11 years have passed, but the Syrians are living in dire circumstance under war and massive destruction, for nothing just for the interests of the regional and international powers those who put their schemes at the expense of the Syrian peoples in the baskets of despicable politics.
In this dossier, we will briefly summarize the course of the Syrian crisis, from its inception in 2011 until its twelfth year.
The South and the Spark of Events
The Syrians desired to change their situation as what happened in Tunisia and Egypt all their hopes are pinned on what the so called “Arab Spring” to launch their revolution on March 15th, 2011, form the south of Syria, the incident was that some children in Daraa Province wrote anti - Damascus Government words were the reason in erupting the ongoing spark of revolution till the present day, rejecting the Syrian regime who dominated on the power for 40 years, but the conflict had been turned up to civil war, although it is entering its twelfth year
These demonstrations quickly expanded, as the city of Homs and rural Damascus witnessed massive demonstrations that were confronted with violence by Damascus government forces, resulting in a number of casualties, and the Syrian movement entered a bloody new phase, following the entry of Damascus government forces into Homs and further casualties.
With the beginning of 2012, violence escalated after the Damascus Government rejected the Arab League's initiative to resolve the crisis in Syria, which included the formation of a national government, with Bashar al-Assad later handing over his full powers to his deputy in cooperation with this government to end the crisis.
However, in March of the same year, Damascus Government directed its military arsenal at Homs and attacked and declared control of the Baba Amr neighbourhood after nearly 26 days of heavy fighting, while Colonel Riad al-Asad, commander of the so-called Free Syrian Army, declared that his soldiers had made a "tactical" withdrawal from the neighbourhood after destruction and many casualties.
In July, the Syrian crisis took another turn after Damascus Government Television announced the deaths of Defense Minister Dawood Rajab and his deputy, Asif Shaukat, and Hassan Turkmani, the Deputy President of the Republic, in a bombing of the Syrian National Security building in the Al - Rawda neighbourhood of Damascus.
A continuation of violence and an increase in the flow of terrorists across the Turkish border
The year 2013 saw a continuation of violent fighting between groups supported by regional States in the region, primarily Turkey and Qatar, calling themselves the opposition on the one hand, and the forces of the Damascus Government on the other. The numbers of terrorist groups and the numbers of foreign mercenaries who arrived from various States and entered across the Turkish border into Syrian territory have grown considerably.
On this point in time in the crisis, the Syrian opponent and general coordinator of Syria's current revolutionary left, Ghiath Naisa, said: "Most major revolutions in recent history have been defeated, but despite their defeat, their effects remain mixed and long in the sense that they have changed deeply in the direction and upside down of the countries and societies concerned."
He added: "For the eleventh anniversary of the Syrian revolution and its course, on the one hand, it was marked in the beginnings by the broad participation of the Syrian people in all their places of existence, demanding freedom, justice, decent living, dignity and equality. Great demands and a mission carried out by popular masses and Syrian youth during the first months of the revolution, but on the one hand suppressing the regime, its violence and killing the best militants and leaders of the revolution, and on the other, the absence of political leadership; Because Syria was politically absent because of the authoritarian regime, banned from political, opposition, cultural, social, etc. "
Naisa explained that "During more than 50 years of authoritarian rule, there has been absence of Syria. The absence of the revolutionary and national political leadership has weakened its ability to cope with the terrible violence of this regime and, on the other hand, the intervention of regional and international forces that have pushed other paths in their own interests. It is not the interests of the Syrian people, so since 2012 and 2013, we have observed the hegemony of the forces of the so-called reactionary counter-revolution and regional states at the expense of the revolutionary forces of the Syrian revolution, leading to defeat in most areas except NE Syria. "
In May of the same year, forces of the Damascus Government and elements of Hezbollah took control of the strategic town of al-Qusser, in rural Homs, after 18 days of heavy fighting.
One of the most painful chapters of the Syrian crisis was the month of August, when hundreds of Eastern Ghouta residents were killed after inhaling toxic gases resulting from a nerve gas attack, three days after the international inspectors' mission arrived in Damascus.
