DAMASCUS DECLARATION AIMS TO REVITALIZE EFFORTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 003042

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SY
SUBJECT: DAMASCUS DECLARATION AIMS TO REVITALIZE EFFORTS


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4(b)/(d
)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Damascus Declaration group will
assemble June 26 for a crucial meeting, aimed at creating a
more clearly defined, structured organization and moving away
from being a coalition of individuals, according to key
opposition activist Riad Seif. Should the group succeed,
Seif predicts that the group's focus will shift to conducting
more activities aimed at engaging the general population.
This decision coincides with reports that President Bashar
al-Asad himself has made disassembling the Declaration group
a top priority, with the most recent efforts concentrated on
splitting the Kurdish signatory parties from the rest of the
group. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) CRUCIAL MEETING JUNE 26 TO DEFINE STRUCTURES AND
GAIN MOMENTUM: Key opposition activist Riad Seif told CDA on
June 22 that the Damascus Declaration (DD) group will meet at
his home on June 26 to make crucial decisions on its future.
Seif noted that the meeting's goal is to strengthen the
organization by defining clear structures, voting processes,
and committees empowered to speak on specific issues on
behalf of the entire group. Seif explained that such
structures are necessary in order to "activate" the group,
better balance power within the organization, and end the
extra level of influence currently enjoyed by certain
individual members: "Hassan Abdulazeem would only be one of
15 votes," he said. Seif added that Abdulazeem's Democratic
Arab Socialist Union is the "weak link" in the DD and that
much internal debate exists within the party whether to
continue membership in the DD. (COMMENT: According to post
contacts, shortly after the Declaration's release in
mid-October 2005, Abdulazeem designated himself the DD
spokesman, a role which other members have grudgingly
accepted as a fait accompli. Abdulazeem's hesitation to act
either proactively or in response to the recent SARG
crackdown is also often named by other civil society
activists as the source of the DD's relative inaction over
the last four months.)


3. (C) FOCUS WILL SHIFT TO CONDUCTING ACTIVITIES, GAINING
POPULAR SUPPORT: The DD should not depend so heavily on
individuals, and a more structured organization would create
the mechanisms that would allow it to continue, even if
individual members are jailed by the SARG or choose to leave
the group. Furthermore, more autonomous committee structures
would allow group members to comment on events without having
to first seek permission from the entire group. Seif was
cautiously optimistic about the chances for success, noting
that "if we survive Monday, we will have a strong internal
(opposition) grouping." Within this new framework, Seif
expects the group to conduct more activities and to shift its
focus from the intellectual class to the masses and to seek
popular support. (NOTE: Seif added that the DD is now his
"main work," hinting that his plans to start a political
party remain on hold.)


4. (C) SARG'S NEW PUSH TO DISMANTLE THE DECLARATION GROUP:
This new push for strengthening the group coincides with
rumors that the SARG, and specifically President Bashar
al-Asad, have made dismantling the Damascus Declaration a top
priority, attempting to do so by creating divisions among its
members. In separate accounts, Seif and activist Rezan
Zeitunah, a close associate of DD signatory Riad at-Turk,
told CDA and Poloff that during a meeting with
representatives from an official opposition party, the Syria
Communist Party, Asad stated that the DD group was the root
cause of the Damascus-Beirut Declaration and that the SARG
would be taking measures to disassemble the DD group. A
Kurdish member of the Communist Party volunteered to assist
the SARG by convincing the leadership of the Kurdish DD
signatory parties to leave the Declaration. Vice President
Najah al-Attar then held a meeting June 18 with leaders of
three Kurdish DD signatory parties; according to Seif, Attar
raised the issue of granting citizenship to Syria's estimated
300,000 stateless Kurds. According to press reports, more
such meetings are planned. In Seif's view, if the DD group
does succeed on June 26 in gaining new momentum in its work,
he expects the SARG to continue its efforts to pressure
members to leave the coalition.


5. (C) COMMENT: The attempt to repair the Damascus
Declaration comes after several months of criticism within
civil society about the group's perceived inertia and
unwillingness to react quickly to internal events, including
against the sustained SARG crackdown, which culminated in the
arrest of one of its founding members, Michel Kilo. While

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tackling the clear weaknesses of the Declaration
(particularly its lack of reaction to current events as well
as Abdulazeem's disproportionate influence) may help the
group regain some credibility, its chances of regaining
momentum after sitting on the sidelines for nearly five
months remains to be seen.
SECHE