate decision must rest with the Syrian people, through a free and fair general referendum in a safe and neutral environment under United Nations supervision, ensuring the highest standards of transparency and accountability, and including all eligible Syrian women and men, including those in the diaspora, in accordance with Security Council Resolutions 2254 (2015) and 2118 (2013), and the Geneva Communique (2012).
The SOC affirms that the Syrian people, with all their diverse components and segments, are the ones who will decide the future of Syria. Refugees and the forcibly displaced have the right to shape that future. The SOC asserts that the phony municipal elections scheduled in northern and eastern Syria are illegitimate and represent an attempt to undermine the UN-sponsored political process. These elections aim to circumvent Security Council resolutions on Syria and are enforced by military and security forces, as confirmed by numerous human rights organizations. These organizations report that “security forces of the so-called Autonomous Administration are threatening civilians to force them to participate in the elections by threatening to dismiss them from their jobs, threatening their livelihood, and harassing them in all means, thereby depriving civilians of their right to freedom of expression as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Furthermore, the SOC highlights that the majority of the original population of northern and eastern Syria currently reside in neighboring countries and Europe. Those still residing in Syria are mostly from impoverished backgrounds. Rights groups reports indicate that the security services affiliated with the so-called “Syrian Democratic Forces” have threatened them with deprivation of livelihood to coerce their participation in these elections. All political parties in that region have been excluded.
The SOC welcomes the press statement issued by Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, on May 31, regarding the illegitimate elections to be held in northern and eastern Syria. The SOC calls on the US-led international coalition to take more strict measures to prevent these elections from taking place and to stop the threats and human rights violations committed by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces and its affiliated Autonomous Administration against the people of the region. This is crucial to avoiding obstruction of international efforts to achieve a political solution in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254 and to maintaining civil peace, security, and stability in the region.
The SOC also appreciates the numerous calls from Syrian national political and social forces to boycott these elections and their rejection of all the illegal measures preceding these elections, including the so-called Social Contract, the Administrative Divisions Law, the unknown Census results, the Election Commission, and other measures.
The SOC affirms that these measures, which threaten the unity of the Syrian land and people, complicate the political solution, destabilize the region’s security and stability, and threaten civil peace, are rejected and have no legitimacy. They contradict UN resolutions related to a political solution in Syria.
