I looked for this after the news from Syria:
General Wesley Clarke (?), on the US target list in the Middle East for the 21st century --
AML -- analysis on Syria, Ukraine, etc., though not updated recently:
Might be of interest: www.nakedcapitalism.com/
From New Lines Magazine, praising the "liberation" of Syria: portside.org/2024-12-10/liberation-syria-victory-worth-embracing
And: www.newarab.com/opinion/syria-palestine-liberation-comes-below
[Class Struggle #2 will be posted at: www.redstarpublishers.org and includes a statement on Syria; December 20th news is coming out that the illegal US military presence in Syria is more like 2,000 soldiers, not the oft cited 900, along with the local allied or proxy forces the US soldiers are 'supporting?']
[Also on the US side? -- www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241202-us-backed-faction-launches-operation-to-capture-parts-of-eastern-syria/
www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241202-as-predicted-the-revolution-in-syria-has-reignited/ ]
[ mltheory.wordpress.com/2024/12/22/the-syrian-assad-government-has-fallen/ ]
A United National AntiWar Coalition (UNAC) webinar and livestream:
"Syria - The U.S. Role
another regime change operation"
Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 3 PM EST
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KCDBmfxVRjiQalZ72hL2kw#/registration
Inaugural Actions in Local Areas and Washington, DC, January 13 – 20: unac.notowar.net/all-out-for-the-anti-inaugural-actions-in-local-areas-and-washington-dc-january-13-20/
The same statement, posted December 10th at: adc.org/adc-statement-on-syria/ and sent out by email and posted again December 12th, at: adc.org/adc-statement-on-syria-continued-israeli-aggression/ ? --
ADC Statement on Syria, Continued Israeli Aggression
Washington, D.C. | www.adc.org | December 12, 2024 – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) envisions an Arab world free of foreign intervention and imperialism. Our longstanding position supports a region that is democratic, sovereign, and respectful of the human and civil rights of all, most notably every religious, ethnic, and political group. As we observed the historic developments in Syria over the weekend, we reaffirm our commitment to justice, sovereignty, freedom and the self-determination of the Syrian people.
We call on the Biden Administration to immediately lift all sanctions on Syria so those in the country are given the opportunity to receive the support immediately, to thrive and prosper. Further, we ask our U.S. government and its allies to support the transition to a new government in Syria that respects the self-determination of all Syrians and preserves Syria’s territorial integrity. The new government must be secular and respect the rights of all minorities in the country.
ADC categorically opposes external and imperial meddling, particularly during this critical moment. There are longstanding and ongoing efforts by the United States, Israel and other foreign nations to weaken and divide Syria.
In under a week Israel has invaded and occupied land in Syria, which violates Syria’s sovereignty and international law. Israel’s recent escalation in Syria is emblematic of its broader strategy to reshape the Middle East to its advantage. Under the guise of defense, Israel has normalized aggression against its neighbors, with over 480 airstrikes in recent days and incursions into Syrian territory along the occupied Golan Heights. These actions, including the creation of a self-declared “sterile defense zone,” blatantly violate international law and exploit Syria’s internal instability to consolidate control. Such expansionist policies not only deepen regional tensions, but also reflect a concerning disregard for sovereignty and human life
This U.S. backed strategy is responsible for the on-going genocide in Gaza, and the devastation happening in Lebanon. These policies by our government must end immediately, and steps need to be taken to respect and acknowledge the self-determination of Syrians.
A statement from UNAC, originally posted December 10th at: unac.notowar.net/2024/12/11/unac-response-to-the-overthrow-of-the-syrian-government/
From a December 15th email:
Below is a statement by UNAC written on December 10th. Since, we have seen Israeli forces enter Syria and have even heard Netanyahu take credit for the fall of the Assad government. Israel and the US have conducted hundreds of bombing raids against Syria in the past days and there are meetings taking place to discuss how to dismantle Syria. The rebel forces, led by a former leader of Al Queda and ISIS, Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani have stated that they will have a “free market” economy to show their favor to the Western imperialist powers and they have stated they want no new wars, meaning that they will not oppose Israel and they have not spoken out against the Israel incursion into Syria and their bombing.
The US and Western media are painting a false picture that Assad was hated in Syria and that Syrians are celebrating and Syrian refugees are returning to the country. They paint a picture of this being a popular uprising, which it was not. While it may be true that some Syrians are celebrating and that some refugees have come back to the country, they do not show the masses who are leaving in fear of the new, developing Jihadi regime or the horrible assassinations and reprisals that have started and are being shown on social media.
Syria was an important part of the Axis of Resistance that was the main outside support of the Palestinians in their fight against the Israeli/US genocide. The fall of Syria is a blow to the people of Syria and Palestine. But as the UNAC statement says, the final chapter of this story has not been written. When a people have their sovereignty violated and are oppressed, they always resist. There may be crisis in Syria for a time, but we will see the Syrian people reclaim their independence and resist the tyranny of Western imperialism and its Jihadist allies.
