In an amicable meeting between a delegation of the Kurdish National Council in Syria (KNC) and the Assyrian Democratic Organisation (ADO), the bilateral relations and the importance to further develop them to serve the interests of Kurds and Assyrians and of the country were discussed.
Additionally, both sides discussed the latest developments at the national, regional and international level and the related efforts of the international community to find a solution for the Syrian crisis. In this context, the participants discussed in detail the document “Executive Framework for a Political Solution”, issued by the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) and presented in London on September 7, 2016, in the presence of foreign ministers and representatives of the Friends of Syria group.
In conclusion, both sides neither approve the document published by the HNC nor do they consider it binding, since all remarks and suggestions made by the KNC and the ADO to enrich the paper and to fulfill the expectations of the Kurdish and the Assyrian people as well as of all Syrians of diverse social, ethnic and religious background have been ignored. Furthermore, the document denies the consensus, which was achieved between the National Coalition (Etilaf) and the KNC in 2013, and the fact that Syria is a diverse country with different ethnicities and religions. On the contrary, the paper insists on emphasising the ethnic and religious affiliation of the country’s majority, which means to discount the national and democratic rights of other groups, namely of non-Arab. In this way, it inhibits that those groups take part in the design of Syria’s future, manifesting a renunciation of the objectives of the Syrian revolution – freedom and democracy.
The KNC and the ADO reiterate their ambition to continue the peaceful political track in order to end the dictatorial regime and to create a democratic Syria. At the same time, they reinforce their commitment to support the joint cooperation and coordination in the framework of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces (Etilaf) as well as with additional patriotic oppositional groups. Both sides strive to overcome the obstacles to this end. Additionally, they call upon the HNC and the concerned parties, for the purpose of the interests and the future of all Syrians, to (1) eliminate the injustice and the arbitrariness against other ethnic and religious groups; to (2) take the reservations mentioned in a letter of the KNC and in a protest note of the ADO seriously; and (3) to make the necessary amendments in the document “Executive Framework for a Political Solution” in order to satisfy all sides involved.
10 September 2016
Kurdish National Council in Syria
Assyrian Democratic Organisation