Version imprimableThis process has unceasingly repeated its refusal of religious sectarianism and its determination to overthrow the regime in order to build a society that is democratic, social and without discrimination. The slogan "the Syrian people is one and united" remains present.
The countries which call themselves “friends of Syria” are manoeuvring. Some of them want to impose a solution from above (as happened in Yemen) maintaining the structure of the regime, supported by the allies of the regime, Iran and Russia. Others, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, want to transform the revolution into a sectarian war, out of fear that an extension of it would threaten their power and their interests. They are financing extremist Islamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra, which have a sectarian and reactionary ideology, and often try to reduce the role of the people’s committees, sometimes by violence. The position of the United States reflects this situation: refusal to provide weapons to the groups linked to the Free Syrian Army, while agreeing that arms should be sent by the Gulf states to the extremist Islamist groups that are not linked to the Free Syrian Army.
A dynamic of self-organization
These threats are designed to prevent a radical change, self-organized by the revolutionary people. This people has developed the experience of the people’s committees at the level of villages, neighbourhoods, cities and regions. They are the backbone of the movement and of the resistance, ranging from the organization of demonstrations, humanitarian assistance and looking after refugees to the education of children and adolescents. In the liberated areas, they are in charge of services to the population. In coordination with the armed resistance, they are at the base of the popular resistance.
The people refuse outside maneouvres that would maintain the structure of the regime: large demonstrations and numerous declarations reject the proposal of dialogue with the regime by the president of the Syrian National Coalition, Moaz Khatib. During the demonstrations on February 8, placards proclaimed "we will only negotiate about the departure of the regime”. The people also refuses to submit to any form of authoritarianism imposed by groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra in some liberated areas.
The fact that their revolution lacks any real international support does not demoralize the Syrians, who continue their struggle against terrible repression. But solidarity with a people that is fighting for its emancipation remains an urgent necessity. Unitary initiatives are being taken in France and around the world from 15 March, for the beginning of the third year of the insurgency. The NPA is taking part in them, as well as in campaigns of humanitarian aid [1] and in defence of the right of asylum for Syrians.
For the right of asylum for Syrians!
Since the beginning of the year, the web sites of the French consulates in Lebanon, Turkey and Kuwait indicate that “starting from January 15 Syrian nationals travelling to a country outside the Schengen area via French airports will have to be equipped with an airport transit visa "(ATV).
This obligation objectively impedes the possibility for Syrians to escape persecution in their country, authorizes France to return to their country of departure Syrians who do not have this visa and restricts the possibility of some of them to file an asylum application on the occasion of their transit by a French airport.
The community code on visas provides for the adoption of such a measure "in the case of an emergency due to a massive influx of clandestine migrants”. Since Syrians trying to flee their country could not be assimilated to clandestine migrants, this decision is an infringement of the exercise of the right of asylum and also exposes these Syrians to danger in the event of deportation to a third country which would in its turn send them back to Syria.
The National Association for Assisting Foreigners at Borders (ANAFE) and the Group for Information and Support for Immigrant Workers (GISTI) referred the matter to the Council of State. The judge rejected their request, considering that the French authorities had been capable of judging that the requirement of urgency to establish the ATV had been met “in order to avoid a massive influx of clandestine migrants “... The procedure will continue, the two associations having filed on 23 February a recourse for excess of power and a request for an interim suspension.
These articles were first published in Tout est à nous !, weekly paper of the NPA in France, No.186, 14 March 2013.
