Syria’s temp government forms national dialogue committee

Syria’s transitional government announced the formation of a preparatory committee for the upcoming National Dialogue Conference, a key component of the country’s post-Assad political transition.

The committee, announced on Wednesday by state news agency SANA, comprises of seven people including five men and two women.

Prior to the announcement sources speaking with The New Arab’s affiliate Syria TV said that multiple consultations will be conducted before announcing a constitutional declaration, which would be integral to “the shape and future of the country”, focusing on “highly significant issues, such as the nature of Syrian identity”, the source said.

“These matters should not be decided by a single individual. I believe it is best to hold multiple consultations to gather people’s opinions, considering these consultations as recommendations presented to the preparatory committee,” the source added.

The seven members of the preparatory committee include writer and researcher Hassan al-Daghim, who specialises in Islamic studies, and researcher, writer and activist Maher Alloush.

The committee also includes Dr Mohammed Mastet, a doctor and former member of the health ministry in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) aligned Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in Idlib, as well as Youssef al-Hijr, the former head of the political office of HTS and Mustafa al-Moussa, the former head of the General Consultation Council in the SSG and former head of its health committee.

It also includes Hind Kabawa, a Syrian-Canadian director of Interfaith Peacebuilding at George Mason University’s Centre for World Religions and the founder and director of the Syrian Centre for Dialogue, Peace and Reconciliation in Toronto and Huda Atassi, an architect and activist who co-founded and is regional director of International Humanitarian Relief.

Syria’s national dialogue is key to demonstrating how inclusive the country’s ongoing political transition would be – a process which had seen strong advocacy from the UN and the wider international community.

An inclusive political transition is also linked to the unwinding of sanctions against the country. 

Meanwhile, the Syrian Negotiation Commission and the Syrian National Coalition have agreed to dissolve into the new transitional authority in Damascus following a meeting between the respective delegations and the new authorities.

The meeting, held at the presidential palace in Damascus, saw interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa meet negotiation commission head Bader Jamous and coalition head Hadi al-Bahra, according to SANA.

The two bodies, which had been in exile during the civil war, handed over their work to the transitional government which representatives will now work under, SANA reported.

The Syrian Negotiation Commission was the leading opposition body tasked with negotiating with the Assad regime during UN-mediated talks in Geneva, while the Syrian National Coalition was an attempt to bring together Syria’s wide array of political and armed opposition forces.

The National Coalition released a statement following the meeting saying that “in line with the declaration of the victory” of the Syrian revolution, and the “dissolution of all institutions that emerged under the revolution”, the two groups would “hand over their mandate” to the transitional government under Sharaa.

The two bodies also issued their support to the ongoing transition that will see the formation of a new transitional government in March, the drafting of a new constitution, the holding of free elections, and the integration of all military forces into a unified army command.

During the meeting, Sharaa praised the two groups for “exposing the crimes” of the Assad regime and emphasised the importance of integrating their “political, administrative and technical cadres” into the new government.

The developments are part of a wider trend of Syria’s varying opposition groups coalescing around the new transitional government in Damascus.

However, a number of key issues remain to be resolved, including the integration of northeast Syria into the authority of Damascus, and the integration of military factions in Syria’s southern provinces of Daraa and Suweida into the defence ministry.