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- Building of the century: Syria will put the question of the form of government to a referendum
Building of the century: Syria will put the question of the form of government to a referendum
A referendum on the new Constitution will be held in Syria following the results of the constituent assembly. At it Syrians will express their opinion on the future form of government in the country. Anas al-Abda, a member of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCRS), told Izvestia. He also expressed support for the rights of the Kurdish people to participate in the political life of the country. What are the first steps taken by the interim government of Syria and whether the country can get a parliamentary form of government - in the material "Izvestia".
Syria will convene a constituent assembly
Syria is on the threshold of the most important political transformations, which may determine the future of the country for decades to come. As part of the transition phase aimed at reforming the state after the 60-year rule of the Baath Party, it is planned to form a constituent assembly. Its main task will be to draft a new Constitution. The process will be completed by a referendum, where Syrians will express their opinion on the future form of government. Anas al-Abda, a member of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCRS), told Izvestia.
- During the transition period, a constituent assembly will be formed to write a modern new Syrian Constitution based on the consolidation of freedoms and equal citizenship, the protection of the rights of all Syrian components and the principle of non-discrimination on any basis. "The work of the constituent assembly may result in a proposal on the nature of the next political system, whether presidential, parliamentary or mixed," Anas al-Abda told Izvestia.
Lebanon is an example of a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, and Egypt is an example of a mixed (semi-presidential) republic.
After the work of the constituent assembly is completed, the draft constitution will be submitted to a national referendum. That process will be the culmination of the transitional phase and a key moment in determining Syria's future development path. The referendum will give citizens the opportunity to determine the form of government in the country. According to a spokesman for the Istanbul-based Syrian opposition, a number of political forces are leaning toward a mixed form of government.
- But it all depends on whether the Syrian people approve of what the constituent assembly will propose in a transparent, free and fair referendum in which all Syrians inside and outside the country will participate," he said.
The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces was established in 2012 in Qatar and consisted of political expatriates. Since 2015, some of the NRCS staff was transferred to terrorist-controlled Idlib. The National Coalition never became a consolidated association and looked more like an artificially created platform dependent on external curators, primarily Turkey and Qatar.
However, in the political vacuum following the resignation of former President Bashar al-Assad, it was assumed that the activities of the NCSLF should be one of the key components of the transition phase. Coalition leader Hadi al-Bahry himself stated that the formation of a new government should be entrusted to the national coalition.
On December 10, a new interim government was announced in Syria. It was joined by ministers of the so-called Syrian Salvation Government - the self-proclaimed Idlib administration, overseen by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (a terrorist organization banned in Russia). It will be in force until March 2025.
- This government is considered temporary until next March to avoid a vacuum and collapse of state institutions and economy. The formation of the interim government must be seen from this point of view, it is necessary to buy time until the necessary consultations are held to form a transitional government responsible for managing the transition phase," the spokesman of the National Coalition specified.
The de facto leader of the country at the moment is Ahmed al-Sheraa (he heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham). According to him, all groups in the country will be dissolved, and "weapons will remain only in the hands of the Syrian state."
- The new Syrian government has already partially fulfilled its promises of preventing the spiral of violence within Syria from widening and restoring state institutions. Schools, universities have resumed their work. We are facing the first stage, the priorities are to restore security, determine the status of the military and defectors (we are talking about the militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. - Ed.)," Syrian expert Mohammed Nadir Al-Amri told Izvestia.
At the time of Bashar al-Assad's overthrow, Syria was a presidential republic. It was characterized by a centralized system with a strict hierarchy in which all power was concentrated in the hands of the country's president. Syria could theoretically become a parliamentary republic after a transition period, but this will depend on many factors, including the ability of disparate groups within the state to reach consensus.
Most Syrian opposition forces favor abandoning authoritarian rule and reducing the concentration of power in the hands of a single leader. Such a transition could significantly improve Syria's relations with the West. The U.S. and EU, which supported anti-government forces during the Syrian conflict, may ease sanctions against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and start cooperating with the new authorities in the country.
Syrian activist Kamal al-Labwani, in a conversation with Izvestia, commenting on the possibility of establishing a parliamentary republic, recognized that the country's population had no experience of democratic life; this is a new phenomenon for Syria. According to him, "many people do not understand what will happen next."
By the way, on December 16, already former President Bashar al-Assad issued a statement, according to which he did not plan to resign during the days of the terrorist offensive. From Damascus, he first headed to Hmeimim, where he learned of the militants' capture of the capital. According to the former president, his evacuation to Russia was preceded by the withdrawal of the government army. At the same time, the Russian military base in Hmeimim while he was there came under massive attack from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Bashar al-Assad noted. "When a state falls into the hands of terrorists and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position loses its meaning," Assad said.
The Kurdish problem in Syria
A particular focus of the transition will be on determining the status of the Kurds, which is considered one of the most complex issues in the country's political landscape. Syrian Kurds, the country's largest ethnic minority, living compactly in the northeast, have long faced discrimination and restricted rights. Until the outbreak of internal armed conflict in 2011, many Kurds in Syria remained stateless and their cultural and political rights were severely restricted.
By 2008, the number of stateless Syrian Kurds was over 300,000, with unemployment in these areas reaching 60 percent and Alawites (some link this to Assad's Alawite origins) rather than Kurds being appointed to senior positions in local companies involved in the extraction of raw materials. It was only after large-scale protests began in 2011 that Bashar al-Assad ordered passports to be issued to Kurds.
- "We support the rights of all components of Syrian society, including Kurdish society, to political participation and equal citizenship, and this should be guaranteed by the Constitution and relevant laws and within the framework of the unity of the Syrian people and Syrian lands," Anas al-Abda told Izvestia.
The withdrawal of government forces and the rapid advance of the "Islamic State" (IS, banned in Russia) since mid-September 2014 forced the Kurds to take a direct part in preventing the spread of terrorism in the region to protect their territories. The Kurdish militias' military victories over the militants made them one of the most important players in Syria. By 2015, the Kurds announced the formation of the Forces for Democratic Syria (FDS) alliance, and two years later they liberated Raqqa, Tabqa and Deir ez-Zor from terrorists with US support.
Now the Kurds control vast territories in the northeast of the country, where Syria's largest oil fields are concentrated. At the same time, the Kurdish authorities have not advocated secession from the Syrian state, their demand has always been to gain autonomy and preserve the rights of their people. The leader of the SDF, General Mazloum Abdi, has expressed his readiness to communicate with the armed opposition that has seized power in Damascus against the backdrop of recent events. According to him, such contacts are being conducted through the Americans.
Mazloum Abdi is satisfied with the fact that the militants, according to their statements, are not interested in taking part in hostilities against the Kurdish formations. At the same time, he believes that the situation is developing very dynamically and the militants' calculations about natural resources in the northeast of the country may change over time.
Indeed, the Kurds are already under pressure. The Turkish-backed "Syrian National Army" (SNA) has launched an operation against Kurdish forces in the city of Manbij in northern Syria. On December 11, the SNA commander-in-chief announced that the firing in Manbij would be stopped, but its fighters would be allowed to leave the city. In parallel, the SNA, supported by the Turkish army from the air, launched an offensive on the key in the region hydroelectric station Tishrin and the Kara Kwazak bridge, the Kurds claim to repel the attacks of pro-Turkish forces.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
