SDC, opposition body sign memorandum of understanding
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) and the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB) reached a memorandum of understanding on Saturday, which includes five articles that pave the way for joint work between the two sides.
The NCB is a coalition of unarmed political figures and parties of the Syrian opposition. It was founded in June 2011 with the aim of unifying the opposition’s demands in having a political dialogue with the Syrian government.
The announcement of the MOU was made during a press release in Qamishli, attended on the ground by SDC officials Amina Omar and Janda Muhammad, and from Vienna by Riyad Dirar, co-chair of the SDC.
On the NCB side, the meeting was attended by the General Coordinator of the body, Hassan Abdul Azim; two members of its Executive Office, Abdul Qahar Saud and Azat Muheisen from the Syrian capital, Damascus; and Nour al-Wakeel, another member of the NCB Executive Office from Berlin.
The two sides agreed on the necessity of establishing a “Syrian democratic national front” for the Syrian opposition that adopts the project of “democratic national change and the transition from dictatorship to democracy to get Syria out of the disaster it is going through.”
The two sides agreed that the participation of all “democratic national political forces” is essential for reaching a political solution to the crisis in line with UN Security Council Res. 2254.
This is to “achieve political transition and transitional justice, end the dictatorship and its origins, eliminate terrorism in all its forms, contribute to achieving democratic national change, and build a decentralized democratic pluralistic state that Syrians agree on in the future constitution,” said Article 2 of the MOU.
The two sides rejected all separatist projects and attempts that threaten Syria’s unity, both territorially and socially. They also agreed to work towards the exit of all non-Syrian armed factions, militias, and foreign forces present on Syrian soil, without relying on any external party.
The SDC and the NCB affirmed that the national political solution to the Syrian crisis is the only solution that can spare Syria from war, achieve the aspirations of Syrians, and preserve the country’s territorial integrity.
Both sides pledged to work towards releasing detainees from all prisons throughout Syria, determining the fate of the forcibly disappeared, ending the unjust pursuit of fugitives, rejecting demographic change, and enabling IDPs and refugees to return to their areas.
In Article 5, the two parties agreed to combat corruption in all its forms, boost the national economy, work to achieve judicial independence to preserve people’s rights and dignity, empower women to play their role in the state and society, and support young men and women to play a leading role in the present and future.