A number of members of the Political Council for Central and Western Syria issued a statement today announcing the dissolution of the council.
The statement read:
“In late July of last year, we convened to launch the first political initiative aimed at representing the people of central and western Syria—specifically the Alawite community and other components of the region—amidst the ongoing suffering under the de facto authorities.
It was an experience fraught with challenges and difficulties, which is natural during the founding phase of any qualitative movement. Despite our relentless efforts to maintain unity, prevent the discourse from devolving into the targeting of national and representative figures, and keep differences of opinion within the framework of internal discussion, we have today reached a point of collision with irresponsible practices that targeted figures representing the Syrian street in our region.
We have worked hard to preserve the political and popular structure of the council. However, with only six founding members remaining in the Executive Office—following a series of withdrawals primarily caused by personal conflicts with the council’s president—we found that the experience began to deviate from its professional path. Instead of focusing on sober political work, the council president drifted toward engagement in disputes and polemics via social media. This damaged the institution’s credibility, reaching the point of attacking the persona of the spiritual authority of the Alawite community, Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, which constitutes an insult to the entire community and is categorically rejected.
Based on the aforementioned, we met and requested that he step down from the presidency of the council and delegate the duties to the Vice President temporarily. However, he remained obstinate and refused, claiming that the council’s legitimacy is derived from him and the official page he controls and refuses to hand over.
Accordingly, in our capacity as heads of offices and founding members of the Executive Office, representing the vast majority of members, we announce the following:
The dissolution of the Political Council for Central and Western Syria in its current form, and the loss of any legal or representative legitimacy for its presidency as of the date of this statement.
The commencement of work to establish a new political entity that builds on previous achievements and transcends the organizational and behavioral errors that led to this decision, ensuring a genuine and responsible representation for our people.
We affirm that this step is a correction of the course and a fulfillment of the trust placed in us by the public. We will not allow the aspirations of the people to be turned into tools for personal disputes.”
Signatories of the statement:
Ms. Nawar Ali – Vice President of the Council.
Lawyer Mustafa Rustum – Head of the Political Office.
Dr. Aws Darwish – Secretary-General of the Council.
Journalist Raif al-Salama – Founding Member of the Council.
Read the Arabic version: Click here
