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Syria's Long Road to Democracy

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About Me • Born and raised in • Syriac Christian, minority in Syria i • Raised as the son of a politician who played a key role in Syria's independence from the French mandate in 1946 • Went to college in the US: civil engineering degree, Catholic University, 1984 • Finished a masters in ethno-political conflict management from Royal Roads University in Canada, in 2008 • Went into nonprofit human rights work • Executive Director of Syrian Human Rights Organization, 2004-2011 • Syrian Parliament Candidate, 2003 & 2007 • Political activist and elected leader with various v groups ■ • President of Syriac National Council JL • November 2011, joined , started in to represent the opposition to Assad regime • 2013, joined Syrian National Coalition • 2015, joined Syrian Democratic Council

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Overview of Presentation

History of Conflict Political Challenges Democratic Solution

Recent history for Syria Lack of common vision Social Contract created means the last 100 years - among opposition Decentralization 2011 uprising creates Lack of unity power vacuum in - among opposition Gender Equality Northeastern Syria Lack of trust Religious Freedom Syrian Democratic - between opposition and Council formed, SDF regime defeats ISIS

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History of Conflict

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History of Conflict: Timeline

1915 - Massacres in Turkey impacted Syriac community in 1920s, 1930s - Mass migration spurred by WWI and aftermath: Syriac, Armenian migration. Kurdish migration later occurred. Family histories of oppression in Turkey turned attitudes against Turkey 2011 - "Civil uprising" in Syria, first student groups then religious opposition groups 2011 - Various groups in Syria form predecessor to Syrian Democratic Council 2011-2013 - Assad pulls troops out of Northeastern Syria, creates power vacuum, ISIS invades Northeastern Syria 2014- Democratic Self-Administration in Northern Syria formed 2014 - United States leads formation of global coalition to defeat ISIS, allies with YPG (Kurdish Protection Forces) and Syriac Military Council. 2015 - (SDF), Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) both formed 2019 - SDF defeats ISIS, Trump declares ISIS defeated militarily

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LATVIA

LITHUANIA

UNITED BELARUS ,RE“ND KINGDOM POLAND GERMANY UKRAINE KAZAKHSTAN MOLDOVA FRANCE ROMANIA

UZBEKISTAN

WCEDOMA SPAIN ITALY AL3AMA PORTUGAL TURKMENISTAN GREECE TURKEY mum — SYRIA AFGHANISTAN IRAN DEiRA ISLAND (PORTUGAL) IRAQ MOROCCO PAKISTAN

ANARY ISLANDS (SPAIN) ALGERIA LIBYA EGYPT SAUDI ARABIA OMAN INDIA

MAURITANIA MALI NIGER ERITREA YEMEN SENEGAL CHAD

THE GAMBIA SUDAN BURKINA GUINEA-BISSAU FASO GUINEA NIGERIA GHANA CENTRAL ETHIOPIA COTE use** D'|V0IRE AFRICAN REPUBLIC CAMEROON

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TURKEY

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ISRAEL i : PJ!hJ\sSS3 jV -MT JORDAN

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The situation in Syria

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V. Sources: Thomas van Linge, Kurdish Institute for United Conflict Analysts. X lav

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The situation in Syria £ —

JL. March Sept. ♦ 2014 2015 Karsty-cr-reasi j—i—i_t_ Controlled territory

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Israel

Sources: Thomas van Linge, Kurdish Institute for United Conflict Analysts. JL Ikv

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The situation in Syria - —

March Sept. 2014 2015 rraftiiy.rare^grai?a^^:>ai?7Ba: i i l :

Controlled territory i Mixed rebel/jihadist

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A Sources: Thomas van Linge, Kurdish Institute for United Conflict Analysts. r JS. Vox

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Kobane

ama Horn Palmyra

Syrian government Damascus ISIL \ Kurdish Forces Jabhat Fatah al-Sham Rebel groups @®@© Contested areas Source: Institute for the Study of War

Updated: August 2016 ALJAZEERA

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TM WvDRLD Turkey Kobai

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Aleppo Regime forces Hayat Tahrir Al Sham

YPG/SDF

FSA groups & Turkish troops

■ Opposition Idlib Daesh ■

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Turkey

Afrin Aleppo dl b _Q\/ria

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i Afrin after Turkey’s Invasion

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Afrin before Turkey’s & Invasion

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SYRIA: Who controls what

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TURKEY Jarablus

i Aleppo Idlib Raqqa

Deir Az Zor

Palmyra /

LEBANON IRAQ DAMASCUS

Al-Tanf border crossing

Quneitra ■ Syrian government forces Talul al-Safa ■ ISIL presence ISRAEL Kurdish forces Rebel forces ■ Demilitarised zone inside rebel held area JORDAN Turkish and rebel forces SS Israeli occupied Golan Heights ccivl Source: Liveuamap | Updated: March 13, 2019 @AJLabs ALJAZEERA

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Political Challenges

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Political Challenges

Demonstrators in 2011 rose up with three demands: v- freedom, dignity, and unity

Opposition figures suspected each other of working for either the regime agenda or outside powers' agendas. There was a lack of trust. Lack of trust lead to inability of various opposition groups to I work together. There was a lack of unity.

