ASO Concludes a Dialogue Session on the Role of Notables in Enhancing Dialogue Mechanisms between Local Actors

2021-06-29
ASO – Amouda

Last Saturday, ASO for Consultancy and Strategic Studies concluded a dialogue session on the role and contribution of notables regarding the mechanisms of local political dialogue in the city of Amouda, Northeastern Syria.

ASO Center organized the session, in the Beylasan Tourist Complex in Amouda, in which 24 representatives of clans and notables in the cities and towns of NES, participated.

The session, which the media person Juma'a Khazim has facilitated, was held to discuss the role and contribution of notables in enhancing the mechanisms of dialogue between local political actors and the demands of these clans’ representatives from local political actors in NES.

Dr. Azad Ali, the Consultant of the dialogue sessions held by ASO Center, provided an overview of the importance of notables’ role as one of the main cornerstones of local political dialogues. He also pointed out their weak role in the ongoing dialogues between the main political parties in the region.

Dr. Azad Ali discussed with the attendees, methods to activate the role of notables and representatives of clans and councils in political dialogues, along with the decision-making positions, through an exchange of views and discussions with the participants during the session.

The participants discussed their “ineffective” role in political dialogues, particularly the Intra-Kurdish dialogue. Thus, many attributed this to "the individualization of the ruling persons in the region and parties ruling the Kurdish masses, and their tenacity to the partisan mentality and ideology, in addition to preventing other parties from participating in political dialogues, as a result of their division of regional authority only among themselves."

Participants clearly indicated that the exclusion of different social groups from political dialogues is detrimental to the political process and the future of the region.

A number of participants stated that: "The failure of notables to demand their right of participation from the interlocutors and their inability to act decisively and use pressure to prove themselves as one of the interlocutors, has resulted in the individualization of the parties in the discussions."

The discussion of the participants during the session revolved around: "The necessity for everyone to take responsibility for this historic opportunity that has been allowed to the region under these challenging circumstances."

The participants called for: "unity for the success of any local dialogue related to the Self-Administration of the region and its people, without any compromise!" Warning at the same time, that "such an opportunity may not be allowed again, and that the failure of these dialogues may harm the security and stability of all of Syria, not just the North-eastern region."

The participants requested that political actors form clan groupings in the region, in order to “become a national node and put pressure on interlocutors and the governing authority, to give them significance and a serious and efficient role; to those who today make up a high proportion of the region's population."

Participants stressed the need for all representative groups of the population to participate, and the need for a monitoring body for the dialogue in order to ensure its success, in addition to setting up a consultative body to support political dialogues, in particular the Intra-Kurdish dialogue, which requires careful treatment and interaction and the execution of the entire national duty.

Moreover, they highlighted the importance of media, writers, intellectuals and CSOs in establishing the link between the actors, as a group of neutral and independent supporters and parties in these discussions, and in making a positive impact.

It is noteworthy that ASO Center had earlier carried out a series of dialogue sessions on the role of civil society, media, academics, women, unions and syndicates in enhancing local political dialogue mechanisms, where a wide variety of each group attended these sessions.