By Issa Ibrahim, Special Contributor to the SDT
Eleven points, in my opinion, define the features of Syria, a country worthy of normal life, which expresses that we Syrians are part of this world, and it places us as human beings and as a country on the path of urbanization:
• A trial of “war criminals,” no matter who they are and under what title they committed their crimes, must occur. There is no compromise on the need for a trial.
• The country must adopt a neutral and positive administrative apparatus, whose mission is to secure the implementation of legal rights and duties under the new constitution, which is commensurate with the fact that Syria is part of the contemporary world, and not an organ of ethnic-national or religious preaching.
• Freedom of belief and the free practice of religious rites must be safeguarded. We must adopt general human rights legislation, and women and children in particular.
• Our country must respect cultural rights and rituals of the different demographic groups within it, according to the criterion of the national and public interest.
• The state must adopt the Arabic language as the official language of the state, with the Kurdish language and all other Syrian languages accepted as alternative official languages of the country with densely populated regions. All speakers of languages have the right to education, learning, information, and every related matter, in their native languages, along with Arabic. The most common language is to enable it to teach English and other living languages in every possible way.
• Our country must adopt the concept of development and welfare as a standard in implementing political, economic, and spiritual ideas within the Syrian interior, peace and the concept of interests at the level of Syria’s relationships with the countries of the region. The pursuit of cross-ethnic, regional-international interests and space.
• We must not allow Syria to be the headquarters or corridor of any terrorist organization under any pretext. Every terrorist activity must be tried and dealt with according to the law.
• We must support the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the state, after the new army cuts it to less than 100,000, and defines its duties to defend the country, with no right to interfere in internal affairs.
• Demand the return of looted public funds through a national body, to make appropriate settlements to the parties in order to repatriate this money.
• All outstanding sticking points on Syria must be resolved, including disputed borders and lands, water issues, and other points, with all neighboring countries (Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus). Resolutions should occur through the relevant international organizations, or direct negotiations with the party concerned, according to the rules of good neighborly relations.
• Syria’s interests are included in all of the above, the sole criterion of which is the interest of the Syrian person and their relationship with the world.