A Maoist Perspective on the Syrian Conflict For the last two years there has been an informal debate within the International Communist Movement and the ranks of our party about the nature of the conflict in Syria. This document outlines one position about the nature of the Syria conflict, imperialist aggression in Syria, and the steps future. This document is intended to encourage a full- fledged debate inside the party. This document assumes: 1. The primary contradiction on the international level is between imperialism and the oppressed nations. The primary imperialist power in the world today is the US. Any imperialist military intervention against Syria, whether by the US- France or the UN, will not benefit the Syrian masses; rather, it will worsen their suffering and undermine their struggle for self- determination. Any US intervention would not occur on behalf of the Syrian people and their aspirations for self- determination, but to benefit of US imperialism. The US interests are clear: to weaken or destroy any and all forces in the Middle East that are hostile to its and Israel s economic and political interests. Furthermore, the road to Tehran is through Damascus. The final goal of American imperialism is to create a new Middle East. Syrian self- determination will not come on the back of an American missile. 2. The Assad regime also does not represent the aspirations of the Syrian people for self- determination. Indeed, the Assad regime has acted in an authoritarian anti- people manner and has allowed little to no space for the Syrian masses to express their own political and economic aspirations. This has been worsened by the imposition of neoliberal economic policies to dismantle the already weakened public service systems, the removal of subsidies, and privatization. This has been accompanied by an increased stratification of Syrian society between the Syrian proletariat and peasantry on the one hand, and the Syrian bourgeoisie on the other. Furthermore, all opposition parties that have refused to work within the authoritarian structures of the Assad regime have been harassed and banned. The Assad government wages a war on two fronts: one against the imperialists and their sponsored- allies in Syria, the so- called Free Syrian Army, and the political Islamists; and the second against, the progressive and secular opposition who continue to mobilize against the Assad regime and American imperialism. 3. Finally, it is absolutely necessary to adopt an anti- imperialist position that condemns any military intervention Syria, whether in the form of a new coalition of the willing or under the auspices of the UN. It is the basic task of Canadian communists to oppose any military intervention and call for a defeat of the imperialists because the Canadian imperialist bourgeoisie is deeply active in this imperialist effort. However, one should not simply ignore the local contradictions between the Assad regime and the people of Syria and their struggles for self- determination. Thus, we simultaneously should uphold the right of the Syrian and the Kurdish peoples to self- determine their own destiny, and firmly believe that such self- determination is only possible through a protracted people s war against imperialism and the Assad regime. 1
The Assad Regime The Assad regime has been mischaracterized by some in the Left as a bourgeois nationalist force, committed to anti- imperialism. These comrades that uphold the Syrian regime and are confused about the character of the Syrian revisionist parties, the Syrian Communist Party (Bakdash) and the Syrian Communist Party (Faisal), that help compose the Assad regime through the so- called Progressive Nationalist Front. Both communist parties are modern revisionists who simply differ on Perestroika. Indeed, the Progressive National Front is not a form of United Front as the Progressive Natural Front is not led under the leadership of any communist party, as was outlined by the Comintern, but rather, is explicitly led by the Syrian Ba ath party. This salient point was not lost on forces that broke from the Syrian Communist Party such as the Syrian Communist Party (Political Bureau). Indeed, the Politburo of the Syrian Communist Party made this point in 1968-69 at the 3 rd party congress of the SCP and noted that the party under the General Secretary Khalid Bakdash had incorrectly understood the nature of the Ba ath regime. 1 In 1972 the Politbureau, which disagreed with the Bakdash- led wing of the party and the CPSU regarding a number of issues including the character of the Syrian state, split and formed their own party. The Assad government subsequently banned this party. Furthermore, in the early 1970 s there was a proliferation of new Marxist- Leninist groups. Several merged to form the League of Communist Action in 1976. In 1981 the League transformed itself into the Communist Action Party. However, six months after the party s formation the Assad regime began a campaign of repression. From 1986-1987 alone, 2000 militants were arrested. 