UNAC Response to the Overthrow of the Syrian Government
12/10/2024
This is a moment to salute and remember the martyrs and resistance fighters in Syria, who for decades and against all odds held firm against U.S. imperialist domination.
Because imperialism has no solutions the struggle will regroup and break forth again and each time at a higher level.
After the U.S. backed surge of mercenaries and funded terrorist forces in 2011 launched the all out effort to destroy Syria, the Syrian Arab Army was able to regroup and fought heroically, with help from Hezbollah, Iran and Russia, to retake the major cities of Syria, including Aleppo on the Turkish border. But the effort to regain full control of Syria was frozen for years.
US, Turkish, and foreign mercenary forces maintained control of 1/3 Syrian territory – the vital, resource rich, oil rich agricultural base of Syria. Armies of foreign mercenary forces were paid, trained, fully outfitted in Turkey and Jordan. The U.S. maintained bases, troops and trainers in Syria. Israeli and U.S. missiles continually targeted Syrian infrastructure.
U.S. imperialism bragged for years that they were able to maintain the political isolation and especially the economic isolation of Syria through starvation sanctions and the complete denial of all reconstruction aid. There were endless funds for reconstruction in US controlled regions. Psychological and media warfare was unrelenting.
This was a decade long all-out imperialist effort to freeze, starve, hollow out the Syrian economy, until collapse.
Syria had the foresight to uplift the Axis of Resistance as the only path towards liberation from US imperialism and Zionism for the whole region. Syria’s vital defense weapons were shared with Hezbollah as part of struggle to defend Palestine.
In UNAC we keep the bigger picture in mind. It is a global struggle on many fronts.
As Israeli tanks roll into Syria and U.S. bombers target Syrian infrastructure and mercenary forces loot hospitals and schools we remain confident that repression launches new resistance.
[Photo]
In this difficult moment we are determined to strengthen our solidarity with Palestine and with all countries targeted by U.S. imperialism.
We continue to demand:
US imperialism and its reactionary allies Out of Syria Now! US Hands Off the Middle East!
Self-determination for Syria!
Free Free Palestine! From the River to the Sea!
A statement from Black Alliance for Peace, originally posted December 10th at: blackallianceforpeace.com/bapstatements/2024/12/10/syria-the-return-to-the-scene-of-obamas-crime
Syria: The Return to the Scene of Obama’s Crime
The U.S. Must Stop Supporting Right-Wing Forces to Advance Its’ Geopolitical Agenda
Around the world, many hoped that the Russia-negotiated agreement in 2020 between the Syrian, government and the coterie of right-wing Jihadist forces, common criminals and other forces against the government of President Bashar Al-Assad, would finally end the nightmare of war, displacement, torture, and mindless destruction suffered by the Syrian people – victims of U.S. plans to overthrow all the major nations in the Middle-East that might challenge continued U.S. domination. However, just a few days ago, like cancer, the disease of U.S. imperialism has suddenly metastasized. The Black Alliance for Peace argues that current U.S. imperialist actions in Syria need to be placed in a historical context. It is important to remember that the vicious subversion of Syria, which began in earnest in 2011, was only one of the two criminal assaults that year on nations perceived to be obstacles to U.S. regional hegemony. The other under U.S. assault was Libya. In Libya, however, the Western-orchestrated assault resulted in not only the overthrow of the government but the country’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi, being raped and murdered by the right-wing Jihadist friends of the U.S.
Linking the U.S. imperialist assault on Syria to that of Libya is important because it informs how the few authentic anti-imperialist forces that still exist in the U.S. understand and articulate opposition to the moves being made by U.S. and Western imperialism in their desperate attempts to avoid the inevitable end of white world dominance. Our positionality in relationship to the Pan-European white supremacist colonial/capitalist patriarchy compels us to remind our friends and sometimes allies, that they cannot pretend to be in solidarity with Palestine and then cheer on the overthrow of one of the few states in the world that has never turned its back on Palestinian people, no matter what one might think of the internal politics of the Syrian state.
Such concerns about the nature of the Syrian state became a cover for defending U.S. imperialism and were expressed by dishonest actors or those who were politically naive. Now that the U.S.-backed jihadists have emerged triumphant hope for authentic self-determination for the Syrian people has once again been delayed.
Trump’s absurd claim that the U.S. does not have anything to do with Syria is only a reflection of why he will never gain full control over the state and non-state apparatus that is directing U.S. foreign policy. The notion that whoever is sitting in the white house represents the final and only power of the U.S. state is dangerously naive. Just recall when Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated a ceasefire with Russia in Deir Ezzor, Syria only to have it ignored by his generals and CIA.
Reigniting the war in Syria will prolong the tragedy experienced by the people of Syria since 2011. The Black Alliance for Peace will continue to monitor the situation and will not hesitate to reveal the facts as we find them.
