Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:00The magic solution is decentralization. Mr. Fouad, if we ask you,
00:00:03and listed a large number of you were talking about magic solutions and about
00:00:06guarantees
00:00:10a model that suits us, and this for certain components due to fears,
00:00:12and knowing that fears exist among all Syrians, between majority and minority, and
00:00:15we don't like this term,
00:00:18but this is a reality that imposes itself now,
00:00:21hoping that this matter will end in any case. What are
00:00:26a specific experience and impose it on the guarantees
00:00:27the Syrian reality. No, this is not for your demands related to decentralization,
00:00:30so that it doesn't turn into something like a separation between the center
00:00:34and the peripheries?
00:00:3715 years of Politically, I agree with you that the fear is mutual between
00:00:41the two sides. The fear of a segment
00:00:44of Syrian society from Kurds,
00:00:47just mentioning the word Kurd, people remember the old
00:00:50culture from 50 years ago that the Ba'ath planted.
00:00:54We were demanding citizenship. We were
00:00:58referred to courts
00:01:01on charges of
00:01:04fragmenting part of the Syrian Arab Republic's territory.
00:01:07I remember the sarcasm in
00:01:091971
00:01:12when a group of students came out shouting "Long live Arab-Kurdish brotherhood" on the rock
00:01:15Syrians of Arab-Kurdish steadfastness. The conspiracies of colonialism
00:01:19and reactionaries will be shattered. Imagine,
00:01:23the war with the revolutionaries. they arrested seven students. And it was
00:01:27the occasion of the union
00:01:29to some extent, but it needs a lot of between Syria and... Egypt and Libya at that time.
00:01:34and services and shares They took them. Now that era has ended. And
00:01:36by Decree 13, citizenships were granted and
00:01:40reassurances were given. Why, why talk about decentralization
00:01:45regime, which controls that
00:01:45their areas and forced mutual fear? residents prevented them from
00:01:48However, this Yes, how do we guarantee? How do we remove this mutual
00:01:51fear? In a constitution and in
00:01:55there must be a comprehensive national dialogue
00:01:57that includes all
00:02:02I agree to some extent Syrian communities, Syrian society, and
00:02:05the establishment of a National Assembly to prepare
00:02:09a constitution
00:02:10a gradual approach in that guarantees the rights
00:02:13There must of all types of components and the rights of Syrian citizens,
00:02:15and works to distribute
00:02:19components. We must lived in power fairly, wealth, as Dr. Ammar
00:02:22said. So the issue
00:02:25is that this fear must be removed. This fear is not removed
00:02:29through bombardment from behind
00:02:32walls. It is removed through direct dialogue
00:02:35O homes in and sitting at a round
00:02:38homes in
00:02:39it does not apply table that includes all components and discussing
00:02:42calmly. So, if a law or constitutional
00:02:46principles are issued regarding Syria having administrative
00:02:49decentralization, for example, meaning we went to the constitution and it was voted on
00:02:52in a general referendum, and this means
00:02:56these articles in the constitution talk about administrative decentralization and granted cultural rights
00:03:00as granted to Kurds in Decree 13 to all
00:03:03components, is this satisfactory for you,
00:03:06for example, as Kurds or for other components, if you have
00:03:10the desire to answer this question, or is it not enough?
00:03:13And here we will enter into a new dilemma because a constitutional
00:03:17article was voted on. We work according to the principle of "take
00:03:20and demand." We work according to the principle of "take
00:03:22policy in and demand." Yes, if
00:03:24learned a lot from his writings on this we agree on a constitutional
00:03:28mechanism for Syrian society,
00:03:31From this we do not want to jump over the current
00:03:33reality. We must forget the military for now.
00:03:37The military in Third World
00:03:43that have oversight over understanding about the most suitable systems are considered the guardians of power. They are the ones who govern.
00:03:45Decentralization
00:03:49there are those who talk about these risks of at least limits the role of the military. This is also very
00:03:51important as long as the military, notice the coups. So what is the form
00:03:55of decentralization you are talking about from your perspective or
00:03:58in your opinion? Currently, political
00:04:02decentralization is very
00:04:03the country's power. There is no form of suitable, but with political understanding.
00:04:07But with understanding. Let's explain political decentralization. Let me
00:04:11ask, does it mean from your perspective, because even political decentralization has more
00:04:15than one degree, that there is a parliament
00:04:18for this region or this
00:04:21interviews I conducted with many state, and that it also has foreign relations related to a foreign minister
00:04:26population groups. I mean, and a government,
00:04:28is the one who like the model of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq? Is this the model you are talking about or
00:04:31political decentralization related to fewer powers?
00:04:34Because the term political decentralization, you are a politician,
00:04:38Mr. Fouad, and an old and experienced politician in this field. You know that
00:04:41it entails a parliament, a government, foreign
00:04:45relations, a language, and
00:04:50that time. Al-Durubi was one of there is a tendency, at different official documents completely from the center.
