To mark the end of 2024, I present an interview with Basim Abu Fakhr, who belongs to the Rijal al-Karama (“Men of Dignity”) movement that is primarily based in the predominantly Druze province of al-Suwayda’ in southern Syria. Rijal al-Karama emerged as the most prominent ‘third-way’ Druze movement in al-Suwayda’ during the war, and maintained neutrality until the very end when it joined with other factions in the province in dismantling the remnants of the regime’s military and security apparatuses. In this interview, we touched on Rijal al-Karama’s role in the events that brought the final collapse of the Assad regime, the group’s current responsibilities in the post-Assad environment, and how Basim views the current trajectory in Syria. It should be noted that the opinions expressed are those of Basim alone.
Q: What is the role of Rijal al-Karama in preserving security in al-Suwayda’? Did the movement participate in the ‘Joint Operations Room’ from the beginning? Is this room connected with the factions of Deraa?
A: Firstly, a very warm welcome to you, brother Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Arab media professional.
Our role is establishing security and peace through protecting the state’s institutions and likewise public property via putting in place protection points and implementing patrols and catching criminals and restoring rights to their people.
Of course, since the Rijal al-Karama movement is the largest and most widespread in Jabal al-Arab [Mountain of the Arabs- al-Suwayda’] and has combat units in the two Ghoutas of Damascus [i.e. east and west Ghouta], the operations room included a number of the leaders from the Rijal al-Karama movement, and since the plain and mountain of Hawran are one geographic area, it is natural that there was coordination with the brothers in the Hawran plain [i.e. Deraa] even if at the lowest level. As for our role now, it is establishing security and peace through protecting the state’s institutions and likewise public property via putting in place protection points and implementing patrols and catching criminals and restoring rights to their people. In addition, the Rijal al-Karama movement has a military engineering squadron that is removing remnants of war like mines, grenades and explosive ammunition.
Q: In al-Sham [Damascus] there is talk about merging all of Syria’s factions into a new Syrian army, which would mean dissolving the factions and handing over weapons to the new government. Are you for this step? If you are for or against it right now, why?
A: After the bygone regime was brought down, it has become natural to dissolve the factions for their mission has ended with the fall of the regime, and they must move in their work to a new model that concords with their armed work, which is the state model. So it is natural that these factions should constitute apparatuses for the army, police and security. We have no objection to this if we feel that there is a national state, but until now the situation is not reassuring and we have no intention to dissolve the movement or hand over our weapons, because the reasons that required us to have this movement and weapons are still valid.
Q: You see a lot of talk about tensions between Sunnis and Alawites on the Syrian coast. How do you interpret these events? For example some attribute these events to ‘Iranian interference’. What is your opinion on this reading?
It is the Assadist group that must be pursued, not the Alawi sect, for the Alawites were oppressed by the bygone regime, and what they went through is what the rest of the Syrian people went through.
A: Since most of the criminal leaders in the bygone regime’s apparatus are from the coastal region, it is natural we should see operations to catch and arrest these people, and it is what all Syrians want, but the authorities affiliated with the new administration that is pursuing them must have the mindset of the state, not the mindset of the faction, for trial and punishment should take place in courts and prisons and not on the streets. And it is the Assadist group that must be pursued, not the Alawi sect, for the Alawites were oppressed by the bygone regime, and what they went through is what the rest of the Syrian people went through. What we want is for there to be a war between the state apparatuses and the criminals, not between Sunnis and Alawites. As for the Iranian regime, one should not be surprised that it should stir up anxieties inside Syria so long as it is capable of doing so.
Q: Likewise we have seen the appointment of some ‘muhajirin’ from the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia as officers in the new Syrian army. What is your opinion on this step?
A: If this step is for real, of course it is a negative step and obstacle to the hoped-for national state.
Q: In general do you trust Ahmad al-Sharaa [Abu Muhammad al-Jowlani] and his leadership?
A: Trust is granted after deeds that the man does, and not words. We are still in the beginning and it is too early to speak about granting trust or not.
Q: What is the type of state you want to see in Syria? For example a secular and democratic state? What’s your position on federalism?
A: Leaving aside names or mechanisms and whether it is a secular, civil or democratic state, what we want is a national state that protects the rights of all and grants them peace and security, and realises their economic ambitions, with all included in its administration: one united state with its capital being Damascus. Also, each area has its own particular situation, so we have no objection to a decentralised administrative system.
Published originally under the title “The Situation in al-Suwayda’ and the New Syria: A Rijal al-Karama Perspective.”
