Daijiworld Media Network - Hassakeh

Hassakeh, Aug 9: Hundreds of representatives from Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious communities gathered on Friday to call for the formation of a decentralised state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious, cultural, and ethnic pluralism.

The one-day conference in Hassakeh—held under the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces’ control—brought together some 400 delegates from minorities including Alawites, Druze, and Christians. They urged recognition and protection of their rights in Syria’s post-Assad political transition.

The fall of President Bashar al-Assad last December has plunged the country into a fragile transition marked by ongoing violence against minorities. Delegates condemned attacks by pro-government gunmen on minority communities, labelling them crimes against humanity.

Ghazal Ghazal, spiritual leader of the Alawite minority, warned that extremist ideologies threaten Syria’s minorities and called for a federal system safeguarding the rights of all Syrians.

Elham Ahmad, a senior official with the northeast’s autonomous administration, said the conference conveyed a message of civil peace and national reconciliation, envisioning a Syria built on pluralism.

Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, Druze spiritual leader, stressed pluralism as a unifying treasure, not a threat, while conference organiser Hakemat Habib called for a democratic, decentralised state as the path forward after decades of failed tyrannical rule.

Meanwhile, SDF commander Sipan Hamo criticised interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s government for perpetuating dictatorship and expressed hopes to integrate the SDF into a national army, though citing little optimism from Damascus.

The interim government in Damascus has yet to respond to the conference’s demands.