00:04:52No, no, official documents, etc. No,
00:04:56University in Istanbul. I mean, now two parliaments, it needs a parliament for the regions or governorates and a parliament for Syria.
00:05:00So, you are talking about a bicameral system. Yes,
00:05:04a bicameral system in
00:05:05then governor of the parliament. There is no model in the world
00:05:09that is identical to another. And you mentioned in the
00:05:13TV report
00:05:16models. We, as Syrians, together
00:05:19will create
00:05:22will only come through dialogue and the consent of both parties.
00:05:25So if we agree, this is the form that we want
00:05:29as a Syrian society, and I don't
00:05:32want to rely on a specific
00:05:35experience or copy
00:05:40permissible. We, through our understanding
00:05:43of our Syrian reality, in our ethnic
00:05:47and religious situation and the
00:05:50estrangement between society, must search
00:05:53for a mechanism that satisfies all
00:05:56parties through dialogue. Aha, through
00:05:59dialogue, and Mr. Bashar indeed, through dialogue in the People's
00:06:03Assembly, I mean, and awaiting the preparation or
00:06:06drafting of the new constitution, to what extent
00:06:09does the dialogue go into types of political or administrative decentralization or
00:06:13expanded administrative decentralization, especially since you said through
00:06:16your discussions that Law 107 is
00:06:20suitable for this stage or perhaps, as Mr.
00:06:23Ammar said, a starting point. In your opinion, how
00:06:27will you reach through dialogue the word, yes, the word
00:06:30"beginning" is the most accurate word, in my opinion,
00:06:33because despite the fact that
00:06:36Law 107 I find it good
00:06:41amendments. In fact, Law 107,
00:06:44when it was produced or issued in 2011,
00:06:48today we are in 2026, and the world is developing
00:06:51very rapidly and
00:06:54quickly. I mean, even laws, one of the ideas that is being
00:06:58widely discussed today is the mechanism for finding
00:07:01a mechanism so that these
00:07:04laws can evolve flexibly enough
00:07:08to keep pace with the development we are experiencing today
00:07:11and the acceleration on all levels and in all
00:07:14fields. The discussion today is
00:07:17a discussion of all Syrians, as we mentioned, about
00:07:20those who see centralization as a solution, like Professor
00:07:24Fouad, and insist on that, and those who see that the
00:07:27centralization we
00:07:30the past was not something
00:07:34or a bad thing, except that its application, because when we talk
00:07:37about the Assad regime, we don't talk about a centralized system or
00:07:41a decentralized system. We talk about a repressive system
00:07:43with tyranny, meaning
00:07:46a very repressive, tyrannical system, and therefore
00:07:51to any form of system. It was an occupation, in fact.
00:07:54In reality,
00:07:57but generally, generally, there is a trend, as
00:08:00we discussed, to significantly
00:08:03reduce the severity of centralization.
00:08:06The severity of centralization, I mean, what are the powers that can be given
00:08:10to the governorates? Yes, yes, in your opinion,
00:08:14I think it needs
00:08:17a gradual approach. We cannot go towards
00:08:20the highest degrees of decentralization currently
00:08:23in light of political circumstances, military
00:08:26and security circumstances that we have been living through and are still living through, and the whole
00:08:30region is experiencing it today. I believe there should be
00:08:34a gradual approach in this direction so that we can trust
00:08:37each other as Syrians and listen to each other as Syrians, and find
00:08:40this, let's say, formula of joint governance that we can
00:08:44build our Syria upon.
00:08:47But for me to suddenly today propose the issue
00:08:50of extreme decentralization or political decentralization, in
00:08:54my opinion, it entails risks. The problem, the danger
00:08:58here, Mr. Bashar,
00:09:01division and disintegration, especially in a state where there is no trust between
00:09:05its people. We are talking about a minefield. The first danger
00:09:08is the last one, meaning the first adventure might be the last.
00:09:12God forbid, we are concerned that Syria remains one
00:09:15unified entity. Therefore, the issue of gradualism, in my opinion,
00:09:19the issue of supporting small administrative units
00:09:22to the maximum extent, granting
00:09:26independent budgets, even by the way, in
00:09:28107, it includes the issue of
00:09:32financial independence, and this talk, I mean, I don't know
00:09:35how contrary information is to 107, which includes
00:09:39financial independence for administrative units, of course, within
00:09:47implementation. In fact, 107 was never implemented, not for a moment. I mean, the regime produced it in 2011
00:09:51and it was never applied. Today we are living in a transitional period, we
00:09:55don't know whether to apply 107 or other laws and so on. But
00:09:58اخره لكن
00:10:01least let's talk now governmentally, I mean, yesterday we were in
00:10:05a session with the Minister of Local Administration.
