More dangerous colonialism threatens Syria on anniversary of independence … What are their Syrians' options?

 Today, the 17th of April, marks the anniversary of the independence of the French from Syria in 1946 and the announcement of the Syrian Republic. Today, after years have passed, Syria has returned to live not only a mandate state, but new occupations and a threat to the country’s future, after the March 2011 crisis.

 stage of independence

 “My countrymen… This is a day when the sun of shining freedom will shine on your homeland, only your knowledge will fail on it, and only your vision will rise on it… This is the day of truth when his word resounds, and the day of independence is manifested, when falsehood sees how its state will disappear.  and how his tour fades. This is the day of the great victory and the manifest conquest."

 With these words, the Syrian President, Shukri al-Quwatli, addressed the masses of Syrians at the time, congratulating them for the independence of Syria from French forces from it, after an occupation that lasted nearly 26 years.

 And at that time, the international circumstances after the end of World War II in 1945 helped the Syrians achieve their independence, as the United Nations supported the decision of the independence and unity of Syria, with the majority of its members. Thus, the Syrian government and people celebrated Independence Day for the first time on April 17, 1946 during the presidency of Shukri al-Quwatli  .

 Post-independence period.. Spring did not last long

 But al-Quwatli and the Syrians, they did not know that what was to come to the country might be seen by some as worse than the period of French colonialism and more dangerous.

 A Syrian spring followed the independence stage, and political life began to appear in Damascus and the rest of the Syrian cities, and people in the Syrian Republic began to exchange political conversations among themselves in terms such as democracy, justice, freedom of expression and the parliamentary system.  That it brings the Syrian people together and leads negotiations and revolutions.

 In 1947, parliamentary elections were held for a new parliament, following the parliament whose constitutional term had expired. During the electoral campaign, strong divisions occurred between the political groupings, and regional tendencies united in interests emerged.  In the north, alliances took place, some of which are on the lookout for the Damascus alliance, and so on, to a lesser degree, in the rest of the provinces.

 The imposition of one nationalism changes the course of the Syrian Republic

But this did not last long, as the National Action League contributed to laying the intellectual and organizational foundations for radical Arabism, as described by many experts, upon which the Baath Party developed itself after independence.

 As a result, the stage of revolutions began in Syria, leading to the Baath Party taking power.  Later on, Syria gradually turned into a nation-state ruled by a single party.

 The national and sectarian mobilization practiced by the Baath Party in Syria, over time, led to the division of Syrian society, and despite the tight security and military grip, this did not prevent disobedience and uprisings, most notably the events of Hama in 1982, Palmyra prison, and the Qamishlo uprising in 2004  .

 These problems accumulated until in 2011, when the Syrian crisis began and the greedy countries exploited it on Syrian territory, Russia and Iran exploited the weakness of the Damascus government, while Turkey used the so-called Syrian opposition to occupy many Syrian lands.

 In memory of independence. . a lump and great pain

 The head of the Syria First Party, Salman Shabib, spoke about this, saying: “Unfortunately, this national occasion comes and Syria is not in its best condition. It was assumed that all the Syrian people, with its various components and political and societal sects, would participate in the celebration, but the reality of the situation and the fall of dear parts of our Syrian land under  the occupation, once again, makes this precious occasion, pass through and in our hearts there is a great deal of grief and pain.

 He added, "Certainly, the existing political authority bears a great responsibility for our arrival at this unfortunate stage, and it is not excused by some countries' insistence on us and their participation in conspiring against our country, some of which was revealed by former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim in his lengthy meeting with Al-Qabas newspaper."

 Political tyranny paved the way for the return of colonialism

The Syrian politician laid out several reasons for the return of the occupation, saying: “The chronic tyranny for decades, the desertification of political life, the monopoly of government and the suppression of national, progressive and even liberal forces, corruption that has become the norm that governs our economic life, and the absence of freedoms and democracy, all paved the way for the events that ravaged Syria.  Since 2011 popular protests that raised legitimate demand slogans, a security solution was adopted to confront them, and the wave of extremist forces quickly intervened and opened the door wide to foreign conspiracies countries like Turkey and others, which brought precious parts of Syria under occupation.

 He explained in this context, "Certainly, the party that ruled Syria for more than half a century  with an arbitrary national mentality that is not commensurate with the pluralism of the Syrian society, which includes various religious, sectarian and national components, bears the greatest responsibility for the social and ethnic tensions that preceded the outbreak of events."

