Syria’s leadership under pressure before Europe’s donor meeting

Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani expected at annual pledging conference for Syria in Brussels

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani in Amman, Jordan, on March 9. Reuters

Syria's new leadership will face renewed scrutiny from the international community at a key donor conference in Brussels next week as it struggles to contain inter-communal violence in the country's west.

The European Commission has invited Foreign Affairs Minister Asaad Al Shibani to the conference on Monday and hopes to discuss the recent killings of more than 1,300 people, mostly civilians, in the worst violence since the overthrow of the Assad regime in December.

"This will be a very important occasion to continue exchanging with the authorities on the situation on the ground and also understand how the EU can support best," spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said.

Describing the killings as "horrendous", Ms Hipper said that the EU Commission noted the Syrian government had reacted quickly. "We demand that perpetrators be brought to justice," she said.

This will be the first time the European Commission has invited Syrian authorities to its annual conference in support of the country. The event started in 2017. The EU had cut off diplomatic ties with Damascus after the start of a civil war in 2011.

Activists have told The National that it is important that the EU continues to support Syria and its justice system after more than 50 years of iron-fisted rule under the Assad regime.

Clear strategy

The bloc needs a clear strategy that supports the Syrian-led transition, said Hussein Baoumi, foreign policy advocacy officer at Amnesty International's European institutions office in Brussels.

"Any such process should ensure that transitional justice and accountability are key components of the transition," Mr Baoumi said. "This is absolutely key in order to avoid the horrible events that we have seen in the past days. It's vital that any approach towards reconstruction and humanitarian assistance [at the conference] adopt a human rights approach."

The EU was at first wary to engage with Syria due to its new leaders' past links with Al Qaeda, but it has since sent foreign delegations to Damascus and established plans to reopen embassies. On February 20, the EU lifted some sanctions on Syria to allow investments in its energy and transport sector. Damascus has indicated that it would respect key EU demands regarding including the respect of ethnic and religious minorities.

But there has been opposition to the warming relations, notably from EU ally Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar recently said in Brussels that he had convinced the bloc to slow down its sanctions lifting process, saying "radical Islamic organisations" operated in Syria.

"Unfortunately, these killings may give encourage those that were hesitant to reach out to Syria," said French lawyer Romain Ruiz, who has defended Syrians in France and has recently returned from a visit to Syria. "The authors of those killings not only perpetrated criminal acts towards their victims but they have also jeopardised the future of Syria."

Security forces with Syria's new government inspect police vehicles in the town of Jableh, in the coastal province of Latakia, on March 10. AFP

The UN has also called for justice. "The bloodshed in Syria must stop immediately and perpetrators of violations must be held to account," a representative of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday. "The concerns of Syria’s communities must be addressed in a meaningful manner."

The representative "took note" of the announcement by the government of an independent investigative committee that would look into the killings. The Syrian presidency on Sunday said that the perpetrators would be referred to court.

The violence in the coastal heartland of the Alawite community, to which ousted president Bashar Al Assad belongs, has threatened to throw into chaos the country's fragile transition after decades of the Assad clan's dictatorial rule.

Clashes broke out in the area on Thursday after gunmen loyal to Mr Al Assad attacked Syria's new security forces. Reports indicate that extremist groups, including foreign fighters, then conducted revenge killings against civilians.

Syria's interim President Ahmad Al Shara told Reuters on Monday that mass killings of Alawites were a threat to his mission to unite the country, and promised to punish those responsible, including his own allies if necessary.

'Very nervous' minorities

For now, Syrian authorities have said they have subdued the Latakia and Tartus provinces. Defence Ministry spokesman Hassan Abdul Ghani said that authorities on Monday ended a "military operation" against security threats and "regime remnants" in those areas.

Pressure is growing on Mr Al Shara’s interim government to “promote stability” and “govern in the interest of all Syrians” after the violence, the UK’s Middle East Minister, Hamish Falconer, told parliament.

“We've been clear anyone seeking a role in governing Syria should demonstrate a commitment to the protection of human rights,” Mr Falconer told MPs.

He referred to the Alawites, Druze, Kurds and Christians across Syria who were “feeling very, very nervous at the moment”.

“We call on the interim administration to do all that they can to reassure communities through actions, not words, that they are welcome in the new Syria and we are seeking urgent clarification on the confusing events at the coast,” Mr Falconer said.

The shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel, asked if the violence of recent days would “change the government's assessment of the merits of lifting sanctions”, some of which were rescinded last week.

The UK on Friday lifted sanctions against dozens of entities, in a step welcomed by Damascus. The Brussels donor conference is typically attended by a wide range of foreign government representatives, including from non-EU countries such as the UK.

Mr Falconer told Ms Patel that “we must judge HTS on their actions, not their words”, but that there had been “some very welcome commitments” from the group, including in helping to dispose of chemical weapons. He also hinted that Britain might increase its humanitarian funding to Syria at Monday's pledging conference,

“This is a critical, fragile moment for Syria,” Mr Falconer said. “The UK remains committed to the people of Syria and will continue to stand with them.”

He said the British government had received “assurances” from Israel that its presence in southern Syria “will be temporary, and we expect them to stick to that”.

Shortly after the rebel takeover of Syria, Israel bombed Syria's military sites and entered a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights. Last month, Israel conducted air strikes in southern Syria and called for demilitarising the area.