The Dream of Independence

By Fadi Zyada

Among the uplifting dates in a history that is replete with gore and political morbidity, April 17th, 1946, is a memorable one that holds greatly patriotic significance in the Syrian history. It marks the glorious day on which the last French soldier evacuated the Syrian soil and the country was then declared to be fully independent after a French mandate that had lasted for more than a quarter of a century. The seventeenth of April, which is locally known as the "Evacuation Day"; the equivalent of Independence Day in other countries, is effervescently celebrated every year by all Syrians. But today, four years after the eruption of the popular Syrian revolution that was later demonized and metamorphosed into a civil war, is Syria truly independent?

To provide an objective answer, one must first recall the maniacal chronicles that led to the emergence of Al-Assad family, the undisputed ruling family in Syria, and then assess their reign. On March 8th, 1963, a coup d'état resulted in the seizure of power by Ba'ath Party. A trio of members in the military committee of the party plotted and executed the coup,; and those were Mohammad Umran, Salah Jadid, and Hafez al-Assad. Three years later—prompted by internal disputes between the pioneer Ba'athists and the advocates of a remodeled Ba'athism—Hafez participated in a second coup alongside his comrade Salah, upon which the latter came to power as the de facto ruler of Syria. The third and last coup in the country, which took place on November 13th, 1970, was the one that finally brought Al-Assad family to power, when Hafez toppled none other his longtime friend, Salah Jadid, in what was unconvincingly referred to as "The Corrective Movement". A few months later, sham presidential elections were held and resulted in appointing Hafez Al-Assad as a president with 99.6% of the votes.

By reviewing a synopsis of the milestones in his era, which lasted from 1970 until his demise in 2000, the dark aspects of Hafez Al-Assad’s rule majorly standout and efface the limited bright ones. Petrified by a potential coup that could be inspired by the multiple ones he previously had partaken in, he immediately expelled fellow, formidable, influential, partisan leaders and kept only the trusted ones who were merely tawdry follower; which was a step that foreshadowed an utter absence of political pluralism and democracy that would entirely dominate the political atmosphere in the country for the next four decades. Besides the dearth of veritable economic and political reforms, Hafez' accomplishments were sadly nothing but infamous successes of bloodily quelling uprisings and forestalling others. Several massacres were carried out during his authoritarian rule that resulted in the deaths of thousands, but the most prominent one was in the city of Hama, when the Syrian Army—under the command of his brother, Rifaat Al-Assad—annihilated more than twenty thousand citizens there. The sole demigod policy remained in effect even after Hafez Al-Assad passed away in 2000; as his son inherited not only the father's power, but also the concomitant ideologies that had been wreaking the country for years.

Upon a swift, cockamamie, constitutional amendment that dropped the minimum age of the president from 40 to 34 to fit his age at the time, Bashar Al-Assad ran for president unopposed and won 99.7% of the votes, smashing his father's record and becoming his successor. During his reign, Bashar presented a perfect demonstration of oligarchy and theatrical jingoism that is based on pseudo nationalistic principles he lavishly fed his people. Attempting to delude the public with his advocacy of Arabism and Nationalism, he displayed a feigned conduct of opposition to the U.S. and Israel via public statements filled with meretricious rhetoric while he was simply conducting negotiations and signing political accords with both under the table. He also bolstered the mafia-like methodology that had been implemented for decades within the regime by designating family members at the top positions in the army, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense. His brother, Maher Al-Assad, leads the Fourth Armed Division, which is the strongest military formation in the army. Hafez Makhlouf, the maternal cousin of Bashar Al-Assad, is one of the most important intelligence officers in the country; as he's the Director of the Internal Branch at the General Security Directorate and the person in charge of all the security niceties in Damascus. Until his death in 2012, Assef Shawkat, who was Bashar's brother-in-law, had occupied several significant posts, among them: Director of Military Intelligence and Deputy Defense Minister. Atef Najeeb, Bashar's other maternal cousin, had been the political security chief in Daraa for years before he got transferred to Damascus upon the escalation of the turmoil in Daraa in 2011. And as for the less—yet still weighty —significant posts at the various institutions and departments in the country, those were exclusively dedicated to Alawites; the lucky citizens who belonged to the president’s denomination.

Before we finally reach the answer to the question we raised earlier, we need to briefly examine the current situation in Syria; particularly, in regard to the state’s sovereignty. The country is fiercely contested between a regime that has lost legitimacy, according to the majority of the international community, and multitudinous armed groups some of which fight for a righteous cause while others simply fight to fulfill hidden agendas. The regime controls no more than 35% of the Syrian territories according to many international reports. The Iranian presence in the country is extremely vivid, whether through the political influence of the Iranian foreign policy or the existence of Iranian experts who train and sometimes lead the Syrian soldiers. Hezbollah is also actively present in Syria, fighting alongside the regime and achieving minor triumphs every now and then. On the other hand, besides the soldiers who defected from the regime’s army and established the Free Syrian Army [FSA], there are mainly three other intrusive entities: ISIL, which is the most notorious and abominable armed faction in the country, and it’s in control of considerably vast regions and not showing any signs of receding despite the ongoing alliance's airstrikes targeting its stronghold, Al-Raqqa; Al-Nusra Front, which is an offshoot of Al-Qaeda consisting of Jihadists from numerous Arab and Islamic countries, and it has also managed to control some areas in the country as a result of its combats with the regime, the FSA and ISIL; and finally, there is an assortment of Islamist groups that had had a meager impact within the ongoing war until they recently united under the name “Jaish Al-Fatah”—or, as it means in English, "The Army of Conquest"—and managed to seize control over Idlib city on March 28th, 2015.

In view of all these vicious intricacies, independence is clearly not a trait the country has at the moment. All Syrians are quite cognizant of the indubitable fact that Evacuation Day has lost its validity since Hafez Al-Assad came to power in 1970, for their country simply became colonized by a family. Today, however, in addition to the despotic regime, Syria is occupied by various ogres driven by insatiable political and materialistic avarices. Until the people's volition conquers all, no independence shall be celebrated.