 He added, "The one-party experience in the world failed and the Soviet Union and the socialist camp collapsed, but all of this did not take from it the existing political authority that has been ruling Syria for decades in the name of the Baath Party, lessons that could have spared our country the scourge it is experiencing, the most dangerous of which are certainly several occupations that brutally permeate on  our land."

 The so-called Syrian opposition has exacerbated the Syrian tragedy

 The head of the Syria First Party placed the greatest blame on the so-called opposition, saying: "What has exacerbated the Syrian tragedy is the absence of a true national opposition that offers the best option for the Syrian people through national programs of action in line with the interests of the Syrians."

 And he added, "But what happened is that those who led the opposition scene. are groups of thieves, mercenaries, marginalists, and careerists who were assembled with some opposition figures by the Gulf states and Turkey with the blessing of the West, among other things.  Institutions representing the Syrians were named, and the opposition national forces and figures were excluded.

He added, "This made opposition put itself at the service of those who produced, adopted and nurtured it, disregarding the higher interests of the Syrian people, committed the public treason when it helped the Turkish greed to occupy the lands, cities and towns of its homeland, and raised the flag of the occupation, killed, raped, displaced and plundered those who are supposed to be its people who  it represented them, and more than that, it accepted for itself to turn the Syrian youth into mercenaries fighting to serve the expansionist Turkish goals in Libya, Azerbaijan and others.

 The Turkish occupation is the most dangerous to Syria's unity and sovereignty

 Regarding which of the occupations is the most dangerous for Syria, the Syrian politician said: "Certainly, the Turkish occupation and the clear and declared Turkish ambitions in the Syrian land constitute the most dangerous threat to Syria's unity and sovereignty, and this is what we have affirmed with the Syria First Party, permanently and continuously through the means of communication or through the local media.  And the Foreign Ministry, what would it benefit us as Syrians if Turkey signed dozens of statements confirming the unity of the Syrian land and issued hundreds of statements declaring its adherence to Syria’s sovereignty, and it carried out daily, even hourly, practices on the ground that contradict these statements and undermine Syria’s unity and violate its sovereignty.

 He added, "Turkish practices of demographic change, appending the Syrian areas it occupies to the Turkish administrative structure, establishing Turkish universities and schools, imposing Turkish identities and the Turkish language, dealing with the Turkish lira and others, confirm its ambitions and intentions to consolidate its occupation and turn it into a permanent state, and that it will not withdraw. I said on the day of the occupation  Afrin and I was on Syrian state television that we will face the problem of a new Iskenderun Brigade."

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Damascus and the "opposition" made Syria face an existential threat for the first time in its history

 The head of the Syria First Party recalled the responsibility of the Damascus government and the so-called Syrian opposition for this, saying: "The existing authority with its repressive practices confronted the people's legitimate demands for freedom and democracy, and excluded all other political forces and worked to fragment and fragment them and denied the pluralism of Syrian society.  respected or observed and fiercely fought against the moderate enlightenment currents, which gave way to extremism in all its forms to confiscate the minds of the Syrian youth, directing them to destructive choices and the opposition that came to the fore with all its national and moral deviations, and its acceptance to be a puppet in the hands of regional countries working to serve their projects and agendas in Syria and others far from the goals  The Syrian people and their interests.

 He added, "These two parties contributed to Syria's arrival to this catastrophic state that it is going through, and made it face for the first time in its history this existential threat related to its present, its future, and even its survival as a united and sovereign state."

 The unity of the components of Syria is enough to end the occupations

 On ways to confront these challenges and risks, the Syrian politician said: "The great dangers threatening Syria require all national forces to give precedence to the language of dialogue and to start from Syrian national accounts away from any narrow factional accounts or interests."

 He added, "The unity of the Syrian people with all its components and forces within a true national partnership is the only way to liberate our occupied lands and formulate our project for a future Syria. Syria is a state of citizenship and law, a state of freedoms and democracy, a pluralistic and prosperous Syria with all its components with equal rights and duties away from any exclusion or marginalization."

 The Syrian politician sent a message to the Syrians, saying: “We are living on the occasion of evacuation. We must remember the history that taught us that bullying the foreigner, especially the occupier, is not the right or useful option, and that under the roof of the nation, and in the language of serious and sincere dialogue between the sons of the country, balanced solutions can be reached for all issues.  No matter how tricky it is."

 At the conclusion of his speech, the head of the Syria First Party, Salman Shabib, said: “I have repeatedly said to the media and repeat it here that the success of the dialogue between the Syrian state, the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian Democratic Forces can lay the foundations for the resurrection of the new Syria, and this is what every honest and patriotic Syrian awaits and aspires to reach.  to him quickly.”

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 ANHA