Political transition must be based on accountability for war crimes: Stockholm meeting
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Any sustainable political transition must be based on holding the perpetrators of war crimes accountable and activating other transitional justice tracks, the participants in the Stockholm consultative meeting said in a press statement on Tuesday.
At the invitation of the preparatory committee of the democratic powers and figures conference and in cooperation with the Olof Palme International Center, in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, a consultative meeting was held yesterday under the title “Stockholm Consultative Meeting for Democratic Powers and Figures: Necessity, Possibilities and Hope.”
The meeting was attended by the official for the Syrian issue in the Swedish Foreign Ministry, Per Uranus, and the official of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Swedish Parliament, Kenneth Forslund, in addition to representatives of Syrian political parties and personalities.
The statement noted to the need to address all the democratic forces and communicate with them both inside and outside Syria.
“A strong coherent coordination circle that represents the democratic Syrians should be developed so that the dialogue continues and the conference can be held,” the statement said.
It is necessary to communicate with civil gatherings that represent different social stratum of women, youth, professional and trade unionists, in addition to setting a timetable for the convening of the conference, according to the statement.
“The political system is constitutionally and legally responsible for the disasters that befell the country,” the statement added.
On the first day of the meeting, three rounds of talks were convened. The first was titled “A political reading to the situation in Syria”, the second was titled “A reading on the situation of the Syrian opposition”, and the last round was under the name “the potentials and opportunities in front of the Syrian opposition”.
The preparatory committee for “Consultative Meeting for Democratic Powers and Figures” conference followed six workshops in European cities and also three dialogue meetings in Syria in 2018, 2019, and 2020 organized by the SDC.
“The issue of the displaced and refugees ensure their voluntary and safe return to their homes, release all detainees and abductees, and reveal the fate of the missing and forcibly disappeared, must be included in any political solution,” the statement mentioned.
“The UN Resolution 2254 and Geneva Declaration 1 must be the basis for the political solution, and that any political solution must be democratic without excluding any party, which is one of the reasons for holding the conference,” The statement said.
“To build a state of citizenship, any political solution must not include tyranny in all its forms and symbols, and mechanisms must also be developed to deepen discussions and debates and reach perceptions that serve all Syrians in their future state on a number of issues related to the state, identity and decentralization.
“Eliminating terrorism is still a priority for the political solution, which requires the concerted efforts of a number of Syrian democratic forces and the international community,” according to the statement.