Following is a short article/statement and a more in-depth version, from the Tunisian Workers' Party (PTT, formerly the PCOT; www.albadil.org ; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers%27_Party_(Tunisia)
After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria:
With the Syrian people in self-determination within the framework of a free, united, democratic, just, anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist Syria
On Sunday, December 8, at dawn, the world woke up to the news of the fall of the Syrian regime and the flight of Bashar al-Assad "to an unknown destination." At the same time, the entry of the forces of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and the National Army, bloody terrorist groups supported by Turkey, America and Zionism, into Damascus was announced. Indeed, on November 27, 2024, that is, the very day that the cessation of war was signed between the Zionist entity and the Lebanese resistance, a large-scale attack was launched from the northwestern border with Turkey, passing through the most important cities of Syria: Aleppo, then Hama, then Homs, to Damascus.
The attack was carried out and the cities were penetrated one after the other without significant resistance, as the Syrian army continued to withdraw each time under the pretext of “redeployment” or “concern for sparing blood” until it completely evaporated along with the security services. Subsequently, it was confirmed that the matter was linked to previous arrangements that had apparently been approved at the Doha meeting that brought together Russia, Iran and Turkey, and that Bashar al-Assad was abandoned. The green light was reportedly given to his government and his army, security, parliament and all the institutions of his regime to hand over power “peacefully” to the new invaders in exchange for special Turkish guarantees to Russia, stipulating that some of its vital interests would not be harmed.
The Tunisian Workers' Party, while renewing its bias towards the brotherly Syrian people who have suffered the most serious injustices under the Assad family regime for more than half a century, and reiterating its support for their just and legitimate democratic aspirations:
- calls on the Syrian people to be wary of the new invaders, because they are not liberators, but rather creations of the colonial powers, the Zionist entity and Erdogan's Turkey, and servants of their project to tear apart the unity of Syria, and to divide the areas of influence within it and in the region, particularly targeting the resistance in order to bury the Palestinian cause. It is not enough to get rid of the tyrannical regime of the Assad family to achieve salvation. Rather, we must think about who will replace it so that Syria does not fall into the clutches of a new tyrannical regime in the hands of the new invaders, perhaps even more odious than the previous one.
- also calls on the brotherly Syrian people and their democratic forces (parties, organizations and unions) to unite around a national rescue program that realizes freedom, democracy and social justice, and establishes national sovereignty by driving out all invaders from the country. This must include rejecting the American, Turkish and Russian military bases, and liberating the occupied Syrian territories and confronting the Zionist aggression that has been spreading since the arrival of terrorist groups in Damascus, and supporting the Palestinian cause and resistance in Palestine and Lebanon.
- affirms its conviction that Syria needs a regime that will put an end to tyranny and dictatorship and open the way to freedom and equality within the framework of full and effective citizenship guaranteeing a democratic solution to the Kurdish question which, for centuries, has served as a blackmail card in the hands of colonialism and reactionary regimes in the region.
- calls on all the forces of freedom and progress in the region to realize the seriousness of the repercussions of what is happening in Syria on our countries and peoples, which obliges them to stand firmly with the Syrian people in these critical moments and to stay away from narrow calculations. The revolutionary and progressive forces of Turkey are called upon to confront the expansionist ambitions of their Sultan Erdogan and to pressure him to withdraw from Syria, respect the sovereignty of his lands, stop supporting terrorist groups and cooperating with the usurping and fascist Zionist entity.
- calls on the Arab peoples and their revolutionary, progressive and patriotic forces to realize the danger of the current situation for the Palestinian people, their cause and their resistance, as well as for the Lebanese people and their resistance. All the plots, coups and attacks that are taking place are aimed at the Palestinian issue, which is destined to be buried and ended in order to open a “new era” based on normalization with the usurper entity within the framework of the “Deal of the Century” and Donald Trump’s “Abraham Accords”.
- calls on the Arab peoples to learn the great lesson of the fall of the authoritarian regime of the Assad family. Tyrants do not build nations and do not advance peoples. On the contrary, they tear them apart, destroy them, humiliate them, condemn them to backwardness and afflict them with a weakness that allows foreign colonial powers to infiltrate and dominate them. The Arab peoples must, here and now, take their destiny in hand and progress towards achieving their liberation and unity on solid democratic and popular bases. Our peoples deserve liberation, independence, democracy, progress and social justice, and this is a mission that is theirs and that cannot be accomplished in their place either by foreign powers or by their local lackeys.
- claims that the apparent stability that the regimes of exploitation and treason “enjoy” in our Arab region, especially in the Gulf, are the result of particular circumstances and not of the integrity of their political, economic, social or cultural systems. These regimes are the most backward, the most brutal, the most tyrannical and the most violators of the rights of individuals, women and minorities in the world. Today, they are thriving because of their treason, their enormous wealth that allows them to buy external protection, but also because of the delay in political awareness in these societies, which will not last. The winds of liberation will sooner or later sweep them away, as well as their protectors, the colonial and Zionist forces.