Lack of trust and unity discouraged efforts to reach consensus on a common vision for an alternative to Assad's Syria.

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Lack of Trust Lack of Unity

Lack of Common Vision

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Lack of Trust

Different groups with different visions empowered their groups by alliances with different outside powers. > Examples: 0 A Muslim Brotherhood, other religious political groups - allied with Turkey, Qatar f Assad Regime - allied with Russia, Iran \ Kurdish communities - Some allied with KRG/Turkey/US m * Some opposition groups - allied with Europe, US, the West \ Some opposition groups - allied with Russia Kurdish-led self-government (later SDC) - Allied militarily with United States

Outside powers used their alliances with Syrian groups to jockey for power. The goal of these outside powers was for their Syrian allies to capture power. This made it challenging to generate unity among groups. Now unity depends upon outside powers that control them.

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Lack of Unity

The regime acted to preserve power, and responded violently to peaceful demonstrators.

Token conferences were held to address demonstrators, but mostly pro-regime voices were invited.

There were prominent opposition figures (who were not pro-regime) who were invited, but they refused on principle to participate.

Opposition figures did not trust the regime to make genuine concessions.

The different opposition groups especially inside Syria and outside Syria didn't trust each other.

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Lack of Common Vision

Nationalistic Religious Pluralistic (regime, some Kurdish, (regime, some opposition, (SDC) some opposition) ISIS, Al Nusra)

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Democratic Solution

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Social Contract

November 2013 - Social Contract was rasr ■ announced in . In January 2014 it was announced in Geneva. The Syriac National Council endorsed the social contract, which was i announced by Ilham Ahmed, Saleh Moslem, and ilL myself in a Geneva press conference. A

Negotiated and signed within Syria by political Ilham Ahmad parties, community activists, civil society On behalf of the Syrian Kurdish Supreme council institutions, and notable personalities. _ With this act, I effectively shifted my support from the Syrian National Council (the opposition) to the self-government of Northeastern Syria.

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Points of Social Contract

Based on human rights and citizenship. A Syria where all Syrians belong.

Recognition of three official identities and languages: Kurdish, , and Syriac.

Decentralization, involving local people making decisions that impact them locally.

Gender Equality, wherein all political offices are run both by a man and a woman together.

Religious Freedom / Secularism, with separation of government and religious institutions. Civil law and family law not determined by religion.

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Democratic Solution: Decentralization

Our Challenge in Syria: Various cultures, ethnic groups, religions, sects, * tribes, languages, etc, and rural/urban divide.

Best solution: Decentralized governance model allows for local w groups to manage their own communities, brings the power back to the people, and safeguards against a dictatorship which could result from a large, centralized government.

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Democratic Solution: Gender Equality

Our Challenge in Syria: • <. Historically, women were subjected to polygamy, £ » underage marriage, and not having the same legal i standing as men. Domestic violence was treated 1 NIN APS LMUNE ; ;3N! A with scofflaws. * In rural Syria and conservative circles, women have been disallowed from being in public without a male relative, are not equal in making family decisions, def are subjected to domestic violence with impunity, and must cover their heads.

Best Solution: Put women in charge. Institute civil marriage, not religious marital duties. Change legal and cultural factors so that women can live as equals. Every governance position in SDC is shared by one woman and one man.

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Democratic Solution: Religious Freedom

Our Challenge in Syria:

Mane me ye rojana roj bl ioj bide me i Uinehe me ye bfturlne we* ku cm ji dibuimln , me nebeccrbaudmo le me |l «

Best Solution: SDC respects and protects religious freedom and secularism - separation of church and Kurdish women who have converted to Christianity sing state. Under SDC, new Christian Kurdish in a newly-established church in Kobane, a city under SDC jurisdiction. churches have been established. Syrian Alawites, Kurds, Turkmen, Jews, Armenians, Christians, etc are all free in SDC territory to practice their own unique religious traditions.

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Hezen Suriya Demokratik ittn-tsi tdinaJbn tt'AiciV j-jj

The Future of Syria is Democracy

This material is distributed by US Mission of the Syrian Democratic Council on behalf of the Syrian Democratic Council. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington DC. Brooke Anderson / Special to The Chronicle

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