RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Civil activists and Arab tribal heads described the two dialogue seminars held by the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) in Raqqa city, northern Syria, as positive and courageous.
“The two dialogue seminars were successful where unprecedented views were presented,” Ramadan Rahhal, Head of the Ali clan of Raqqa that participated in the seminars, said.
All participating sheikhs, leaders, and societal figures expressed all sufferings and problems of the region with transparency and honesty, according to Rahal.
SDC held a dialogue seminar in Taj Hall in Raqqa city on September 30, and held the second seminar on October 3 in the building of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North East Syria in Raqqa.
Arab tribal heads and sheikhs as well as civil society activists and members of the Civil Council of Raqqa and Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration attended the seminars.
Participants added that the most notable thing during the seminars is the female presence, including that of teachers, employees, and civil society activists.
A conference would be held for the people of northeastern Syria, after which they would move to the Syrian interior after completing the seminars, Hikmat Habib, Vice President of the Executive Committee of SDC, previously told North Press.
The two seminars were divided into several sessions, including the intra-Syrian dialogue, the dialogue with the opposition, the intra-Kurdish dialogue, and its implications for the political solution in Syria.
Discussions also took place on the historical relations between the peoples of the region and their role in building the Autonomous Administration, and on the mechanism for developing participation and institutional work in the Autonomous Administration.
The Executive Director of the Hope Makers Organization in Raqqa, Mahmoud Hadi, who participated in the two seminars, hopes that these dialogues will enhance the role of civil society in Raqqa in particular and in the regions of northern and eastern Syria in general.
“These seminars create a safe zone and are the beginning of openness to civil and political action in northern and eastern Syria,” he added.
Hadi does not believe that the results of these seminars will appear immediately, as the empowerment of civil society and clarifying its role requires holding several symposia.
The two symposia included many propositions that criticized some aspects of the work of the Civil Council of Raqqa, the work of the Autonomous Administration, and its handling of many issues, including the detention of ISIS-affiliated women in Hawl Camp.
The economic situation and living conditions took up a large part of the discussions in the two seminars.
Lorance Borsan, head of the Naser clan, said that they talked about defective points in the administration’s work, the situation of prisoners, and a mediation mechanism for some tribal sheikhs and notables to secure their release.
“The last period witnessed a number of invitations to attend dialogue conferences in northeast Syria; these dialogues aim to create an intellectual and spiritual rapprochement among all communities of northeast Syria,” he added.
Borsan hopes that the AANES will implement the proposals that were discussed in the two seminars.
The SDC held similar symposia in the cities of Hasakah, Manbij, and Kobani during the past weeks.
The organizers of these symposia intend to hold five more seminars in the near future in several cities in northern and eastern Syria.