الخبز والحرية والسلم الأهلي

Bread, Freedom, and Civil Peace

This month witnessed a wave of workers’ protests in several Syrian cities, organized by independent trade unions. These protests demanded jobs, bread, and a dignified life, while condemning the mass arbitrary dismissals that have swept the country following the fall of the Assad regime.

These workers’ protests mark a significant and much-needed resurgence of the independent labor movement in Syria, rising from the ashes of the previous bureaucratic labor organizations that were nothing more than a hopeless appendage of the former regime. They also signal a broader increase in popular protests against the rapid deterioration of living standards, particularly among the working-class majority of the population.

In addition to the dire conditions Syrians endured under the previous regime, the new authorities have arbitrarily dismissed nearly 400,000 workers and employees from state institutions and the public sector. Moreover, their neoliberal economic and social policies have driven inflation to unprecedented levels, causing skyrocketing prices and deepening poverty for millions of Syrians.

This worsening socio-economic crisis is accompanied by ongoing security instability in many regions of Syria, particularly in the countryside of Homs and the coastal areas. These regions suffer from random and terrorizing retaliatory policies, which are often dismissed as “isolated incidents.” Compounding the crisis is the rise in discriminatory and repressive practices, including the escalation of hate speech against Kurds and religious or sexual minorities, as well as authoritarian measures to control professional unions by appointing new leadership loyal to the new authorities.

For instance, a peaceful demonstration in Tartus was met with a pro-government rally that attacked the protesters. These incidents, among others, are critical indicators of the fragile state of the country and the growing gap between the rhetoric of the new authorities and their socio-economic policies, which often contradict their stated goals on the ground.

On the political front, the new authorities have shifted their approach to their call for a national conference. After postponing it, they transformed it into a “National Dialogue Conference” and announced a preparatory committee composed of figures close to the regime. However, any national conference that fails to include genuine representation of all political and social forces in the country will be incomplete and ineffective in facilitating a sound transition. A more telling indicator of the new authorities’ true intentions will be the formation of the transitional government, expected to be announced next month.

This government must be inclusive and representative, not monopolized by a single faction.

We continue to believe that the tasks of the transitional government, in addition to ensuring security and civil peace, must include improving the living conditions of Syrians through fair social policies, restructuring the military and security apparatus to serve the Syrian people, and creating the conditions for free and fair elections to establish a constituent assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution. This should be followed by free and fair legislative elections based on proportional representation and presidential elections.

During this transitional period, the space for public and individual freedoms, won through the immense sacrifices of the Syrian people, must be protected and expanded.

It falls upon national, democratic, and leftist forces in this critical phase to mobilize their efforts to achieve the following tasks: securing peace and ending armed conflicts, reunifying the country through a negotiated political process that supports the establishment of a democratic system representing all Syrians, implementing policies of social justice, protecting freedoms, defending national interests by expelling foreign occupiers and militias, and reclaiming occupied territories. To this end, we need to build united fronts that include all willing parties, forces, associations, and trade unions committed to working collectively on these tasks.

In this phase, Syrians, buoyed by the joy of liberation from the criminal former regime, must find hope in building a better future for themselves—a future they construct with their own hands, in full freedom.

All Power and Wealth to the People
The Revolutionary Left Current in Syria
February 2025