A medieval fortress overlooks the small predominantly Sunni town of Madiq Castle in Hama, Syria, situated on the Orontes River and along the fertile Al-Ghab plain, under opposition control today. To the south, there lies Suqaylabiya, a predominantly Christian town under regime control. Alawis live in both locations, though mostly in regime-controlled areas. When war came to this part of Hama, clashes between regime and opposition forces ended in a truce that has largely held until today. Amid dramatic offensives in Eastern Ghouta and Afrin, the Russians issued a threat to 13 villages in the area, including Madiq Castle, demanding that residents accept their entry into the region – or else. This threat against civilians demonstrates a heightened level of complicity with the Assad regime in its attacks on noncombatants in Syria, one that should warrant an immediate response from those who wish to protect the most vulnerable in Syria. While the regime’s National Defense Forces and infamous Fourth Division still occasionally shell and snipe the town of Madiq Castle, clashes have only occurred infrequently over the past two years. Social bonds that existed before the war resisted the Syrian regime’s sectarian rhetoric as the sole protectors of minorities. The head of the Majlis al-Shura in Madiq Castle town said, “We are brothers. The people of Suqayalbiya are like our family.” Priests will often intervene to assuage tensions and mediate between disputing parties. “The regime and others play the chord of sectarianism, but that is not how our society works. I am married to an Alawi woman. We have three children together and we were married seven months after the events [protests] began. I have a great relationship with my in-laws. Whatever sectarian people say, that is not how we are,” says the head of the Local Council in the opposition-held town of Madiq Castle.
His wife chimes in, “They don’t discriminate against me at all. On the contrary, they are even nicer and more respectful of me because they know I’m from a different sect. And it’s not just us. There is harmony between the people and everyone treats each other with decency.”
Fruit and vegetable traders pass through the Madiq Castle – Suqaylabiya crossing, as do students and government employees. The crossing increased in importance when the regime, in coordination with the U.N., used it to bring forcibly displaced persons from the south to Idlib province. While trade in the area decreased due to the opening of Morek crossing on the M5 highway to the east, the level of extortion and abuse at checkpoints in regime-held Suqayalbiyeh also decreased in recent months.
Given the relative peace, it came as a surprise to area residents when Russian interlocutors verbally threatened 13 villages in opposition-controlled Hama – including Madiq Castle, Kafr Nabouda, Mount Shahshbo, Bab al-Taqa, and others. The Russians demanded entry into the region and would do so peacefully or by force, depending on the response of the people. They met with the Communications Committee (known as the Reconciliation Committee by the regime), headed by a well-known former mukhtar (the official local leader) of the area to issue the ultimatum on Feb. 24. The end of the week is the deadline for the people of Madiq Castle and surrounding opposition-held areas to respond.
Within days, the news elicited a response from armed rebel groups and civilians alike. Immediately Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Nasr stated that they would not allow Russian or regime forces to enter the area. Shura and Local Councils soon after followed up with statements concurring with the armed factions, adding that they hope to remain under Turkish supervision (as stipulated in the de-escalation zones agreement of May 2017). They remind their audience that many of the hospitals have been destroyed and the injured would not have anywhere to go if there was an incursion. It is unclear to people on the ground whether the United Nations or any third parties are aware of these recent threats or are taking steps to mitigate tensions.
On Feb. 14, the regime and the Russians delivered a similar threat to the remaining opposition-held areas in northern Homs. The deadline came and went with some shelling and clashes but no mobilization of ground forces. It is unclear if this threat will ring equally hollow, but its mere issuance could displace more civilians while the media and international organizations focus on the ongoing, horrifying developments in Eastern Ghouta and Afrin. Terrified of a Russian and regime incursion, civilians have already begun fleeing north, many of them already displaced from other parts of the country. Even if the regime does not invade the area, many civilians expect the deadline to bring shelling and airstrikes. Instilling fear in the civilian population has, after all, been the modus operandi of the regime since protests began in 2011.
The fact that Russia, a signatory to the U.N. Resolution 2401 that calls for a 30-day cease-fire, both assists the Assad regime in its bombardment of Eastern Ghouta and simultaneously issues threats on its behalf to civilians demands an immediate response from the international community before these areas become “hell on earth.” The residents of Madiq Castle and the surrounding towns are a reminder of the strong bonds that still link Syrians together. They are also a reminder of what could be lost.
Natasha Hall is an independent analyst specializing in Syria and refugee and humanitarian crises. This commentary is published by permission from the Atlantic Council and can be accessed at: http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/syriasource/in-syria-the-messenger-shoots-you.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on March 10, 2018, on page 7.
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri Sunday announced 37 Future Movement candidates, including four women, for the May 6 elections at a rally in Downtown Beirut.
“Your votes in the upcoming elections will be the answer to a simple question: Do you want this project to continue?” he asked the audience at the packed BIEL conference hall. “If you give your votes to Future candidates, you will have given your votes to me, Saad Rafik Hariri, and [be giving] the Future Movement the responsibility to continue the movement and the possibility to continue this movement.”
As Hariri has long promised, his electoral list included a number of women and younger candidates as well as political heavyweights like former Prime Minister MP Tammam Salam, Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury and Labor Minister MP Mohammad Kabbara.
Although parties failed to agree to add a women’s quota to the new proportional electoral law agreed to last year, Hariri said his Future Movement would include a number of women in prominent positions. In addition to his aunt, Sidon MP Bahia Hariri who is widely expected to keep her seat, Hariri announced three new female candidates. There are currently only four women in Parliament.
