And next, Syria?

[The39thStep]

This is one of the areas I'm most dubious tbh. The demonstrations provide hope that the Syrians will stay active and at the very least keep the administration in check.

Yes, it's the movement from below that provides the hope , not how HTS is marketed. Those who do soft soap HTS will be the first to condemn any opposition from below to the regime and it's vested interests.

 

[Pickman's model]

This is one of the areas I'm most dubious tbh. The demonstrations provide hope that the Syrians will stay active and at the very least keep the administration in check.

i admire but cannot share your optimism.

 

[zahir]

Washington Returns to Damascus with High Stakes for Syria’s Transition

The delegation’s findings on key political and security issues will have a major impact on future U.S. engagement with Syria’s new leaders, including the decision on whether or not to remove sanctions.

www.washingtoninstitute.org

 

[zahir]

video

Thousands rallied in Damascus today, singing about freedom and unity. No one holding up pictures of any man. Not a word, not a chant about Jolani. Speakers praised the protesters, the fighters, the imprisoned, the exiled, the dead, the men and the women for making this possible.

eta:
video from Sweida
video from Tartous

 

[zahir]

Syria: Turkish Drone Strike Kills Kurdish Journalists Jihan Belki and Nazim Dashdam — Coalition For Women in Journalism

WPF is outraged by the Turkish drone strike that killed journalists Jihan Belki and Nazim Dashdam near the Tishrin Dam, on the outskirts of Kobani. They were reporting on attacks on the dam when, according to local human rights groups, their vehicle was "directly" targeted.

www.womeninjournalism.org

Women Press Freedom is outraged by the Turkish drone strike that killed journalists Jihan Belki and Nazim Dashdam near the Tishrin Dam, on the outskirts of Kobani. They were reporting on attacks on the dam when, according to local human rights groups, their vehicle was "directly" targeted. Their driver was also injured in the strike.

This tragedy comes amid escalating Turkish attacks in northern and eastern Syria. Jihan Belki is the third woman journalist killed by a Turkish drone strike this year, following the deaths of Gulstan Tara and Hero Bahadin in Iraq in August.

We strongly condemn this attack and demand an immediate, independent investigation to determine if these journalists were deliberately hit. Purposefully targeting the press in a conflict zone constitutes a war crime. Turkiye must be held accountable for the growing number of Kurdish journalists killed and injured by its drones strikes.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of Jihan and Nazim.

 

[zahir]

Commons Library research briefing: Syria after Assad

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-10161/CBP-10161.pdf

 

[zahir]

The situation in Kobane

US-allied Syrian Kurds warn of Turkish offensive and Isis resurgence

Kurds Syria's Kobane - a city synonymous with the fight against the so-called Islamic State - fear Turkey is preparing a major attack

inews.co.uk

Archived version: https://archive.ph/y9UDB

 

[zahir]

Statement from the Syrian Women's Council based in the autonomous administration in the north east.

Declaration of Syrian Women's Council - Kongra Star

As women living in Syria, we have lived for many years under the Baath regime’s nationalist and unilateralist policies that do not recognize the will of women. The peoples of Syria, who rose up against the cruel regime in 2011, have faced war, migration, occupation and ISIS persecution in the 13...

kongra-star.org

As women living in Syria, we have lived for many years under the Baath regime’s nationalist and unilateralist policies that do not recognize the will of women. The peoples of Syria, who rose up against the cruel regime in 2011, have faced war, migration, occupation and ISIS persecution in the 13 years that followed. Women have suffered the most in this period.

We have struggled against the Baath regime, as well as against ISIS, and against all forms of oppression and enslavement. We have paid a high price, but we have not lost our hope to live in a free and democratic Syria. As women from all ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds in Syria, we established the Syrian Women’s Council with the determination to build a free future for all Syrian people. Now, more than ever, we have a strong will and determination to play a more effective leadership role in this process.

Efforts to build a new order in Syria after the fall of the Baath regime continue. However, this process must recognize the will of women, a fair and equal representation of women must be ensured. Because women make up more than half of Syrian society. Only with equal participation of women and all the different religious, cultural and ethnic groups in Syria, we can build the democratic, just and secure country, we are longing for.

During these 13 years, women in North and East Syria have struggled and organized themselves in all areas of life and achieved important gains. They have gained important expertise in politics, economy, self-defense, justice and many other fields. It is time that all Syrian women can benefit from the achievements of the women in this region. These achievements have been gained with great sacrifices and great costs, so it is crucial to defend them. One of the most important conditions in the legitimation at the regional and international level of the new system that will be established in Syria, is that the role of women in establishing and administrating the new system in Syria, is guaranteed.

The fall of the Assad regime was a positive development. However, unfortunately the crimes against women in Idlib, Afrin, Jarablus, al-Bab, Serekani and Gire Spi – like killing, abduction and deprivation of basic rights – continue. In these places, and now as well in Minbij, Turkish-backed armed groups continue to commit crimes and continue their occupation.

