It is a difficult and arduous task for Syrians today to rebuild their state after the fall of the Assad regime, which returned the country to a state of centuries ago. But this is a page from the past, and now Syrians must put it before transitional justice, and proceed to build their future according to three determinants: sovereignty, citizenship, and building institutions in a fair manner that guarantees the participation of all components.
This mission today cannot be held hostage to the reassurances that have so far been limited to the United States, Israel, and the West, and to a lesser extent the countries of the region, and answers to basic questions and details in the midst of a chaos of signals and slips of statements that certainly concern the Syrians more than others.
Today’s reviews of the Syrian revolution’s course and components are far from what happened in the overthrow of the regime by a coalition of factions led by “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” in a period whose threads have not yet been revealed, but they are joyful for the Syrians and the world because they avoided bloodshed. Indeed, all the victims of the overthrow of the regime constitute only a very small percentage, if compared to one of the bloody battles between the armed organizations and factions.
The challenges are growing in a country that was divided even before the fall of the regime and is witnessing fierce competition between local and international actors to try to push the de facto authorities to draw the features of a new reality in light of the power vacuum. They should try to avoid violations of the rights of the Syrian “minority” components, and control the solid mass of organizations and groups that are still classified on the terrorist lists, in addition to the national security challenges. Even before any talk of a political transition, the file of “foreign fighters” will be a concern for Syrians before others in light of the confusion in dealing with and negative indicators, regardless of the reassurances in the media statements that they will remain under the international community’s watch, as they reflect real transformations in the local Syrian “jihadist” movement.
There is a golden opportunity for general relief in getting rid of a heavy brutal legacy and a desire for a period of peace and construction for the coming days. The requirements for that mean good governance and ensuring stability and the continuation of government services.
There is a clear sensitivity about the role of international institutions and organizations due to the ambiguous signals and diplomatic responses by the de facto authority, and it can be described as a stage of “between the lines”, despite all the positive international and Arab reception. It will be an important guarantee to not slip into the furnace of chaos, the mediation and controlling the rhythm of the relationship between Türkiye, on the one hand, and the Kurdish component, on the other hand, and stopping Israeli attacks, in order to encouraging international legitimacy for the central government.