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Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression
Civil society and resolving conflicts in Syria
Talking about the role of civil society in conflict resolution
for a Syrian citizen working in public affairs carries with it a
great deal of complexity and overlap. That talk about civil
society can not be separated from talk about democracy, human
rights, free media and the Civil State, the rule of law and
institutions freely elected and modernity ... Etc. As the key
element in this structure is the individual citizen; "a citizen
free and civilized whose values insure civilized humanity."
And talk about resolving disputes also carries with it greater
complexity and overlapping, where political development,
economic, social and totalitarian dictatorship system conditions
did not allow us to test citizenship according to the previous
criteria. These circumstances combined with the overlap in
international intervention created a climate experienced during
the past decades, mainly being in forms of conflict such as the
wars of 1948, 1967, 1973 and 1982 with our neighbors the
Israelis and the cold war with it that lasts this far and is
heating. Added to this are the internal armed conflicts between
the ruling regime and the Muslim Brotherhood in years filled
with bullets and blood to the problems of citizenship rights and
discrimination for the Syrian Kurdish citizens and the victims
of the democratic struggle Peaceful continuing until this moment,
and the war of democratization the oil in Iraq, which has
resulted in more than two million Iraqi refugees in Syria' and
the number is growing daily,
In a country such as Syria, carrying all this heavy inheritance
and places in the eye of the hurricane, which is engulfing the
Middle East. There are fears of the fate being like the fate of
the Iraqi people and people do not feel the desire to live
according to democratic sectarian quotas similar to their
Lebanese neighbors...
It seems to be the urgent needs and desire to strengthen and
consolidate civil society in Syria that can be a genuine
guarantee for the national reconciliation process out of the
internal crises experienced by the Syrian society according to
the requirements of justice in the transitional period so that
such reconciliation crosses to achieve democratic transformation
required for personal reformulation of the social contract on
the basis of a new Syrian reflecting the ambitions of the Syrian
people in a democratic and civil nation.
"Peace, democracy and development" are the "Holy Trinity" able
to unit in order to protect the entire region, not only Syria,
from a series of crises that could erupt at any moment to leave
behind thousands of refugees who will hear to Europe, the
preferred destination via waves of legal and illegal immigration.
That is why it is imperative to work together as civil societies
and parliamentarians to pressure to achieve this trinity to
guarantee the prevention of the outbreak of crises in the region.
This would be more beneficial and less costly than the search
for solutions to crises after the explosion.
In this context let me send greetings to all the detainees of
opinion and conscience in Syria and allows me to single out
colleagues journalist Michel Kilwa arrested by the Syrian
authorities and journalist Atta Farhat which the Israeli
occupation authorities arrested him from his home in the
occupied Syrian Golan. Let me also at this time salute all
martyrs of democracy and independence in Lebanon.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
A beautiful Syrian girl ran away nearly 5000 years ago from
Syria her name was Europe. She ran to the northern shores of the
Mediterranean to be with her lover Bakhos. She established her
presence there and gained tremendous experience and knowledge
after a long and arduous struggle for peace, democracy and
development. We, in the civil Syrian society will make every
effort to restore the production of our cultural heritage
through the preservation of the values of civilization and
rejuvenating the knowledge and experience gained by Europe after
its long presence in the northern beaches of the Mediterranean
through peace and positive cooperation between the two sides of
the Mediterranean.
Mazen Darwich
President of SCM
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