More on Law No. 10 - some excerpts:
Syria’s New “Law Number Ten” Devastates Sunni Refugees
Law Number 10 sets in motion a massive political and legal overhaul of the government land registry and gives Syrian refugees, whether inside the country or abroad just 30 days to prove ownership of their houses and property. All Syrian refugees must present their deeds to local council offices in the country. As of today, 5/4/2018, they have one week and if they fail to do so the state will liquidate their titles and seize their holdings. Once the registration window closes, “the remaining plots will be sold at auction,” according to Article 31 of the law.
An estimated 5.7 million Syrians have fled the country as refugees, and a further 6.8 million people are displaced inside Syria. Consequently, more than 12 million Syrians risk losing their homes. The UN estimates that only approximately 9 % of Syrians who fled the slaughter even have in their possession access to documentation showing ownership. Most Syrian refugees lost them Deri during the war before fleeing. Various UN and Human Rights Organizations have urged Syrian refugees not to try to return to their homes at this time given the high security risks of doing so and likely having to repeat, countless near-death experiences and perhaps not being as lucky this time.
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What will become of the property of millions of Syrian refugees who cannot and will not be able to meet next week’s deadline set by Law Number 10 or who may be wanted by the regime or have a relative who might be? Several million former homes and properties will almost certainly be sold by the Syrian authorities.
But to whom?
The buyers will be among the most trusted family members and business associates of the Assad and Rami Makhlouf families who are not on the US Treasury Departments, Office of Financial Assets Control (OFAC) Terrorism and Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) lists which would render them radioactive for foreign banks and business given their US and often EU sanctioned status.
A new clique of businessmen has been forming under Bashar Assad’s control and are benefiting from the regime’s crony capitalism, while maintaining close family, political or social ties to the al-Assad’s. This select group has begun concentrating ownership of major telecommunications, energy and Construction industries and according to the Financial Times they number fewer than 170 businessmen led by President Assad’s cousin, Rami Makhlouf, who the FT estimates owns more than sixty percent of Syria’s national economy with other members of the al-Assad family owning approximately fifteen percent of the kleptocracy. Reported to now be part of this group is Mr. Samer Foz, until recently a largely unknown businessman in Syria and who so far has ducked under the radar of the US Treasury Departments OFAC sanctioning juggernaut. Mr. Foz has also to date avoided various SDN and “terrorist” designations while working on maintaining a ‘clean’ image away from politics.
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If there is serious competition on the horizon for Mr. Foz and other regime allies to vacuum up hundreds of millions if not billions of real estate dollars in Syria which is rightfully owned by Syrian refugees, it is Iran.
Since 2013 the Islamic Republic has been ravenously buying up high end real estate and buildings in Damascus as well as farm land in certain rural areas, since 2014 giving Tehran a considerable amount of power over its neighbors in the long term. These investments appear to be done not only with regime loyalists but also with many Shiite militia groups. Portions of the real estate are located near Shiite religious sites, such as the Sayyidah Zaynab and Ruqayyah shrines in Damascus. Tehran is also reportedly changing Syria’s demographics by repopulating some areas with Shiite families from Hezbollah and other militia groups to consolidate its influence in Syria for the long term, as well as to bolster Assad’s rule.
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The Syrian regime is not the only one transferring people inside the country for political purposes and military purposes although the scope of their ethnic cleansing and forced transfers dwarf’s others involved in the civil war.
Another offender is Turkey and various militia. The UN and other human rights organizations regularly reports cases of Kurdish residents not being allowed to return to Afrin. They are being blocked amid ongoing home thefts and property redistribution to Arabs and Turks have sparked fears of demographic engineering and reignited bitter memories of the Kurdish people’s troubled history in Syria. Forced population transfers were a legacy of Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez, who as President settled thousands of Arab families onto confiscated Kurdish lands in the 1970s.
