Syrians Must Take the Lead!

Syrians Must Take the Lead!

The extremists live in a state of reassurance about the internationalization of the Syrian issue. They know, as everyone knows, that the international clash is not only about Syria – though Syria has become at the top of its agenda – but also about a new reformulation of the whole international relations. It is a clash that will not end in the near future, but will take several more years to reach its logical ends.

For the extremists, these years are the remaining period of their political life, so they seek to prolong it as much as possible. We can see that this is translated into their explicit or implicit rejection of the implementation of UNSC resolution 2254: On the one hand, the opposition extremists maintain their illusions about (changing) of the US position, and they rely on it, not only to break the will of the regime, but also to break the regime completely, that is to overthrow it, in an open and direct contradiction with UNSCR 2254 which some of them pretend to support. Moreover, they do not believe in any possibility of change in Syria except through foreign intervention and external tools.

On the other hand, the regime's extremists cling to their illusions (which they share with the extremist opponents) that what the rising countries, especially Russia, are working on is what some opposition describe as "system rehabilitation", and some regime's loyalists describe as "decisiveness" [meaning "quelling the opposition"]. This means there is a big lie that is being promoted, namely that: Ending the internationalization and initiating the (Syrian-Syrian) solution means the regime would encircle the opposition and put it under control...

Anyone acquainted with the crypts of affairs, is aware that ending the internationalization, which passes exclusively through the resolution 2254, means precisely: eliminating the environment of war and creative chaos, where outside of such an environment, the old political space - regime and opposition - is doomed to suffer of suffocation. Hence, ending the internationalization through the implementation of 2254, means – contrary to what they claim – the encirclement of both regime and opposition by the Syrian people, so that the latter decide the fate of the former two ones along with their own fate...

By rejecting 2254, the extremists are also rejecting the Constitutional Committee, which became the entrance to the implementation of the resolution. The best response is serious and proactive action for a genuine restoration of the national sovereignty, which does not only mean to prevent any foreign intervention in Syrian affairs, but also to create conditions for the Syrians so that they can have self-determination.

In other words, the first step to restore national sovereignty, taking advantage of the balance of international forces, is the transition of Syrian patriots in various locations, in the opposition and loyalty, from the stage of claims, waiting and impossible preconditions, to the stage of practical steps to facilitate the formation of the Constitutional Committee, and push for a Syrian-Syrian solution.

In sum, the Syrian-Syrian solution means, among other things, the following:
First: to prevent any foreign intervention, whether military or political.
Second: to create conditions for the Syrians to carry out the task of political solution.
Third: to stop the illusion that the regime will encircle the opposition and implement whatever it wants in case of going to a Syrian-Syrian solution.
Fourth: to abandon the illusion of some opposition that change is impossible without foreign intervention.

To conclude: the Syrians should go to the negotiations as equal parties, supported only by international resolutions and by those who support these resolutions, and under the supporters' supervision and facilitation, not their leadership (under which the Western parties, led by Washington, want to otherwise lead the process towards perpetuating the clash). The leadership of the process should only be a Syrian-Syrian leadership.


Kassioun Editorial, Issue No 885, October 29, 2018