2 The Communist Party of Syria (Political Bureau), now known as the Syrian Democratic People s Party after having adopted social democracy, and the Communist Action Party are members of the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCB). The nature of the Syrian State and regime in fact is not radically different from the other Middle East States. They are all semi- colonial countries dominated by imperialism and its puppets. Indeed, the Syrian regime has in the past been a comprador bourgeoisie for Soviet Social Imperialism, American imperialism, and French imperialism. The only difference amongst the Middle Eastern countries is the precise form of government and their international imperialist partner. The socialist nature of the Assad regime does alter the nature of the regime from outright fascism, like Saudi Arabia, to an authoritarian anti- people government. The Assad regime has its origin in the 1963 Ba athist military coup and the subsequent 1970- coup led by Hafez al- Assad, Bashar s father, after the Six Days War. The Assad regime was established after two purges in the Ba ath party. Michel Aflaq and the old Ba athists were purged in 1966. They were replaced in the Ba ath leadership by a Marxist- Leninist neo- Ba athist current, led by Salah Jadid, who was close to the USSR. Jadid s left forces were then purged in the 1970 coup. This Leftist 1 Tareq and Jacqueline Ismael, The Communist Movement in Syria and Lebanon, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1998, p. 161. 2 Tareq and Jacqueline Ismael, The Communist Movement in Syria and Lebanon, Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1998, p. 227. 2
section of the Ba ath would establish the Democratic Socialist Arab Ba ath party, is also a member of the NCB. The Syrian Armed Forces, after the 1970 coup, played a central role in the so- called national construction of Syria. Thus, the armed forces played a fundamental role for sustaining bureaucratic capitalism. Hassan Chatila of the Communist Action Party explained that, The market bourgeoisie enjoyed a period of great prosperity in terms of capital accumulation, thanks to its alliance with the bureaucratic bourgeoisie. In 1975 the Syrian army went into Lebanon. The US and Israel agreed to this intervention so that the Syrian army could put an end to the Lebanese and Palestinian national movements. This enlarged the Syrian market for capital and labour. At the same time, the Gulf petrodollar countries basically happy with Syrian intervention in Lebanon give Assad a great deal of aid. He used much of it to consolidate a welfare state and employ hundreds of thousands of functionaries in useless tasks, and to reinforce the security apparatuses, which also had hundreds of thousands of employees. 3 Indeed, the comprador Hafiz al- Assad government courted both American and Soviet imperialisms at the same time. For example, with the collapse of the social- imperialist USSR in 1991, the Assad regime sought rapprochement with France and the USA. The Assad regime supported the first Gulf War led by the US. Syria converted itself into a politically stable ally in the region. Bashar al- Assad took over power in 2000, ensuring that the comprador bourgeoisie secured its position. Furthermore, Assad began to liberalize the banking system and encouraged Foreign Direct Investment into Syria. As Chatila explains, The Bashar regime s economic reforms began to free the market and encourage the growth of the private sector. This actually made the bureaucratic bourgeoisie that had emerged from the middle classes richer. It also produced a split in the middle class. One part became very rich and the other lost its previous advantages. 4 Unfortunately, in the aftermath of September 11 th, the US started a new imperialist offensive under the guise of the War to Terror. Among its objectives was the drawing of a new map of the Middle East. Simultaneously, Russia and China reorganized themselves into a competing imperialist bloc, the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Operation, which does not at this time fully rival American imperialism. Syria aligned itself with Russia and Iran. With the election of Obama in 2008, Assad tried to have a rapprochement with the US once again, but the Arab Spring sidelined these efforts, and Assad remained within the Russian sphere of influence. The Russians have been the Syrians strongest allies on the international stage and have provided military and political aid. Furthermore, they are regarded to be the only international actor capable of pressuring the Assad regime. The Initial Uprising The initial uprising against the Assad regime must be recognized as a legitimate mobilization of the masses. Chattila characterizes the initial uprising thus: 3 Hassan Chatila, The Revolt in Syria: Its Roots and Prospects, http://links.org.au/node/2322 4 Hassan Chatila, The Revolt in Syria: Its Roots and Prospects, http://links.org.au/node/2322 3
