Dr. Nader Hashemi:

In 1955 the South African pro-democracy movement, led by the African National Congress, produced a document, South African Freedom Charter, about which committee members will have heard. It was a blueprint for a future post-apartheid South Africa. Looking back, we see that the document played a role in bringing various political constituencies around a common agenda. The civil society organisations led by the local co-ordinating councils in Syria which have representation throughout the country have produced a similar document based on the South African blueprint. It is an inclusive document for democracy, human rights and civil society which lays out a blueprint for a future Syria. It was not dreamed up by a handful of activists; it is based on the most detailed survey of Syrian public opinion ever conducted. A total of 50,000 people in every district in Syria and including the exiled community of those who were kicked out and have become refugees were surveyed and they voiced their opinions. The document is far more representative than anything we have seen in the history of modern Syria. Ireland and the international community could get behind this document because it is the embodiment of the values to which we subscribe in western liberal democracies. It is also a reflection of Syrian views. It is representative and overlaps with the views of moderate Syrian rebels who stand for the freedom charter principles. It is a new document which has just been released and about which committee members will hear much more. I encourage them to find out more about it.

If we support the Free Syrian Army, the weakest of the three groups, we will prolong the conflict, but I argue that not supporting it is to guarantee Syria's future will be mired in conflict, resistance and a war of attrition that will constantly produce instability as long as the Assad regime and ISIS stay in power. Unfortunately, in some conflicts one must invest in a military struggle to defeat those political parties which simply are not willing to compromise or share power. We are in this crisis because of Assad's obfuscation, gerrymandering of the political system and authoritarian policies. He does not want to leave. There is no way out of the problem in Syria unless a military solution is used as part of a broader political agenda. They must go together, as one cannot separate them. That is how we must start to think about the solution. If we start to think about it in these terms, emboldened by the freedom charter principles, we can start to move the conflict in a much more positive and better direction.