‘Bashar out!’: Protests in southern Syria over economy now target president
Al JazeeraAug 26, 2023
Anti-Assad Syrians Protest Against Jihadi Rebels
Image copyright: Chris McGrath/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Protests in rebel-held northwestern Syria against Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which rules the enclave of Idlib and has influence in other areas, continued this week after beginning in late February.
Protesters, who oppose the government of Pres. Bashar al-Assad, have criticized HTS' internal security services, accusing them of mistreating prisoners and running "slaughterhouses."
The Spin
Narrative A
HTS, though often vilified in the West, is a reasonable organization that seeks to rule with legitimacy under serious constraints, such as a large refugee population, regular regime bombing, and foreign interference. Regardless of tragic incidents, HTS is committed to defending the Syrians from the Assad regime and upholding the principles of the Syrian Revolution.
Narrative B
Syrians have demanded one thing since the beginning of their revolution — dignity. The dignity not to be tortured by security officials or called foreign agents for dreaming of a free Syria. Syrians will continue to agitate against all those who seek to control them, whether they be named Jolani or Assad.
Establishment-critical narrative
Since 2011, the internationally-recognized Syrian government has been locked into an existential struggle between the region's resistance and foreign-backed Jihadists. As protesters in northern Syria may now be realizing, Jolani and the rest of the terrorists that destroyed Syria are pawns for US interests in the region.