- urges all revolutionary and progressive democratic forces in the world that are hostile to imperialism, colonialism and Zionism to stand with the Syrian people and support them in realizing their dream of building a national, democratic and popular regime and expelling all foreign powers, armies, mercenaries and military bases from their lands. It also calls on them to be aware of the threat to world peace in the form of a catastrophic world war resulting from the tensions in the region that are constantly fueled and fanned by US imperialism.
- It also calls on the Tunisian people and its progressive forces to be more vigilant and prepared for the political and security repercussions of what is happening in Syria and the entire region, which requires supporting the brotherly Syrian people and redoubling efforts in supporting the Palestinian cause so that the enemy camp does not take advantage of the opportunity to liquidate the Palestinian cause once and for all. It is also called upon to learn from the experience of the tyrannical regime in Syria, which collapsed in a few days due to the lack of real popular support, despite the high percentages of the simulated elections and the scale of the apparatuses of repression and enslavement.
Tunisian Workers' Party
Tunis, December 10, 2024
Recent
developments in Syria:
Contexts and implications
On
Sunday, December 8, at dawn, the world woke up to the news of the
fall of the Syrian regime and the flight of Bashar al-Assad "to
an unknown destination". At
the same time, the entry of the forces of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and
the National Army, bloody terrorist groups supported by Turkey,
America and Zionism, into Damascus was announced. Indeed, on November
27, 2024, that is, the very day that the cessation of war was signed
between the Zionist entity and the Lebanese resistance, a large-scale
attack was launched from the northwestern border with Turkey, passing
through the most important cities of Syria: Aleppo, then Hama, then
Homs, to Damascus.
The
attack was carried out and the cities were penetrated one after the
other without significant resistance, as the Syrian army continued to
withdraw each time under the pretext of “redeployment” or
“concern for sparing blood” until it completely evaporated along
with the security services. Subsequently, it was confirmed that the
matter was linked to previous arrangements that had apparently been
approved at the Doha meeting that brought together Russia, Iran and
Turkey, and that Bashar al-Assad was abandoned. The green light was
reportedly given to his government and his army, security, parliament
and all the institutions of his regime to hand over power
“peacefully” to the new invaders in exchange for special Turkish
guarantees to Russia, stipulating that some of its vital interests
would not be harmed.
The
collapse of the Assad regime has sparked contradictory reactions due
to the conflicting interests of the various parties and entities
concerned with Syrian affairs. The parties opposed to the Assad
regime and supported the terrorist groups that set out to overthrow
it were quick to bless the “victory of the Syrian revolution,”
while the parties that supported it remained silent or accepted the
fait accompli under the pretext of “respecting the will of the
Syrian people.” It should be noted that a large part of the Syrian
people expresses satisfaction at the end of an oppressive, arrogant
and tyrannical regime, while some religious and sectarian communities
express their fear of the harm that could befall them in the new
situation. As events accelerate, the potential regional and
international repercussions continue to raise many questions to
understand this "earthquake" that occurred in the "heart"
of a region that, due to its geographical location and its weight in
geostrategic equations, attracts the attention of the largest
capitalist and imperialist countries in the world, old and emerging,
competing for spheres of influence and weighing each event on the
scale of profit and loss.
In
addition to this, what happened in Syria is linked to what is
happening in Gaza, Lebanon and in the resistance camp in general. It
is in fact an extension of it that will have certain repercussions,
even for a certain time. The Syrian regime was part of what is called
the “axis of resistance”, and its fall is demanded by the
imperialists, the Zionists and the Arab and Turkish reactionaries in
order to cut the cord between it and the resistance. Finally, it
cannot be believed that this issue does not interest the Tunisian
people and the peoples of the Maghreb in general, because everyone,
in the Maghreb [the Arab states along the northwestern coast of Africa: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maghreb ] in the Mashreq [Egypt (but not Sudan?) and the Arab states of the Middle East: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashriq ], is interconnected and is the target
of the same forces that plan to dominate the entire region by
dividing and tearing it apart further. This requires us to follow the
transformations and conflicts underway in Syria and the region to
explore their possible consequences on the destiny of our peoples who
aspire to liberation and unity within a democratic framework that
guarantees individual and public freedoms and equality for all, as
well as economic and social rights, a condition for true progress and
prosperity.
A
system doomed to failure and collapse
The
regime of the “Al-Assad family” is, historically, one of the most
dictatorial and authoritarian regimes in the region. It is a
sectarian regime although it is wrapped in a Baathist Arab
nationalist veneer. It
is a hereditary regime that began with the father, Hafez Al-Assad
(1971-2000), and continued with the son Bashar Al-Assad (2001-2024).
The Assad family
ruled under the name of the “Baath Party” within a regime whose
outward appearance was Arab nationalism but whose core was an odious
sectarianism, a regime with a civilian cover and a bloody military
content (Al-Assad father was a military man). It gave the military
establishment, intelligence services and militias the upper hand to
tyrannize the Syrian people and lead them with fire and iron,
depriving them of their most basic political and civil rights,
completely excluding them from participation in public affairs. And
horrific crimes were committed in its name, perhaps the most
important of which are: The Hama massacre (between 20 and 30 thousand
victims, 1982). The
political and civil opposition forces were constantly oppressed,
which prevented the emergence of a civil, democratic and diverse
society in a region that was one of the most important centers of the
modern Arab renaissance.