Despite the progress made by the armed groups on the Damascus Government and its entry into many cities, Damascus has changed its strategy and plans; they escaped attrition, focusing their control on strategic cities of importance called "useful Syria," but Iranian support and the dispatch of Shiite groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah, as well as the growth of terrorist groups such as the Jabhet al-Nusra and ISIS/ Daesh, have created an additional burden on movement in Syria, confusing papers and making the scene look blurry.
Turkey has opened its airports to receive terrorists from all over the world and facilitated their transit into Syrian territory. Turkey has also transformed its borders into crossings from which arms flow to terrorists and mercenaries in Syria, and has provided them with all forms of material, moral and medical support. Iran mobilized Shiite wherever they were, sending them to Syria to fight alongside the Damascus Government.
In this context, Naisa said: "The intervention of certain regional and international Powers and Turkey in particular, whose purpose was precisely to prevent the triumph of a profound and radical popular revolution that calls for democracy and profound political and social change in a very sensitive region. The victory of this revolution in Syria meant a profound, radical and wide-ranging coup in the regional order that exists there at the expense of the Governments and interests of existing regimes that have nothing to do with the interests and objectives of peoples, liberation and equality."
He added: "Therefore, the participation of these regional and international Powers and States is aimed at preventing the emergence of a new, popular, democratic and revolutionary order in Syria, essentially, and on the other hand the expansion of their spheres of influence and interests in the sensitive region of the world, meaning the East Mediterranean and the role of Turkey, which is Syria's neighbour, has certainly been most active on the ground; Because in order to strengthen its influence in Syria, it was based mainly on the most reactionary, backward and jihadist forces of the counter - revolution and had a very negative impact on the popular revolution in Syria. "
ISIS is rapidly occupying
As a result of international and regional conflicts and the use of sectarian and nationalist charges in the region as a means of recruiting militants, in the summer of 2014, ISIS mercenaries occupied large areas of Syria and Iraq. At the beginning of June, they occupied the Iraqi city of Mosul, and in the same month, the city of Raqqa and declared it the capital of its alleged caliphate on June 29.
ISIS also occupied the vast majority of Deir ez-Zor Governorate, in addition to its presence in Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Damascus countryside and a number of other Syrian regions, thus occupying nearly half of the area of Syria.
Damascus forces collapse
The forces of the Damascus government collapsed in 2014, and the armed groups affiliated with regional forces, especially the mercenaries of Jabhat al-Nusra and some groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood backed by Turkey and Qatar, advanced and occupied large areas of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Daraa, Homs, and Quneitra.
The presence of Damascus government forces was confined to the main cities only, while the People’s Protection Units and the Women’s Protection Units (YPG-YPJ) assumed the task of maintaining the three Autonomous Administration cantons announced in Rojava in January 2014, represented in the cantons of Jazira, Afrin and Kobani.
Syrian opponent Ghiath Naisa said: "Since the dates of 2012, there has been another process that has preserved the values of the revolution and the values of progress and liberation in Syria. Its demands and all that it was based on are still active and alive, and the presence and experience of north and east Syria, as well as the democratic and leftist forces present in other Syrian regions, show that the goals and motives of the revolution and the need for deep democratic and social change in Syria still exists.
Russia intervenes to prevent the collapse of the Damascus Government
As a result of the deterioration of the Damascus Government, despite Iranian support and the arrival of armed groups to the center of the capital, Damascus, and its approach to the presidential palace, Russia intervened and signed an agreement with Damascus in August 2015, granting the Russian military forces the right to use the Hmeimim base at all times, free of charge, and for Unnamed, and starting in September 2015, Russia reinforced its military presence in Syria.
US forces are officially in Syria
Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, the United States of America has searched for Syrian armed factions and tested some armed groups. On the 4th of March, a group of 50 fighters arrived with all kinds of modern weapons from the 51st Brigade after receiving training within the framework of the American program to train the "armed opposition" To Syria, through the Bab al-Salama crossing in the city of Azaz, and within a few days, the members of this group were killed, while others fled and surrendered to ISIS mercenaries with their weapons.
