Syria\u2019s Minorities Call for Decentralized State and Constitution Guaranteeing Pluralism
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\nRepresentatives from Syria\u2019s ethnic and religious minorities convened in Hassakeh on August 8 to demand the establishment of a decentralized state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural, and ethnic pluralism, ABC News reported. The one-day conference brought together around 400 delegates from various minority communities amid Syria\u2019s ongoing political transition following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.<\/p>\n
The transition process includes planned elections in September and the eventual drafting of a new constitution, which may take years. Minority groups expressed concern over recent violence targeting communities such as Alawites, Druze, and Christians, condemning these attacks as crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n
Ghazal Ghazal, spiritual leader of the Alawite minority, criticized extremist ideologies imposing religious control and called for a federal system protecting all Syrians\u2019 rights. The conference, held under the control of the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was described by Elham Ahmad, a senior official with the northeastern autonomous administration, as a message of civil peace and national reconciliation.<\/p>\n
Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri emphasized that pluralism strengthens unity rather than threatening it. Meanwhile, SDF commander Sipan Hamo criticized the interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa for perpetuating dictatorship and expressed willingness to integrate into a democratic national army.<\/p>\n
The interim government in Damascus has not responded to the conference. Violence against minorities since Assad\u2019s fall has claimed hundreds of lives, raising fears about Syria\u2019s future stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Syria\u2019s Minorities Call for Decentralized State and Constitution Guaranteeing Pluralism ————————————– Representatives from Syria\u2019s ethnic and religious minorities convened in Hassakeh on August 8 to demand the establishment of a decentralized state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural, and ethnic pluralism, ABC News reported. The one-day conference brought together around …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":130995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"\n