The YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist group, as well as loyalists of the repressive former regime of Bashar Assad, will be excluded from the conference to chart the country’s political future, organizers said Thursday.
"This will be the first real gathering of Syrians in 75 years," said Huda al-Atassi, a former detainee and a member of the organizing committee for Syria's national dialogue conference. She read the panel's statement at a news conference in Damascus.
The conference will cover "social, political, economic and governance issues, laying the foundations for a solid future based on national consensus, justice, reform and inclusion," she said.
In late January, Syria’s former opposition factions appointed Ahmad al-Sharaa as interim president of the country after an offensive he led toppled Assad in late December. They also threw out Syria's constitution, adopted under Assad, saying a new charter would be drafted.
Most of the former anti-regime factions also agreed to dissolve and join the new Syrian army and security services, but the U.S.-backed PKK/YPG in northeastern Syria has so far refused to do the same.
The PKK terrorist organization has killed thousands in Türkiye since the 1980s and carved out a self-styled autonomous entity for itself in Syria's northeast as civil war raged in Türkiye's southern neighbor. The group maintains strongholds in northern Iraq and Syria to create a self-styled “Kurdish state.”
Ankara has repeatedly said it was time for the PKK/YPG to disband and that it would support the new Syrian administration – which is friendly toward Türkiye – in its battle against both Daesh and the YPG while calling for a joint fight against them.
The PKK/YPG, which enjoyed relative immunity from the conflict during the Assad era and occupied much of the oil-producing northeast, mulls its future as the new administration rejected the idea of autonomy for them.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, the terrorist group has attempted to exploit regional instability to create a "terror corridor" along the border with Türkiye.
The terrorists have been clashing with the former opposition’s Syrian National Army (SNA) since then, and the group is concerned about losing the political gains they made since carving out a self-styled enclave in the northeastern towns they occupied during the country’s civil war.
Discussions are ongoing between the PKK/YPG and the government in Damascus.
Formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa is the head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the lighting offensive that ousted Assad.
Since Assad's fall, the HTS has become the de facto ruling party and has set up an interim government largely composed of officials from the local government it previously ran in opposition-held Idlib province.
However, al-Sharaa has promised to launch an inclusive political process to set up a new constitution and representative government for all Syrians. The National Dialogue Conference has been a key part of that plan.
The date of the dialogue remains undecided as preparations continue, said Hassan al-Daghim, a member of the political guidance in Syria's National Army. Participants will be chosen based on expertise, public influence and inclusivity, he added.
The preparatory committee is "an independent national body" tasked with organizing the dialogue, gathering public input and ensuring fairness, Daghim said. There is no set quota for participation, and women play an "integral" role in all aspects of preparation, Atassi added.
"No one will be invited based on religion, institutional ties or party affiliation," said Daghim.
He dismissed the PKK/YPG as presentative of Syrians.
The conference is a national dialogue, not a demonstration of military power.
"Those who do not surrender their weapons to the Ministry of Defense will definitely not be invited. Armed groups and military formations will not participate in the conference as they are against the nature of the dialogue," he added.
Daghim, however, said participation is open to all Syrians, and everyone from all over Syria has the right to attend the conference in person, adding that the conference's decisions are not binding but are advisory and will be submitted to the president.
Pointing out that the elements of the ousted Assad regime who committed human rights violations will neither take part in the future of Syria nor in the conference, he noted that their place is in courts of law.
Dughaim said that the number of participants would depend on public consultations, adding, "The conference represents all Syrians, not a specific group.
"The views of our people, especially those living in provinces such as Hassakeh, Deir el-Zour and Raqqa, will be taken into account, and direct communication will be established with them."
"Important issues such as the constitutional structure, the executive, legislative and judicial powers, the economic vision, the reconstruction process, transitional justice, unity, sovereignty and stability of the country will be shaped by the participants," he further stated.