However, US administrations have been monitoring the competence of the YPG and YPJ in fighting ISIS; Therefore, after the announcement of the formation of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in 2014, the international coalition forces were forced to provide air support to YPG and YPJ, especially in the battle of Kobani in September 2014, to continue this support later until the announcement of the formation of the Syrian Democratic Forces SDF and until now.
Syrian Democratic Forces liberated all of NE Syria from ISIS, and the most prominent areas that were liberated are Manbij, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor reaching to Baghouz. It was announced that the caliphate of ISIS had been eliminated.
After hostility... Turkey and Russia are partners in Astana
After the elimination of ISIS and the emergence of a democratic force represented by Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, Turkey abandoned its arrogance and hostility with Russia, which increased after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on November 24, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that The Russian warplane was shot down over Syria, 4 km from the border with Turkey, and he described the act as "a stab in the back on the part by terrorists' partners."
After a rupture that lasted for more than half a year, during which he described Damascus government and its supporters in reference to Russians as criminals, Turkish president apologized for shooting down the warplane and expressed his sadness, thus Erdogan sided with Russians and wanted to achieve his ambitions in Syria through Russia, while Russia sought to exploit Turkey to stop the support provided to its affiliated groups, which will enable it, to strengthen Damascus government.
At the end of 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced from Japan that he had agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan on Syrian peace talks, and said that they had agreed to continue talks in Kazakh capital, Astana.
17 rounds of Astana were held by these countries (Russia - Turkey - Iran) from January 23-24, 2017 until December 21, 2021, to discuss the Syrian crisis without the presence of the owners of crisis. However, the goals and results of the discussions were clear, which is the continuation of understandings Russian - Turkish, nothing else.
Turkey took advantage of this in order to occupy Afrin, Serê Kaniyê, Girê Spî, and parts of the countryside of Idlib, Latakia and Aleppo. In return, Russia enabled Damascus government to control large areas of Syria.
On this, Naissa said: "Astana is a platform for 3 countries active in Syrian situation, Russia, Turkey and Iran, to organize their differences in Syria on one hand, and also to organize the sharing of their interests and influence in Syria. These things happening at the expense of the interests of Syrian people, therefore they have no other role except to preserve the ongoing division of Syria and preserve the influence of these countries in Syria at all costs, therefore it is completely opposed and hostile to the interests of Syrian people in a dignified life, peace and reunification of today's divided country."
Meetings and platforms to sell illusion to Syrians
There have been numerous international initiatives regarding the political settlement of the conflict in Syria, without any political solution. And the crisis will continue until the factors for a political settlement mature.
The Geneva talks, during which Kofi Annan, Al-Akhdar Ibrahimi and Steffan de Mistura as envoys to United Nations, gave up their duties, and Geir Pedersen later took over the task, which did not reach tangible results so far, although each round ends with a number of decisions that are not implemented on the ground. The first round started on June 30, 2012 at the invitation of UN envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan and Action Group for Syria, but it failed for several reasons, the most important of which was the failure to invite representatives of Syrian people and the differences of parties concerned with the crisis to interpret the terms of the agreement.
Sochi Conference for Syrian Dialogue was also held on January 30, 2018, in the midst of a western boycott and a number of active political parties and entities in Syrian arena, and in the presence of a number of representatives of mercenary groups affiliated to Turkey and representatives of Damascus government.
After more than a year and a half of discussions, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterresh announced on 23 of September 2019 the formation of so-called Constitutional Committee, which was decided to be formed at Sochi Conference, and Geneva became the seat of the meetings of so-called Constitutional Committee.
On October 22, 2021, Constitutional Committee concluded its sixth round of work without progress in its work, in a move described by UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen as "extremely frustrating."
In this context, Naisa said: "Geneva process, Negotiating Body, Constitutional Committee and other forms imposed by major and regional countries are nothing but platforms for marketing the time and arenas to throw people under the illusion that something is happening to solve Syrian issue, these platforms are nothing else but arenas which the concerned countries decide what the situation in Syria should be, they negotiate among themselves and decide what they want, and the Syrian participants in it must sign in the end if the countries holding these platforms agree among themselves."
