Demanding  a democratic system, al-Suweida paid a high price

NEROZ  OTHMAN/NEWS DESK

We all remember saying " The People Want to Overthrow the Regime" that still resonates in our minds. In fact, we cannot ignore this slogan, which was chanted by thousands of Syrians with a desire to change the Baathist regime that has been dividing the components and cultures of the Syrian people for many years. Yes, perhaps summarizing the past of the Syrian crisis in these terms may be the meaning of the event.

As Dara was a pioneer  for the second time in its revolution against the regime in the history of Syria, Idlib, which turned into a quagmire of the parties to the conflict in the war, and Aleppo, which has not reached the safety yet? Today we see that al-Suweida city is still witnessing another path in this issue. Especially that al-Suweida province has a social model of its own, where the Druze community live and this means that it has a view of ideology of its own.

Al-Suweida province

Al-Suweida is located in the southeast of Damascus, bordered by Damascus province to the north, Daraa province to the west, the Syrian Badia and Safa to the east and Jordan to the south. It covers an area of 6550 Km2. Al-Suweida name refers to the black color because the city was built with black volcanic stones. It dates back to the 18th century AD.

The city witnessed the beginning of several revolutions against the Ottoman rule and the Syrian revolution against the French occupation led by Sultan Pasha al-Atrash of Druze origin in 1925. The people of al-Suweida had a great role in facing to the Ottoman occupation and the French colonization of Syria.

What happened in al-Suweida?

Al-Suweida remained under the control of the Syrian regime during the Syrian crisis and kept the situation calm away from the crisis and the conflict witnessed by the other Syrian provinces.

However, in July of this year, IS mercenaries launched an attack on al-Suweida province, which killed hundreds of civilians, mostly women and children, and was one of the most bloody attacks so far.

It later turned out that the Syrian regime was the one who pushed IS to al-Suweida to teach  al-Suweida children a lesson because they refused to join the regime.

News note women in al-Sweida abducted by Syrian regime, the Russians

Today, Russia is talking about a deal between it and the children of al-Suweida on the release of the abductees in al-Suweida in return for the recruitment of the sons of al-Suweida in the military service of the Syrian regime forces. According to reliable sources from inside al-Suweida, the Syrian regime demanded the people of al-Suweida to recruit about 60,000 young men from their city in return for the release of the abductees. On the other hand, many of al-Suweida people are convinced that the Syrian regime and Russia are convinced that SDF have come close to liberating the abductees by exchanging prisoners. Therefore, the regime and Russia resort to creating obstacles and various means to prevent this process from being achieved.

According to the source, Russia and the regime have transported mercenaries from south Damascus and then from al- Yarmouk basin with air-conditioned buses to the desert of al-Suweida. Consequently, IS mercenaries launched an attack on al-Suweida area and the abduction of women. There is no doubt about this relationship between the regime and mercenaries. That is, Russia and the regime have worked to facilitate the passage of IS to the region to put pressure on the people of al-Suweida and Druze to accept the demands of the regime and the Russians first and not to allow the people of al-Suweida to establish autonomy in the future. Especially since Quneitra and al-Jolan are also  of the Druze.

Russia wins from this deal, two things:

Removing of al-Suweida from its geographical surroundings and reducing the fears of the Russians and the regime of the danger of the formation of autonomy and thus have made a split between the ranks of the Druze.

2- Gain al- Suweida youth within their ranks, because al-Suweida is one of the provinces whose youth did not serve the regime like other Syrian provinces.

The events of al-Suweida demonstrate the need of the Syrian society for pluralism and democracy and a joint administration of it today, in contrast to the current Syrian regime practices aimed at denying the mosaic of the Syrian society. This prolongs the age of the Syrian crisis at the expense of increasing the regime's ambitions to return to its old era without achieving democracy or listening to the demands of the Syrian people. Thus emptying the content of the Syrian revolution, which has turned into a crisis that seeks a solution.

A.H

ANHA