This
dictatorial regime has also given the Alawite sect, whose size
fluctuates between 9 and 12%, considerable influence in a society
characterized by religious and sectarian diversity (Islam,
Christianity, Sunnis, Shiites, Druze, etc.) and ethnic diversity
(Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, etc.). While
the regime brandishes propaganda slogans about justice and socialism,
the economic options it has finally established, after a period of
state capitalism during which some social benefits were provided to
the general public, are neoliberal options, aggravated by external
sanctions (the Caesar blockade) to widen the scope of poverty and
marginalization. This has affected not only the Syrian people in
general, but also the military institution itself, whose members,
soldiers and junior officers, suffer misery and destitution in
exchange for privileges for senior officers. This extended the sphere
of corruption to all areas within the institutions and made it the
basis of governance. From
then on, it was no longer difficult to turn it against Bashar himself
at the decisive moment; which led some observers of Syrian affairs to
consider what happened as a coup d’état by the establishment
against the head of the regime.
On
the other hand, while the Assad family regime displayed the
appearance of defending national issues, especially the Palestinian
issue, instrumentalization was one of the most important aspects of
its behavior; the Palestinians were subjected to one of the terrible
massacres in Lebanon in 1976 (about 3,000 martyrs in the Tal
al-Zaatar camp). We cannot forget either the alignment of Hafez
al-Assad in 1991 behind the United States of America, France, Great
Britain, Saudi Arabia and Hosni Mubarak's Egypt in the thirty-year
aggression against Iraq, the one that paved the way for the 2003
aggression that ended with the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime
and the occupation of Iraq, its tearing apart and the control of its
wealth, which continues to this day.
The
Syrian people participated in the first revolutionary wave that began
in Tunisia in late 2010/early 2011 and raised the same demands and
aspirations that spread throughout the region after the overthrow of
the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes, a process in which the revolution
maintained its independent path and its just political and social
demands before being bypassed by local counter-revolutionary forces
with international and regional support. However, the Syrian regime's
confrontation of its people's demands with bloody repression and the
presentation of its peaceful civil movement as an "American-Zionist
conspiracy" in order to conceal its dictatorial nature on the
one hand and deny the legitimacy of the democratic demand on the
other, have created fertile ground for the intervention of foreign,
international and regional powers. Intervention that plunged Syria
into a reactionary and destructive civil war in which tens of
thousands of people were killed and a similar number disappeared, in
addition to the forced displacement of millions of people, similar to
what happened in Libya and Yemen, where the repression and bloody
response of the regimes of both countries led to civil war and
foreign intervention, and then to their fall.
The
obscurantist forces, with their various branches, played a decisive
role in the deterioration of the situation in Syria, especially after
the extensive process of arming, training, media support and
financing they received from the American, Zionist, Gulf and Turkish
Western intelligence services, which came in force to destroy the
struggle of the peoples of the region, tear apart the unity of their
societies and destroy the gains they had previously achieved. The
situation reached its peak with the creation of the terrorist
organization ISIS, a descendant of Al-Qaeda, within the framework of
international and regional decision-making aimed at gaining greater
control over the region and its capabilities. It is these gangs that
operate today under the name of "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham",
that are leading the invasion of Syria and that, at the time of the
Ennahda movement in Tunisia, attracted a significant number of young
Tunisians in what is known as "Jihadist transfer"
operations, many of whom were killed and many others arrested.
The
Syrian regime has reaped the bitter fruits of suppressing the
legitimate demands and aspirations of the Syrian people to live under
a regime in which they enjoy freedom and a decent life, and opening
the door to the intervention of foreign Arab powers, colonial,
Zionist and reactionary. -Turkish forces and terrorist gangs with
many names and forms, but with a single agent essence. One of the
results of this situation has been the cutting off of significant
areas of Syrian territory, especially in the north and northwest,
whether for the benefit of Turkey, the United States or terrorist
gangs and Kurdish rebel groups led by foreigners, especially
Americans, which has made Syria lose its sovereignty over its
territory and its capabilities.
The
ruler of Damascus had become at the mercy of direct Russian
protection and had needed the support of his Iranian neighbor, itself
aware of the danger posed by the presence of hostile forces on its
borders. What ultimately complicated the situation of the Syrian
regime was its neglect of the new opportunity it had to ensure its
continuity after Russia, Iran and Hezbollah saved it from collapse in
2015. It had indeed violated the obligations it had undertaken and
which were contained in United Nations Security Council Resolution
2254 of December 18, 2015. This was approved by Russia and Iran
themselves and which called for the opening of a dialogue after a
year, but which was only launched in January 2017 in "Astana"
under the supervision of the guarantor trio (Russia, Iran and Turkey)
and under the control of the United Nations, the United States and
some neighboring countries (Jordan). This consisted of reducing armed
tensions in the conflict zones, observing a transitional period
dedicated to the development of a new constitution for which a joint
commission was formed, but it did not progress in its work, and
organizing a political dialogue leading to elections under the
supervision of the United Nations, which did not happen. At the same
time, the material situation of the Syrian people continues to
deteriorate due to the corruption of the regime and its
transformation from a sectarian regime to a narrow family regime.