00:10:09I sensed a tendency towards applying 107
00:10:13and expanding the powers of local
00:10:16councils, meaning towards, let's say, alleviating
00:10:20the severity. I have to stop you here, but does that
00:10:23mean, for example, that there will be
00:10:26a governor appointed by the president of the republic and a mayor,
00:10:30or are the governor and the
00:10:33mayor elected by
00:10:35the people? No, I believe,
00:10:39I believe the governor is another matter. The governor
00:10:42will be appointed, meaning this resembles the Turkish
00:10:46model, I believe. Yes, the Turkish
00:10:48experience. From this point, allow me
00:10:52to move to Turkey, where Turkey combined centralization
00:10:55and administrative decentralization. Its experience went through different stages. Let's
00:10:59follow the experience of administrative decentralization in Turkey with our colleague
00:11:03Baha. How can a highly centralized state
00:11:06grant its cities and provinces broad
00:11:10powers without giving up its unity
00:11:12of administration? In Turkey, whose constitution
00:11:15stipulates combining centralization and administrative
00:11:19decentralization, the municipality system underwent a significant transformation
00:11:23at the beginning of the millennium. In 2004 and 2005,
00:11:26laws were issued that reorganized large
00:11:29and local municipalities and granted them administrative
00:11:32and financial independence and powers including
00:11:35urban planning, transportation, cleanliness, and public
00:11:39facilities, in addition to social and cultural services.
00:11:42Municipal councils
00:11:45and their heads are elected every five years.
00:11:48The councils have the authority to approve budgets and investment
00:11:52plans, while municipalities obtain
00:11:55revenues from fees
00:11:59of general taxes. In 2012,
00:12:01a new reform was approved that increased the
00:12:05number of large municipalities from 16 to
00:12:0830 and expanded their boundaries to include the entire
00:12:11relevant provinces. reform also abolished
00:12:15smaller local administrations and converted villages
00:12:19and towns into neighborhoods belonging to larger
00:12:22municipalities, which raised questions about
00:12:25populations and the independence of their regions.
00:12:28Despite these powers, the central government
00:12:31remained present through appointed governors.
00:12:35The country also witnessed the removal of elected mayors
00:12:38and the appointment of officials in their
00:12:40place. The Turkish experience
00:12:43thus reveals that administrative decentralization does not necessarily
00:12:47contradict the unity of the state, but its success
00:12:50requires clear powers and sufficient financial
00:12:54resources, and guarantees that protect the independence of elected councils
00:12:57and prevent central oversight
00:13:00from becoming a means to obstruct them.
00:13:04Mr. Ammar, you lived in Turkey and I believe you lived in the United
00:13:07States, meaning with experiences of different state forms
00:13:10between federalism and administrative decentralization. How can
00:13:14Syria create a suitable model for itself based on experiences
00:13:17without falling into mistakes, meaning lessons learned, as
00:13:20you call them?
00:13:25I mean, there are many lessons learned from countries
00:13:28like those to our east or west,
00:13:31or also from Jordan, from Turkey, we don't need
00:13:35to go far. Iraq is
00:13:39frightening.
00:13:42I mean, I want to focus on what Professor Fouad
00:13:45said, our professor, and we
00:13:49specific topic. When we started at Omran
00:13:52Center, then dialogue is what starts. I mean,
00:13:56when Syrians start trusting each other, and also Mr. Bashar
00:14:00also mentioned, this building of trust
00:14:03is what ultimately generates
00:14:06form. There is no, again, I can't
00:14:09say that decentralization solves all our problems,
00:14:13but it certainly gives more ownership
00:14:16to finding solutions that solve our problems.
00:14:19I mean, it puts people,
00:14:22it gives power to the base. I mean,
00:14:26it returns power,
00:14:28decentralization that adopts different
00:14:32foreign policies, and I mean, these are distorted forms found in some
00:14:36countries, but I believe all Syrians,
00:14:39with all their spectra, agree. No, we did
00:14:42a survey, I mean, and many
00:14:46parties, blocs, and different
00:14:51no one tells you that they want a different currency or defense.
00:14:55Everyone agrees that these are sovereign matters, so there is no
00:14:58disagreement about them. But there is also a local
00:15:02dimension to many of these functions. These are state functions.
00:15:05I mean, here we are talking about decentralization as a concept for distributing
00:15:09state functions locally and who has the decision-making
00:15:12power The decision can be transferred,
00:15:16delegated, or there can be non-exclusivity. I mean, here are three
00:15:19levels of decision-making. Where do they choose the school?
