Syrian writer: policies misguidedly entrench tyranny, support hate

Areas controlled by the Syrian transitional government are facing repeated abuses of religious beliefs and freedom, in the wake of a shocking rise in incitement and direct abuse.

Christian neighborhoods of the capital city, Damascus, have recently been subject to regime harassment, such as campaign rides of hostile propaganda through the use of loudspeakers urging Christian citizens to convert to Islam, and indirect threats.

On 22 June, a blast struck the capital, killing more than 25 civilians and wounding several dozens. While the Ministry of Interior moved fast to blame ISIS mercenaries, the Ansar al-Sunna Brigades, which were acting in transitional government-held regions, took responsibility for the attack and threatened more actions in the near future.

bombing in April was aimed at St. George's Church in Bloudan town of the Damascus suburb, an action followed by and preceded by the same type of attacks on churches in various areas. Incitement campaigns on the Druze community intensified on social media with open death threats. Violations were also aimed against Alawites, including their religious and cultural landmarks.

Reuters uncovered a chain of horrific massacres of Alawite civilians in Tartous and Latakia in March 2025. According to the investigation, supplemented with UN reports and local eyewitnesses, approximately 1,500 individuals died in orchestrated attacks by factions affiliated with the transition government, with allegations of sectarian cleansing and government complicity. The massacres stretched across more than 40 sites, from field massacre, massacring women and children, corpse desecration, to the displacement of thousands of civilians, with displaced persons of other sects taking their places, evoking real fears of massive demographic realignment.

The anti-religious belief policies were also applied to national and cultural symbols. The "Martyrs" monument was dismantled on July 2 from Saadallah al-Jabri Square in Aleppo, a scene already reproduced with the Saladin monument in Damascus. Several artworks were also destroyed, confirming the hegemony of an intolerant discourse that doesn't tolerate Syrian diversity.

Accountability and Transitional Justice Are a Must

Al-Sarhan stressed that "the new Syrian government must create security and stability and provide basic freedoms, starting with freedom of thought. Serious accountability for all who have committed war crimes against civilians must be guaranteed and a genuine path to transitional justice must be underway, refusing war criminals or recycled symbols of overthrown Assad regime."

He also added that there is a failure to criminalize sectarianism and hate speech, both politically and in the media, which must be addressed urgently.

Call for an Inclusive National Dialogue

As a conclusion to his address, Al-Sarhan called for a withdrawal of the ill-conceived steps lately taken, such as the "Victory Conference," which he described as "determining a new tyranny in the takeover of all powers by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa."

He emphasized the necessity of canceling the temporary constitutional declaration and declaring a genuine Syrian-Syrian national dialogue qualitatively different from the February conference in Damascus for all the national forces, most importantly the Syrian Democratic Council and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

He also called for the implementation of the March agreement. The previous one between the head of the transitional government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the commander-in-chief of Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, and the implementation of its terms to consolidate civil and military organizations, thus placing the country on the path towards stability and national reconciliation.

ANHA