Syrian writer warns: Crime wave threatens political transition

Amid the rise in crime and kidnapping cases in Syria and growing concerns over worsening security chaos and its impact on Syrian society, the Syrian writer and politician Abdulaziz Hamdoush evaluated in an interview the underlying causes behind this insecurity, presenting his vision for governing Syria during this critical stage and the steps needed to achieve stability.

The interview text follows:

How do you assess the recent surge in crimes and kidnappings in Syria?

To begin with, the fall of the defunct Syrian regime was not liberation in the precise sense of the word, but the end of an era that lasted for more than five decades—not only the rule of the Assads, father and son, but the entire political apparatus of the Baath Party. Much work was needed to translate the fall of the regime into a comprehensive national liberation.

And if we describe the previous era as one of repression and the dominance of the security apparatus, then liberation should have meant a transition to security and the removal of fear so that every citizen could feel the results of change in daily life. Therefore, the rise in crimes, assassinations, and kidnappings has shattered all hopes tied to the fall of the regime. This is extremely significant and dangerous, as the regime’s collapse came at a very high cost after fourteen years of war, bloodshed, destruction, and displacement.

The series of incidents since the fall of the regime confirm that we are witnessing the exhilaration of one side achieving dominance and reaching Damascus—not a comprehensive national victory. The difference between the two is immense.

What are the reasons behind this security chaos?

In reality, there is a set of overlapping causes. These incidents can be identified as major criminal acts with deep political and national implications. Any crime requires two elements: a material element, which we see through the ongoing and successive incidents, and a moral element, which relates to the explosion of long-standing tensions, sectarian incitement, and the dominance of a unilateral mindset that treats the country as inherited property belonging to one side unwilling to share.

All these dimensions are Syrian in nature, but politically they cannot be separated from external intervention. The fall of the regime was the result of external factors, and the new situation required reshaping Syrian policy and repositioning the country, which meant removing the Iranian and Hezbollah presence. Meanwhile, Turkey seeks to prolong its stay by tightening control over all Syrian files—especially security—and bending them toward its survival strategy.

How can the country be governed amid the spread of extremism?

Extremism, which fuels violence, is a direct obstacle to any administrative model. What is required first is to dry up the ideological sources of extremism through a genuine national effort. The political, cultural, and religious discourse must be reoriented to become Syrian and national, affirming the partnership of all Syrian components not only in reconstruction, but above all as stakeholders in the fall of the regime—transforming it into a national victory without one side monopolizing the outcome.

Any unilateral model of discourse or governance will naturally be confrontational. The starting point must be recognizing that Syria is inherently pluralistic, and any unilateral model would mean the assassination of civil peace.

What are the implications of this mindset on Syrian society and politics?

The Syrian people are wounded, having long been held hostage by an authoritarian political system, and they yearned for broader spaces of freedom. What has happened in recent months has been a major disappointment. In areas that witnessed scenes of mass killing, the shock was extremely harsh. These events will carve deep trenches in the Syrian collective memory that will last for a long time, widening divisions and eroding trust among Syrians.

One cannot separate the concept of homeland from peace; a homeland cannot exist amid fear and constant threats to life.

What Syria needs is an urgent political-reform operation, comprehensive national dialogue, and consensus on the most suitable governance system—a distinctly Syrian national model that learns from the past and looks toward the future without copying others. The appropriate environment must be prepared to cultivate democracy so it can grow into a broad tree that shades all Syrians.

What urgent steps should political forces or institutions take to restore security?

The authorities in Damascus are responsible—before any other party—for controlling the pace of events, setting the model for political discourse, and halting incitement or any rhetoric that targets or insults a Syrian component. This begins with recognizing that what Syria has experienced in recent years was a multi-sided war, not a conflict limited to Syrians themselves. Wars end with peace agreements, not with pursuing the details of the past or becoming absorbed in acts of revenge motivated by sectarian or ethnic backgrounds.

There are several measures that must be taken, including transitional justice procedures to separate the past from the present, and launching an inclusive Syrian national dialogue, bringing everyone together at a national table on which all issues are laid out. This would allow for a re-formulation of the new Syrian state in harmony with the aspirations of Syrians, in a way that eases everyone’s concerns and ensures that all feel they are part of the political transition process. The matter is not simply the transfer of power from one side to another.

At that point, a national constitution would be drafted, incorporating supra-constitutional principles that affirm national belonging and its compatibility with pre-national identities. Today, the conflict is intensifying around sub-identities. Notably, the talk of majority and minority is a form of political illusion: apart from democracy, all political systems embody minority rule—even when that minority originates from a numerical majority—because such systems become authoritarian, and authoritarianism by nature represents a minority. This is something Syrians must understand to overcome this critical transitional phase and reach a national state where citizenship becomes the basic standard in both legal and moral terms.

This process should be led by the authorities in Damascus from their position of responsibility and their formal standing as the existing authority overseeing the transitional phase.

ANHA