A grassroots mobilization in Syria

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As the armed conflict heats up in Syria, there are indications that orga­ nizing of the rebellion is proceeding at the rank-and-file level.

The Revolutionary Left, for instance, cites the continued role of workers and peasants in the revolt, as well as stu­ dents: “Today, not a week goes by with­ out the voices and songs of the students of the University of Damascus being heard at the presidential palace, close to a hundred meters, while almost daily demonstrations take place at the uni­ versities of Deraa and Deir al-Zur. Alep­ po University has suspended its course for fear of an uprising even more impor­ tant for young people, while the bullets are more numerous than the books at the University of Homs.

“The bulk of the protesters of the Syri­ an revolutionary movement actually in­ clude the economically disenfranchised rural and urban working and middle classes who have suffered from the ac­ celerated imposition of neoliberal poli­ cies by Bashar Al Assad since his arrival to power.”

The RL said the grassroots opposition is united around demands for the over­ throw of Assad and his close associates, “a transition government, the establish­ ment of all civil liberties, the end of the repression, the liberation of political prisoners and the return of opponents in exile.”

The group noted that the regime that has enriched a handful of families with its neoliberal economic policies is the same one, whether under Assad fils or pere, that has over the decades worked with imperialism to repress Palestinian and Lebanese liberation fighters, and has aided the U.S. in its war against Iraq and its “war on terror.”

The RL also warned of “the dangers of an external intervention on the revolu­ tion, while arguing for a radical opposi­ tion. We thus refuse any military role or action in the future, on Syrian territory, by NATO or other reactionary forces from the Arab States or other Middle Eastern ones.”

They also called for building “an orga­ nized revolutionary left in Syria,” noting that the absence of such a force “has been among the causes in the confusion inside the leadership of the current sixmonths-long revolutionary movement. On one hand, this is the outcome of the historical participation of the tradi­ tional communist movement in the ex­ isting regime and its brutal repression. Another reason is the crushing by the regime of the revolutionary left and to a large extent all other political forces since 1980s.”

They emphasized: “Despite the suc­ cess of the Syrian masses to continue the struggle against this oppressive re­ gime, the latter will nevertheless not be toppled overnight. The battle of the masses to achieve their demands men­ tioned above will need time. This is why the revolutionary work is not limited to Syria, but also includes other Arab countries, and may include later all the ... Syria battles (continued from page 12: “Battles rage in Syrian cities as risk grows of U.S. intervention”)

because ‘we would have never been able to pass the Syrian army checkpoint because of where we are from.’

“And there is resentment here. Not just against the Syr­ ian authorities but the urban elite. ‘All they care about is making sure nothing happens to their fancy cars and apart­ ments,’ Abu Mohammed’s wife told us, referring to the peo­ ple of Damascus.

Khodr quoted Stephen Starr, a journalist who stayed in Damascus, explaining that the districts in revolt since the start of uprising “are working-class neighborhoods,” citing economic reasons for the origins of the revolt.

In the August issue of Harpers, Anand Gopal described how these class dynamics played out in the political and social restructuring of the town of Taftanaz once its work­ ers threw out the regime’s forces.

Describing the origins of the town’s popularly elected councils, he reports that once the regime left, “courts stopped working, trash piled high on the streets, and the police stayed home,” so “to fill the vacuum, citizens came together to elect councils—farmers formed their own, as Arab countries in order to build a revo­ lutionary left capable of mobilizing the masses for freedom, dignity and social justice on the basis of a progressive and radical program that can stand out amid programs of other political and social forces.”

Answering allegations of “Islamist” domination of the revolution, they put down the adoption by some armed groups of names from Islamic history to their being composed of very religious, impulse. Still, there have been reports by progressive activists of sectarian statements and actions. But this is not surprising given the social and political atomization imposed by the regime for decades, and the sectari­ anism it has encouraged since the revolt broke out. (See various articles by the RL at http://syriafreedomforever.wordpress. com/.)

Evidence of the potential in the Revo­ lutionary Left’s call for regional orga­ nizing and solidarity was provided in an article by Amro Ali, “Egypt’s stake in the Syrian revolution” (The Egypt Monocle, June 24). Ali described a variety of soli­ darity activities organized on behalf of the revolt by Egyptian revolutionaries, and noted historic examples of pan-Ar­ ab sentiment and struggles.

The same potential was testified to by Suzanne Adely at a New York forum on Syria organized in July by the Coali­ tion to Defend the Egyptian Revolution.

Adely described a meeting being held in Cairo for a leading Syrian oppositionist.

She said that the meeting was inter­ rupted by news of the attack by Egyp­ tian security forces on a protest, and meeting participants rushed off to help defend protesters. However, Adely not­ ed, participants made clear that they did not see this as having put aside the Syrian issue to deal with their “own” is­ sues, but rather as a natural shift from one front to another in a shared, region­ al fight for liberation. n did merchants, laborers, teachers, students, health-care workers, judges, engineers, and the unemployed.”

Council members made sure that the town’s richest citi­ zens bore the brunt of the expense of rebuilding the town in the wake of Assad forces’ destruction. Said one: “This is a revolution of the poor! The rich will have to accept that.” Said another: “We have to take from the rich in our village and give to the poor.”

Gopal also described elections by the town council to nationwide bodies representing all the councils. And he included several choice quotes from Tantaraz residents, most of whom have faced Assad’s bullets in battle, criticiz­ ing SNC and FSA top leaders as lazy fakers representing no one but themselves.

The precious gains of the revolution in Tantaraz show the potential for a reconstructed Syria if its workers, peasants, women, and youth can gain power. But for that to happen, the country’s exploited will need to deepen the reach and program of their mass organizations, and to forge a revolu­ tionary party to advance that process. One obstacle in the way of doing so are the traitorous “leaders” of the SNC and similar groups welcoming imperialist intervention.

And the main obstacle is intervention itself, making clear once again the responsibility of antiwar activists in the U.S. to demand that Washington keep its hands off Syria. n