The revolt is not generalised across the country and society. It is more like a series of neighbourhood uprisings than a centralised revolution. The main actors so far have been educated youth and unemployed youth seeking access to modernity. Industrial workers take part as individuals, but many of the people in the streets are what I would call lumpen proletariat, people who are unemployed or without regular jobs, who have to live as best they can. They work a few days here and there, mainly in services for the bourgeoisie, as maids, porters, doormen, etc. They have no social security or other benefits. The other component of this movement comes from the lower middle class, especially young unemployed university graduates. About 20 per cent of young graduates are unemployed...there is a mix of boys and girls together in the street; the participation of women is welcomed... These youth do not put forward social demands; they think that political democracy and liberty can solve all the problems they face in their daily lives. Their main specific goal, in addition to toppling Assad, is to change the constitution. They especially want to get rid of Article 8, which designates the Arab Socialist Baath Party as the leadership of the state, along with an undefined nationalist and progressive front. The latter means the two historic communist parties and the Nasserite (Pan- Arab) and nationalist parties federated with the Baath Party, although they no longer have much influence Somewhere between 25 per cent of the people, according to UN figures, and 50 per cent according to the opposition economist Aref Dalila, live below the poverty line. Even though the Syrian economy is much stronger than that of Tunisia, for example, the middle classes have become a minority. The accumulation of capital in the hands of new sectors of the bourgeoisie with the privatisation of state enterprises and the freeing of the market under Bashar and his father Hafez fractured the middle classes. Part of the middle class has been able to accumulate capital, while others who used to live well enough now find their lives similar to those of the wage- earning classes who make up the majority of the population. A civil service employee or army officer needs to work two or three jobs to satisfy the needs of their family, which is likely to include some unemployed members. For example, they might teach by day and drive a taxi by night Peasants are for the revolt because the rural bourgeoisie and big landlords are allied with the regime economically, although not necessarily politically. The agrarian reform redistributed feudal land to small peasants but they can t get the aid they need, like credit, tractors and purchasing organisations. They are constantly threatened by drought and their dependence on former feudals for credit. They often work for former feudals either as wage workers or as sharecroppers or renters. Proof of peasant sympathy with the revolution is that people in the small cities and the outskirts of larger cities went into the streets long before the big city centres. 5 Despite the involvement of parties like the Communist Action Party, the uprising remained spontaneous and unorganized. This made the repression of the movement especially easy. Assad s heavy- handed repression of the peaceful and spontaneous mass movement in Syria resulted in the Syrian masses either engaging in armed struggle against the Assad regime or become politically marginalized. Left and progressive forces have largely not armed themselves because of their own ideological deviations and organizational weaknesses, and have thus ceded the political- military terrain to other forces and have become increasingly marginalized. 5 Hassan Chatila, The Revolt in Syria: Its Roots and Prospects, http://links.org.au/node/2322 4
The civil war has allowed Assad to continue repressing this secular progressive opposition because the that the world s attention is focused on the military conflict. 6 The Free Syrian Army Some elements of the masses, especially those close to the US imperialist bloc, took the step of arming themselves, and formed the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Subsequently a number of political Islamic armed organizations have also been formed. It must be noted that the FSA and their political wing, the Syrian National Council, are not a coherent political organizations; rather, they are a loose coalition of parties and organizations that are united on the basis of one principle alone, the removal of the Assad regime. Furthermore, the FSA and the SNC, since their inception, have not been shy to approach and receive military and logistical help, from the USA, the UK, France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Thus, it is difficult take their claims to being Free seriously. It is important to note that different elements in the FSA and the SNC are taking resources from different international actors, often several at once, and have their own visions of a future Syria. They are thus are not only fighting against the Assad regime but also amongst themselves for the leadership of a future Syrian state. Thus, the Muslim Brotherhood, for example, which is a member of the SNC has been closely aligned with Qatari interests and is