In Syria, which attracted the attention of the whole world, a completely different picture emerged with the collapse of the 61 years Baath regime on 8 December. In Syria, where the internal conflicts that started in 2011 never stopped, the attacks launched by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on Aleppo on 26 December resulted in the collapse of the Damascus government 12 days later. Bashar al-Assad, the president for 24 years, sought refuge in Russia and was granted political asylum. In parallel with the HTS attacks on Aleppo, the Turkish SNA paramilitary group started to target the cities under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. As the political uncertainty in Syria deepens after the fall of the Baath regime, it is a matter of curiosity what kind of government will be formed from now on.

 

Mehmet Emin Mutlu, who has been working as a journalist in the field in North and East Syria for many years, made evaluations on the end of the Baath regime, the ongoing attacks against North and East Syria and what awaits the region. Mutlu noted that the future of the peoples lies on the line of the "Third Way".

 

'INSISTENCE ON MONIST POLICIES BROUGHT THE END OF BAATH'

 

Stating that the collapsed Damascus government was the last representative of the BAAS regime, which is called socialist Arab nationalism, Mutlu said: "Undoubtedly, the politics in Syria since 2011 were not like before 2011. In the last 13 years, the Russian-backed Damascus government, using its strategic geographical position, has ceased to be an organisation that does what it wants whenever it wants in the form of a single party government. There were struggles against the regime and revolutionary developments. Due to this, the Damascus government was not a state with its former power in the last 13 years. Despite so many wars, peoples' demands and revolutionary developments, the impositions of the Baathist regime were the same. The end of the Baathist mentality was brought by the dream of returning to its power before 2011, which did not pay attention to the developments that emerged in the last 10 years."

 

'THIRD WAY LINE'

 

"The revolutionary struggle that developed in North and East Syria, the awakening and organisation of the Kurds in Syria had revealed that nothing would be the same as before," Mutlu said, adding that the Kurds were the mirror of the resistance in Syria.

 

Mutlu underlined that the Kurds have been progressing within the scope of the "Third Way" policy since the civil war started and said: "With the 'Third Way' line realised by the Kurds, the line carried out by both Damascus and paramilitary forces in Syria is wrong. A radical gang organisation like ISIS, mercenary gangs like the FSA, al-Nusra-HTS, Geneva, Sochi, Astanas did not bring a solution. The third way, the democratic system implemented and defended in North and East Syria, is still standing. Many organisations and systems have come and gone, but the third way is still standing."

 

'THE MAIN OBJECTIVE IS TO AVENGE ISIS'

 

26 November-8 December, Mutlu pointed out that the ongoing developments were carried out within the plans of international powers and continued his words as follows: "The plans of occupying Turkey are also within this framework. It is the occupying Turkish state that attacked in Manbij. The people they call SNA are groups consisting of different gangs. ISIS attacked Manbij, not SNA, which is a paramilitary force. ISIS continues to exist in the regions occupied by Turkey. It was revealed in the press with documents that there are ISIS members in these regions many times. This is what we see in the field today. Although it is not official, we think that HTS gangs also took part in these attacks. Although HTS states that it does not participate in these attacks, it is seen that these groups also take part in the attacks from time to time. This is a plan of the occupying Turkish state. It was only the occupying Turkish state that was not happy that Manbij was cleared from ISIS 8 years ago. This continues until today and the main aim is to avenge ISIS. 8 years ago, the gangs expelled from Manbij by the SDF are returning today under the wing of Turkey under the name of SNA."

 

Emphasising that all the peoples living in North and East Syria are under the threat of genocide, Mutlu said: "There is no agreement or a constitution or a transitional government in Syria at the moment. It is not right to say 'the government in Damascus has fallen and everything is over'. There is no situation showing that the war is over or will end. On the contrary, it is seen that it will deepen even more."

 

Mutlu pointed out that the possibility of deepening the war in Syria is high and said: "Chaos, crisis and war will continue. It is also necessary to consider the possibility of everything being worse than before the Damascus government. We are talking about a field with multiple equations and forces. There is no clear situation regarding the future of Syria. The Autonomous Administration has called for the development of a democratic system many times. There does not seem to be a solution in Syria in the short term. So far, the safest places where peoples live together and where there is stability are the Autonomous Administration places. If the aim of the international powers was stability, they would have applied this model to the whole of Syria."

 

'MOBILISATION DECLARATION IS FOR EVERYONE'

 

Emphasising that the mobilisation declaration made by the Autonomous Administration does not only cover North and East Syria, Mutlu continued as follows: "This mobilisation declaration is for Kurds and their friends all over the world. Just as a spirit of ownership emerged during the Kobanê period, this spirit can be revived today. The main basis of Rojava Kurdistan is not international powers, but national unity and support from the four parts of Kurdistan. The Rojava revolution is a revolutionary, democratic and internationalist revolution. Their defence of their revolution will be decisive in the future of Syria. With this spirit and solidarity, the attacks can be broken".

 

MA / Emrullah Acar