Today, as we celebrate the fall of the Ba’ath regime, we also witness an alarming increase in violence against women and religious and ethnic minorities—particularly Christians, Alawites, and Druze—in coastal and southern regions. Furthermore, attacks on North and East Syria and heinous crimes, such as the brutal killings and beheading of women, as occurred in Tal Rifaat, by armed factions supported by Turkey, continue. Therefore, in order to prevent these violations and to end the fear and danger our peoples are facing, we call on all political forces in Syria to work toward achieving the following objectives:

1. Syrian people must determine the future of Syria.​

1. The fulfillment of the requirements of international norms and peace agreements; an end to war and conflicts in our region; therefore, a closure of Syrian airspace to military activities; the cessation of all attacks on Syrian territory, and the withdrawal of all occupying armies.​

1. The immediate release of all women still held captive in the prisons of armed groups in Idlib, Afrin, Jarabulus, al-Bab, Gire Spî (Tal Abyad) and Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain).​

1. The establishment of a committee with the active participation of women to ensure the safe return of displaced Syrian refugees and an end to the occupation of Syrian territory.​

1. The ensuring of fair representation of women and women’s organizations from all parts of Syria in the construction of a democratic Syria and in the new Constitutional Committee.​

1. The implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325; the taking of measures to guarantee women’s participation in peace processes; measures to prevent conflict and measures to prevent violence against women during and after conflicts; the effective participation of women in the decision-making, implementation and accountability processes in taking these measures.​

1. The establishing of a truth and justice commission to investigate and prosecute all war crimes and crimes against women and human rights.​

1. Ensuring women’s equal and free participation in all decision-making mechanisms and in the fields of politics, education, science and economy.​

1. Legal recognition of women’s right to self-defense.​

1. Full implementation and guarantee of the human rights proclaimed in international conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). A guarantee of women’s fundamental rights and social rights.​

1. The establishment of a committee to work for the inclusion of women’s will in public and political institutions based on the principle of equal representation.​

1. The establishment of justice committees for children who have suffered psychological and physical harm due to war and violence.​

1. The establishment of an environmental committee to investigate environmental destruction, environmental crimes and to prosecute the perpetrators among other necessary measures to be taken.​

Syrian Women’s Council

20-12-2024

 

[zahir]

Thread from Emma Beals

Reflections from Syria. Very briefly, for now. Lots more to come in the days/weeks ahead.

Three things are happening at once:
1/ The joy, relief, and miracle of it all.
2/ The huge grief and horror.
3/ The uncertainty, complexity, and huge work ahead.

On 1/ The joy and relief are real, even among those who are afraid or uncertain. The regime was widely hated. Under them, things were only going one way, and it wasn’t good. Now, there is a question, possibility, opportunity. People have a huge weight lifted.

The miracle of what’s happening is mind-bending. It shouldn’t be possible. It’s a credit to the backroom diplomacy and the restraint and willingness of Syrians to give this chance. Sure, there is some instability and it’s early days, but the fact it’s working so far is huge.

On 2/ The horror. I’ve researched the regimes security state in granular detail for years but seeing it in 3D is something else. The scale of the enterprise was outrageous. Thousands of people spent every day involved in this. So many were detained or had someone missing.

The mass graves are vast. Hospitals had morgues of tortured corpses. There are branches everywhere. The full truth is only now coming out and how to reckon with everything that happened and to avoid replicating these patterns of securitization and brutality will be a big task.

On 3/ Wow, where to start. In between the highs and the lows there is SO much going on and this is part where much of the work needs to be done. People are uncertain about what’s next and highly sensitive to every action of authorities—tho giving it a chance.

Many folks stayed in place, so within and between communities you’ve victims, perpetrators, and everyone else. Reductive to think of it as sectarian issue, it’s beyond that. Dynamics are highly localized. The TJ and reconciliation Q is huge—in institutions, communities, justice…

The regime’s primary concern was its security state, not governance or service provision. Syrians need everything. Some areas are destroyed beyond recognition. Others simply lack basic services. Institutions lack capacity. The work ahead is vast.

And now…we must let Syrians work this out but help them to maximize and build on the miracle of it all, address the past and grieve and reconcile society, and build build build and grow and repair and renew. I’ll expand on all these thoughts in more detail in coming days/weeks.

 

[zahir]

source

“I just learned that my PhD student, Assad Hassan, has become the new Foreign Minister of Syria. I was asking his Indonesian and Palestinian classmates why he hasn't been coming to class for the last two weeks.”

 

[zahir]

Yazidis in Syria

Yazidis in Syria struggle for survival amid rapid changes

By Samer Yassin HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – The recent upheavals in Syria, marked by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) control over Damascus and the fall of

npasyria.com

 

[zahir]

Bringing the SNA on board

Rami Jarrah

Jolani has appointed two Ahrar al-Sham leaders, one current and one former, as governors of Damascus countryside and Lattakia.

Syrians deserve better than warlords in civilian administrative roles. This power-sharing at the expense of Syrians and their future is unacceptable.

MORE CAKE SHARING: After controversial appointments in Lattakia and Damascus suburbs, Jolani has now named Abu Al-Azz, leader of the Turkish-backed Jabha Shamiya, as Aleppo’s governor. Notably, Jabha Shamiya clashed with HTS in 2022 and, after losing, formed an alliance with them.

This raises questions about whose interests Abu Al-Azz will serve, given his faction’s ties to Turkey, and suggests Jolani is pacifying warlords with unearned positions.

While some argue these appointments are temporary, simply to appease these warlords and avoid conflict at a critical time, and that they will be confronted by Jolani at a later stage. Fuelling concerns about placing faith in yet another "one man" leader. If history has taught Syrians anything, it’s the dangers of such reliance.

These appointments, temporary or not, demand scrutiny as they shape Syria’s future.

 

[zahir]

video

Hundreds of Syrian women protest against HTS spokesman’s claim that women are ‘biologically incapable’ of leadership roles. They demand secularism, democracy, and equal rights.