Attendees nonetheless praised the tenacity of the conference’s debates, hoping it will pave the way for a freer civil society in Syria [photo credit: Getty Images]
Syria’s long-awaited National Dialogue Conference ended on Tuesday with a declaration supporting Syria’s territorial integrity, human rights, the value of freedom, and the formation of a constitutional committee.
The two-day conference saw 600 participants from across the country discussing Syria’s political future via six working groups at the Presidential Palace in the capital Damascus.
These include task forces on a transitional justice system, the constitution, building state institutions, personal freedoms, Syria’s future economic model, and the future role of civil society.
Ola Rifai, a Syrian scholar and deputy director for outreach at the University of St Andrew’s Centre for Syria Studies, told The New Arab that the conference is critical for Syria’s post-war state-building and healing, providing an opportunity for dialogue following five decades of repressive rule of Hafez and Bashar Al-Assad.
“Syria today needs a balanced, multilayered, identity rooted in civil rights. Sectarian identities could function peacefully and in harmony,” she said.
The process could help rebuild trust within Syrian society, and open the door for the reconstruction of Syria’s national identity, fragmented by Assad’s rule and civil war.
In a statement carried by state news agency SANA, the conference made several declarations including the development of a constitutional committee to draft a constitution; ensuring the formation of a legislative council, and a commitment to transitional justice, human rights, and guaranteeing freedom of expression.
The statement also saw the condemnation of Israel’s illegal incursions into southern Syria and a rejection of statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding a demilitarised south.
Yet, for a conference that was meant to act as the foundation for the country’s political future, many Syrians noted it was hastily organised.
The conference’s preparatory committee was only formed on 12 February, spending a week holding sessions around the country before announcing the conference on Sunday.
“Many figures, both inside and outside Syria, received invitations less than 48 hours before the first day, which raised credibility issues,” Rifai said.
Such people, which include opposition veterans George Sabra and Burhan Ghalioun, took to social media to confirm that they were unable to attend because of the short notice and logistical issues.
“This should be the first round of many. It is a trial for future rounds,” Rifai said, adding that “the bitter legacy of Assad – politically, socially, and economically – cannot be addressed in just 48 hours of workshops”.
Many Syrians aired their frustrations and disappointment at the result of the conference, including Bassam Alahmad, the CEO of Syrians for Truth and Justice, describing the conference as “a missed opportunity”.
“We had hoped to find [a] genuine national dialogue conference in which all Syrians, entities, civil society and other groups would be represented,” Alahmad told The New Arab.
He noted that the conference was not as inclusive as it could have been, beginning with the preparatory committee which he said only represented “one component of the Syrian people”.
Most members of the preparatory committee are close to the transitional government dominated by former members of HTS, an Islamist rebel group that was formerly tied to Al-Qaeda that toppled the Assad government on 8 December.
He also noted other exclusionary aspects, including only inviting people as individuals rather than through their civil society bodies, the removal of Hassakeh and Raqqa from an online survey for participants, and the exclusion of certain groups such as rival Kurdish-dominated administration (AANES) in the country’s northeast.
“Ultimately, the National Dialogue Conference is a great disappointment and will only complicate the Syrian political scene,” Alahmad said.
Immediately after the publication of the conference statement, the AANES was quoted by the North Press Agency as saying: “These steps taken by the interim administration in Syria regarding dialogue and partnership have been deeply disappointing.”
Syria’s transitional government is attempting to stabilise a post-war country with many loose ends. This includes navigating Israel’s incursion and bombings, which late on Tuesday saw strikes outside Damascus and in Syria’s south while negotiating to fold the northeast into Damascus’ authority and attempting to form a unified army.
Likewise, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani are conducting international visits to repair Syria’s global standing and rid it of stifling sanctions.
For Nanar Hawach, International Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst on Syria, the hasty organisation of the conference was evidence of how “stretched” the government is.
Combined with the short time frame and narrower participation of the conference, it meant it had lost some of its momentum as being a platform for Syria’s political transition, he said.
“My assessment is [that] the conference is no longer this pivotal moment in Syria’s future, let’s say, or state building,” Hawach added, with the formation of a new constitution and government in March likely to be more pivotal moments.
However, Hawach said that while those who attended the conference described a sense of vagueness and lack of clarity within the conference walls, there was active participation from delegates.
“People were actively engaging, people were not really holding back during the dialogue,” he said, adding that this was reflective of Syria’s civic environment right now.
“While I’m in Syria, I talk about politics almost twenty-four-seven because wherever you go people are excited to talk, engaged and unfiltered, to a certain extent, in criticising or in highlighting something that they see [as] positive or positive steps.
“This was reflected within the dialogue and among participants, this level of freedom, this space for freedom.”
