The Syrian-American “Global Justice” organization, a “non-profit humanitarian organization active in several countries”, launched a joint initiative with the “Arab Democratic Alliance”, a Syrian opposition movement, aimed at developing areas under the control of the Syrian opposition factions in the north of the country.
The initiative, which was announced at the beginning of this month, was called “No Man’s Land”, and aims to “improve the lives of Syrians and alleviate their suffering” in the north, and “abolish armed manifestations from cities and towns and keep them confined to their barracks and military units, to prevent any clashes or internal fighting.” Allow civilians in these areas to live in dignity, and encourage investment in areas exempted from US sanctions (Caesar’s Law).The areas that the Americans exempted from the sanctions they imposed under Caesar’s Law are: Manbij, Ain al-Arab (under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces), Jarabulus, Azaz and al-Bab, which are under the control of the Syrian opposition factions.
The initiative called on all military forces to “consent that these areas will be the sacred land of Syria, in which the money, honor and blood of any Syrian are forbidden, except by the authority of a just judiciary, and that the responsibility for security within them rests with the civil police, which is under the supervision of the Minister of Interior in Syrian Interim Government.
The initiators of the initiative called on all the opposition military factions to sign the initiative “so that it would be a pact of honor among them,” according to what was stated in the initiative that was handed over to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the Syria TV website.
This initiative was also handed over to many figures who lead opposition parties active in northern Syria, most notably: the head of the Syrian coalition, Salem al-Maslat, the head of the interim government, Abdul Rahman Mustafa, the head of the negotiating committee, Badr Jamous, and the mufti of the Syrian Arab Republic, Osama al-Rifai.
A member of the Executive Board of the “Arab Democratic Alliance”, Yahya al-Aridi, said in an interview with “The New Arab”, that “the goal of the initiative is security, economic, and later political,” adding: “When the residents of northern Syria are safe, and the factions do not interfere in their affairs and lives, the This is an incentive for investment.
Al-Aridi believes that there is a possibility of implementing this initiative and its success, “in the event that the US decision that was issued recently is exploited, and exempted five areas in northern Syria from the consequences of Caesar’s sanctions, so that investment is made in these areas, which leads to their development.” He continued, “We hope that the initiative will be implemented and succeed in northern Syria, to be extended later and include the whole country. If everyone is ready for that, this initiative will succeed.”
The areas that fall under the control of the Syrian opposition factions affiliated with the “National Army” have long suffered from insecurity and fighting between these factions, which leads to the killing of civilians and soldiers, which makes northern Syria in a state of security instability, impeding any attempts to invest in it and create job opportunities. to the population. The data indicate that this initiative will not find much interest among the actors in northern Syria, due to the complexities of the situation there, the spread of factionalism, and the absence of a strong military authority that can impose different facts.
During the past years, many local initiatives have emerged to put an end to the internal fighting that erupts from time to time, but they have not succeeded in this, in light of the struggle for influence in northern Syria between dozens of factions of different orientations and goals. These factions control large areas, west and east of the Euphrates, of Syrian territory, but groups of them practice violations against the local population, the displaced and the displaced, which causes a permanent state of resentment against these groups.
Rasheed Hourani, a researcher at the Syrian Foundation for Public Opinion Studies and Research, said in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the initiative will not succeed, as did its predecessors, “due to regional and international loyalties, and the lack of specialized institutions to implement what was stated in the initiative.” He continued, “The institutions that are supposed to implement the initiative in its current form, which depend on achieving development in the areas that Washington has excluded from the sanctions, seek to achieve interests that are measured by relying on all methods of corruption and lack of transparency, not to mention the absence of security and stability in the areas of the initiative. This is one of the most important investment factors.
