By Omar Sharif
SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – Politicians stressed the peaceful protests would continue in Suwayda Governorate, southern Syria, until achieving their objectives of “overthrowing the al-Assad, changing the corrupt ruling regime,” and the implementation of UNSC Resolution 2254.
Protests have been ongoing since Aug, 17, raising slogans that call the Syrian president to leave and for the implementation of Resolution 2254, reaffirming the commitment to peaceful protests until a political resolution is reached.
Jamal al-Shoufi, a writer and political analyst in Suwayda, told North Press, “The situation in Syria is not just an international matter but also a local one, so the issues become more complex at two levels.”
“In 2013, the international decision in Geneva and the Arab initiative called for an immediate political transition with a full-fledged government, but we entered a long war that lasted until 2015, depleting both sides of the conflict, the Syrian government and the opposition with its various factions,” he added.
Afterwards, Russia intervened the conflict from 2015 to 2018. After Resolution 2254, all of Syria was exhausted.
Al-Shoufi believes, “from 2018 to the present time, Russia has not been able to achieve its plans in Syria.”
“On the other hand, opposition forces cannot negotiate as a key power. They lost leverage as they lost positions on the ground, as well as the power of the peaceful protests. International decisions have no more influence and became lost between the constitutional committee and other parties,” he added.
Suwayda, with its peaceful non-extremist inclusive civil protests “revive the Syrian issue from its civil perspective and adds strength to resolve the Syrian issue internationally”, according to al-Shoufi.
“Suwayda represents two ideas. The first is a small factor to transform the Syrian issue locally and restore its peaceful and civil essence. We do not seek power, but rather a state and rule of law where all parties agree on forming a social contract,” he noted.
The second idea is that Suwayda is considered “a milestone in the Syrian issue at the international level and the implementation of Resolution 2254, starting with political transition first and then addressing economic and constitutional matters later,” al-Shoufi said.
Muhannad Shihab al-Din, a political activist in Suwayda, stressed the demands of the people in Suwayda are “The people want to overthrow the regime,” but in a peaceful way, “because they have adopted the international resolution, which is an absolute necessity that cannot be bypassed or abandoned.”
Days earlier, the Popular Uprising in Suwayda issued a statement declaring the protesters innocent from closing government and service facilities after the general strike was canceled earlier this week.
The Popular Uprising are the organizer of the protests in Suwayda. They consult with the protestors then issue statements under their name.
“We seriously hope the international community to take its responsibility to implement Resolution 2254,” Shihab al-Din told North Press, adding that what is happening now in al-Karamah Square “is not an economic or financial crisis, nor demands for social or economic deficiencies. It is a legitimate rightful political demand, which is “The people want to overthrow and change the corrupted and tyrant regime.”