The talks shaping Syria’s new constitution will exclude Kurdish forces, organizers say

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DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The conference to chart Syria’s political future will include all segments of Syrian society except for the Kurdish-led administration in the northeast and loyalists of the repressive former government of Bashar Assad, organizers said Thursday.

“This will be the first real gathering of Syrians in 75 years,” said Huda al-Atassi, a former detainee and a member of the organizing committee for Syria’s national dialogue conference. She read the panel’s statement at a news conference in Damascus.

The conference will cover “social, political, economic and governance issues, laying the foundations for a solid future based on national consensus, justice, reform and inclusion,” she said.

In late January, Syria’s former rebel factions appointed Islamist former rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa as interim president of the country after an offensive he led toppled Assad in late December. They also threw out Syria’s constitution, adopted under Assad, saying a new charter would be drafted.

Most of the former insurgent factions also agreed to dissolve and join the new Syrian army and security services, but the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria has so far refused to do the same.

SDF forces have been clashing with Turkish-backed groups in northern Syria, and the Kurds are concerned about losing political and cultural gains they have made since carving out their own enclave in the northeast during the country’s civil war.

Discussions are ongoing between the SDF and the government in Damascus.

Formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa is the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the lightning offensive that ousted Assad. The group was once affiliated with al-Qaida but has since denounced its former ties.

In recent years, al-Sharaa has sought to cast himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance and promised to protect the rights of women and religious minorities.

Since Assad’s fall, HTS has become the de facto ruling party and has set up an interim government largely composed of officials from the local government it previously ran in rebel-held Idlib province.

However, al-Sharaa has promised to launch an inclusive political process to set up a new constitution and representative government for all Syrians. The national dialogue conference has been a key part of that plan.

The date of the dialogue remains undecided as preparations continue, said Hassan al-Daghim, a member of the political guidance in Syria’s National Army. Participants will be chosen based on expertise, public influence and inclusivity, he added.

The preparatory committee is “an independent national body” tasked with organizing the dialogue, gathering public input and ensuring fairness, Daghim said. There is no set quota for participation, and women play an “integral” role in all aspects of preparation, Atassi added.

“No one will be invited based on religion, institutional ties or party affiliation,” said Daghim, who dismissed the SDF as unrepresentative of Syrians but said that Kurdish participation would not be restricted.

The dialogue will produce “recommendations” to be submitted to the Syrian presidency. Assad regime figures will not be included, as “their place is in justice,” Daghim said.