DAMASCUS DECLARATION ANNOUNCES CREATION OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 DAMASCUS 001156 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA AND NEA/MEPI PARIS FOR JORDAN; LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SY SUBJECT: DAMASCUS DECLARATION ANNOUNCES CREATION OF NATIONAL COUNCIL REF: A. DAMASCUS 846 ¶B. DAMASCUS 1106 ¶C. DAMASCUS 1144 DAMASCUS 00001156 001.2 OF 004 Classified By: CDA Michael Corbin, for reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Summary: More than two years after signing the original Damascus Declaration in October 2005, 163 civil society, human rights, and opposition leaders gathered at the Damascus home of leader Riad Seif to vote on the creation of a new legislative body (the National Council) and elect its Chairman and Secretariat. A coalition of liberals and moderate Islamic leaders ultimately prevailed over opposition from a few members of the nationalist Arab Socialist Democracy Party to reach agreement on the creation of the Council. The Council's declaration, released December 4 (translation sent by email separately to NEA/ELA),focuses on peaceful democratic reforms to Syria's totalitarian government. The National Council, over seven months in the making, represents a major victory for DD leader Riad Seif and the liberal wing of the organization. The SARG has not yet reacted, but we expect no press coverage by government controlled Syrian media and do not rule out government arrests of leading activists. End Summary -------------- -------------- Annapolis Distracts SARG from Domestic Developments -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) An upbeat Riad Seif told us December 3 that he and other Damascus Declaration leaders had decided to exploit the SARG's focus on external events in Lebanon, Annapolis, and in the region to proceed with the establishment of the long-awaited National Council. Seif proclaimed that a December 1 meeting of the Damascus Declaration (DD) was "an achievement that has exceeded my wildest dreams." Seif recounted how he and others orchestrated the travel of 163 to his home in the suburbs of Damascus. Representing the 250-member National Council as a whole, they were able to elude detection by the security services by arriving in groups of 10-15 throughout the day. Around 8 p.m., Seif opened a discussion that would continue well into the next morning. Delegates debated whether now was the appropriate time to launch the Council, whether the group's declaration should criticize U.S. policy in the region, and over who should become its first leader. ¶3. (C) As Seif had told us previously (reftels),the major obstacle to agreement on the National Council came from the Arab Socialist Democratic Party and the Communist Action Party, both of which had endorsed the original Damascus Declaration in October 2005. Leaders of these parties had insisted on denouncing U.S. policies in the region and on stipulating support for Arab nationalism, a position that had alienated Kurds and some pro-reform moderate Islamist activists. Seif explained that Hasan Abdul Azim (Arab Socialist Democratic Union Party leader) and Safwan Akkash (Communist Action Party leader) had both agreed to postpone debate on the Council's platform and declaration until after the election of its five-member Presidency and the 14-member Secretariat. Akkash and Abdul Azim both campaigned for the SIPDIS position of Council Chairman, while Seif agreed to drop his name from the ballot. The result, Seif continued, was that the two radicals canceled each other out, and a moderate woman (Fida Hourani) was elected. Seif then ran for head of the Secretariat and was elected with overwhelming support. -------------- Council Structure -------------- ¶4. (C) The 250-member Council will serve as a legislative body of the Damascus Declaration and as many of its members that can will meet every three months. The Presidency consists of a Chairman, two Vice Chairmen, and two Secretaries, whose mandate is to chair the plenary sessions, SIPDIS recognize speakers, and ensure decisions are taken according to the Council's bylaws. The 14-member Secretariat (which will become a 17-member body after three more seats are filled by Kurdish party and Assyrian organization representatives) is responsible for ensuring continuity of the Council's operations between plenary sessions, drafting plenary agendas, overseeing implementation of plenary DAMASCUS 00001156 002.2 OF 004 decisions, recommending new members, and supervising the Council's five working committees: (1) a legal committee to examine constitutional reforms and human rights legislation; (2) a public affairs committee; (3) an economic issues committee; (4) a youth committee; and (5) a committee for outreach to Syrian intellectuals. -------------- Key Leaders -------------- ¶5. (C) Seif said there had been a focused effort to ensure diversity among the Council's leadership. (Note: In addition to the 14-member Secretariat listed below, Seif said three additional seats would be assigned to representatives of the Kurdish Democratic Front, the Kurdish Democratic Alliance, and the Democratic Assyrian Organization.) A list of key leaders that Seif handed to us follows: Presidency: -- Fida Horani, Chairwoman of the Presidency, political moderate from Aleppo, daughter of former Syrian populist Akram al Horani, founder of the Arab Socialist Movement. -- Abdul Hamid Darwish, First Vice-Chairman, Leader of the Progressive Kurdish Party, the oldest member of the NC, and elected to oversee the National Council Leadership Office; -- Abdul Aziz al Khayer, Second Vice-Chairman, a former Communist Action Party leader who spent 20 years in jail for his political activities. Described by contacts as an "unknown quantity." -- Akram al Bunni, First Secretary, a former Communist Action Party leader, now a writer and a journalist. Since his release from prison several years ago, he has associated with the liberal camp. -- Ahmad Tahmeh, Second Secretary, moderate Islamist, connected to the London-based Justice and Reconstruction Movement. Secretariat: SIPDIS -- Riad Seif, Secretariat Chairman, former MP