SDC calls for inclusive democratic transition in Syria

The SDC issued a statement to the public on the first anniversary of the fall of the Ba’ath regime, affirming that the event marked “a pivotal turning point that ended the era of tyranny and opened the door to a new Syria after fourteen years of war, displacement, and repression.”

The statement noted that “the current security crises, societal fragmentation, and local conflicts are direct results of the previous regime’s policies based on exclusion and extreme centralization, which weakened the state and fragmented society.”

The SDC criticized the performance of the transitional government after “one year of managing the capital,” considering that it “has not freed itself from the mindset of narrow factions and doctrinal authorities, has not transitioned to a national, unifying state mentality, and has not initiated a comprehensive national dialogue or independent transitional institutions, but continued to run the country with the same centralization that previously paralyzed the state.”

The statement also pointed out that: “The agreement signed on 10 March between the transitional government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was an important step to reduce internal tension. However, its stalled implementation and the worsening crises in the coastal regions and Sweida demonstrated the government’s limited ability to manage the transitional phase.”

The council stressed the need to launch a clear and binding democratic transition process based on international resolutions, primarily Resolution 2254 and Resolution 2799, ensuring the formation of a transitional authority representing all Syrians, the drafting of a new democratic constitution, reforming state institutions, and building an independent judiciary.

The statement also called for “broader inclusion of societal forces, including national parties, civil actors, women’s and youth movements, and the establishment of a democratic, decentralized system that ensures national unity, grants local communities management of their affairs, and provides fair distribution of wealth, along with integrating military forces into a national security framework that protects citizens.”

The council affirmed that: “Transitional justice is an essential condition for achieving sustainable peace,” calling for “truth-telling, ensuring victims’ rights, and addressing the cases of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons as a national priority,” while warning against “turning the transitional phase into a formal process that reproduces the old centralization.”

The SDC concluded its statement by stressing that Syria faces a historic labor that will redefine the shape of the state and its regional role, and that the success of this phase requires sincere national will and belief that the country’s future is based on freedom, citizenship, justice, and participation.

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ANHA