Added to this are the effects of corruption, the American and Western
economic blockade in general, which explains today's "state of
relief" with the fall of the regime which has provided the
people with nothing but demagogic slogans.
Serious
consequences and repercussions
The
systematic destruction of Syrian society has strengthened the
influence of foreign powers and that of the terrorist groups
affiliated with them, which have thousands of mercenaries in their
ranks. This regime did not fall at the hands of the Syrians, as a
result of an uprising or a popular revolution led by forces emanating
from the people and carrying a project that reflects their
aspirations, but rather by regional and international tools aimed at
reshaping the region in a way that serves the interests of the main
powers intervening there, namely the Zionist entity, the United
States and Erdogan's Turkey, which dreams of restoring its glory, the
Ottoman Empire and NATO.
As
for Russia and Iran, allies of the Assad regime, their influence has
declined with its collapse, knowing that one of the major objectives
of controlling Syria was to expel Russia from the region, entangled
in the war in Ukraine, and to isolate Iran, which in turn suffers
from a difficult internal economic situation due to sanctions. This
would prepare the ground to attack it later because of the threat it
represents to the interests of the Western colonial powers, the
Zionist entity and the comprador regimes of the Gulf, which are only
waiting for the destruction of Iran, and its dragging into the
furnace of destructive internal conflicts to carry out their projects
in their military, economic and commercial dimensions with a view to
their confrontation with China and Russia.
There
is no doubt that all this does not serve the interests of Syria and
its people in any way. Syria is seriously threatened with division
into cantons along sectarian and ethnic lines and according to the
interests of each of the parties to the conflict, including terrorist
groups, each of which is beholden to one of the camps. The Syrian
people, with its working classes, women, youth, intellectuals and
creators, cannot dream, with these groups and their sponsors, of
freedom, democracy and peace, nor of economic and social well-being,
nor of scientific prosperity and civilizational progress.
On
the other hand, the Palestinian issue will be the first to be
affected by the characteristics of the new situation in Syria and the
region. The destruction and dismantling of Syria is an extension of
the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon, with no other objective than
to achieve the hegemony of the Zionist entity over the region and to
block the path of any form of support for the resistance. The
invaders of Syria make no reference in their speech to the
Palestinian issue or the Zionist occupation of the Syrian Golan. On
the contrary, their leader did not fail to express his thanks to the
usurping entity that helped the terrorist groups gain power and
promised to recognize it and normalize relations with it. Today, they
do not lift a finger in the face of the attacks committed by the
usurping entity against Syria. It entered its territory, abandoned
the 1974 arrangements regarding the border between the entity and
Syria, and occupied the buffer zone. Today it is located about twenty
kilometers from Damascus, thus confirming its intention to
definitively annex new lands to what it previously occupied.
On
the other hand, it is launching hundreds of intense airstrikes
against strategic Syrian military installations (destroying the air
and sea fleet and missile systems) and military and civilian
scientific research centers, all aimed at destroying the elements of
power acquired in Syria through the efforts of its sons and
daughters. The goal is to transform Syria into a demilitarized
country with cut nails, and this with the official American, Western,
Turkish and Arab blessing.
In
this context, American and Western statements of support for the new
invaders have followed one another, with a view to removing the names
of these groups (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, etc.) from the list of
terrorist forces established by the United Nations and even by the
imperialist countries (United States of America, Great Britain,
etc.). As for
Turkey, the "Ottoman" voices are rising loudly, hailing the
"return of Aleppo" to its "original cradle"... as
an expression of the ambitions of Erdogan and his gang to share the
"Syrian spoils" and to exploit the opportunity to bury the
Kurdish question, which will put him in confrontation with the
Kurdish groups supported by the United States.
As
for the Arab comprador regimes, they have accomplished their mission
in the service of the American-Zionist-Turkish monster and its
projects in the region, and they do not realize that they are not
outside these projects and that their turn is undoubtedly coming. And
despite the state of panic that is beginning to appear here and there
among certain regimes (Egypt, Jordan, etc.), they persist in pursuing
the same repressive policies that ultimately only favor the causes of
their fall.
The
repercussions of what is currently happening in Syria will be, even
if circumstantial, due to the strengthening and expansion of
American, Zionist and Turkish influence, in light of an unprecedented
submission of the Arab regimes, on the one hand, and the weakness of
the patriotic and popular forces despite the considerable efforts
made by the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance, which cost them
enormous sacrifices. Likewise, the control of terrorist forces over
Syria will not serve the interests of the Syrian people, nor the
region, nor the Palestinian cause. Rather, it will serve to revive
obscurantist movements and terrorist groups as a tool of control to
reshape reformulate the map of the region within the framework of
what is called the "New Middle East" that extends to North
Africa.