opposed to Saudi interests. Furthermore, another commonality between many of the FSA forces is that they believe that the economic and political issues that caused the initial uprising can be better solved through a market- based economic system. Indeed, they want to liberalize the Syrian economy even quicker than Assad and further integrate into the world market. Their qualitative differences from the Assad regime are that 1) while the Assad regime continues to advocate for a mixed system, the FSA would prefer a fully liberalized economy and 2) the USA wants to change the Russian control over Syria, breaking with the relationship with Hezbollah, surround and isolate Iran and prepare the grounds to attack it. 7 Indeed, the FSA is a pro- imperialist comprador coalition of organizations. Whilst the FSA is indeed a largely domestic organization, it does not enjoy vast support amongst the majority of the Syrian people and is only able to continue its armed struggle because of foreign support, rather than any significant mass support from the masses. The FSA in recent months however, has begun to be overshadowed by political Islamist forces, which include numerous foreign fighters. Indeed, it has become increasingly apparent that the FSA has had to rely on the political Islamist forces for military support. However, we must be cautious to not assume that there is some strategic alliance between these different forces, which in places like Aleppo are attacking one another, but rather are localized tactical alliances. 6 The National Coordination Body for Democratic Change, Statement on the detention of leading members of the NCB, http://syrianncb.org/2013/07/20/statement- on- the- detention- of- leading- members- of- the- ncb/ 7 Partizan, The Arab uprisings and the opposition against Assad in Syria: The correct position in the light of a class analysis!, http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/partizan- analyzes- arab- uprising- and- syrian- opposition- imperialism- and- turkey/ 5
Al- Nusra Front, the Political Islamists and the Political Implications for Imperialism In the last year political Islamist organizations, including Al- Qaeda, funded by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have entered into the military conflict in Syria and because of their considerable resources and hardened fighters have been militarily ascendant. 8 In particular, the most well known amongst these forces is the Al- Nusra Front, which has aligned itself with Al- Qaeda. These elements cannot said to be anti- imperialist, inasmuch that their task is simply to insure an upper hand for their benefactors (like the Muslim Brotherhood in the FSA is supposed to improve the hand of the Qataris), in post- war Syria. The US on the other hand prefers to work with the more secular FSA. Groups like the Al- Nusra Front do not recognize the legitimacy of the SNC and fight for their own political Islamist objectives. The rise of the political Islamist groups has caused concern amongst the imperialists. Indeed, Obama and his wing of the imperialist leadership has come to the conclusion that the collapse of the Assad regime will likely allow for the further penetration and settlement of political Islamist elements. Indeed, the Obama- wing of the imperialist leadership would prefer for the continuation of a Low Intensity Conflict in Syria which would effectively let the Syrian government, the armed opposition, the Syrian people and Hezbollah bleed out, until they are so weakened that they simply buckle to American imperialist hegemony. The comrades from the Revolutionary Front in Defence of the People s Rights (Brazil) correctly point out that, The intervention in Syria, similar to Libya, is inserted in the new model of the asymmetric wars in the concept of Low Intensity War. The USA, confronting a wave of peoples rebellions, could see an opportunity through a complex management of low intensity war and launch more smoke- screen and legitimate it as a mask for defense of democracy and human rights, one more aggression against the peoples, establishing new puppet regimes by justifying the nations domination and occupation. 9 However, another wing, led by John McCain, continue to believe that elements in the FSA closest to them are fully capable of leading a future Syrian regime. Indeed, the Syrian conflict is not simply a proxy war between the Americans and the Russians, who are defending their own interests vis- à- vis their support for the Assad regime, but also within the American imperialist camp. Thus, it is quite apparent that within the US imperialist bloc that includes Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the Saudi and Qatari governments are competing for influence in post- war Syria. Hezbollah Hezbollah s role in the Syrian civil war has been clear. They have intervened into the conflict on behalf of the Assad regime and to defend the Shia population from increasingly sectarian attacks from the political Islamic groups that tend to be Sunni- dominated. Hezbollah s successful struggle against the Israelis from 1982-8 David Sanger, Rebel Arms Flow Is Said to Benefit Jihadists in Syria, www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/world/middleeast/jihadists- receiving- most- arms- sent- to- syrian- rebels.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 9 Revolutionary Front in Defence of the People s Rights, Statement of the Revolutionary Front in Defence of the People s Rights, RFDPR, Brasil, on the present situation in Syria, http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/syrian- peoples- just- rebellion- needs- peoples- war- not- fsa- assad- or- imperialism/ 6
