Syria conference a ‘rare historical opportunity’ to rebuild country

Syria’s new rulers kicked off a long-awaited national dialogue conference on Tuesday as a “rare historical opportunity” to rebuild the country after the fall of former president Bashar Assad and nearly 14 years of civil war.

About 600 people from across Syria were invited to the gathering in the presidential palace in Damascus, hosted by the new authorities led by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. The group led the offensive that ousted Mr Assad in December.

“Just as Syria has liberated itself by itself, it is appropriate for it to build itself by itself,” interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa told the conference.

“What we are experiencing today is an exceptional and rare historical opportunity in which we must use every moment to serve the interests of our people and our nation and honour the sacrifices of its children,” he said.

Syria’s new rulers have promised an inclusive political transition. They will be closely watched by Syrians and the international community, including countries weighing whether to lift sanctions imposed during Mr Assad’s authoritarian rule.

Syria faces major challenges, from rebuilding an economy and war-wrecked infrastructure to setting up a new constitution and justice mechanisms for those accused of war crimes.

HTS was formerly affiliated with al Qaida, although it broke ties, and Mr al-Sharaa has since preached co-existence.

The organisers of the Damascus conference said all of Syria’s communities were invited. Women and members of minority religious communities were among the attendees.

“There were proposals made without any fear and we were able to express our opinions,” said Sanabal Marandi, who took part in the session for non-governmental organisations and civil society. She added that she hopes the recommendations “will be implemented in reality”.

The gathering was meant to come up with nonbinding recommendations on the country’s interim rules before drafting a new constitution and forming a new government.

In the closing session Tuesday, conference organising committee member Huda Attassi gave a statement announcing the recommendations reached in the discussions.

The statement called for the country’s leaders to “expedite the announcement of a temporary constitutional declaration” to address the transitional phase while a new constitution is being drafted and for “accelerating the formation of the interim legislative council” to fill the role of a parliament until new elections take place.

Mr al-Sharaa had previously said that it could take up to four years to hold elections.

Syria’s new leaders also face the challenge of transforming former insurgent factions into a single national army they say should control all the country’s territory. Some armed groups — mainly the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which holds sway in northeastern Syria — have refused to disarm and dissolve their units.

SDF figures were not invited to the conference, although the organisers said the Kurdish community would be represented.

A group of mostly Kurdish political parties said in a statement on Tuesday that the conference did “not reflect the reality of the Syrian components” and warned that it would be “meaningless, worthless and ineffective and will not contribute to finding real solutions to the crisis that the country is suffering from.”

Along with the internal frictions, Syria’s new authorities face external threats.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel will not allow Syria’s new army or HTS to “enter the area south of Damascus”.

He said that Israel aimed to protect Syria’s Druze, a religious minority who live in southern Syria and in Israel’s Golan Heights.

The statement released after the national dialogue conference condemned Mr Netanyahu’s comments and “the Israeli incursion into Syrian territories as a blatant violation of Syria’s sovereignty”.

Syria’s new rulers have not directly responded to Mr Netanyahu’s warning, but Mr al-Sharaa told the Damascus conference that Syria must “firmly confront anyone who wants to tamper with our security and unity”.

Interim foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani said Syria’s new authorities “will not accept any violation of our sovereignty or the independence of our national decisions”.

He also touted the government’s efforts to rebuild diplomatic ties with Arab and Western countries, and push for lifting sanctions.

Also on Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Druze heartland of Sweida and the southern city of Daraa to protest against Mr Netanyahu’s comments.

Nour Alameddine, a university student, displayed a sign: “Syria is not for sale, Syria is united.”

“Sweida is part of Syria. We do not want it to be under Israeli occupation,” she said.