Added: "Therefore, all these platforms have no value in resolving the Syrian issue and restoring dignity and freedom to Syrian people. These are only platforms for regional and international countries to consolidate their interests and resolve their differences among themselves, and they have absolutely nothing to do with the Syrian issue and Syrian people or their interests."
North and East Syria...a spot of light in the middle of a dark place
After the revolution was stolen from Syrian people; As a result of so-called Syrian opposition handing over its decision to regional powers, especially Turkey, the Syrians suffered tragedies as a result of war, destruction and siege, and all these meetings, in which those who call themselves the opposition participated, could not find a solution to the crisis, but the spotlight was in NES.
In this geographical spot, there was a different path, as military forces were formed based on the principle of legitimate defense as their basis, and they defended their lands in the face of the attacks of ISIS mercenaries, Jabhat al-Nousra and Turkey's mercenaries, and liberated large areas of terrorism, and these victories coincided with intense institutional work that was carried out during which, autonomous and civil administrations were established for the liberated areas with the participation of its components, and laws were put in place to organize all aspects of life based on population diversity and the specificity of each region.
A new social contract is being prepared to suit the social and political developments in the region.
On this, Syrian opposed said: "I am sure that the experience of AANES is a unique experience, it is the legitimate son of this great Syrian revolution on one hand, and on the other hand, unlike what happened in all other regions, where the revolutionary forces were defeated we find here a progressive project taking place in NES, which is Autonomous Administration.
He added, "Unfortunately, this experiment is of course taking place in very harsh and difficult conditions, meaning that there are many hostile powers, such as Turkey, in addition to the dispute between the power countries in the region, Syrian regime and its constant threat to it, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which sometimes closes the borders, the sanctions imposed on Syria, ISIS issues and the dangers of terrorism, securing a decent life for the people there, and therefore this experiment takes place in very harsh conditions."
And he added, "Of course, our evaluation of it is very positive. At the same time, we believe that it must, despite the difficult circumstances, to develop this experience into an attractive model for Syrians in general at the level of popular and political participation, as well as at the level of economic and social policies and the model of governance in it. This project all Syrians must contribute to its development and success.
The eyes are on Al-Swaydaa
Despite the talk of Damascus government and Russia about imposing stability in all of its areas, Al-Swaydaa witnessed demonstrations that continue every Friday, raising political, living and service demands.
On the possibility of applying Autonomous Administration project in other Syrian regions, Naisa said: "At the same time, the conditions that allowed the establishment of Autonomous Administration project are not necessarily available in all other Syrian regions, However, what we must fight for, based on the project of Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, is building a new democratic system in Syria based on pluralism and decentralization, This is the strategic project for all Syrian democrats and Syrian leftists, which can only be built on the experience of AANES.
what is required in next stage from the Syrians
The Syrian opposed tried to extrapolate the Syrian developments during the coming period, saying: "If things remain as they are, this means that the regional countries in Astana and power countries are behaving as if they own the course of things in Syria, but it is still an important factor. so far we did not know how to mobilize our strengths, we as Syrians, to regain control of our destiny, our right to self-determination, and our right to chart the future of our people and our country.
He explained in this context, "One of these strength factors that I see and must be worked on and strengthened is, first, AANES, which must be based on by all Syrian democratic forces and personalities in general, and to rely on and support this project, as well as Autonomous Administration's support for these democratic forces and personalities throughout Syria.
Added: "On the other hand, we must form the important and balanced democratic bloc that includes most of democratic and leftist revolutionary forces and figures on the basis of a clear program that outlines the future of Syria according to what we want."
The Syrian opposed and general coordinator of revolutionary left movement in Syria, Ghaith Naisa, concluded his speech by saying: "We must build a revolutionary national political leadership in Syria. It is what Syrians lack, and this is what we lack so far."
TS – Sh-S
ANHA
