The conference, which arranged the leaders of the “Syrian Democratic Forces” “Qasd”, raises many questions about its timing, purpose, and the messages they want to send to the Syrian government and the world.
As the conference was not limited to its goals, as it was announced, to unify the position of the components in the areas controlled by “SDF” on the Syrian island, but rather to the involvement of two opposing parties to the Syrian government, they are the spiritual leader of the Almohads community, Druze Hikri, and the head of the Supreme Alawite Council in Syria, Ghazal Ghazal, which aroused the ire of the Syrian government, and considered it a “dangerous escalation”, Negotiating with it.
Therefore, I decided not to participate in the meetings established in Paris, and not to sit “on the negotiating table with any party seeking to revive the era of the ousted regime under any name or cover.”
Consequently, the round of negotiations that were scheduled in Paris became in the wind, in light of the lack of a serious proposal to implement the March 10 agreement, which was signed by Syrian President Ahmed Al -Shara, and the leader of “SDF” Self -administration and its institutions within the Syrian state.
“SDF” goals
“SDF” did not coordinate with the political forces close to it, such as the Kurdish National Council, which refused the invitation to him to participate. Also, many Arab clans in their areas of control decided to boycott the conference, and considered it an attempt to make them adopt projects and agendas “Qasd” that are not consistent with their position.
It seems that the leaders of “SDF” wanted, through the holding of the conference, pushing the Damascus government to make concessions regarding their demands, but this tactic lacks political sophistication, as it makes the accounts, and follows an approach that will only result in increasing the government’s apprehension from them, and pushing more Syrians to circumvent it.
The leaders of “SDF” through a conference or “Confern” have shown their blatant challenge to the authority of Damascus, through an alliance with forces opposing them, and trying to generalize the experience of “self -management” that controls the management of its areas of control, and includes parts of the provinces: Hasaka, Raqqa, Aleppo, and Air Radhur in northeastern Syria, as a successful and democratic experience, which should be generalized to all Syrian regions, which found resonance As -Suwayda, and it was framed through the “Supreme Legal Committee” formed by the Hijri administration of the city, which in turn formed a temporary executive office for the Department of Service Affairs, as well as appointing new leaders to the Internal Security Service, in the absence of the state’s central authority from the province.
The most prominent goal of the conference is to call for the adoption of decentralization, in its narrow form of an ethnic and sectarian nature, which is towards the actual separation from the Syrian body, and considering it the perfect choice in all regions in Syria, by contradiction with the Syrian government’s endeavor to build a central state, in light of the struggle for the future of Syria and the nature of its rule, where the centralization has a date that started since the establishment of modern Syria, and it has legitimacy Political awareness in Syria and the rest of the Middle East region.
The decentralization adopted by the leaders of “SDF” appeared, not as a public discussion issue between the Syrians, but rather in the form of a mono ideological discourse, especially among those involved in the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the military wing of the Democratic Union Party, which is dominated by members of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party.
Accordingly, they insist on preserving the structure of the Syrian Democratic Forces as an independent body or entity in any integration process with the Syrian army, with the province as well as the structure of self -management and its institutions, as well as not to abandon the gains they achieved during the previous years, which explains the retaining of all the files that the Syrian government is supposed to be managed according to the March 10 agreement, especially the border crossings with Iraq, and prisons in which thousands are located Among the elements of the Islamic State, and the camps that harbor their families.
The forces controlling the regions of northeastern Syria have the natural resources in their areas of control, where most of the Syrian oil reserves, which amounted to 2.5 billion barrels, are located, according to the statistics of the US Energy Information Administration.
It also includes the largest fields, such as the Swedish field, the Rumailan field, and the fields of Deir Al -Zour, such as the field of life, in addition to many Syrian gas fields.
These areas produce nearly half of Syria’s agricultural production, which is estimated at more than 1.76 million tons, according to the 2011 statistics. In addition, it contains the three most important water dams in the country, namely: “Tabqa” and “Al -Baath” in the countryside of Raqqa, as well as the Tishreen Dam in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
Government options
The authority of Damascus did not find anything but acknowledging the right of citizens to the peaceful gathering and constructive dialogue, whether at the level of their regions or at the national level, “provided that it is within the framework of the inclusive national project that wraps around the unity of Syria on the ground, people and sovereignty.”
And considered that the form of the state is not resolved through factional understandings, but rather through a permanent constitution that acknowledges the popular referendum, in a way that guarantees the participation of all citizens on an equal footing, and any citizen has the right to present his visions about the state, provided that it is done through public dialogue and polls, not through the threat or armed force.
Given that there are no many options in front of the Damascus government for many considerations, internal and external, there is no escape from the continuation of the dialogue that it started with the leaders of “SDF”, so she renewed its call to seriously engage in the implementation of the March 10 agreement, and demanded international mediators to transfer all negotiations to Damascus, as the legal and national title of dialogue between the Syrians.
There is no doubt that the issue of integrating “SDF” into the Syrian body is not only a Syrian issue, but also international, as the United States, Turkey and France play roles in the arrangements of the new Syrian scene.
There is an international consensus on the stability of Syria within one country, and thus these countries will push towards opening a new window for dialogue between the government and “SDF”, which means moving away from the expensive options.
Related to Syria
Away from sectarian and ethnic army, accusations of treachery, and hate speech, what is required is to expand societal and political dialogue, and not to rely on the conversation of a specific party.
Perhaps the most beneficial for the Syrian government to pay attention to the civil and political forces in all Syrian regions. In the Syrian island, it should not be satisfied with the “SDF” dialogue, because there are many political and social forces in the regions of northeastern Syria, which must be involved in the dialogue to ensure a broader base for any agreement concluded between the government and those societal, political and military activities.
The matter also withdraws from all Syrian regions, especially the Suwayda, in which there are unions, organizations, civil society forces and social actors, which requires them to be involved in the national dialogue.
The transitional political process requires the search for new initiatives, ideas that are presented outside the narrow understanding and ready -made templates, and not always adhere to them.
Perhaps it allows thinking about a flexible central system in Syria, which takes into account the privacy of the regions, not on ethnic or sectarian foundations, and does not adopt quotas, but rather gives geographical regions a kind of administrative decentralization, so that the people of the regions can manage their affairs within the same state, and according to the Syrian national requirements.
Consequently, the necessity of opening an inclusive national dialogue about the transitional period, which examines how to involve all political and social forces and events in drawing their features, in order for fears and impressions to be negated by the uniqueness of the military factions in the decision -making joints, and that they exclude the rest of the political and civil components.
And in order for the Syrians to feel that the future of their country is in their hands, so they must take responsibility, and not to be submissive or submitted to the wrong accounts and narrow interests.
The opinions in the article do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al -Jazeera.