Syrian Democratic Youth Union
Dear Comrades participants and organisers of the International Anti-imperialist Youth Camp, we extend our militant salute to all of you from Syria.
More than a year has passed since Syria and its people entered the post-regime era. A phase our people believed would mark the end of the suffering of millions of displaced, homeless and exhausted people, following a bloody war that left no home untouched, filling every one with grief over a martyr, a loved one lost, or the devastation wrought. The hope was that the corruption, impoverishment, starvation and oppression that had devoured our people and ruined the future of thousands of our young people had been consigned to history. But that hope was soon dashed, revealing the true face of this chapter in Syria’s history: a new chapter of injustice, oppression, corruption and impoverishment, written once again in the blood of the innocent people of this country, as evidenced on several levels:
On the political level:
The factions that entered Damascus havereestablished tyranny by announcing the dissolution of the country’s sovereign institutions, foremost among them the army and internal security forces, the dissolution of the former government, and the suspension of the 2012 Constitution, replacing it with a flimsy constitutional declaration that concentrates power in the hands of their leaders, thereby making these factions the de facto authority.
They also dissolved the People’s Assembly (the parliament) and left it to their leadership to appoint the members of the new assembly in a farcical spectacle they falsely termed ‘parliamentary elections’. In a move to stifle political life, the de facto authority suspended the Political Parties Law and announced the dissolution of long-established Syrian national parties with a history of struggle spanning over a century, which had fought for the liberation of the land and its people and for the achievement of social justice and a dignified life for the people of this country; their activists had known the cells of detention and torture and faced their tormentors with a spirit that knew no defeat.
On the social level:
The new tyrannical regime did not content itself with its decision to dissolve political parties in order to isolate Syrian society from political life; it also encroached upon trade unions and grassroots organisations, dissolving the Farmers’ Union and the Students’ Union, and placing the assets of these two organisations under the control of the Ministries of Agriculture and Higher Education.
It appointed illegitimate leaders from its inner circle to trade unions, which are supposed to be independent of government bodies and to defend the social groups they represent against any injustice or exploitation. However, the narrow-minded outlook stemming from this regime’s ideological background, its backward vision of state administration, its fear of Syrian society engaging in political and social activism, and its quest to consolidate its control over society, have prevented these organisations from being respected and maintaining their independence.
Instead, from the very beginning of its rule, this authority has sought to spread a discourse of hatred and sectarian and nationalist division, splitting Syrian society into minorities and a majority. It has imposed its bloody, racist image as a label hung upon the Muslim members of our people, flouting the values of tolerance, moderation and rationality for which they were known. The regime has relied on those who promote a tribal, revenge-driven discourse that is closer to the values of the Dark Ages than to the values of tolerance for which our Syrian society is known.
On the level of civil peace:
From the very first months, the criminal and racist nature of the forces that had seized power in the country began to become clear.
Despite the attempts of reassurances that the de facto authorities initially succeeded in offering to Syrian society by claiming to be committed to civil peace, preventing the shedding of Syrian blood and preserving the country’s pluralistic, civil way of life, the security situation soon began to deteriorate in several areas, with residents witnessing acts of violence and destruction—initially described as isolated incidents—that escalated into a systematic campaign of extermination at the hands of ‘undisciplined elements’. These elements committed bloody massacres in the rural areas of the Homs and Hama governorates and the Syrian coast against members of the Alawite community, and later in the province of Suwayda against members of the Druze community, claiming the lives of thousands of innocent people within a few months of this regime’s rule. Added to its bloody record were crimes against the Kurds in various regions, the most notable of which were the events in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighbourhoods of the city of Aleppo.
With regard to living standards and the economy:
All the economic gains achieved by our people through many years of struggle and hard work have been undermined, as the authorities officially announced their adoption of a free-market economy and the opening of the country to foreign investment. This has previously hampered and will continue to hamper national production, leaving the country and its people at the mercy of exploitation by foreign monopolies.
The Authority has proceeded to lay off tens of thousands of state employees on sectarian grounds in many, if not most, cases, leaving them to face poverty and living conditions that are becoming increasingly difficult with the rapid rise in prices.
In line with the authorities’ approach, taxes and fees have been raised to unprecedented levels—such as charges for electricity and telecommunications services—and subsidies on fuel and bread have been withdrawn, sending a clear message that this government values only those in our society who can pay in cash, and that it turns a blind eye to criminals and thieves if they are rich, whilst punishing the defenceless poor for crimes they did not commit.
On the external level and confrontation with the enemy:
It has become clear that the de facto authority is doing its utmost to appease external powers, even if this is at the expense of our people and the sacrifices they have made in confronting the enemy throughout history. Leaders of this authority have on more than one occasion expressed a willingness to make peace with the Zionist enemy and offer every concession in exchange for retaining power. Several direct meetings have taken place between representatives of the authority that seized power and representatives of the occupying entity. Not to mention the repeated statements made by representatives of the authority, expressing a willingness to normalise relations or cede the occupied Syrian Golan. It has also curtailed the activities of Palestinian organisations in Syria, closed their training camps in various regions, and arrested a number of prominent Palestinian leaders, at the request of this Authority’s allies in exchange for international recognition of its leaders.
We, the Syrian Democratic Youth Union, after more than a year of the seizure of power in the country, observe that the enemies of the people, both at home and abroad, are seeking to divide the Syrian people and sow discord amongst them by fanning the flames of revenge, hatred and bigotry, which neither build nations nor liberate peoples. There is no salvation for the Syrian people except by upholding their unity and standing shoulder to shoulder to lift injustice, oppression and tyranny from them as one, through organised political struggle within national political parties, organisations and groups.
The SDYU works alongside the various Syrian patriotic forces that are beginning to take shape to unify efforts to save the Syrian people; because the tragedy, injustice and suffering inflicted upon them are sufficient to bring together all the various political forces and youth organisations in the face of the forces of tyranny, despotism, obscurantism and backwardness in order to build our homeland on the foundations of citizenship, democracy and social justice.
We salute our comrades around the world who are gathering today in solidarity with the struggles of the world’s peoples against imperialism, and we call on them all to stand in solidarity with the Syrian people and their struggle against the dictatorship and fascist tyranny that has been imposed upon them. We appeal to them to be our voice and the voice of the oppressed among the people around the world, and to support this struggle through political action and militant work across the world.
Long live internationalist solidarity!
Long live the struggle of the world’s youth against imperialism!
Long live the struggle of the peoples of the world against fascism and terrorism!
