Two years after, Syria or the permanent struggle

The people of Syria, nearly two years after the beginning of the revolution, continue to struggle against the criminal and authoritarian regimes for the same objectives: freedom and dignity. This might seem repetitive for some who read often this blog, but it is always important to repeat this permanent truth as the Syrian Revolution has been described increasingly for the past year as a conflict, a civil war or even by the most compliant to the Assad regime or Stalinist ideology as a conspiracy.

The popular movement in Syria has never ceased to refuse the ill of sectarianism, promoted mostly by the regime and some limited and particular opposition groups, and it has repeatedly declared its will to overthrow the Assad regime in order to build a democratic, social and non-discrimination society. The slogan “The Syrian people are one and united” remains present and raised throughout the country, while many statements of the popular committees against sectarianism demonstrates the will of emancipation of large sections of the Syrian popular movement.

In the continual and permanent struggle of the Syrian people against the regime, they also have to face other threats. The so called international and regional supports, which present themselves as « friends of Syria », want for the first ones to impose a solution from above that would maintain the structure of the regime on the Yemeni solution model (they change the head of the regime, while maintaining its structure intact). This solution is actually supported by the loyal allies of the Syrian regime Iran and Russia. The regional powers, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, on their side want to transform this popular revolution into a sectarian war because they fear a propagation of the revolution in the region that would threaten their power and interests. The transformation of the nature of the revolution into a sectarian war would also able them to scare their own populations in the following way: all changes in the region is susceptible to result in a sectarian war et we should therefore encourage the statu quo, in other words, the maintenance of these dictatorial powers.

These regimes, which are the centers of the counter-revolution, fund islamists extremists groups such as Jabhat al Nusra and other similar groups that have a sectarian and reactionary ideology in total opposition to the spirit of the revolution, and these latters also attempt to reduce the role of popular committees, sometimes through violent ways.

The USA’s position translates very well this situation in refusing to provide arms to armed groups link to the Free Syrian Army (FSA), while giving its oath to the sending of arms by Gulf countries to islamists extremists groups not linked to the FSA very often. The popular armed resistance represented an important and legitimate tool of the Syrian people and it is absolutely necessary to help the FSA groups, which are still composing a majority but lacking severly of funds and arms, suscribing to the spirit of the revolution and the will to establish a civil and social democracy without any discrimination, whether ethnic, confessional, gender, etc…

The rhetoric position adopted by some particular countries very recently regarding the providing of arms still need to be materialized, like all the other assistances and funding promises not provided until now.

All these threats have the same objective: prevent radical change from below by the Syrian revolutionary people. These external interventions and internal threats attempt to target the self organization of the revolutionary people who have been able to establish popular committees at the level of villages, neighbourhoods, cities and regions since the beginning of the revolution. These popular committees are the real backbone of the movement, mobilizing the people for demonstrations, welcoming the injured and the internal refugees, while providing with the necessary help. Services that were handled by the State became in many liberated regions are now organised by the popular committees, especially in the sector of health and education.  They have developed forms of self-management based on the organization of the masses in the areas liberated from the yoke of the regime. These popular committees in coordination with the popular armed resistance have been the basis for resistance against the regime; anything that threatens these two aspects threatens the existence of the popular movement and therefore the revolutionary process.

Despite this situation, the Syrian people in struggle continue their permanent resistance for a radical change, and refuse all foreign interventions that want to impose solutions that would maintain the structure of the regime as we have witnessed important and numerous demonstrations and declarations refusing the dialogue proposal of the new president Moaz Khatib of the Syrian National Coalition with the regime. During the protests of Friday February 8th 2013, the revolutionaries throughout the country brandished placards saying « we will only negotiate on the departure of the regime ». The Syrian people will not accept anything less.

In the same way, the popular movement refuses any submission to new forms of autoritarianism imposed by groups such as Jabhat al Nusra especially in liberated regions. The attacks of these latter on popular committees organisers and activists have been condemned and resisted by local populations, for example in the neighbourhood of Bustan Qasr in Aleppo or in the city of Mayadine in the East of Syria, in which the inhabitants demonstrated and continue to do it to demand the departure of Jabhat al Nusra, well implanted in the area. They protest against the imposition of the Islamic law after the implementation of Jabhat al Nusra of a religious council and religious police to manage the affairs in Mayadine according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. In the same time, the strategies used by Jabhat al Nusra, suicides bombings, have been condemned by large sectors of the Syrian popular movement (see articlehttps://syriafreedomforever.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/position-regarding-jabhat-al-nusra-similar-groups-and-suicides-bombings/).

The Syrian people will not allow any group, whether secular or religious, impose a new form of authoritarianism, and in opposition to the revolutionary process. These groups will be resisted and surely crushed by the revolutionary masses.

This revolution orphan of any true regional and international support from countries do not demoralize nevertheless the Syrians who continue to struggle on a permanent basis for freedom and dignity and this against a terrible and criminal repression. The victory of the Syrian revolution will able the spread of revolutionary situations in neighbouring countries, while deepening the revolutionary process in the other countries. The resistance and the courage of the Syrian people are an inspiration for each revolutionary struggling for a better world, and require therefore a solidarity of the people in struggle on a world scale. Our struggles are linked and each victory of the people for their emancipation has repercussions not only on a regional but on an international level. The understanding of the concept of permanent revolution therefore takes all its meaning.

Like two years ago, the Syrian people continue to chant “ the Syrian people will not kneel (or will not submit)” (شعب سوري ما بينزل).

Viva the Syrian Revolution! Viva the people in struggle!