65 prominent intellectuals in Syria launched a petition calling for the restoration of freedoms and establishment of a democratic order after the fall of the Assad regime.

The petition, supported by writers, lawyers, human rights activists and film-makers in Syria and the diaspora puts particular emphasis on the Kurdish issue.

According to an AFP report, the petition calls for a “just solution to the Kurdish question within a framework of administrative decentralization” negotiated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Demand for fundamental rights and freedoms

The signatories of the petition also call for the restoration of fundamental public freedoms, including freedom of expression, assembly, belief, and the recognition of the right to form independent parties and trade unions. 

The petition further calls for the establishment of a political system sought by the Syrian people who rose up and lost their lives to this end, the election of a constituent assembly under a fair electoral law and the adoption of a new constitution to guarantee freedoms during the transition. 

The aftermath of the disappeared and transitional period

The petition highlights the importance of uncovering the aftermath of those disappeared under the Assad regime, whose number is estimated at tens of thousands. In this context, it calls for “preserving documents, preventing the desecration of mass graves and ensuring access to the truth as a path to national reconciliation.”