The Syrian Democratic Council ( ku, Meclîsa Sûriya Demokratîk, MSD; ar, مجلس سوريا الديمقراطية; syc, ܡܘܬܒܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܛܝܬܐ, translit=Mawtbo d'Suriya Demoqraṭoyto) is the political wing of the
Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
in the
Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, ...
(AANES). The SDC's stated mission is working towards the implementation of a "Pluralistic, democratic and decentralized system for all of Syria".
Establishment and history
2015
The Syrian Democratic Council was established on 10 December 2015 in
Al-Malikiyah
Al-Malikiyah ( ar, ٱلْمَالِكِيَّة, al-Mālikīyah; ku, دێرکا حەمکۆ, translit=Dêrika Hemko; ) also known as Derik, is a small Syrian city and the center of an administrative district belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. ...
. Prominent human rights activist
Haytham Manna Haytham Manna (al-Awdat) is a Syrian writer; he spent three decades as a human rights activist who helped create and became spokesperson for the Arab Commission for Human Rights (ACHR). In 2011, during the early stages of the Syrian civil war, he ...
was elected co-chair at its founding.
The Assembly that established the Syrian Democratic Council was made up of 13 members from specific ethnic, economic and political backgrounds.
2016
On 1 August 2016 the Syrian Democratic Council opened a public office in
Hasakah.
On 11 September 2016 the
Syria's Tomorrow Movement signed a cooperation agreement with the Syrian Democratic Council and the associated de facto autonomous region of the AANES.
In late September and early October 2016 a forum for the Syrian Democratic Council was held in the town of
Rmelan, in the northeastern
Hasakah Governorate. Those that attended the conference included a representative from
Jableh
)
, settlement_type = City
, motto =
, image_skyline = Jableh Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 250px
, image_caption = General view of city and port • Roman Amphitheater• Al ...
, in the western
Latakia Governorate.
2017
On 13 January 2017, a youth constituent assembly was established in
Qamishli
Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo) .
On 25 February 2017, the
Assyrian Democratic Party agreed to join the Syrian Democratic Council, and the
YPG agreed to hand over security in the
Assyrian
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyri ...
towns along the
Khabur River to the
Khabour Guards and
Nattoreh which joined the
Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
.
On 13 April, PYD forces officially handed over the Khabur valley's villages to the Khabour Guards and
Nattoreh, though the
YPG kept a military base near
Tell Tamer
Tell Tamer ( ar, تَلّ تَمْر, Tall Tamr, ku, گرێ خورما, Girê Xurma or Til Temir, syr, ܬܠ ܬܡܪ) also known as Tal Tamr or Tal Tamir, is a town in western al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. It is the administrative c ...
. On the same day, the second conference of the SDC took place in
al-Malikiyah
Al-Malikiyah ( ar, ٱلْمَالِكِيَّة, al-Mālikīyah; ku, دێرکا حەمکۆ, translit=Dêrika Hemko; ) also known as Derik, is a small Syrian city and the center of an administrative district belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. ...
and
Riad Darar
Riad Hammoud Darar ( ar, رياض حمود دارار, born 1954) is a Syrian opposition political and social activist and author from Deir ez-Zor. He was a proponent of human rights for Kurds in Syria since 2000. During his activism, he was i ...
was elected as the co-president of the SDC, replacing
Haytham Manna Haytham Manna (al-Awdat) is a Syrian writer; he spent three decades as a human rights activist who helped create and became spokesperson for the Arab Commission for Human Rights (ACHR). In 2011, during the early stages of the Syrian civil war, he ...
, alongside
Îlham Ehmed, who was re-elected.
On 28 May 2017, a female branch of the Syrian Democratic Assembly was established in
Al-Shaddadah.
2018
Elections for the council were planned for early 2018, but never held. On 16 July 2018, the Third Conference of SDC was held under the slogan "Towards a Political Solution and Building a Decentralized Democratic Syria" in
Al-Tabqa city, where the delegates elected Amina Omar and re-elected
Riad Darar
Riad Hammoud Darar ( ar, رياض حمود دارار, born 1954) is a Syrian opposition political and social activist and author from Deir ez-Zor. He was a proponent of human rights for Kurds in Syria since 2000. During his activism, he was i ...
as co-chairs of SDC. Amina Omar replaced Îlham Ehmed, who was elected co-president of the
Executive Council of the AANES,
On 6 September 2018, SDC held a meeting of local councils and autonomous administration departments in north and east Syria at the headquarters of SDC in
Ain Issa town, with the participation of Amina Omar, co-chair of SDC, the heads of the civil councils in North Syria and the dignitaries of the Arab tribes, to form an autonomous administration of north and east of Syria on the basis of the decision taken at the third conference of the SDC held on 16 July this year. During the meeting, the 70-member General Council for Autonomous Administration of North, East Syria was formed as follows: 49 members of the legislative councils in the areas of Autonomous Administration and civil councils, and 21 members of the technocrats agreed upon through the preparatory committee and discuss other departments. Mrs. Siham Qariou (Syriac) and Mr. Farid Atti (Kurd) were elected to the joint presidency of the General Council for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, also were elected five members of General Office of the council. Mrs. Berivan Khaled (Khalid) and Abdul Hamid al-Mahbash were elected co-chairmen of Executive Body.
Later, in the meeting held on 3 October 2018, the co-chairs of the nine Authorities of the Executive Council were elected.
On October 21, the first meeting of the General Council was held, at which a legal committee of three people was created, whose tasks is to determine laws, concepts and proposals from committees, departments and offices, in addition to studying the laws issued by the council. At the meeting it was decided to hold meetings of the Council twice a month.
Involvement in negotiations on Syria
The Syrian Democratic Council was invited to participate in the international
Geneva III peace talks on Syria in March 2016. However, it rejected the invitations because no representatives of the
Movement for a Democratic Society, led by the
Democratic Union Party, were invited.
Effective 31 January 2018, the SDC is registered in the US as a "foreign political party" under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Members of the General Federal Assembly
References
{{Rojava topics
2015 establishments in Syria
2015 in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
2015 in the Syrian civil war
Organizations of the Syrian civil war
Political party alliances in Syria
Politics of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Syrian democracy movements
Syrian Democratic Forces