The two-day ‘Whither Syria’ conference that started at Hotel Sheraton Doha Saturday, assessed the current Syrian situation and discussed the need to create new mechanisms to resolve the crisis.
Salem al-Meslet, President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, addressing the conference
Attended by politicians, academics and experts, the conference, on the first day, discussed improving the performance of the opposition coalition and bringing in the political transition process.
While addressing the opening session, Dr Riyad Hijab, former Prime Minister of Syria and General Coordinator of the High Negotiations Committee, said that there was a need to ensure that Syrians obtained all their legitimate rights and got rid of the repressive regime.
Dignitaries attending 'Whither Syria'
“Despite the grim situation in Syria today, we are more determined than ever to fulfill our people's demands, strengthen our national identity, achieve a political transition free of Assad regime and to unify our efforts to hold all perpetrators accountable while ensuring that they do not go unpunished,” he said and thanked Qatar for its firm principled positions and its support for international efforts to implement UN resolutions, for its call to hold those who committed violations against the Syrian people accountable and for hosting this symposium.
First session of 'Whither Syria' is attended by politicians and academics
Hijab emphasised his insistence on reaching a political solution and a complete transitional process in which Assad and his regime have no place, stressing that the regime's claim of victory is incorrect. The Syrian opposition requires to assume full responsibility and set national interest as its priority to launch a new episode in the battle in which Syrians will be given all their rights.
Claiming that Bashar al-Assad has won against the Syrian people is far from reality, Hijab said his regime suffers heavy losses at all levels. “Syria has declined to the lowest levels of corruption, poverty, and unemployment in the world and Assad's exhausted allies fight a desperate battle to naturalise a regime that has lost its legitimacy,” he noted.
Salem al-Meslet, President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, presided over the first session on ‘Shifts of National and International Stances’. The symposium includes eight dialogue sessions, focusing on evaluating the current Syrian scene, anticipating challenges and expected scenarios and proposing mechanisms to deal with them, in addition to adopting recommendations that contribute to providing a comprehensive vision of the Syrian opposition’s work, to get out of the political, humanitarian and economic crises that Syrians suffer from.