This
plan aims to review the Sykes-Picot agreements, which divided the
Arab world and the Middle East in general into mini-states in order
to facilitate the control of the region and its capabilities, in the
sense of redividing what is already divided and fragmenting it
further on religious, sectarian and ethnic bases this time. The
objective is to perpetuate Western colonial interests and ensure the
superiority of the Zionist entity in the region and to bury forever
the Palestinian question, and pave the way for normalization with
this entity within the region within the framework of the "Deal
of the Century" and the "Abraham Accords".
This
will also have the effect of reducing the manifestations of the
growing influence of Russia and China in the region, isolating the
Iranian regime and leaving the peoples of the region in general in a
state of eternal confusion and conflict. As we mentioned above, the
reactionary Arab regimes, led by Egypt, which have worked and are
working in the company of Washington and Tel Aviv, thinking that this
will ensure their eternal protection, while their turn is coming,
without a doubt. Indeed, the fragmentation project will not exclude
them, just as it did not exclude Sudan, which experienced a partition
in the past, and which is today the scene of a devastating internal
conflict between the army and the “Janjaweed” militias, and each
of them has its international and regional supporters. The same goes
for Libya, which is in reality divided between an East under
Russian/Egyptian/Emirati protection and a West under Turkish
protection; or Yemen, which is effectively and institutionally
divided into a North linked to the “Axis of Resistance” and a
South subject to Saudi control.
In
this context, Tunisia will not escape these arrangements, given its
situation as a horizontal and vertical transit zone towards the
countries of North Africa, the Sahel and sub-Saharan countries (Mali,
Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, etc.) where manifestations of conflicts
over spheres of influence are multiplying between traditional
imperialist countries (mainly France) and emerging countries (China
and Russia) and where terrorist groups and mercenaries are
widespread. Furthermore, the return of Tunisian terrorists released
from Bashar al-Assad's prisons cannot be ruled out. We must also not
forget the terrorist groups active in western Libya, nor the Turkish
presence not far from our borders.
Naturally,
neighboring Algeria will not be immune to the fragmentation plans
contained in the “New Middle East” project aimed at controlling
its enormous natural resources and exploiting its strategic location.
The growing influence of Western imperialist Zionists in Mohammed
VI’s Morocco and the supply of weapons to his regime cannot be
considered outside this framework. It is certain that the Zionist
colonial monster will work to exploit political, security, economic
and social weaknesses, whether in Tunisia or Algeria, to exploit
them.
What
to be aware of and what to do
These
dangerous developments require the patriotic and democratic forces in
Syria, the region and our country to be aware of these various
issues, and the tasks to be undertaken to face the possible
repercussions of these developments. If the American-Western colonial
powers, the Zionist entity, the ruler of Turkey and their lackeys
have their calculations, then the peoples, the patriotic,
revolutionary and progressive forces, and the resistance movements
must have their plans to thwart these calculations, which is
necessary and possible. On this basis, the Tunisian Workers' Party
reiterates its bias towards the brotherly Syrian people, who have
suffered the most serious injustices under the Assad family regime
and who have been subjected to the ugliest foreign international and
regional interventions, and while expressing its unfailing support
for their democratic aspirations:
1-The
Syrian people and self-determination
The
Workers' Party
-
calls on the Syrian people to be wary of the new invaders, because
they are not liberators, but rather creations of the colonial powers,
the Zionist entity and Erdogan's Turkey, and servants of their
project to tear apart the unity of Syria, and to divide the areas of
influence within it and in the region, particularly targeting the
resistance in order to bury the Palestinian cause. It is not enough
to get rid of the tyrannical regime of the Assad family to achieve
salvation. Rather, we must think about who will replace it so that
Syria does not fall into the clutches of a new tyrannical regime in
the hands of the new invaders, perhaps even more odious than the
previous one.
-
also calls on the brotherly Syrian people and their democratic forces
(parties, organizations and unions) to unite around a national rescue
program that realizes freedom, democracy and social justice, and
establishes national sovereignty by driving out all invaders from the
country. This must include rejecting the American, Turkish and
Russian military bases, and liberating the occupied Syrian
territories and confronting the Zionist aggression that has been
spreading since the arrival of terrorist groups in Damascus, and
supporting the Palestinian cause and resistance in Palestine and
Lebanon.
-
affirms its conviction that Syria needs a regime that will put an end
to tyranny and dictatorship and open the way to freedom and equality
within the framework of full and effective citizenship guaranteeing a
democratic solution to the Kurdish question which, for centuries, has
served as a blackmail card in the hands of colonialism and
reactionary regimes in the region.
