Syria: interview with a Syrian (Swiss) Socialist
JVL Introduction
The unexpected overthrow of the Assad regime has left more questions than answers. We shall publish articles we think offer interesting perspectives. In this interview, Joseph Dohar urges the Left to avoid the risks of romanticism but also of defeatism. In this long but fascinating piece he outlines the many reasons for deep concern – not least because of the authoritarian nature of the organisations that led the overthrow of the Assad regime; but he also sees reason for hope as the armed forces of the State faded away and local people came on to the streets throughout the country showing their support for the end of the nightmare of the Assad half century. “There is a space now, with its contradictions and challenges as mentioned above, for Syrians to try to rebuild civilian popular resistance from below and alternative structures of power.”
About half way through the article is a significant section on Palestine and Dahar very much emphasises that “the liberation of Palestine as bound up not with the region’s states but with the liberation of its popular classes….struggles are dialectically connected; they are mutual struggles for collective liberation.”
In some quarters Israel is being blamed for this but Dahar thinks neither the US or Israel was behind it. Of course Israel will now try to take credit yet it has carried out c 320 air strikes, destroying the Syrian Navy, so can hardly be showing support for those who overthrew Assad.
People may also want to read Solidarity with Palestine and the Struggle from Below, published late November 2024 by the same author.
LL
This article was originally published by The Tempest on Mon 9 Dec 2024. Read the original here.
Understanding the rebellion in Syria
The rebellion in Syria has taken the world by surprise and led to the fall of the Assad family dictatorship, which has ruled Syria since Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafez, took power in a coup d’etat 54 years ago. Neither the regime’s military forces nor its imperial sponsor, Russia, and its regional backer, Iran, were able to defend it. Cities under the regime’s control have been freed, thousands of political prisoners liberated from its notorious dungeons, and space opened for a new fight for a free, inclusive, and democratic Syria for the first time in decades.
At the same time, most Syrians know that such a struggle faces enormous challenges, beginning with the two key rebel forces, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA). While they spearheaded the military victory, they are authoritarian and have a history of religious and ethnic sectarianism. Some on the Left have claimed without foundation that their rebellion was orchestrated by the U.S. and Israel. Others have uncritically romanticized these rebel forces as rekindling the original popular revolution that nearly overthrew Assad’s regime in 2011. Neither captures the complex dynamics unfolding in Syria today.
In this interview, conducted amidst a rapidly changing situation in Syria, Tempest asks Swiss Syrian socialist Joseph Daher about the process that led to the fall of Assad’s rule, the prospects for progressive forces, and the challenges they face in fighting for a truly liberated country that serves the interests of all its peoples and popular classes.
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