By Omar Sharif
SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – Intellectuals and political activists in Suwayda, southern Syria, emphasized the peaceful nature of the movement and its continuity until their demands are met, rejecting the idea of one-person rule.
The protests in Suwayda, which began on Aug. 17, have now entered their fourth week, with protesters continuing to demand the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime, and the implementation of the UN Resolution 2254.
“We have endured the Syrian regime for 53 years and it has given us nothing because it cannot give us something it does not owns,” Mansour al-Qentar, a poet from Suwayda, said.
“Our demands are civilian and we call for justice and rights, rejecting the one-person rule”, al-Qentar, participating in the Suwayda protests, told North Press.
“This revolution is an extension of the one led by Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, Saleh al-Ali, and Ibrahim Hananu. We do not agree with sectarianism. We and Alawites are as brothers, and no propaganda can divide us”, he added.
Nasser al-Nabwani, a political activist in Suwayda, spoke of the suffering endured by the Syrian people for decades.
“Our people have lived for 60 years as poor people and we endured, but this regime has not changed and it remained as it was. The Syrian regime was sure that the Syrian people would accept that miserable situation, but now we say no, and all external plans trying to undermine this movement will not succeed”, al-Nabwani told North Press.
“This tyrant will not defeat us. We will stay in these squares until the overthrow of the regime.”
“Our revolution is peaceful, and we demand the implement of Resolution 2254, and we will not leave this square until the Syrian people are liberated from slavery” he stressed.
State institutions have economically and socially restricted the youth generation and hindered matters regarding university students in Damascus, in addition to the high costs and difficulties of obtaining a passport, causing the youth in Suwayda to feel that they are lost, according to activists.
“As young people, we continue in this movement because we have suffered a lot in this country, because they allowed drugs to be entered in the country, and made the people be immigrants”, Dani Habib, a political activist, said.
“Nowadays, if I want to get a passport, it costs me $2,000. So, I am paying my ransom to get out of this country. We just want this regime to be overthrown”, he added.