Syrian Constitution's Drafting Body Did Not Discuss Secularism at Current Stage - Co-Chair
The Syrian Constitutional Committee's drafting body has not discussed the idea of embedding secular principles into the main law since all proposals have just been submitted, the committee's co-chair from the opposition, Hadi Bahra, said on Friday
Earlier, the media reported that the opposition delegation had asked for Syria to be a secular state.
"These are still initial meetings where we [the 45-strong committee] are looking into the ideas of 150. All the ideas were put down. They were not discussed and approved. We did not discuss secularism. I read those rumors - on secularism and the right of divorce for women - all these matters were not discussed," Bahra said at a press conference.
Asked whether his delegation believed that the Syrian Arab Republic needed to be renamed, he did not give a clear answer, noting, however, that the Arab identity should not be imposed on other ethnic groups.
"We were all born and have all lived under the name Syrian Arab Republic. But in history, there were times when it was called the Syrian Republic ... As people, we are diverse: we are one Syrian people, but within us, we have components that we cannot ignore: our Kurdish brothers, ... the Turkmen, the Caucasians, the Armenians. Syria is unique in its national mosaic. Am I going to impose on the Armenian to become Arab? Or the Kurd to become Arab? He is Syrian, part of the Syrian people, which includes various components," he pointed out.
The constitutional committee is made up of 150 members split into three delegations equally representing the government, opposition and civil society. The smaller drafting body of 45 members is expected to work on constitutional initiatives, while the larger body will be responsible for adopting them.