Syrian national dialogue meeting calls for disarming all but new government

President Ahmad Al Shara issues warning shot to rival armed groups at opening of 600-person meeting

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  Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara speaks at the national dialogue conference in Damascus. Photo: Sana

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  Participants at the national dialogue conference, at the Dama Rose Hotel in Damascus. AP

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  Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani speaks during the conference. Reuters

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  President Al Shara, centre, arrives at the Dama Rose Hotel. He told the conference Syria must unite around a state that has a 'monopoly' of weapons. AP

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  Attendees at the national dialogue, which is aimed at listening to different political views and is non-binding. AP

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  Participants gathered for the conference. AP

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  A predominantly Kurdish militia group in control of large swathes of eastern Syria and a Druze spiritual leader in southern Syria were absent from the event. AFP

A Syrian national dialogue meeting backed by President Ahmad Al Shara's new government has called for armed groups to surrender weapons, saying those who refuse to do so would be "considered outlaws".

A final declaration after the meeting of several hundred people said weapons should be "only in the hands of the state" and that "any military formations other than those [belonging to the official institutions]" should be considered outlaws.

It also called for respecting human rights and rejecting acts of revenge, in favour of transitional justice that provides legal means of retribution for the victims of the civil war.

Almost three months after the ousting of Bashar Al Assad, the new administration in Damascus, dominated by Mr Al Shara's Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), is grappling with how to extend its control over the whole country, especially areas populated by minority groups.

Russia still maintains a coastal base near the Alawite Mountains, the core support region of the former regime. The US, which backs a Kurdish militia in the east, also has bases in the country. Israel has expanded a buffer zone in the Golan Heights, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week said HTS forces must not deploy in Suweida, a governorate mostly inhabited by the Druze, a religious minority also present in Israel, Lebanon and Jordan.

The conference, aimed to approve recommendations related to the foundations of the country's upcoming transitional phase. EPA

Absent from the conference were the predominantly Kurdish militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is in control of large swathes of eastern Syria, and Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri, a Druze spiritual leader in Suweida who has warned of the imposition of an Islamic state.

A statement by the SDF-dominated administration in Eastern Syria shared by pro-SDF outlets said the conference "did not represent the Syrian people and we will not be part of its conclusions. "As a part of Syria, we were not represented," the statement said. There are other reservations "in shape and in content" about the conference, it added.

The national dialogue aimed to hear different political views and is non-binding. It was organised by HTS, the group which was once linked with Al Qaeda and which Mr Al Shara heads. Since leading the ousting of the Assad regime on December 8, HTS has come under western pressure to commit to a degree of pluralism.

The communique, read in the presence of Mr Al Shara, also called for a merit-based political system that avoids sectarian quotas and creates rule of law and a united state "sovereign on every inch of the homeland".

But the text did not mention democracy, free elections or a timetable for a political transition, despite a litany of general goals from accelerating the political development of the country to rebuilding the economy and enhancing women's participation.

"After decades of the Syrian people suffering under tyranny, the new state would be based on justice and national dignity," the communique said, calling for a constitutional committee to draft a new basic law that would "enhance freedoms".

It called for the lifting of international sanctions on the country, and for an "immediate and unconditional" Israeli withdrawal from Syria.

Addressing the conference earlier in the day, Mr Al Shara said that the country must unite around a state that has a “monopoly” of weapons, in an apparent warning to rival militant groups.

“The unity of weapons and its monopoly by the state is a duty and a must. Syria cannot accept division. Its strength is in its unity,” Mr Al Shara said in a short opening speech.

Mr Al Shara said that “maintaining civil peace is the duty of all citizens” and that “suspicious calls that evoke danger among some sects … do not fool Syrian minds”.

“We have to be patient and not impose on Syria more than it can take,” he said. “Syria needs bold decisions that truly treat its problems, even if they are painful and shocking.”

Syria cannot “import” a ruling system that does not suit it, Mr Al Shara said, without outlining the alternative.

The conference came ahead of an expected change in the HTS government, and a day after the EU eased sanctions on Syria. The bloc described it as a move in “support of an inclusive political transition in Syria, and its swift economic recovery, reconstruction, and stabilisation”.

Despite regime change, conflict is continuing in parts of the country. The SDF are engaged in a war of attrition with pro-HTS, Turkish-backed auxiliaries in eastern Syria.

Mr Al Hijri has welcomed the removal of Mr Al Assad but has called for an inclusive civil administration to replace the former regime, implying that the new state must be secular.

“Until now, we respect all opinions, but we haven't seen the ability to lead the country or shape a state in the correct way,” he told Reuters in an interview.

“We're going along with it, hoping that things will become organised or that something new will happen by the end of the transitional period,” he said.

Rebel groups dominated by HTS appointed President Al Shara at the end of last month. Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al Jawlani, he fought for Al Qaeda in Iraq before eventually breaking from the group and creating HTS, which led an 11-day offensive from northern Syria that ousted Mr Al Assad.

Mr Al Shara has promised a transitional government ahead of free and fair elections, without setting a deadline. He has avoided using the terms pluralism or democracy but said that Syria will be governed by shura, a form of collective decision-making in Islam.

Additional reporting by Nada Atallah in Beirut