Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
from the News Desk at The Cradle, September 16, 2023
A Republican member of the US Congress has spoken with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijiri regarding the recent anti-government protests in Syria’s southern Suwayda governorate, Asharq Al-Awsat reported on 16 September.
The Saudi-owned paper reported that Syrian opposition member Maher Sharaf al-Din wrote on his social media accounts that Republican congressional representative French Hill spoke with Sheikh Hijri for more than half an hour, during which he inquired about “the truth about what is happening in Suwayda” and about the security conditions in the governorate.
On 13 September, protesters attempted to raid the Baath party offices in Suwayda. Security guards opened fire to protect the building, lightly injuring three protesters.
The injuries were the first reported since protests began in August in response to the government cutting fuel subsidies amid the further collapse in the value of the Syrian pound due to US sanctions.
Sharaf al-Din, who is from Suwayda, said that Hill expressed his pride in communicating with the spiritual leader of the Druze religious minority, hoping to build a strong relationship with him.
On 28 August, representative Hill visited areas of northwest Syria under the control of Turkish-backed armed groups.
Hill and two other Republican colleagues entered northwest Syria via the Bab al-Salama border crossing under Turkish military escort. Their agenda featured visits to humanitarian facilities operated by the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based advocacy group that has received significant donations from Hill’s constituents in Arkansas.
Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri has been criticized by Syrian government supporters after he made statements accusing Iran of “occupying” Syria and calling for “jihad” against Iranian forces.
In response, a representative in the People’s Assembly, Khaled Abboud, sent an open letter to Sheikh Hijri warning against the consequences of protesters carrying weapons against the state and stressing the “constitutional and legal sanctity” of the branch of the Arab Socialist Baath Party in Suwayda.
Abboud also commented on his Facebook page that if the report is accurate about the contact between the US lawmaker and the Druze sheikh, it indicates “the identity of this movement,” “who supports this movement,” and “the essence of the goals of this movement.” He added that such contacts “put us in confrontation with this movement.”
Pro-Israeli voices are calling for the establishment of a “Free Druze Province” in the Druze-majority Suwayda region, located between the Israel-occupied Golan Heights and the US military base at Al-Tanf on the Syria-Iraq-Jordan border.
Druze supporters of the Syrian government have warned of “foreign agendas,” including Israel’s long-standing desire to divide Syria into ethnic and religious mini-states incapable of posing a threat to it.
A group known as the Men of Dignity has played a prominent role in the recent protests. The group was led by Waheed al-Balous, who was assassinated in a bombing in 2015 amid accusations he was collaborating with Israel and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.
Another group known as the Syrian Brigade Party has also played a role in recent protests. The group has received support from the US forces occupying the Al-Tanf military base. The group’s militia has also received training from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to create an autonomous zone in Suwayda for the Druze, similar to the Kurdish autonomous zone in northeast Syria.
