Syria is one of the most complicated nations in the world. Last year in December the rebel movement led by now interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa saw the toppling of long-time leader Bashir Al Assad in the culmination of the country’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising turned civil war. Al- Sharaa as transitional head of state announced a new interim government which included members of religious and ethnic minorities and early veterans of the 2011 uprising against Bashir Al-Assad. Al-Sharaa publicly named the formation of a cabinet of 23 ministers on Saturday, composing a government intended to rule for five years before a constitution is created and elections are held.
“We are witnessing the birth of a new phase in our national process, and the formation of a new government today is a declaration of our common will to build a new state,” Sharaa said in a speech during the ceremony announcing the government. “We will seek to rehabilitate industry, protect national products and create an encouraging environment for investment in all sectors. We will also strive to reform the monetary situation, strengthen the Syrian currency and prevent manipulation.”Bottom of Form On Sunday, the Kurdish-led administration in north-eastern Syria rejected the newly formed government in Damascus, saying it failed to be inclusive of the country’s minorities. In a statement, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said they did “not consider ourselves bound by the implementation or enforcement of decisions made by this government.
Sharaa and his government have a herculean task ahead of them. Syria’s infrastructure is in disarray and a significant amount in ruins. It could take decades to rebuild, not with standing the corruption in many of the country’s sprawling public sector industries most of which Sharaa wants to privatise with the exception of vital power and domestic services. Protecting the country’s manufacturing and other forms of trade would require extensive support to rebuild from neighbouring countries particularly Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Türkiye. Syria’s north-east Kurdish minority is again going to be a source of problems. They may not be willing to cooperate with the new government in Damascus. They as a group may wish to secede but this could stir up trouble for the wider region. A solution would be to grant the Kurdish led administration of the north-east some autonomy.
But if the Kurds want to rebuild their lives they need to cooperate with the new government in Damascus.
Sharaa has also signed into enforcement a new temporary constitution that will remain in place for five years till new elections are held.
Abdulhamid Al-Awak, a constitutional law expert and one of the seven members of the committee al-Sharaa tasked to draft the temporary constitution, told a news conference on Thursday that the document holds over some provisions from the previous constitution, including the stipulation that the head of state has to be a Muslim and the primacy of Islamic law. But Al-Awak also said that the temporary constitution includes provisions that enshrine freedom of expression and the media, and will “balance between social security and freedom” while setting up an “absolute and rigid separation” between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. The text of the temporary constitution sets up a People’s Committee which will serve as an interim parliament until a permanent constitution is adopted and elections held. Two-thirds of its members will be appointed by a committee selected by the interim president and one-third by al-Sharaa himself.
The temporary constitution sounds like it can work fine in the current situation just fine. Right now, there needs to be a focus on cooperation between the Syrian transitional government and its neighbours. This is regards to receiving economic and humanitarian aid from the countries mentioned before. Jordan being strategically place between Syria and Saudi Arabia can act as a conduit for aid as well as an arbiter for security and stability in that part of the region. The People’s Committee will more or less act as a check on the interim President’s powers and will be enabled to have oversight of the parliamentary and possible presidential elections to occur in five years.
Syria is at on a journey that will prove hazardous to its future. There are going to be a lot of bumps on the road. This is from militant attacks to clashes among the country’s minorities be they Sunni, Shi’ite, Alawite, Arab and Kurdish. Only the passage of time will tell how Syria overcomes this.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
