Syria: Another dictator has been overthrown

One of the goals of the Arab revolutions, which began almost 14 years ago, was to rid the countries in the region of dictators. The dictatorial regime in Syria launched one of the harshest and bloodiest attacks against the masses who revolted during the Arab Spring. The main culprit in the popular uprising, which would evolve into a civil war, was the dictator Assad. Responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians, the disappearance of tens of thousands, and the forced internal and external migration of millions of Syrians, was the murderer Assad.

Arrogantly, Assad claimed to have won the civil war. However, recent developments have shown that, like most dictators, Assad was merely flaunting his power atop the sandcastles of a decayed regime. In the face of opposition attacks in Syria, forces loyal to Assad collapsed and disbanded within just 10 days. Rumours are circulating that Assad has fled to Russia or Dubai.

In Syria and across the world, Syrian peoples, are celebrating the overthrow of the Assad family, which has ruled for over 50 years. In places and institutions that, just a week ago, were under Assad's control, people are toppling Assad’s statues. They are freeing prisoners who have been incarcerated in the dungeons of the regime for decades, subjected to death, starvation, torture, deprivation and isolation.

We share the rightful joy of the Syrian peoples and call on the entire left to distance itself from those who mourn the departure of a dictator. 

The step taken by the Syrian peoples is a beginning, opening an important door for the gains of a united workers' struggle from below. As our comrades from the Syrian revolutionary left emphasize: "There is joy because the Assad regime, that authoritarian, bloody dictatorship, no longer exists. But alongside this joy, we also have some fears." To overcome these fears we need unwavering solidarity with the struggle of the oppressed in Syria.

Equality and coexistence of peoples in Syria

Those who belittle the revolutionary struggle and the history of resistance of the peoples of the Middle East view every popular movement as a product of imperialist provocation. They have no faith in the ability of the peoples to determine their own fate through their own struggles.

The Arab peoples, who have overthrown dictators that ruled for decades, have the power and courage to determine their own destiny. To prevent the struggle in Syria from turning into another civil war, it is crucial to establish a political practice guaranteeing the freedom of all opposition forces and peoples. Whether Arabs, Kurds, Yazidis, Armenians, Muslims, Christians, Jews, or atheists will be allowed to freely shape their own destinies will determine not only Syria's fate but also how long the winds of freedom following the dictator's overthrow will blow.

The revolution in Syria was interrupted but never stopped

The mass struggle of the peoples of Syria against the Assad regime has resurfaced at every opportunity. The Syrian uprising was a massive popular movement. Even during the civil war, despite having to retreat, the struggle of the Syrian peoples and the working class, alongside grassroots initiatives from below, continued to manifest themselves in actions against the regime or the oppressive practices in opposition-controlled cities.

The primary dynamic that overthrew Assad was this struggle, independent of the organizations leading the movement. The uprising that began almost 14 years ago has re-emerged in a completely different format and under the dominance of a different leadership.

Imperialists must leave Syria

One reason the Arab uprisings turned into civil wars was the intervention of imperialist blocs, for their own interests, in the Middle East and Arab countries, and in the struggles of the region's working classes and peoples. Both the U.S. and Russia bear primary responsibility for the outbreak of the civil war, which they turned into a proxy war in the region. However, not only the U.S. and Russia, but also countries like Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel must withdraw from Syria. All these countries must end their interventions in Syria, interventions motivated by their own ambitions, interests and military and political rivalries. They must pull their troops out and stop erecting barriers between the peoples of Syria through ethnic and religious divisions. Socialists in all countries must build mass movements pressuring their ruling classes to end their military presence in Syria and their interference in Syria's internal affairs.

Freedom for the Kurdish people in Syria!

Turkey must bring an end to all its military operations, military presence and policies in Syria that create tensions and conflicts between Syrian opposition forces and the Kurdish opposition in Syria. A conflict between Kurds and other peoples in Syria could lead to another civil war and become a severe assault on the Kurdish people's right to exist and live in Syria.

Conditions must be created for the Kurdish people, like all peoples of Syria, to freely determine their own destinies, and Turkey must not intervene in such developments.

Dialogue, solution and peace in the Kurdish issue

The developments in Syria serve as a reminder of the need for all forces in favour of peace to mobilize for a new approach to the Kurdish issue in Turkey. The Turkish state must respect the Kurdish people's process of self-determination in Syria and address the Kurdish issue in Turkey not through policies of repression, isolation or government-appointed trustees but through dialogue, negotiation and resolution. Such a domestic policy could reduce tensions in Syria and contribute to creating democratic conditions for solving the Kurdish issue in Turkey.

We are all migrants, no to racism!

With recent developments, racist calls to migrants saying, "Assad has been overthrown, now go back home," have increased. The response to racists must be clear: migrants should live wherever they choose. Migrants are welcome and are part of Turkey's working class. Syrian migrants did not come to Turkey because they loved the country but to escape hunger, death and civil war. Since arriving, they have lived under the hardest conditions, worked the toughest jobs and held strong in the face of racist attacks. Those who approach migrants with racism under the guise of religious divisions or opposing the AKP are effectively opposing the unification of one part of the working class with another.

We believe that all migrants’ rights should be recognised, that the deportation centres should be managed in a transparent manner and ultimately closed, and that all crimes against migrants should be punished. We stand for fighting alongside migrants against capitalism and racism.

We salute all our comrades who have participated in the revolutionary uprising since the early days of the Arab Spring, all those who lost their lives in the struggle, and all those forced into exile.

Revolutionary Socialist Workers Party (DSİP)       

09.12.2024