Russia and Iran want to buy time through the constitutional committee – Opposition official

The former head of the Syrian National Council (SNC) George Sabra told North-Press that the process of the constitutional committee “wouldn’t succeed, because the (Syrian) regime and its protectors, the Russians and the Iranians, want to buy time to deduct other areas from the opposition”.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, finally reached on Monday, 23 September, the formation of the Constitutional Committee, after 20 months of attempts.

The decision to form the Constitutional Committee was taken during a meeting sponsored by Russia in the Russian city of Sochi on the Syrian crisis, as its task was “formulating a constitutional reform that contributes to the political settlement sponsored by the United Nations”, according to the Russian proposal at that time.

The Constitutional Committee comprises 150 persons, 50 of whom were chosen by the Syrian government, 50 by the Syrian opposition (basically based in Turkey), and the rest were chosen by the United Nations as “representatives of the civil society”.

While the incompatibility of the proposed names by the three parties, has been the main reason for the stalling of the Committee.

Disagreements
The Russian forces have supported Syrian government forces since 2014, at a time the Syrian government forces controlled only about a quarter of the Syrian territories, but today it is the most dominant force, controlling more than 60% of the country, then the Global Coalition-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), where it took control over about 30% of the Syrian territories, while the oppositional forces control the remaining part, which is the smallest.

Sabra does not expect the committee to make any progress, and that “it will sink into differences and differing visions and details. It is a blow to the path of political solution and distortion of the political process formulated by the international will, and was responded by the forces of the revolution and the opposition,” he said.

“Therefore, we find this firm rejection of the Constitutional Committee and its work of the public of the revolution and its activists inside and outside the country”, Sabra added.

Cities and towns in the northwestern governorate of Idlib have witnessed popular demonstrations, on Friday, September 27th, which rejected the Syrian Constitutional Committee and considered it as a “legalization of Assad regime”, according to the demonstrators.

The committee is expected to begin its works in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations in the next few weeks, as they will meet on 30 October, the United Nations announced yesterday.

The dispute seems to be dominant of the situation prior to the sessions of the Constitutional Committee, where the government delegation focuses on amending the constitution approved by Damascus in 2012, while the other party insists on the adoption of a new constitution under the auspices of the United Nations.

“Turkish intervention”

Omar Ossi, the Member of Syrian parliament, assured to North-Press that Damascus stands firm on the issue of amending the 2012 constitution. “Damascus is serious about cooperating with this national entitlement, because the results of this committee will pass through the Syrian parliament and then will be put to for referendum,” he said.

However, Ossi expects the committee to fail as a result of the Turkish interference in its works. “Turkey wants, through its interference in the works of the constitutional committee, and to exclude the majority of the Kurdish component from it, an Ottoman constitution which takes into account its expansionist colonial ambitions in the Syrian territories,” he said.

The most important thing currently “is countering and thwarting Turkish colonial plans and the control of terrorists in some areas of Syria,” The Syrian parliamentarian pointed out.

It was notable that there is no representation of the SDF nor its political umbrella, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), within the Constitutional Committee.

The Democratic Autonomous  Administration of North and East Syria has declared “non – recognition” of the decisions of this committee, as it “excluded representatives of 5 million Syrians”.

It seems that the three forces in Syria are dissatisfied with this committee, whose mission is considered “almost impossible” as some observers of the Syrian crisis have described. But after killing of hundreds of thousands, the refuge and displacement of millions, the only concern of all Syrians is stopping the ongoing war for more than 8 years in the country.