Riad Darar: Democracy is existential necessity for Syria, new constitution is gateway to any solution

In an extensive interview to ANHA's agency, Syrian Democratic Council deputy co-chairman Riad Darar talked about the democratic transition in Syria's future, the constitution's role, the civil society role, and the positions of various forces regarding the political process. Darar said that democracy is not an intellectual luxury but an existential necessity, and emphasized that no democracy is possible without a free, national democratic will.

The following is the interview text:

What, in your view, is the importance of democratization of Syria in ensuring the stability of the nation as well as the safety of citizens' lives?

Democratic transition is a long and painful process that doesn't stop at the moment of the fall of the regime. The unsuccessful attempt doesn't mean that democracy is impossible; it just means the presence of structural obstacles such as the army, sectarianism, the old elite, or even foreign intervention.

Democracy is possible in Syria, but under conditions, the first of which is the end of tyranny and authoritarianism, specifically the authoritarianism of the security apparatuses. We need equal citizenship without sect, clan, or religion, with political forces and civil bodies believing in democracy. Finally, we need a civil state neutral towards religions and sects and guaranteeing freedoms and rights.

As much as sectarianism, authoritarianism, and international interference complicate the equation, the solution is in a decentralized, democratic setup that guarantees rights of all segments without making it into a quota state.

Democracy ensures political stability through pluralism and elections. It does not ensure it through confrontation and violence. It ends the marginalization, creates institutions of accountability, combats corruption, and preserves resources. Most importantly, it eliminates the logic of the eternally ruling and enforces a national identity on the basis of rights and not personal or sectarian allegiance.

What would you say is the effect of the collapse of democracy on the continuation of war and crises in Syria?

The collapse or lack of democracy leads to the continuation of crises as well as the outbreak of civil and sectarian wars. Authoritarianism's inclination is to depoliticize the state by removing the national value that it holds and turning it into a tool for a minority, causing divisions and creating extremism and terrorism.

When people lose the expectation of reform and confidence in politics, they turn to violence and militarism, and this is the danger of the absence of democracy.

What can the Syrian Democratic Council do to achieve the country's democratic advancement?

As for the Syrian Democratic Council, it can play a role in democratic transition and movement because it is a democratic, secular, and decentralized project that seeks to form a pluralistic, participatory government system, with decentralization being the basis for power distribution and the representation of all components.

It can therefore assist in the formation of a model of democracy exercised in its regions, which can serve as a role model for the rest of the country.

The Syrian Democratic Council can also initiate contact with the other political components, including the current regime and the opposition. The Syrian opposition is split over the legitimacy of the Syrian Democratic Council, which needs to sophisticate its democratic mechanisms internally and open the way for the broadest possible real popular participation.

The Syrian Democratic Council's presence in democratic transition is predicated on openness, mutual recognition, and the development of a comprehensive national project that transcends geography and partial identities.

In your opinion, what is the first and most important step that should be taken toward democratizing Syria?

It is a difficult question, as one of democratic transition is the start. Therefore, the war must have ended in every sense of the word, and an actual political process must begin. There must be a political settlement, which up to now has hinged on the steps of Resolution 2254, whether under UN or comprehensive national auspices. It starts with processes of state-building, and any other attempt founded on abstractions is doomed to fail.

There has to be the unlocking of public liberties, like freedom of expression, media, and political organization, and a sense of relief, based on the safe return of refugees and displaced persons, the release of political prisoners, and the absence of accountability for political affiliation. These are preludes to the launch of a transition towards democracy.

Do you believe that the drafting of a new democratic constitution is a basis for initiating the process? What are the criteria of this constitution?

Yes, the establishment of a constituent assembly that represents all forces and components is a very important first step. The constitution organizes the political game, and if implemented in concordance with its spirit and principles, it will lead us in the right direction.

Minimum standards of a constitution should be: rule of law, equal citizenship, separation of powers, protection of human rights, political pluralism, peaceful transfer of power, neutrality of the state regarding religion, and recognition of national and ethnic diversity.

The most desirable model of consensus is a decentralized system, and the constitution must guarantee individual and collective rights, women's rights, freedom of the press, education, health, and environmental protection.

In what ways can the perceptions and assessments of the various segments of Syrian society regarding the future constitution be monitored?

Through launching activities based on constitutional principles, through workshops, national dialogues, forming groups to debate constitutional foundations, and national opinion polls.

Free elections are the ultimate decider of public opinion, but before that, all components must be represented, without exception, in the constitution's drafting. A popular referendum should be a truly legitimate mandate.