00:15:23On what land do they choose it? Does the center plan
00:15:27and decide that I want to put the school in Sarouja neighborhood
00:15:30in Damascus or in so-and-so's neighborhood? No, here there must be local
00:15:34committees, a local council, local entities that come and say
00:15:38it is better for us to have it in a certain place. And the same for resources,
00:15:41fees, and so on. The Turkish model
00:15:44balanced many factors. We also
00:15:48need to study, to diagnose the reality
00:15:50accurately, and to analyze, to put
00:15:54administrative solutions to these problems in a way
00:15:57that preserves the rights of local residents, for sure.
00:16:00Well, Mr. Fouad, when you said that the Iraqi experience
00:16:04is frightening, because you know in the Iraqi constitution there
00:16:07is an article that stipulates a bicameral parliament system
00:16:11that has not been applied yet. There is something that talks about federalism
00:16:14and regions and it has not been applied yet, only in the Kurdistan region,
00:16:18and you know that the situation there is still not safe
00:16:21for all citizens, whether they are Arabs or Kurds or with their diversity.
00:16:25Therefore, for Syria, how do we build
00:16:29trust between the Syrian people to reach, not just political
00:16:32currents, we are talking about social incubators, so that they reach
00:16:36forms or a form that can manage the country with local
00:16:39administrations that satisfy everyone to the acceptable
00:16:43extent?
00:16:47Sister Ruba, you said that the Iraqi
00:16:50constitution is frightening, that's very heavy.
00:16:53If there was an application of the Iraqi
00:16:57constitution, we would have found...
00:16:59I didn't say it's frightening, I said there is a constitution that hasn't been applied yet after all
00:17:03these years. The state of Iraq, our sister, is a state...
00:17:14The reality is that Iran imposed itself,
00:17:17placing every advisor, minister of the Iranian
00:17:22power in Iraq, even this... Excuse me,
00:17:25this is not what we are here to talk about.
00:17:28Let's talk about Syria. So let's talk about Syria. How do we build
00:17:31trust and choose a useful model
00:17:34for everyone? Regarding Syria,
00:17:40with Mr. Bashar. We cannot
00:17:43jump over the current reality. There must be
00:17:48these issues.
00:17:50be reassurance
00:17:52messages sent to all
00:17:56discuss that the centralized system is no
00:18:00longer suitable for Syrian
00:18:03society at the current stage. So, yes, there must
00:18:07be. We must tell Syrian society that we all
00:18:11are united by a state of citizenship, equality, justice,
00:18:14and democracy. I am for electing local
00:18:18authorities, even the governor, and
00:18:21the Iraqi model, like Mosul province,
00:18:24might be suitable. Why don't we want
00:18:28a high commissioner? Whoever comes to us
00:18:30from one governorate to another, I remember in Al-Hasakah
00:18:33governorate, most of our governors, in the end,
00:18:38all Syrians are Syrian citizen. For the state,
00:18:42it's a heavy burden. For the central state, they bring
00:18:45a governor appointed by the president, saying that half
00:18:48of Syria is described in such a way, regardless of the way
00:18:52the country is managed or the form of administration. Okay, in
00:18:5530 seconds, because my time is up, and I want to move to Mr.
00:18:57Bashar.
00:19:00I mean, I am with electing the governor
00:19:03and mayors from the governorates.
00:19:08Mr. Bashar, if we ask you about oversight,
00:19:12which is the most important matter, and it is one of the tasks of the People's Assembly
00:19:15not only in this stage, but in all stages. Parliaments are the ones
00:19:21the government and over the management of resources and
00:19:24so on. How is it possible in a non-administrative, decentralized
00:19:28administrative system, pardon me, to control oversight,
00:19:32and you gave us the example of Turkey, and there are other models, some good
00:19:35and some not so good?
00:19:38Yes, I think oversight in the context of, I mean,
00:19:41if we move towards administrative
00:19:44decentralization, oversight will be more effective,
00:19:47not only by the People's Assembly, which is
00:19:50located in the center. It is true that it represents all
00:19:54governorates, but oversight will also be carried out
00:19:58by the local community, because whoever elects the member,
00:20:02whoever grants legitimacy,
00:20:05oversees this member
00:20:17Thank you very much, my guests in the Third
00:20:20Republic: Mr. Bashar Hawa, member of the People's Assembly, you were with us from
00:20:23Aleppo; Mr. Fouad Aliko, member of the Political Committee of the
00:20:27Kurdish Yekiti Party in Syria, you were with us from Erbil; and Mr.
00:20:31Ammar Qahf, Executive Director of the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, you were
00:20:35with us from Damascus.
00:20:40And thanks to you, dear viewers. This was the weekly
00:20:43statement from the Third
00:20:44Republic.
00:30:28Welcome to this news bulletin. We begin with the headlines.
00:30:33Internal Security deploys in Hay al-Sawaeq in Hama after clashes between
00:30:37two families and arrests a number of
00:30:40those involved.
00:30:43Israeli occupation forces set up a temporary checkpoint and search
00:30:47passersby in the village of Ruwaihina in the central Quneitra countryside.