2000 cannot but be celebrated in its decisive blow against imperialism. However, this does not mean to suggest that Hezbollah s actions during the Syrian civil war can be endorsed. Indeed, Hezbollah s actions on behalf of the Assad regime represent the involvement of the Iranian regime, their main economic funder, in the conflict and do not reflect the aspirations for self- determination of all the Syrian people, but rather demonstrates the defence necessary in light of the the religious sectarian divisions that the political Islamist forces like the Al- Nusrah Front seek to ferment in the Syria. Subhi al- Tufayli, former general secretary of Hezbollah who left the organization because of differences with Hezbollah s political strategy, has condemned Hezbollah s involvement on behalf of the Syrian regime and said that, Hezbollah should not be defending the criminal regime that kills its own civilians and that has never fired a shot in defense of the Palestinians. 10 The Kurds Today over 600,000 Kurds live in Kurdish areas formally part of Syria and have been historically a nationally oppressed people inside Syria. Their demands for national autonomy have been unrecognized by the Assad regime. Thus, it is not surprising that the Kurdish people have been ostensibly led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a party closely affiliated with the Öcalan- led PKK in Turkey, since the 1950 s. The PYD has been building schools that teach the national language, hospitals and in June 2012 founded the Supreme Kurdish Council, with 12 other Kurdish organizations. 11 The PYD has an armed wing, the People s Protection Units (YPG), which are deeply popular. The YPG defends Kurdish areas from the armed opposition and the Syrian regime alike. Indeed, the PYD has made tactical alliances in the battlefield with the Syrian regime and the FSA alike to ensure that they remain the only political and military force in the Kurdish areas, and have thus have achieved a form of political autonomy from the Syrian regime. 12 Unfortunately, the PYD, because of the limitations of Öcalan s ideology has not seized upon this opportunity and form an embryonic Kurdistan. However, this is not the time nor place at which we can address the Öcalanist ideology of the PKK and PYD. Regardless we recognize that the Kurdish people, under the PYD leadership, are fighting for their own self- determined goals for political autonomy. However, it is important to note that the PYD does not seek to enter into the main military conflict against the Assad regime as they consider that to be a Syrian matter. The National Coordination Body for Democratic Change In 2012, the Assad regime tried to further deflate support for the armed opposition through a constitutional referendum and elections. A Left front of parties, including the Communist Action Party, the Syrian Democratic People s Party and the 10 Ya Libnan, Hezbollah fighters dying in Syria will go to hell, Tufaili, www.yalibnan.com/2013/02/26/hezbollah- fighters- dying- in- syria- will- go- to- hell- tufaili/ 11 Partizan, The Arab uprisings and the opposition against Assad in Syria: The correct position in the light of a class analysis!, http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/partizan- analyzes- arab- uprising- and- syrian- opposition- imperialism- and- turkey/ 12 Danny Gold, Meet the YPG, the Kurdish militia that wants help from nobody, http://www.vice.com/read/meet- the- ypg 7
Democratic Socialist Arab Ba ath Party, called the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB) boycotted the elections and refused to recognize the elections and constitutional referendum as being legitimate. The NCB serves as a grouping of genuine national bourgeoisie forces, but have been able to mobilize some proletarian and peasant elements towards national bourgeois democratic change. The NCB, whilst a marginal force in the military conflict, remains an important force in Syria inasmuch that they reflect the aspirations of many Syrians and have been active in social movements. 