Seminar on Syrian constitution and political process held in Manbij
MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – On Saturday, the Berchav organization held a seminar in the city of Manbij, north Syria, to discuss the Syrian constitution and the political process.
A number of intellectuals, politicians, jurists, and specialists in women’s affairs participated in the symposium.
Mazen Gharib, a member of the Constitutional Committee in Geneva, participated in the seminar via Skype.
This seminar is the second of its kind in the city of Manbij, and there are still five sessions that will be held in Manbij during the next few days, according to Farouk Haji Mustafa, Executive Director of Berchav.
Hassan al-Abdullah, an academic from the city of Manbij, stressed the necessity of holding intensive and expanded seminars, “because they are transparent and frank meetings and in which there is rapprochement between society and the bodies working on drafting the constitution abroad.”
Al-Abdullah considers it necessary to adopt articles in the new Syrian constitution that focus on the democratic rights of the citizen.
He pointed out that Syria, throughout its history, has gone through many stages, each of which imposed its own constitution, the last of which has been the current and continuous constitution since the seventies.
Mazen Battran, a human rights activist from Manbij, stressed the need for the regions of northeast Syria to participate in the constitutional process.
Battran called for those regions to have real representation in the meetings that prepare the draft of the new Syrian constitution.
“We count a lot on the mini-constitutional committee, and we hope that we will have representation in it so that we can participate in the preparation of a Syrian constitution that includes all communities without excluding any party,” he said.
“All Syrian people have suffered from the scourge of the Syrian war. It is their right to determine their fate, to live in Syrian territory with dignity which guarantees their rights,” he added.