2-
The peoples of the region and the duty of solidarity
-
calls on all the forces of freedom and progress in the region to
realize the seriousness of the repercussions of what is happening in
Syria on our countries and peoples, which obliges them to stand
firmly with the Syrian people in these critical moments and to stay
away from narrow calculations. The revolutionary and progressive
forces of Turkey are called upon to confront the expansionist
ambitions of their Sultan Erdogan and to pressure him to withdraw
from Syria, respect the sovereignty of his lands, stop supporting
terrorist groups and cooperating with the usurping and fascist
Zionist entity.
-
calls on the Arab peoples and their revolutionary, progressive and
patriotic forces to realize the gravity of the current situation for
the Palestinian people, their cause and their resistance, as well as
for the Lebanese people and their resistance, and to form an Arab
popular front to support the resistance and confront imperialist
intervention through puppet regimes. All the plots, coups and attacks
that are taking place are centered on the Palestinian issue, which is
destined to be buried and ended in order to open a “new era”
under the leadership of the Ben Salman regime, based on normalization
with the usurper entity within the framework of the “Deal of the
Century” and Trump’s “Abraham Accords.” It is known that the
Al-Aqsa flood came to stop this project, which will ultimately be
doomed to failure and collapse because the Arab peoples will not
accept it, no matter how arrogant the American imperialist is and how
brutal the usurping entity is.
-
calls on the Arab peoples to learn the great lesson of the fall of
the authoritarian regime of the Assad family. Tyrants do not build
nations and do not advance peoples. On the contrary, they tear them
apart, destroy them, humiliate them, condemn them to backwardness and
afflict them with a weakness that allows foreign colonial powers to
infiltrate and dominate them. The Arab peoples must, here and now,
take their destiny in hand and progress towards achieving their
liberation and unity on solid democratic and popular bases. Our
peoples deserve liberation, independence, democracy, progress and
social justice, and this is a mission that is theirs and that cannot
be accomplished in their place either by foreign powers or by their
local lackeys.
-
claims that the apparent stability that the regimes of exploitation
and treason “enjoy” in our Arab region, especially in the Gulf,
are the result of particular circumstances and not of the integrity
of their political, economic, social or cultural systems. These
regimes are the most backward, the most brutal, the most tyrannical
and the most violators of the rights of individuals, women and
minorities in the world. Today, they are thriving because of their
treason, their enormous wealth that allows them to buy external
protection, but also because of the delay in political awareness in
these societies, which will not last. The winds of liberation will
sooner or later sweep them away, as well as their protectors, the
colonial and Zionist forces.
-
urges all revolutionary and progressive democratic forces in the
world that are hostile to imperialism, colonialism and Zionism to
stand with the Syrian people and support them in realizing their
dream of building a national, democratic and popular regime and
expelling all foreign powers, armies, mercenaries and military bases
from their lands. It also calls on them to be aware of the threat to
world peace in the form of a catastrophic world war resulting from
the tensions in the region that are constantly fueled and fanned by
US imperialism.
3-
May the Tunisian people be vigilant and strengthened
-
It also calls on the Tunisian people and its progressive forces to be
more vigilant and prepared for the political and security
repercussions of what is happening in Syria and the entire region,
which requires supporting the brotherly Syrian people and redoubling
efforts in supporting the Palestinian cause so that the enemy camp
does not take advantage of the opportunity to liquidate the
Palestinian cause once and for all. It is also called upon to learn
from the experience of the tyrannical regime in Syria, which
collapsed in a few days due to the lack of real popular support,
despite the high percentages of the simulated elections and the scale
of the apparatuses of repression and enslavement.
-
Stresses that the fortification of our homeland requires the Tunisian
people to confront the populist tyranny that undermines freedoms,
violates rights, tramples on the principle of equality, throws its
opponents, critics and protesters into prison or sends them into
exile. This regime spreads hate speech and malice, sets Tunisians
against each other and exposes the country to bankruptcy and the
people to unemployment, poverty and misery, hunger, disease and
ignorance. These evils are the result of the country's immersion in
debt, the dismantling of production systems and the continued
destruction of the social system and environmental and cultural
services, all of which weaken the unity of the people and undermine
the nation's immunity, which can make it easy prey for its local and
foreign enemies.
-
In conclusion, our deep conviction is that the valiant Syrian people
will overcome the difficulties and chart the course to confront their
enemies inside and outside. Our conviction is also deep that
Palestine will remain the compass and that the resistance in Gaza,
the West Bank and Lebanon will not be defeated. On the contrary, it
will expand with the expansion of the reactionary Zionist imperialist
tyranny and will become more solid and determined to win. This is
embodied today in the most astonishing images of steadfastness in
Gaza and the West Bank, where qualitative operations against the
occupation continue uninterrupted, and in Lebanon, where the Zionist
monster has been forced to retreat. We are also convinced that our
people and the rest of the Arab peoples will not delay in rising up
against their oppressors and exploiters to achieve their freedom,
independence and social emancipation.
Tunisian
Workers' Party
Tunis,
December 11, 2024
More links and statements might be added later on, and see the many, though now dated, links in an upcoming post.
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