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«Constitutional reform», a new opportunity
There is no doubt that the constitution of any country is a sovereign matter. It goes without saying that it would have been better if the crisis had not reached what it had reached, and would have been better if it was not removed from the hands of the Syrians. But things went this way, and the Syrians were unable to solve their crisis by their own, because of the dominant irrational logic of "Quell vs. Overthrow", and because of the fact that the crisis has been internationalized, the involvement of the international community in the Syrian crisis through the United Nations as a facilitator of a consensual political process, has become indispensable for anyone who really wants to preserve the unity and sovereignty of the Syrian, state and to make the Syrians restore their own decision. .
On this basis, and within this logic, any seeker for a real solution should be open to deal with the current international effort to form the Constitutional Reform Committee, as agreed upon by all relevant parties, including the three guarantors, as it is one of the outcomes of the Sochi Conference for Intra-Syrian National Dialogue, which was an innovative solution by the Russian side, to remove obstacles to the direct negotiation process, on the basis of resolution 2254, and to drop the various pretexts that prevented reaching for a political solution within the time limits adopted in the resolution.
The fact that the Russian initiative is essentially based on UN resolution 2254 precludes it from being a hostile foreign intervention, in the traditional form known during the past period of US hegemony over the international decision, which was characterized by the expropriation of the peopels' will. This is evident in the very logic and wording of the resolution 2254 itself, which importantly provided for neutralizing and curbing of foreign interference, unless it was useful and advantageous for the consensual political solution, which will eventually lead to ending of the hostile external interference.
The task of the constitutional reform committee, which the United Nations is working on its formation, is to lay down the general constitutional principles, to return the decision to the Syrians, and enable the Syrian people, not only the "regime and the opposition", to determine their fate and the fate of their country, and drawing the outlines of the future Syria. This is the only realistic, necessary and possible way to restore the sovereignty of the Syrian people, since the absence of the people's sovereignty is the internal dimension of the crisis that is besetting the country, and the people's sovereignty is also the basis of national sovereignty in its broad sense.
Hence, it is essential that the Constitutional Reform Committee, which is being formed, provide the widest representation of the Syrian society in all its social classes and categories, outside the current framework of what is known as proponents and opponents, and in a way securing the proper circumstances that prevent any party from obstructing and wasting this new opportunity for Syria and the Syrians.
The acceleration of the formation of the Constitutional Reform Committee is the central and direct task today, as it is the lever of direct negotiation and the beginning of the political solution that provides the climate and the ground for accomplishing all national tasks: eradication of terrorism, restoration of sovereignty over the entire Syrian territory, and stopping the humanitarian catastrophe, up to reaching the radical and comprehensive national democratic change.
Kassioun Editorial, Issue No. 850, Feb. 19, 2018
