Led by 65 Syrian intellectuals, a signature campaign was launched to demand the restoration of freedoms and the establishment of a democratic order after the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

 

The campaign, signed by writers, lawyers and human rights activists from the diaspora and Syria, also emphasised the demands of the Kurds.

 

The text called for a "just solution to the Kurdish issue within a negotiated framework of administrative decentralisation" with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, AFP reported.

 

DEMAND FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 

 

The signatories demanded the restoration of basic public freedoms, including freedom of expression, assembly and belief, and the recognition of the right to form independent parties and trade unions.

 

The petition also called for the establishment of a political system for which the Syrian people rose up and for which hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives, and called for the election of a constituent assembly in accordance with a fair election law and the adoption of a new constitution that would guarantee freedoms.

 

The text emphasised the need to reveal the fate of the disappeared, estimated to be tens of thousands under the Assad regime. In this context, it demanded "preservation of documents, prevention of deterioration of mass graves and access to the truth as a means of national reconciliation".

 

Among the signatories of the petition are writers Farouk Mardam Bey, Samar Yazbek, Mustafa Khalifa and Yasin al-Haj Saleh, and filmmakers Hala Abdullah and Waad al-Kataib. The campaign is open to more signatories.