While Abu Mohamed Al Julani and his Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) consolidate their power in Syria, conquered by force just 10 days ago, and receive growing international recognition, the opposition in exile to the deposed Bashar regime Assad demands its inclusion in the transition process. The leader of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the main alliance of “opposition and revolutionary” forces, born in the heat of the anti-government revolts of March 2011, Hadi al Bahra, has asked this Wednesday the interim government to open itself “inclusive” and “without sectarianism”, and that a Constituent Assembly be formed to draft a new fundamental law for Syria. Al Julani has declared his good pro-democratic intentions through social networks and before international television networks, but he has not yet entered into negotiations with many of the former insurgent forces.
Silence and unilateral statements, so as not to run the risk of making a mistake, and accomplished facts, such as the taking of effective control of the Administration, have until now been the axes of the strategy of Al Julani, the new Syrian strongman with whom they rush to enter foreign powers, such as France and Germany, present this week in Damascus, and international organizations such as the UN and the EU are in contact. The HTS militiamen now patrol the streets of Damascus with the brand new uniforms of the new Syrian Army and police, and their political advisors usually accompany like a shadow the senior officials who have been left at the head of the institutions after the collapse of the Syrian regime. The Assad family.
The call from the coalition in exile to demand credible governance, without sectarianism that excludes other Syrian political forces, is reminiscent of the political Islamism of HTS, which seeks inspiration in the model of Turkey under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the last two decades, that in democracy power must always be subject to scrutiny. The leader of the Syrian National Coalition has expressed his willingness to return to Damascus after more than a decade of exile “when the right circumstances arise and freedom of expression is guaranteed.”
At a press conference in Istanbul cited by Reuters, Al Bahra regretted that it had not yet received any direct communication from Al Julani. However, he has called on the Syrian population to support the authorities of the provisional government led by Prime Minister Mohamed al Bashir, with whom he has acknowledged having maintained some contact, until the end of his mandate, scheduled for March 1, 2025.
On December 8, the same day that a coalition of rebel forces overthrew the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, the leader of the CNS set as one of his main objectives the formation of a National Constituent Assembly, which would draft a new Constitution in the six-month period, as well as a transitional government lasting 18 months. The UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, already tried to launch the so-called Syrian Constitutional Committee five years ago – made up of representatives of the regime’s government, civil society and the forces that support the rebel groups – to advance in the negotiation of a Constitution that would lay the foundations for a free electoral call. The technical works prepared then are preserved at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva but, like almost all international mediation initiatives in Syria, the initiative was doomed to failure.
Hayat Tahrir al Sham emerged from the so-called Nusra Front, a jihadist force that broke ties with both the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al Qaeda, whose global network it became affiliated with. These origins cast doubt on the sincerity of his promises to undertake a transition process towards democracy in Syria. HTS remains a group considered terrorist by the United States and the European Union, although both Washington and Brussels have already established indirect contacts with its leadership. Aware of his position of strength, Al Julani asked Pedersen, with whom he met on Monday in the Syrian capital, a review of Security Council resolution 2254, which nine years ago unanimously laid the foundations for a political solution. to the Syrian conflict with the formal blessing of the great powers. Peace and stability, investigation of war crimes and free elections constitute the core of the UN resolution that still marks the road map for the new Syria.
