Mohammed al-Bashir, new prime minister of Syria
The Islamists are taking over Syria, and have already implemented some changes. But can we trust rebels to govern a country? What are they going to do to Syria?
When, on Tuesday, the new Syrian prime minister, Mohammed al-Bashirappointed by the rebels met for the first time with officials of the toppled Assad regime, the background seen on television included the flag of the Syrian revolution next to another with the Islamic declaration of faithoften displayed by jihadists, says .
There are many doubts for international observers. Have the rebels already taken over the country? What are they going to do? What do they defend?
There is already a prime minister, the former agreed to transfer power to the rebels and the future of Syria is in the hands of the Islamists. Mohammed al-Bashir has now announced that he will lead a transitional government until March 1writes to .
Since early 2024, Bashir has been the political head of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), the administration of the opposition zone led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, (HTS) in northwestern Syria.
What they will do is uncertain, but how rebels already rule the small, conservative province of Idlibwhere al-Bashir is from, can provide some clues to understand what type of government the Islamists want to implement.
Experts and residents of Idlib describe its governance as pragmatic and influenced by internal and external pressures, with efforts to distance themselves from a jihadist past and gain international acceptance. However, his government was far from democratic or liberal.
Bashir recently said his officials gained valuable experience while governing Idlib, but acknowledged that may not be enough.
“The rebels started from nothing, Idlib is small and without resourcesbut thank God we managed to do very good things in the past… their experience is not null and there are (areas) in which they were successful”, he said Jolani and Mohammed Jalali, Prime Minister of , in a meeting held on Monday to discuss the transfer of power.
“However, we cannot do without the old guard and we have to take advantage of it“, he finished.
Walid Tamer, resident of Idlib who witnessed the transformation of the province under rebel rule and who said he had personally interacted with Jolani, praised the SSG’s governance in Idlib, and assured that freedom of expression was protected. But he also warned that the rebels they are not prepared to govern the rest of the country.
“They went from governing Idlib to governing an entire nation… I don’t believe that the government capabilities we have seen are sufficient for task of governing all of Syria“, said Tamer, who is also head of the Union of Free Doctors of northern Syria and who describes himself as a liberal.
Idlib it was a “very safe” province under the SSG government, Tamer said, adding that the rebels did not impose restrictions on travel and movement within the HTS-controlled province.
“Syria as a whole was a difficult place to live, but the SSG never interfered in our personal lives. There were products available and no limitations were imposed on clothing or the way life was lived“, he said.
However, it was far from a prosperous place. Abdel Latif Zakooranother Idlib resident who lived under rebel rule but has now moved to Turkey, told CNN that economic conditions under the SSG were “very difficult“. “There wasn’t enough work and many people stayed at home,” he explained.
What has already been done?
It is still early days, but so far the rapid transition to rebel and now government rule has been largely peaceful, with services and daily activity continuing. The rebels issued one promising respect for all minorities. Faced with the possibility of robberies and looting, thewarned against any destruction of public or private property and imposed a curfew at night, says .
Public services were maintained. In the city of Aleppo, one of the first actions was the installation of new telephone towers. The financial system has been secured and airports will reopen soon. Os salarieswhich averaged around 25 dollars (£19.80) per month during the regime, will be increased in line with SSG salaries to around 100 dollars per month.
It was declared atotal amnesty for soldiers army, police and security personnel, as long as they presented documents for official clemency and identification cards. Hundreds of men lined up in the hours following the fall of Aleppo to complete the process.
