TheDamascus Declaration (Arabic:إعلان دمشق) was a statement of unity bySyrian opposition figures issued in October 2005. It criticized theAssad regime as "authoritarian,totalitarian andcliquish," and called for "peaceful, gradual," reform "founded on accord, and based on dialogue and recognition of the other."[1]
The five-page document was signed by more than 250 major opposition figures as well as parties "bothsecular and religious,Arab andKurdish."[1] It was considered important that the statement included theMuslim Brotherhood group of Syria, in addition to secular groups.[2][1]The statement called for a "fair solution for the Kurdish issue in Syria in a way insures the equality of Kurds with all other Syrian citizens".[citation needed]
Syrian journalist and activistMichel Kilo launched the declaration, after the Syrian writer and thinkerAbdulrazak Eid had written its first draft.Riad Seif, another democracy activist, was the first signatory.[1] The "five small opposition groups" signing the declaration were the Arab nationalistNational Democratic Rally, the Kurdish Democratic Alliance, the Committees of Civil Society, the Kurdish Democratic Front and the Movement of the Future.[citation needed]
Twelve members of the Damascus Declaration National Council were sentenced to two and a half years in prison in October 2008.
During theSyrian civil war, members of the Damascus Declaration who had remained in Syria participated to theNational Coordination Committee for Democratic Change while others who operated from abroad joined theSyrian National Council and later theSyrian National Coalition.
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