Two parliament members from the autonomous region of Catalonia visited North and East Syria on The members of Catalan parliament, Eulàlia Reguant and Ruben Wagensberg, and member of the Barcelona Council Laura Perez, expressed a desire to assess the social and political conditions in North and East Syria, according to a report published by North Press Agency:
“We are here to know the challenges and difficulties that residents in north and east Syria are witnessing, and to know the mechanisms, through which we can help them to ease these difficulties,” Foreign Relations Department’s official website cited one of the visitors as saying.
“In our policy, we rely on the societal diplomacy and develop relationships with institutions of civil society including unions, federations, women, youth, intellectuals, and academics’ movements, so we are happy having you here,” the Department co-chair, Abdulkarim Omar said during the meeting.
Discussions in the meeting ranged from the water shortages resulting from Turkey’s inhumane cutting off of water to North and East Syria, as well as the closure of border crossings and the widespread human rights violations in Turkish-occupied regions.
A French delegation visited the region in the final week of May 2021. The delegation included Mr. Jeremy Shumatier, President of Danielle Mitterrand, Ms. Maro, responsible for following up Middle East affairs at the Paris Municipal Council, and Mr. Veronica de Croffy, President of URD, Mr. Philippe de Calimard and Ms. Corinne Bowser Administrative Region at Danielle Mitterrand, to the headquarters of the External Relations Department in Qamishlo, visiting the areas of northern and eastern Syria’s self-management.
The French delegation was received by the Joint Head of the Department of External Relations, Dr. Abdul Karim Omar, the co-presidency, Fenner Al-Kait, Abir Elia, Navia Mohamed, the official of the Presidency and Perivan Omar, the co-chairmanship of the Local Administrations and the environment.
During the meeting with the French, the system of self-management and its model was discussed, as well as international negotiations and peace talks, the economic situation, and the need for coordination between the administration and the international community to bring peace and stability to the region.
Several issues were discussed in depth, including the participation of the administration in the political process and the implementation of UNSCR 2254, as well as the repercussions of the closure of the al Yaroubiah crossing on the region. The administration emphasized the necessity of the international community to assume its responsibilities and take the children of ISIS families out of the camps and return to their countries, because their continued presence in the terrorist atmosphere poses a threat to society and contributes to the creation of a new terrorist generation.
Mr. Jeremy Shumatier, of the French delegation, in turn expressed his pleasure at visiting the region, saying: “It is a great honor for us to be here today, and we want to see the situation of the regions of North and East Syria after Turkish aggression, and also to develop coordination and cooperation between self-governing institutions and civil society organizations in France. We would like to see experiences of self-management, achievements, and developments in the region.”