People's Assembly listens to Ministers' answers on urgent issues

People's Assembly on Monday held a session led by Speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, listening to answers of Ministers on the questions of Members of the Parliament about the measures taken by the government to overcome difficulties and obstacles resulted by the crisis in the country. The MPs called on the government to provide citizens with the basic needs and distance itself from giving promises without implementation, as well as adhering to credibility and transparency in depicting the current situation. They urged for adopting the principle of the national comprehensive dialogue as a human and moral need before being a political need and responding to the government call for carrying out the political program depending on overcoming pains and wounds. Deputy Prime Minister for Services Affairs, Minister of Local Administration Omar Ghalawanji, said that the war which Syria is facing affected the state infrastructure, noting that the government has taken essential steps to restore security and stability. He added that the government also set up the stages for implementing the political program to solve the crisis on the ground. Ghalawanji pointed out that the government is studying the possibility of establishing the Social Insurance Fund and its main funding sources, adding that a committee for construction has been formed and more than SYP 2 billion were spent on construction in 2012. He noted that the construction committee estimated the damage caused by the armed terrorist groups till January, 10th, 2013 at SYP 1000 billion. In turn, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Dr. Qadri Jamil, said that discussions in the People's Assembly sessions are a sign of progress and openness in political work in Syria, calling on all sides to engage in dialogue and abandon slander. Jamil said that the opposition abroad didn't present any initiatives; rather they reacted to the government's initiative and its calls for  dialogue. He added that the unjust economic embargo on Syria has affected many Syrians and their livelihoods, and that the security conditions in areas between cities and on roads have also had a negative impact on the process of providing supplies to citizens. He saw that "there is corruption in the state body which causes losses of SYP billions in all fields, and treating it requires a political will and courage." Similarly, State Minister for National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar said that the Syrian people are suffering from many difficulties, stressing the need to implement a clear work mechanism between all ministries and the People's Assembly to overcome this, thereby creating a unified vision through the integrated work of the legislative and executive authorities. Haidar affirmed commitment to holding dialogue with the opposition within Syria and abroad, along with all those who bore arms and then abandoned them, all without relinquishing national standards. For his part, Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi asserted that national dialogue will help reduce violence, saying that the government is meeting even with unlicensed political forces and parties. Al-Zoubi noted that one shouldn't be quick to judge the results of these meetings as dialogue needs preliminary steps and the contribution of everyone including the opposition abroad, and that it also requires that gunmen throw down their weapons. He said that the current government's role ends when national dialogue is launched and when it produces a national charter. Al-Zoubi said that the political program for resolving the crisis relies on public will and referendum, noting that there are attempts by western and Arab mass media to abort this program and political dialogue. The Minister said that the political decision adopted by President Bashar al-Assad at his latest discourse and shifting it into a political solution for the crisis was one of the most courageous, democratic decisions throughout Syria's modern history. In turn, Justice Minister Dr. Najm al-Ahmad said that his ministry is working to establish a just, independent legal system and that it deals with any case related to the current situation in an exceptional manner that differs from the way cases were handled before. He affirmed that the Justice Ministry's doors are open to everyone and that it accepts criticism that helps judicial work. Al-Ahmad said that all courts and justice palaces within the regions that witnessed security tension have been burned and sabotaged by armed groups in a systematic way, adding the Ministry has worked to maintain and find substitutes for the damaged courts.