A sit-in in Qamishli to protest the expulsion of NE Syria Administration from the Constitutional Committee

The Star Conference (women’s organization in northeastern Syria) in cooperation with the District Council of West and East of Qamishli have organized a women’s tent in front of the United Nations building on Tuesday to demand the inclusion of representatives of the Autonomous Administration of northeastern Syria in the drafting committee of the Syrian constitution. The protesters raised banners expressing their refusal to accept the Constitutional Committee, which was recently formed by the United Nations.

Viyan Muhammad, an official in Star Conference stated in front of the tent: “We set up this tent because the United Nations and the countries of the world say that we don’t recognize the Kurds, as we are the ones who gave thousands of martyrs for this identity. How don’t they recognize us?”

Meanwhile, Fatima Hassan al-Jassem, an administrator in the District Council, eastern section Qamishli said: “We demand a review of the new constitutional committee, and the inclusion of the Autonomous Administration in this constitution”. 

According to the management committee of the sit-in, it will last for two days, to be followed by a march in which they will demand the right of the components of northeastern Syria to participate in drafting the constitution.  

The Constitutional Committee, consists of 150 members; 50 of them were chosen by the Syrian government, 50 by the Syrian opposition, while the other 50 by the United Nations as representatives of the civil society, while northeastern Syria administration was excluded from the committee. 

The United Nations special envoy for Syria Geir Pederson announced that he will head to Damascus next week, to discuss the final touches on the meeting of the members of the Constitutional Committee, which was set on October 30, this month. After his visit to Damascus, the UN envoy will travel to Riyadh to meet with the members of the Syrian National Coalition.