A just Syria is best for all its segments

Anyone in Beirut observing the developments unfolding in Syria will be gripped by fear. It is very dangerous to try to turn back the hands of time. The collapse of Bashar Assad's regime was a major shock that surprised his allies and opponents alike. Inside Syria, some refuse to believe that the time of the regime is over. Outside Syria, some refuse to recognize that Syria has chosen its fate and are instead insisting on pursuing a path that will lead it back to bloodshed.
Syria’s fate does not concern it alone. This is a lesson that was learned in the second decade of the 21st century. When instability erupts in Syria, it is difficult to keep it confined to the country’s borders. Infighting between Syrians fuels tensions in neighboring countries and creates waves of displaced people.
If an anxious Syria is a problem, then a fearsome Syria is a tragedy for its people and surroundings. Blowing up the situation in Syria is no less dangerous than the ouster of Saddam Hussein. The region may not be able to contain the fallout from such a development.
The most dangerous thing that can happen to a country is for those in power to exploit the fears of its various segments the way the Assad regime did. Under the regime, might held sway over justice and equality. The constitution was manipulated to suit anyone in the ruling regime. Parliament convened only to applaud the ruler. People were left to suffer in regime prisons and at the hands of cruel, mafia-like practices.
My profession has taught me to be fearful of major developments from which there can be no turning back. I grow concerned when the man who previously held all the threads, fates and destinies is no longer in power. I grow concerned when an army that had long held the ground and turned the country into a prison is no more. I grow concerned when the leaders of security agencies leave behind them piles of corpses and a series of mass graves.
I grow fearful of the ire of the people when they react to barbaric acts that can be traced to simmering hatred. I grow fearful when people fall victim to parties that have sold them delusions and who eventually refuse to acknowledge defeat, so they embark on adventures that threaten their safety and perhaps their own existence.
I am afraid of foreign players who have been awaiting these opportunities to pounce on the new Syrian Arab Republic. Israel is acting as though Syria is an open arena, not an independent nation. It speaks about the security of the Druze and has hinted about the Kurds. These statements may be concealing an Israeli desire to blow up and divide Syria, or at least push it to live on the edge of wars between its various segments.
Others are dreaming of reclaiming whatever influence they lost in Syria through any means necessary. Interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s decision to form an independent investigation committee to look into the developments along the coast helps thwart the goals of the parties that were seeking to exploit the situation to make it seem that this was a war between different segments.
Concerned questions have been posed by the Druze, Kurds and Alawites in recent weeks. The truth is that the only answer to these questions is that there can be no other solution in Syria besides the establishment of a Syrian state that accepts everyone. Blowing up the situation in Syria will be a tragedy for itself and its neighbors. Drowning Syria in a war of segments will alarm Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkiye and other regional countries.
Key to Syria’s stability is the establishment of a state that fits all its segments and that is built on justice and equality under the rule of law. Any return to the past must be limited to learning from it and guaranteeing that the same mistakes will not be made again.

If an anxious Syria is a problem, then a fearsome Syria is a tragedy for its people and surroundings.

Ghassan Charbel

In the wake of Assad’s ouster, the new Syria managed to avert a major collapse that could have resulted in endless bloodshed. President Al-Sharaa acted realistically and focused on returning Syria to its Arab family and paving the way for its existence under a new constitution and the rule of law. He sought to give the impression that Syria’s main concern was restoring stability, beginning reconstruction and building a normal country away from a model that goes against its foundations and unity. He gave the impression that the new Syria does not want to export its model or infiltrate the maps of its neighbors.
The recent bloodshed gave the impression that the conflict in Syria never stopped on the inside or in the region. Any foreign attempt to turn back the hands of time will lead to an escalation in the war of roles inside Syria and around it.
Syria has always been an anxious country. For 60 years, it never managed to reclaim the Golan Heights occupied by Israel. It never managed to become a normal state on the inside. It was unnerved by Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and its role in the NATO alliance. It was fearful of Iraq under Saddam, Jordan’s moderation and the international umbrella that protects it and Lebanon, which had escaped Syrian hegemony.
The anxious Baathist Syria turned into a country that sparked alarm in others when it began to collect cards that it could use to manipulate the security and stability of its neighbors. It became an even greater source of alarm when it transformed into an arena for Iran and its militias.
The solution lies in Syria returning to Syria: a return to a normal state that safeguards unity and that guarantees the respect of differences through coexistence and under the rule of law. Only a normal state can close the chapter of the anxious and alarming Syria. A just Syria is the best home for its segments.

• Ghassan Charbel is editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. X: @GhasanCharbel This article first appeared in Asharq Al-Awsat.