The who\u2019s who ( 1 \/ 2 ) ALL4SYRIA- with cooperation with Syria Today \u2013July 2005 The right of the Ba\u2019ath Party to lead the state and country is written into Article 8 of the Syrian constitution. That\u2019s not to say there aren\u2019t other political organisations working. Here Syria Today lists the major players in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-syria"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ado-world.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ado-world.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ado-world.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ado-world.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ado-world.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ado-world.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ado-world.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ado-world.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ado-world.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/SPAN><\/SPAN>The who\u2019s who ( 1 \/ 2 )
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ALL4SYRIA- with cooperation with Syria Today \u2013July 2005
<\/SPAN>The right of the Ba\u2019ath Party to lead the state and country is written into Article 8 of the Syrian constitution. That\u2019s not to say there aren\u2019t other political organisations working. Here Syria Today lists the major players in Syrian politics and interviews the heads of six of the key parties.
The NPF: <\/STRONG><\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>Ten parties make up the National Progressive Front (NPF), formed on March 7,
Name Secretary General
1- Al-Ba\u2019ath Arab Socialist Party Bashar Assad
<\/SPAN>
2- Syrian Communist Party Youssef Faisal <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>Split from the mother party of Khaled Bakdash in 1986 over differences about how democratic the party could be. The party now aims to achieve a democratic communist theory.
Interview with Youssef Faisal <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/STRONG>What are the demands of your party? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>Our demands are to split the Ba\u2019ath Party from the state. This decision was actually taken in the 9th regional conference of 2000 but was not implemented. We also demand to end all the advantages given to Ba\u2019ath members in the social and internal life in the country. It is qualifications, knowledge and level of education that should get people jobs. We also call to delete the decision which connects all current vocational and peoples\u2019 organisations and unions with the Ba\u2019ath. We also demand the lifting of the country\u2019s emergency laws and the release of all political prisoners. On the economic file we demand protection for the public sector. We ask for the market economy to be explained as a concept.
Will the Communists be increasing their demands when they become a legalised party? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>Of course, we will be increasing our demands and every party now will have a political agenda. All parties will increase their participation. Now the Communists have 4 MPs and 1 minister, the Irrigation Minister, and representatives in all unions.
Why is the Syrian Communist Party inside the NPF and thus under the dominance of the Ba\u2019ath Party? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>First, we are not affiliated to the Ba\u2019ath. We are an independent party, we are an equal member in the NPF. The idea of us being affiliated to the Ba\u2019ath by being in the NPF should be cancelled. The Ba\u2019ath Party lays down all the issues to the NPF and we together take the decisions. For example, we discussed the Party\u2019s Law, which the regional conference decided on.
So your role is limited? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>Yes, but they take our opinions into consideration. I\u2019m not satisfied, of course, because we are demanding to split the party from the state.
How many seats would you like to see your party taking in a fully open election?<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
We now have 4 MPs. At the end of a fully democratic election our MP seats would be between 7 and 10, not more than that. In Syrian society we know there are religious themes, so the Communist party cannot get more than this. The Syrian system is a secular system, but the society is not. We have secular groups and also important religious groups. Nowadays, the religious and Islamic parties are more activated.
Why? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>Because pan-Arab parties and Nasserite groups have decreased and Communist parties, after the collapse of
3- Syrian Communist Party Wesal Farht Bekdash <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>Formed in 1924 by Foad Shamal in
4- Arab Socialist Movement Ahmed al-Ahmed <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>Formed in 1947 and unified with the Ba\u2019ath in 1953. Following the split between
Interview with Ahmed al-Ahmed
<\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/STRONG>Are you happy with your share of power? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>Since March 7, 1972 until now we have 4 MPs in parliament and representatives in the unions, and we now run the Construction and Housing Ministry. Even if there were free and fair elections, we would be with the Ba\u2019ath party as a collective. The Ba\u2019ath has the majority among the Syrian people. Among all democratic states the party who has the majority is that which forms the government. So we are very happy with our share. All basic and important decisions are taken by the NPF.
Can you give an example of when a draft bill has been opposed or modified successfully? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>The last example is about the local administration law. We put forward the suggestion for this law. As a result, by 2007 we will have a free list for candidates running in local elections. We hope to improve political life in
How important is introducing an open list? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>It\u2019s to enlarge the democratic margin in
Could these moves towards democracy go so far as tackling Article 8 of constitution? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>The Ba\u2019ath Party now leads the state and country because it is the majority and so, from my point of view, in a democratic way, the Ba\u2019ath should lead the country. Article 8 was written into the constitution after it was voted for by the Syrian people. So when we talk about lifting the article we are working against the people\u2019s will. It\u2019s only a concept for a foreigner that
5- National al-A’had Party Ghassan Abdul Aziz Othman <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>Founded by Abdul Aziz Othman, the party is a branch of the Arab Socialist Movement and was separated in 1994 into two factions. Believes in Arab union and social justice.
6- Arab Socialist Union Safwan Qoudssi <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>In 1964, the merger of 4 existing parties gave birth to the ASU: the Arabic Nationalist Action in
7- Democratic Arab Union Party Ghassan Ahmed Othman <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>DAUP was founded in 1992 by Youssef J’eedani. It seeks to modernize and update the Nasserite pan-Arab policy by making
8- Syrian Socialist National Party (centralist wing) Issam Mahayiri <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
In 1932, Lebanese Antoon Sa’adeh founded the SSNP based on the principles of separating the church from the state, struggling against confessionalism and working for the unity of the Greater Syria that includes Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, and Kuwait. Joined the NPF in 2005.
Interview with Issam Mahayiri <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/STRONG>hy did you take the SSNP into the NPF? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>In the past the party was working in an elite way. Now after joining the NPF we can work among the people and create more popular support for ourselves. Now we have headquarters in all the governorates and we attend all public meetings.
Our party is distinguished from other member of the NPF who call for pan-Arab unity and work on socialist principles. The SSNP calls for the unity of the Greater Syrian nation. This prevented us from joining the NPF before now. So our joining the NPF is an important sign that NPF parties accept other parties.
Is it a realistic political aim to try to unite the \u2018Greater Syria\u2019? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>It is a realistic aim because we have branches in all those states, except
What were the demands of the SSNP to the Ba\u2019ath Congress? <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/FONT>We demanded that the Ba\u2019ath Party be split from the state. The Ba\u2019ath represents authority and power. But the state is for all people. We must review and reform Article 8. We must also squeeze the use of the emergency laws and keep them only for national security purposes.
What are the main achievements of the SSNP\u2019s work in political life in
<\/FONT>For 50 years we were banned as a party. Our main achievement is to remain fixed to our principles, even under great pressure. Our party overcomes all ethnic and religious division because we are founded on a principle of social unity, not ethnic unity. We live in a large society full of ethnic and religious sects, but our party maintains unity rather than divisions. So we welcome the Parties\u2019 Law, and agree that parties should not be formed on ethnic or religious division. We are a secular party open to all Syrians.
9- Democratic Socialist Unitarian Party Fadllah Nasir Adeen <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>Founded in 1974 by Ahmad Al Assad, the DSUP was born from the separation of various Unitarian Socialist parties from the NPF. It rejoined the NPF in 1998.
10- Socialist Unitarian Party Fayz Issm\u2019ael <\/SPAN><\/SPAN>
<\/SPAN>Founded in 1962 and led since then by Faez Issm’ael, the party separated from the Ba\u2019ath party after the latter accepted the end of the union with