Syrian Lawyer’s Chief: Syria Offers Assurances to Opposition Members to Participate in Dialogue

Ali al-Abdullah

The Syrian Lawyer's Chief, Nizar Skeif reiterated, "The guarantees that the Syrian government offers the opposition in the National Dialogue Conference are genuine, since the Syrian government does not cheat anyone in politics, is not weak, and knows its strength and will in political, security, and social standards."
In an interview with al-Ahed News website, Skeif indicated, "The decisions issued from the [Syrian] Ministry of Interior Affairs and [Syrian] Ministry of Justice regarding these guarantees are executable, secured, and irrefutable."

He further stressed, "There are a lot of facilitations to those who want to come to Syria, chiefly easing the entry or exit of any opposition through a document granted to him, especially if he did not possess any travelling documents."
Moreover, Skeif accentuated, "The Syrian government is serious about dialogue with any party," pointing out, "The Syrian regime does not have any inquiries to those who want to participate in dialogue, excluding those who committed terrorist crimes or have any espionage ties."

"The political resolution that [Syrian] President Bashar Assad declared is fully integrated in all of its three phases, and the Syrian government had begun implementing it from day one and contacting political parties, institutions, and popular organizations. Hence, there is no excuse not to participate in dialogue, except those who take orders from regional countries," the President of the Syrian the chief noted.

"Those who do not approve dialogue obviously want to follow their master's orders and have personal ambitions for authority. We will not be dealing with these people and whoever opposes the government should participate in it," he added.
As for the possibility of having a list of opposition names on Syrian borders, Skeif pointed out, "Any terrorist could enter under the name of dialogue. Therefore, there must be a list, since whoever wants to participate in dialogue must have the political mind and potential for it."

On another note, the President of the Syrian Lawyer censured the Turkish government on the oppressed apprehensions of Turkish lawyers, on the grounds of having managed legal cases for Syrian citizens and industrialists after damages caused to Aleppo's infrastructure.

"It is the right of any Syrian citizen or industrialist to hire any attorney, but the Turkish government took that right away and assailed it," Skeif underscored.
Furthermore, Skeif highlighted, "The Turkish government's behavior towards the Turkish lawyers is an assault on the sovereignty of law, the judicial independence in Turkey and Syria, and the personal rights of Syrian people."
"The Syrian Chief released statements and submitted letters to the President of the Union of Turkish Bars Association, the Turkish Bar Association, the Arab Bar, the International Bar Association, and the United Nations, to inform them of this ethical and legal assault," Skeif underlined.

Source: al-Ahed News, translated and edited by moqawama.org