Syria writers urge new leaders to respect public freedoms
Syria’s new rulers have called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to hand over their weapons, rejecting demands for any self-rule
Updated 31 January 2025
AFP
DAMASCUS: Dozens of Syrian writers, artists, and academics signed a petition posted online on Friday calling for the respect of public freedoms after the overthrow of Bashar Assad in December.
The publication of the petition came two days after the leader of the militant offensive that toppled Assad, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, was named interim president.
“We call for the restoration of fundamental public freedoms, foremost among them the freedoms of assembly, protest, expression and belief,” the petition said.
“The state must neither impose nor interfere in people’s customs regarding food, drink, clothing, or other aspects of daily life,” it added, alluding to fears that the new authorities might impose religious law.
Al-Sharaa promised on Thursday to hold a “national dialogue conference” to help shape a “constitutional declaration” that will serve as a “legal reference” during the country’s transition.
BACKGROUND
Ahmad Al-Sharaa promised on Thursday to hold a ‘ national dialogue conference’ to help shape a ‘constitutional declaration’ that will serve as a ‘legal reference’ during the country’s transition.
The signatories called for “the election of a constituent assembly under a fair electoral law and adopting a new constitution that guarantees freedom and dignity for all citizens, men and women alike.”
Among the signatories were award-winning filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab and Mustafa Khalifa, author of “The Shell,” an autobiographical account of an activist imprisoned for years.
Since Assad’s overthrow, deadly fighting has continued in northern Syria between militants and forces loyal to a Kurdish-led administration in the northeast.
The petition called for a “just resolution to the Kurdish question” that “must uphold the legitimate cultural, linguistic, and political rights of our Kurdish citizens within a mutually agreed framework of administrative decentralization.”
Syria’s new rulers have called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to hand over their weapons, rejecting demands for any self-rule.
During more than half a century of rule by the Assad family, public displays of dissent were savagely repressed.
After Bashar Assad succeeded his father, Hafez, in June 2000, there was a period of greater openness, but it was short-lived.
Al-Sharaa, in his speech on Thursday, said he would form a small legislative body to fill the parliamentary void until new elections were held after the Syrian parliament was dissolved on Wednesday.
He said he would also, in the coming days, announce the formation of a committee that would prepare to hold a national dialogue conference that would be a platform for Syrians to discuss the future political program of the nation.
That would be followed by a “constitutional declaration,” he said, in an apparent reference to drafting a new Syrian constitution.
Al-Sharaa has previously said that drafting a new constitution and holding elections may take up to four years.
Trump says ‘someone from within’ Iranian regime might be best choice to lead once war ends
Trump had earlier called on Iranians to “take over your government” once the war US-Israel strikes end
He now appears to drift away from the idea of putting an end Iran's theocratic rule
Updated 54 min 21 sec ago
AP
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that “someone from within” the Iranian regime might be the best choice to take power once the US-Israel military campaign is completed — but said “most of the people we had in mind are dead.”
The president, who four days ago had emphatically called on Iranians to “take over your government” once the US-Israel bombardment ends, appeared to drift further away from the idea that the war presents an opportunity to end the theocratic rule that has been in place since the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution.
Trump said that many Iranian officials his administration had viewed as potential new leaders for the country had been killed in the US-Israeli campaign that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and many other top officials.
Trump has not publicly identified anyone whom he views as a credible future leader for Iran. And it’s unclear what, if any, outreach the White House had with Iranian officials since the war started.
“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” he said in an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office. “Now we have another group, they may be dead also, based on reports. So you have a third wave coming. Pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody.”
Trump said Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran’s last shah who is trying to position himself for a return should Iran’s Shiite theocracy fall, is not someone that his administration has considered in depth to take over leadership in Iran.
“It would seem to me that somebody from within maybe would be more appropriate,” Trump said, adding that it may make sense for “somebody that’s there, that’s currently popular, if there is such a person” to emerge from the power vacuum.
People hold images of Reza Pahlavi during a 'Freedom for Iran' rally in Times Square on March 2, 2026 in New York, New York. (Getty Images/AFP)
Trump’s comments came as he hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his first in-person engagement with a foreign leader since the US and Israel launched the war against Iran.
Trump said he wanted to avoid a “worst case” scenario where “somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person.”
“That could happen. We don’t want that to happen,” Trump added. “You go through this, and then in five years you realize you put somebody in who was no better.” The White House is trying to counter criticism
The White House has stepped up its push to counter criticism that it moved unnecessarily quickly to launch a war of choice against Iran.
Trump’s decision to strike last week followed lengthy negotiations by the president’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner with the Iranians — talks the US increasingly viewed as an effort to stall any progress.
After the most recent round of discussions in Geneva, Switzerland, last week, Witkoff and Kushner told Trump that reaching a nuclear agreement similar to one that former President Barack Obama struck in 2015 was possible, according to a senior administration official.
The official, who briefed journalists on condition of anonymity, described it as a potential “Obama-plus deal” and Witkoff and Kushner believed such an agreement would take months, but was possible.
Still, even as they expressed their willingness to pursue diplomacy and “fight for every point that we can” if that’s what Trump wanted, the negotiators stressed to the president that the Iranians were not willing to make a deal that would be satisfactory to the US Trump snaps at the UK, Spain over lack of support
Meanwhile, Trump sharply criticized Britain and Spain for their reluctance to aid the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump fumed about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Starmer had initially blocked American planes from using British bases for the attacks on Iran that started on Saturday. He later agreed to let the United States use bases in England and on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to strike Iran’s ballistic missiles and their storage sites, but not to hit other targets.
Trump also said he was going to “cut off all trade with Spain,” the day after Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said his country would not allow the US to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the United Nations’ charter. Trump disputes that Israel forced his hand
The president also sought to push back on criticism from some of his staunchest allies over the decision to go to war — questions that grew louder after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the US had decided to strike because “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action.”
“And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” Rubio said.
But Trump rejected the notion that the White House had been dragged into the conflict by Israel. “We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack,” Trump said. “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”
Rubio on Tuesday echoed Trump’s insistence that the decision to attack Iran was made independent of Israel.
Merz said during his visit with Trump at the Oval Office that Germany is “looking forward to the day after” the Iran war is over.
He said Berlin wants to work with the US on a strategy for when the current Iranian government no longer exists.
“We are having a high interest in common approach and common work and what we can do,” Merz said. “And this is this is important not just for the Americans,” he said. “This is extremely important for Europe and extremely important for Israel and their security.”
Merz also noted surging oil prices were damaging the world economy, laying down an argument for finding a quick endgame to the conflict.
The president acknowledged that oil and gas prices were going to rise as the US remains engaged in the strikes — yet argued it would be fleeting.
“We have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before,” Trump said.
The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the US jumped 11 cents overnight Tuesday to about $3.11 in the United States, according to the AAA.
