Syria’s new prime minister designed after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, Mohammad al-Bashir, has assured that the rights of all religious groups will be protected under the new Syria that has emerged after the victory of the opposition over the regime, while urging the millions of Syrian refugees living outside the country – mainly in Turkey – to return and help in the reconstruction of Syria.
In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Al-Bashir again insisted that the country’s religious minorities have nothing to fear from Syria’s new rulers: ‘Precisely because we are Muslims, we will guarantee the rights of all people and religious groups in Syria,’ said the engineer and politician, appointed two days ago as the country’s prime minister and who had previously headed the National Salvation Government that governed Syria’s rebel-held province of Idlib.
Asked whether Syria’s new constitution will be Islamic in nature, al-Bashir said that ‘we will clarify all these details during the constituent process’. Al-Bashir himself – after negotiations with former Assad-appointed prime minister Muhammad Ghazi al-Khalali – is now tasked with leading the transitional government until his term ends on 1 March.
The focus is on holding free and fair elections and drafting a new constitution, which should decide whether the country opts for a parliamentary, presidential or mixed system. In principle, the Syrian opposition has set itself a deadline of six months to draft a new constitution to be ratified in a referendum, and 18 months to hold elections.
Call for the return of Syrian refugees
In the interview with the Italian daily, Al-Bashir also appealed to all Syrians who fled the country to return to Syria: ‘Mine is an appeal to all Syrians abroad: Syria is now a free country that has regained its pride and dignity. Come back,’ he said. ‘We must rebuild, reborn, and we need everyone’s help,’ he insisted, adding that “we have no problem with any country, party or religion, as long as it does not support the bloody Assad regime”.
Al-Jolani: ‘There will not be another civil war in Syria’.
In another interview also given yesterday to the British broadcaster Sky News by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) – the main insurgent group that has led the offensive that toppled Assad – he assured that Syria is ‘exhausted’ after 13 years of a civil war that has devastated the country leaving more than half a million dead and has turned half of its population into refugees, 6 million of whom fled to other countries.
‘Syria will be rebuilt… The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It is moving towards stability. People are tired of war, the country is not ready to face another war, and there is not going to be another war,’ said al-Jolani, whose organisation the US is now reportedly considering removing from the list of terrorist organisations.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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