13 They do not want the Assad regime to remain in power, nor do they want the civil war. Therefore, the NCB has called for the commencement of the Geneva Process 2, which would lead to a permanent ceasefire between the armed opposition and the Assad regime. This would then create a process of national dialogue that would eventually lead to a transition to a proper democratic pluralistic state with a delinking of the Ba ath party from the organs of the state. Outcomes There is no good possible outcome for the Syrian situation. Indeed, the immediate demand for the complete self- determination of the Syrian people remains marginal. The secular progressive and Left forces for self- determination continue to be too loosely organized; they lack a comprehensive political and military strategy, and have been unable to successfully organize the majority of Syrian into an organized movement against imperialism and the Assad regime. Thus, a revolutionary outcome in the immediate offing is unlikely to say the least. A FSA victory is similarly unlikely, unless accompanied by a US military intervention, which the US is increasingly not keen to do. Also, any future FSA state would be worse than the existing Assad regime inasmuch that it would further quicken the pace of economic liberalization and political instability. Furthermore, a political Islamist victory would be a disaster for the people of Syria inasmuch that they would simply replace a secular social- fascist authoritarian state with a religiously sectarian fascist authoritarian state. 14 Another possible option is a military victory of the Assad regime over the FSA and the political Islamists. This victory is possible, but would result in the death and displacement of many more thousands of Syrians. Furthermore, we anti- imperialists must remember the reason that we are anti- imperialist: a) we believe that the negative effects of imperialism outweigh the negative effects of the existing regime on the people and b) we believe that anti- imperialism aids oppressed peoples in their goals for self- determination. A victory for Assad would only result in Assad re- strengthening his grasp over power and further reducing the political possibilities for the people of Syria to express their desires for self- determination. Furthermore, a victory to Assad would likely result in the Assad regime trying to regain political authority in the Kurdish regions, which would negate any of the gains made in the 13 Salameh Kaileh, Syrian Opposition Still Weak and Divided, http://english.al- akhbar.com/content/syrian- opposition- still- weak- and- divided 14 Mohammed al- Shazli, Syrian Opposition: Assad s Overthrow Won t End Violence, http://www.al- monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/04/syria- violence- assad- departure.html 8
last 2 years to gain Kurdish autonomy. However, we believe that Assad cannot defeat the imperialists in a military confrontation because he does not have the capacity to do so, because he cannot mobilize the Syrian masses against imperialism in the form of protracted people s war. The only somewhat favorable possible option for the Syrian people is a negotiated settlement between the FSA and the Assad regime. A negotiated settlement would result in Assad occupying a relatively weaker position political position that would in turn give the NCB and other progressive Syrian forces to operate and further push for the demands of the Syrian people. Simultaneously it would be an effective defeat for imperialism. Unfortunately, any truly revolutionary option is currently not available to the people of Syria. Thus, our slogan at this time must be Oppose Imperialist Intervention! Victory to the Syrian People! Self- Determination for the Syrian People: The Need for a Revolutionary Alternative The revolutionary writers of the Partizan newspaper (Turkey) correctly remind us that despite the reactionary nature of the opposition forces, like the FSA, we should not lose sight of the basic crux of the problem in Syria and that is that the Syrian people are and have been struggling for their self- determination. 15 The best examples of this were in the months leading up to the civil war in which tens of thousands were on the streets. We firmly uphold the peoples of Syria s right to self- determination that includes a Syria free of Assad and imperialism alike, but we recognize that no revolutionary alternative is in the immediate future. We also recognize that the majority of the masses neither support the Assad nor support the FSA, and have tired from two years of civil war. The only possibility for the masses of Syria is that a revolutionary leadership and party emerge from the nascent marginal movements for self- determination that already exists in Syria. This party would necessarily need to organize the peasants and the working class of Syria into revolutionary mass organizations and mass movements, and establish a People s Liberation Army that is capable of leading a Protracted People s War. Indeed, the last two years must make it clear to all, progressive or communist, that the capture of State power is impossible without the revolutionary masses, a revolutionary party and an armed organ of the people that is able to ensure that their right to self- determination can be achieved. 15 Partizan, The Arab uprisings and the opposition against Assad in Syria: The correct position in the light of a class analysis!, http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/partizan- analyzes- arab- uprising- and- syrian- opposition- imperialism- and- turkey/ 9