Rojava officials, Armenian delegation discuss Syria challenges

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Armenian Social Council and the Armenian Women's Union in the northeastern Syria (Rojava) met with the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) on Wednesday to extend their congratulations for the Kurdish New Year (Newroz) and discuss the challenges facing Syria and the region.

The Rojava-based groups congratulated the DAANES’s executive council on the occasion of the Kurdish New Year, celebrated worldwide by Kurdish communities between March 21 and 23, and International Women’s Day marked on March 8.

The Armenian delegations were received by Evin Swed, the co-chair of DAANES’s executive council and her deputies Tarfah Osman and Hamdan al-Abed. They discussed “the challenges facing Syria and the region, particularly the recent crimes committed in the coastal areas of Syria against members of the Alawite sect,” according to a statement by the DAANES. 

Armed confrontations erupted in the Alawite-majority coastal areas of western Syria in early March, when loyalists of ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched attacks on security forces affiliated with the new leadership in Damascus.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, around 1,500 people - mostly Alawite civilians – were killed in the violence, with most of the casualties resulting from attacks by government or government-affiliated forces. The killings drew widespread international condemnation.

The Armenian delegations and DAANES emphasized on Wednesday “the necessity of holding the perpetrators” behind the human rights violations against the Alawites “accountable and protecting the rights of all sects and religions” in Syria, added the statement.

The two sides also touched on the newly-passed constitutional declaration, affirming that “it does not fulfill the aspirations of the Syrian people or the true identity of Syria, particularly the hopes and ambitions of women.” They urged redrafting the interim constitution “with the participation of all segments of the Syrian society, including women, to achieve justice and ensure the rights of all.”

In mid-March, Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a 53-article constitutional declaration that centers on Islamic jurisprudence, mandates that the president must be Muslim, and sets a five-year transitional period. It also maintains Syria’s official name as the Syrian "Arab" Republic.

The interim constitution additionally grants Sharaa exclusive executive power, the authority to appoint one-third of the legislature, and the ability to appoint judges to the constitutional court, which is the body that can hold him accountable.

The constitutional declaration has in recent weeks come under fire from Syria’s Kurdish, Christian and Druze communities over its exclusion of ethnic and religious communities in Syria.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday warned that the constitutional declaration consolidates power in the hands of the president and risks entrenching “authoritarian control.” The global human rights monitor urged the new leadership in Damascus to revise the declaration to better safeguard human rights.

The Armenian delegation and DAANES on Wednesday urged amending the interim constitution to ensure inclusivity, “without excluding or marginalizing any group.” They further stressed the importance of strengthening dialogue among Syrians “to resolve all outstanding issues,” involving all components of the Syrian people, especially women.

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