The end came pretty fast – after 14 years of civil war, the Syrian rebels of HTS and their allies deposed the hated dictator Assad after a lightning campaign. For five decades, the Assad family ruled Syria with the iron fist of dictatorship. Torture, random executions, a brutal secret service. Millions fled, and nearly half of Syrians had to find refuge elsewhere. Ahmed el-Scharra is the face of the victory. A former al-Kaida terrorist turned celebrated liberator. Can he unify a country that has been a pawn of the region’s power players like Turkey, Iran, or even Russia, for decades? We are asking: After Assad’s downfall: can Syria be reborn?
Our guests:
Kristin Helberg, a journalist and expert on Syria and the Middle East
Maissun Melhem, my DW colleague, journalist from Syria
Ali Fathollah-Nejad, a German-Iranian political scientist, and Director of the Center for Middle East and Global Order
Chapters:
00:00 The fall of the Assad regime: a historic night and a moment of euphoria in Syria
03:00 Nobody saw this coming, the Assad regime dissolved itself
04:00 A consequence of geopolitical circumstances
05:15 Iran’s weakness is one reason for Assad’s decline
06:20 A great chance to rebuild Syria
07:30 VIDEO: Which kind of state does HTS want?
08:45 Al Sharaa built up a government in Idlib, broke with Al-Kaida in the past
09:40 Al Sharaa sent moderate signals to almost everybody in Syria, good PR
10:10 Al Sharaa could be a real politician in the future, he is able to transform the country
11:10 He appears to be a moderate, he invites the West
11:50 Iran is the big looser
12:20 HTS still is an Islamic movement
12:50 Al Sharaa must keep radicals inside HTS under control
13:30 Women are worried about the future
14:10 HTS will have to cooperate with other influential groups
14:30 The West has to support democracy, and an inclusive government
15:10 Germany will be influential, a lot of Syrians live here
16:00 A huge need for more international money
16:50 Justice will be very important; the leadership must be held responsible
17:30 Syria needs a ‘Marshal-Plan’
19:30 The West didn’t foresee the development, lessons are to be learned
21:10 Turkey has a negative role in the whole transition process
22:20 Iran is shocked and confused, it’s a huge defeat for Iran
23:50 Israel will probably not withdraw from annexed territory in Syria
24:50 Syria is on the right track
25:10 There is justified hope that developments in Syria will be peaceful
#Syria #HTS #ToThePoint
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