Syrian opposition leader says state institutions will be preserved in 18-month transition, in order to prepare a free election

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-opposition-leader-says-state-institutions-should-be-preserved-and-rebels-accomodated

31 comments

  1. > (…) He said his opposition coalition should be expanded to add “new elements of the opposition”, and would then be tasked with forming a transitional government acting as president of the country until a new constitution is ratified.

    > Al-Bahra said the transition should be in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, adopted on 18 December 2015, which outlines a roadmap for Syria’s political transition, including nationwide ceasefire, accountability for atrocities, and free and fair elections under a new constitution.(…)

  3. I wonder if HtS has been coordinating with them, or if he’s just hoping they’ll sign on?

  5. While I sincerely hope for a Democracy in Syria as much as anyone, I have to remain skeptical.

    Syria has never experienced real Democracy or fair elections, and with the various factions now competing for power—each with their own political, ethnic, and religious differences—expecting the people of Syria to suddenly embrace Democracy seems far-fetched to me.

    Just look at Iraq as an example. A transition to Democracy realistically takes time, and in Syria’s case, the deep divisions and external influences will only make it harder.

    Having said that, I truly hope I’m wrong.

  6. Somebody once commented something along the lines and then deleted: “The skilled people left Syria anyways, how will they recover”

    There are a lot of educated people in the opposition, even if a lot of skill left that doesn’t mean a restoration is impossible. It’ll just take time.

    As for the material sciences, that’s true. But it’s not like Syrians were that prospecting about having a high tech industry any time soon

  8. This sounds very good. I’m a little concerned about the 18 month transition period because I don’t know how many leaders who promise elections that far in the future actually do it. Fingers crossed though 🤞

  10. >Al-Bahra is the president of the Syrian National Coalition, an alliance of opposition groups formed in exile following the 2011 uprising against Assad.

    Is he actually part of the rebel groups that took down Assad? Not sure they’ll pay attention to what he thinks should happen.

  11. I wish the Syrians luck but historically, this never ends well in this part of the world

  13. I know I’m just day dreaming here but imagine if a cohort of these rebels said “fuck it. We’re going to install the second liberal democracy in the region”. One with fair and free elections. No discrimination based on race, sex or religion. It’s obviously made the west and Israel very happy and rich. Maybe that’s what Allah wants”. Then the first election isn’t Iranian backed proxies that squash all of that. Could you imagine?

  14. All I can do is pray and hope the Christians there aren’t outright slaughtered or erased by other means by the HTS. If the Al Queda plant is anything to go by, we’ll see Christian women forced to marry Muslims, the jizya tax instated, icons in our churches destroyed, our women forced to veil in public, and conversion to Christianity outlawed. I hope I’m wrong…

  15. Could we possibly see Syria and Lebanon recover this decade?

  17. Reddit is always gonna Reddit.

    No as a Muslim (living in the US) democracy is a foreign idea that was tried on Iraq, we saw how that fucking went. Democratic values and ideas take time to grow and a nation to understand. Look at Europe before WW2.

    It took decades to grow democracy but only days to overthrow or destroy it. Growing it will take a life time

    Syria’s future isn’t super dark but I don’t expect a European style democratic state lmao, let’s be realistic and not use copium.

  18. Hopefully it can come to fruition, Syria has a long road ahead

  20. Couldn’t hope for better news.

    Congratulations to the free people of Syria. Russians should be fucking ashamed. Syrians have shown even chemical weapons won’t stop the people. Russians have no excuse now.

    The new age has begun before the new year!

  21. Hopefully, Syria doesn’t become another theocratic patriarchy run by a de facto terror group, Iraq 2.0.

  22. Liberated by Islamist then restoration of the democracy? Am I the only one who feels like something sound fake in this?

  23. Ukraine: That’s how you do it mother fucker!

    CIA: Ah shit here we again. It’s time for another regime change.

  24. Fantastic!! Now, what are the odds the new gov will give equal rights to minorities? Here is to hoping for a free and democratic Syria…

  25. So they are going vote for the most radical Muslim party they can right? That’s how this will all end up

  27. After reading the article, I feel a little bit more optimistic with Syrias future. If all goes according to plan and no wild shit gets in the way, then we’ll finally get to see what a stable, peaceful, and prosperous nation Syria can become.

  28. With Iraq, the Bush II admin refused to follow State department plans for reconstruction, and they sent a bunch of unqualified people over to manage it. They also allowed every single facet of the Baathist Iraqi government to collapse, which was completely unprecedented. The closet thing to that was at the end of WWII, when the Nazi Party ceased to function, causing most of the state and Federal governments to collapse. But even there, local government was still functioning.

    This is probably why they’re making a point about preserving institutions in Syria. This way they can avoid some of the problems that plagued Iraq.

    I’m not sure how well that will work either, though. Institutions set up for authoritarian rule often thwart democracy by their design. Maybe they can overhaul the institutions before elections.

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