Syria’s National Dialogue Conference starts on February 25. Syriac Union Party remains skeptical and calls for a National Christian Conference

SYRIA – The National Dialogue 2-day conference for drafting a new constitution is announced by the Syrian Transitional Government to be held on February 25, Reuters reports. The National Dialogue conference needs to make sure all ethnic- and religious components are equally represented in the new constitution. The conference will be a benchmark for the level of inclusiveness under Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Sunni Transitional Government. Al-Sharaa is the former leader of the now ‘dissolved’ Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, and will be watched with suspicion by the US and EU, who will make the level of sanctions relief dependent on the democratic quality of the conference’s outcome.

Criticism of composition of Preparatory Committee

The composition of the preparatory committee for the Conference has drawn widespread criticism from Syrian political parties, organizations, and community leaders, who see it as unrepresentative of the country’s diversity.

In previous comments to SyriacPress, Co-Chair the Syriac Union Party (SUP) in Syria Sanharib Barsom criticized the composition of the seven-member preparatory committee for the National Dialogue Conference. Barsom denounced the committee’s makeup as incomplete and unacceptable -only one member of the preparatory committee, the Greek Orthodox-Rûm Hind Kabawat, is not Sunni Arab. “This is a serious mistake against the Syrians,” Barsom declared, pointing to concerns that the committee’s formation represents a single ideological perspective.

National Christian Conference

Barsom emphasized that building a prosperous and unified Syria requires the active participation of all its ethnic and political groups. He called for recognition of pluralism and inclusion in any new formations or committees deciding Syria’s future. His SUP has recently called on all Christian denominations in Syria to join efforts in a National Christian Conference comprising Eastern churches and Christian political and social organizations, so that they can raise their voices louder for inclusiveness and equal representation.

According to the SUP Co-Chair, joint Christian discourse and representation reinforces the demand that all ethnic, political and social components have a voice in shaping the future of Syria. The Syriac Union Party expects to hold official meetings soon to discuss and coordinate various issues affecting Christians in Syria.