What is each party's role the government, political parties, and civil society in the drafting of the constitution?

The government must recognize diversity and pluralism, provide a clear political and legal arena where freedom of expression and formation of political parties can take place, and open a genuine negotiation process rather than unilaterally imposing a constitutional declaration.

Political parties must abandon exclusion and sectarian mentality, propose national visions that achieve consensus, and form democratic pressure groups.

Civil society must raise awareness about democracy and the constitution, monitor the process, conduct community dialogues, and include women, youth, and refugees.

Have there been recent efforts by the Syrian Democratic Council to support the constitution-writing process?

Yes, the Syrian Democratic Council has undertaken measures within the constitution-writing process and is trying. The social contract signed in the autonomous regions of North and East Syria legitimized constitutional principles that include rights, freedoms, and recognition of all the components. However, the Syrian Democratic Council is also organizing several workshops on reading constitutions and deriving constitutional principles which reflect the aspirations and needs of the Syrian people. The principles are immovable and cannot be altered with a change in government.

The Syrian Democratic Council also sits with the political and societal forces in order to exchange ideas about the most important articles of the constitution related to the people, including security, rights, livelihood, expression, and organization. Indeed, there are partnerships with forces and platforms that are working on constitutional foundations.

How do we ensure the constitution meets the dreams of all Syrian components?

The constitution must recognize ethnic and cultural diversity, and languages such as Kurdish and Syriac-Assyrian, and provide for their use in schools, media, and governmental circles.

It should be built on complete equality, untouched by religious or ethnic discrimination, and according to a decentralized system in which every section can manage its own affairs within the unity of the state. It should also provide equal representation in state institutions and promote freedom of association, expression, and belief.

What are the most important issues confronting the democratic transition process in Syria today?

To begin with, the security establishment, one of the strongest spoilers of the democratic transition process, constitutes a network of interests against the collapse of the totalitarian state. Right from the start, this establishment has relied on having a committee that controls the vision, controls the remnants of the Ba'ath Party, and draws its cue from it.

Also, there is the reality of de facto authorities, this present authority being one such authority with its factional composition, which is impacting the democratic transition. The same applies to religious authorities that denounce democracy as heretical.

Amongst the factors that are impacting any democratic transition are avoidance of politics, suspicion of political action, and the practice of politics as a hereditary fief of other parties.

Foreign meddling by those adjacent countries who do not wish this concept to be exported to their nations also influences the democratic transition.

The biggest reason for the slow democratic transition is that de facto powers exist. Democratic forces' weakness: they are scattered, besieged, or unfunded, while radical powers possess weapons and finance.

In your view, what is the likely future of Syria's democratization? What needs to be done to make it a success?

And regarding the predicted future of democratization of Syria, specifically that of the current al-Sharaa regime, their rejection of the word democracy makes democratization hard and long. Unless this government is unique from traditional authoritarianism, it will prolong the crisis of national openness, genuine representative participation, articulation of needs, and competition for interests.

It also prevents democratic transition from succeeding because it rests at the mercy of political will of parties and the government. To achieve this, the government requires actions, not statements.

It has no words because, up to now, it has not spoken, even mouthed, words on democracy or the concept of nationalism. It also requires profound constitutional and societal guarantees.

The promise of the success of any democratic process of transformation must be in the form of a concrete commitment to a democratic, constitutional, and pluralistic track. Involving all the national and opposition forces and factors in a public constitutional debate and political reform with respect for public freedoms and human rights as the precondition.

How can the international community best support the process of democratic transition in Syria?

The international community can pressure all parties to engage in the democratic process. The Geneva process can be crafted into an actual constitutional process that guarantees participation and representation, as demanded by Resolution 2,254. The crafting of a new constitution can be sponsored through technical and legal support, as we have witnessed in Tunisia.

Any political accords, reconstruction, or assistance can also be made conditional on human rights reform, enlargement of freedoms and freedom of the media, and assistance to civil society.

The electoral and political process can be supervised by the international community if today there is the political will to help democracy. The obstacle to genuine assistance is the existence of vested interests or the conditionality of such interests.

The international community also prefers stability over democracy, especially after decades of failed support to democratic transition, with no result from those it was relying on, and millions of dollars spent for nothing.

So, no democracy without democrats, and your skin won't be scratched like your fingernail.

Syrians have to create their own national democratic project. The opposition forces and civil society have to unify their discourse of democratic demands and consolidate channels of pressure, including through Syrians in exile, human rights organizations, and the media. The international community will not hand you democracy if you are not the effective, convinced base, acting with free political will to achieve your goals.

ANHA