Most notably absent from the Future candidates were former Prime Minister MP Fouad Siniora – who ruled himself out as a candidate – current Telecoms Minister MP Jamal Jarrah and former Interim Interior Minister MP Ahmad Fatfat.
In Beirut II, Hariri announced that former pro-Future independent MP Salam, current Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk and MP Ghazi Youssef would continue as candidates. The son of former MP Walid Eido – who was assassinated in 2007 – Zaher Eido will also stand for the party in the Beirut II district.
“Whoever likes Saad [Hariri], should vote for Future Movement lists wherever they are, in all districts,” the prime minister said as he announced the party candidates in front of Future’s elections slogan, “We are the evil eye charm that protects Lebanon,” which included a picture of the blue talisman common across the region.
There are 10 candidates from Beirut II, 11 from Tripoli-Minyeh-Dinnieh and six from Akkar. Hariri notably did not announce any candidates for either the Beirut I or Baabda electoral districts. The Future Movement will look to grab one, if not both, Sunni seats from Baalbeck-Hermel, which is traditionally dominated by an alliance between Hezbollah and the Amal Movement.
MP Okab Sakr was not announced as a candidate for the Future Movement. The Zahle MP, who occupies a Shiite seat, was seen as a controversial figure during Hariri’s resignation fiasco last November. However, the prime minister said more candidates for Zahle would be announced and Sakr was present at the event Sunday.
BEIRUT: The Kataeb party launched its 131-point 2018 electoral program Sunday with a vow to tackle some of the country’s most heated topics. The “Pulse of Change” electoral program was announced at an event hosted by the party in Nahr al-Kalb. The platform covers issues related to security, foreign policy, economy, society and environment.
The program included controversial proposals, including plans for a civil marriage law and extending the reach of the Lebanese Army into Palestinian refugee camps, which despite the Lebanese government unilaterally annulling the Cairo accord 1987 are still regulated by Palestinian authorities.
“We weren’t scared of choosing controversial topics to tackle in our program. We are not afraid of debate. We won’t back down on Lebanon’s absolute sovereignty and neutrality,” head of the party Sami Gemayel said at the launch.
“The program additionally tackles civil marriage and the right of women to pass their Lebanese citizenship on to their children ... But everything will remain a mere slogan if there are no men who support this project,” Gemayel added.
During the event, head of Kataeb’s Economic Council Jean Tawila presented the economic items on the list, while Rita Boulos from the party’s political bureau explained the environmental files.
Kataeb’s environmental plan aims to impose strict fines on factories that do not make use of filters to reduce their environmental impact, to provide government incentives for sorting waste and recycling and to allocate municipality funds for sorting plants.
The program additionally includes plans to map out Lebanon’s borders with satellites and establish a ministry for expatriates.
After going through the details of the new program, Gemayel called on the public to be critical when casting their electoral vote for the May 6 elections.
“These elections are the uprising of public opinion, holding accountable every politician who considers himself above accountability and doesn’t believe in public opinion.”
In February, Gemayel explained his party’s choice of slogan, promising that Kataeb will be the “pulse of real change in political life.” Launching the campaign, he said that the party had “transformed” after its resignation from the government of Tammam Salam in 2016 and refusal to join the current government, to become a “real opposition.”
BEIRUT: The Sabaa party Sunday announced its 20 candidates running for the May 6 parliamentary elections, promising a fresh alternative to Lebanon’s traditional political parties and to create “a new generation of leaders.” In a televised event, the new party pledged to fully disclose its candidates’ assets in a commitment to transparency and to steer clear of outside influences.
The Sabaa candidates took to the stage, alongside their families, to announce their goals and focuses. In line with the party’s appeal to Lebanon’s younger generation, each candidate spoke about their children and stressed the importance of securing their future in the country.
“I don’t see a future for my kids unless there is change ... Sabaa will work on bringing this change,” Fadwa Fayiz Nassif, one of the party’s candidates for the Orthodox seat in Koura, said.
Nassif, who described herself as an environmental activist, announced the party’s vows. “We pledge to stay far from sectarianism. We won’t accept to be dependent on any foreign state. We will aim to become a civil state, working with full transparency and combating corruption.”
She also promised the full public disclosure of the candidates’ assets, before giving the stage to the party’s “star,” one of Lebanon’s leading media personalities, Paula Yacoubian.
“For decades people have been ... protesting and demanding change, but without results. Sabaa isn’t a movement that simply demands change, it’s a comprehensive transformative movement. It will create a new generation of leaders,” said Yacoubian, who is running for an Armenian Orthodox seat in Beirut.
She addressed campaign banners put up by prominent parties promising change and criticized that so far the parties have failed to fulfill their pre-election promises. “You have plenty of funds [for campaigns], but your failure is evident ... Change isn’t a slogan you can hang on a billboard.”
The Sabaa party came to the front after the “You Stink” protests against the garbage crisis, and was led by young political activists that aimed to combat sectarianism, corruption and nepotism they claimed corrupted the established political parties in the country.
The party gained more exposure after Yacoubian joined, announcing Sabaa as “the first political” party to which she has belonged.
BEIRUT: Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk Sunday reminded public sector employees that it was forbidden for them to campaign for any candidate in the upcoming election, a statement from his media office said. Employees of the government, public institutions, municipalities and municipality unions, including contractors, are barred from campaigning or publicly supporting any candidate by Article 77 of the Electoral Law. The article also prohibits the use of government departments and public institutions and facilities from hosting campaign activities.