Syrian National Dialogue Forum kicked off

The Syrian National Dialogue Forum kicked off on Sunday at Dama Rose Hotel in Damascus, with the participation of a number of national parties and figures. The Forum will discuss over two days the political program to solve the crisis in Syria as well as the constitution and the national charter, in addition to focusing on the laws of elections, media and parties. The road map for a safe exit from the crisis proposed by the conference of the opposition National Forces on the Peaceful Change Path will also be on the table. "Syria is now at a historic juncture where we either fall or open the doors wide and enter the new Syria that shouldn't be takfiri, salafi or obscurantist but rather a democratic and pluralistic Syria where the values of justice, equality and freedom of expression prevail," said member of the Presidency of the Popular Front for Change and Liberation, Adel N'eisah, the Forum spokesman. He stressed that to reach this Syria we are required to hold dialogue and have deep discussion of the constitution and the laws of elections, media and local administration "that should be real guarantees for everybody without exception." For his part, Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs, Ali Haidar, reiterated that "the only solution to the crisis in Syria is the political solution through national dialogue that brings the Syrians together and not sows division among them." Haidar placed the responsibility for the non-stop bloodbath in Syria on "the discordant voices that reject dialogue and try to avoid sitting at the table under false pretexts seeking false victories of one side over another." He considered the Forum "a real chance and a courageous step to lay down the basics for building the bridges of trust among the Syrians." The Minister affirmed to those who "question" the dialogue that the dialogue "will be under the Syrians' microscope and scrutiny and eventually verdict which will come through voting on its outcomes." "The Syrians will be judge the deeds not the intentions, and this is a safety valve of any dialogue to come, for those who ask for guarantees," Haidar added. He said the Syrians are in need now more than ever before "to reduce the level of violence and combat corruption and the corrupted" as well as to more effective handling of the file of the detainees due to the events and better highlight the integrated political solution program seeking to get Syria out of its crisis based on one ground which is "putting Syria's interest above all other factional or partial interests." Secretary General of the Syrian Communist Party, Ammar Bikdash, said that the Syrian people realize that "no democracy, decent life or social progress can be achieved under foreign imperialist hegemony over the homeland." Member of the Central Committee of the Baath Arab Socialist Party, Khalil Mashhadiya, warned that the continuation of the crisis in Syria will drag the region and the world to repercussions that the conspiring countries are unable to afford. Delivering the speech of the opposition Democratic National Bloc, Secretary General of National Youth Party for Justice and Development, Barwin Ibrahim, stressed on objectivity and respect of the other's viewpoint as the most important conditions for dialogue, which he said should not exclude anyone. In turn, Fateh Jamous from the opposition Peaceful Change Forces Coalition, called for "not wasting the chance" to solve the crisis in the country politically, referring to the existence of "faithful friends" at the BRICS and the EU among others who are supporting Syria in dealing with its crisis. Russia's Ambassador in Damascus, Azmatullah Kulmohammadov, stressed that this Forum is a step towards holding comprehensive dialogue with the Syrian government, saying the greater the participation, the faster the movement towards a solution. He noted that the major task now is to halt the violence and launch comprehensive dialogue according to the Geneva Statement without preconditions. In turn, Assistant of Iran's Ambassador considered that today's forum brought together "the real representatives of the Syrian people" to stand in the face of the conspiracy, calling upon all opposition trends to walk in this direction.