jailed for his efforts to expose regime corruption, co-founder of the Damascus Declaration, driving force behind the National Council. -- Ali al Abdullah: member of the Committees to revive the civil society, member of the reformer Jamal Atassi Forum, was arrested for reading the Damascus Declaration to the Atassi Forum. His son Omar is one of the seven Syrian students charged developing an on-line youth discussion forum and posting articles critical of the government. -- Nawaf al Bashir, tribal leader from Deir Azzor. -- Riad Turk, from Homs, 77 year-old leader of the Youth Democrat Party, former Secretary General of the Syrian Communist Party Political Office, spent more than 20 years in prison since 1960, key ally of Riad Seif. -- Ghassan Najar, moderate Islamist, connected to London-based Justice and Reconstruction Movement. -- Yasser al Eiti, moderate Islamist, connected to London-based Justice and Reconstruction Movement. -- Mowafak Neirabiyeh, from Homs, ally of Riad Turk, member of the Youth Democrat Party. -- Suleiman Shummar, from Hama, Damascus Spring leader, signed Damascus Declaration in 2005, sentenced in absentia to five years in prison. -- Samir Nasher, businessman from Aleppo, leader of a small liberal group "Free Syrian Patriotic," Sunni advocate of democratic reforms at the municipal level. -- Jabr al Shoufi, Druze from Suweida. DAMASCUS 00001156 003.2 OF 004 -- Abdul Ghani Ayash, from Hama, leader of the Arab Socialist Movement, claims to be heir of Akram al Hourani. -- Walid al Bunni, from al-Tal Damascus, medical doctor, Damascus Spring leader arrested for three years. -- Abdul Karim Dahak, from Salamiyah. -------------- Next Steps -------------- ¶6. (C) Seif said he planned to travel to Aleppo, Homs, Hama and to al Hasakah region in the coming days to promote the National Council and to recruit prominent local leaders to join the National Council's ranks. After that, he hoped German and French pressure on the SARG would result in permission for him to seek medical treatment in Europe. He also said he was working with members of the London-based Justice and Reconstruction Movement and others outside Syria to establish an office in Paris. The Paris office would coordinate travel, training, and public affairs. ¶7. (C) Seif said his highest priority would be to get out word of the NC's creation, something he hoped the U.S. and other countries could promote through positive statements of support. He said the NC planned to release its declaration on a few websites that would hopefully create a ripple effect in the region. (Note: The NC's declaration appeared on two websites on December 4 -- the Levant Institute's www.thisissyria.com, and www.ahrarsyria.com, a pro-democracy website (in Arabic.)) Thus far, there has been very little Syrian or international press. ¶8. (C) Funding remains a challenge, Seif conveyed. Seif personally was providing around 3,000 USD to the families of prisoners of conscience for shelter, food, and education. Trusted members of the Damascus Declaration had secretly created an account to support its members and families, as well. Seif explained more money was needed, but he remained opposed to accepting USG contributions directly. "It will kill our credibility," not if, but when the Syrian regime discovered the source. Seif said the establishment of a Paris office might offer a way to collect funds from international donors and relay them to bank accounts in Lebanon for use by Syrian experts. In the meantime, Seif advised the U.S. to be very careful about direct financing of groups in Syria, because it exposed them to risk and it was impossible to tell whether the recipients were government agents. -------------- Possible Government Reactions -------------- ¶9. (C) Seif did not rule out the possibility of a government crackdown against some NC members, but doing so would come at the expense of publicizing the NC's formation. Seif discounted the chance that he might be detained, speculating that government action against him would result in pressure against the SARG by foreign governments who were lobbying for SARG permission for him to seek medical treatment abroad. As of December 5, the Embassy has received no reports of arrests related to the NC. ¶10. (C) Comment: Long in the making, the establishment of the National Council represents a major step forward for an opposition movement stymied by internal debate in an organization that barely functioned on the basis of consensus. Seif and his liberal allies achieved a major coup in overcoming nationalist objections to the Council's establishment and diverse membership. In particular, Seif was able to attract a number of Kurds to his cause, eroding some resistance by Kurdish groups to supporting the Damascus Declaration because it supports an "Arab" State. Seif also succeeded in minimizing the desire by some to make criticism of the U.S. a centerpiece of the NC's platform. ¶11. (C) For the most part, however, ordinary Syrians continue to live their lives without knowledge of the struggle of political reformers. While members of the 250-member National Council claim to represent thousands DAMASCUS 00001156 004.2 OF 004 more, very few Syrians are willing to associate openly with anything that calls itself a political opposition. Reaching the public therefore remains an immediate challenge in a country with government-controlled media. Even the Western press, now flocking to Syria in the wake of Annapolis to cover Iraqi refugees and other issues, appears reluctant to report on the NC. A U.S. reporter who has extensive experience in Syria explained that "there's just no point" to doing in depth reporting on this subject because Syria's opposition movement could never succeed in the current repressive environment. Another Beirut-based reporter for a major U.S. daily has held a story on Riad Seif because he wants to return and cover other stories in Syria. He remains concerned the security services would blacklist him. Given this self-censorship among Western reporters, Washington's support for this achievement by Syria's struggling, but still here, democratic movement is all the more important. CORBIN