The convocation takes place at 8 p.m. (6 p.m. on the Spanish peninsula), but a multitude of Syrians celebrate from first thing in the morning in the squares, streets and roads the first anniversary of the overthrow of dictator Bashar el Asad, who led Russia just a year ago to escape the surprise offensive launched by the rebels only 11 days earlier from the last rebel stronghold, the province of Idlib, in the northwest. The atmosphere is one of enthusiasm in the main cities, with children and adults waving flags in the streets and buses, painting their colors in the street, throwing firecrackers and artificial fires or sounding horns.
The celebration began in a way the day before, when a crowd gathered to celebrate the joint passage of the Syrian and Palestinian football teams to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Arab Cup, by draw in their party. Players and fans chanted the same mottos (“¡Uno, uno, uno, el pueblo sirio es uno!” or “¡Alza tu cabeza, eres un sirio libre!”) that held new celebrations this month.
The Plaza de los Omeyas in Damascus, scene of the main convocation, is full from first thing in the afternoon. They also went to help thousands of people in the squares of cities like Aleppo, Deraa, Hama and Homs, who have been organizing major celebrations on the day of their liberation for several weeks. A year ago, regular soldiers and their allies (Russia, Hezbollah and Iran) agreed to surrender or flee before the rebels advance. The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al Shama, to which the current president belongs, led this lightning offensive from Idlib. Enough to bear this moon on its flag, white and with the Muslim oath, with the national.
The authorities were not informed of the incidents, against a backdrop of impressive security measures, with lines of soldiers several kilometers long lined up at entrances and a proliferation of checkpoints on the roads. The fear is that those nostalgic for the regime will decide to take advantage of the symbolism of the closure to commit an attack with particular repercussions.
For several days now, the government has been encouraging ― through the massive sending of SMS messages to cell phones and advertising cards ― to celebrate these milestones, to “complete history” which began with the fall of the dictator. One of them is warned against the custom of firing into the air as a celebration, so as not to end up being “a victim of the liberation”. The Syrian Postal Company has issued five stamps and a commemorative postcard which will be sold on Mars.
The Plaza de los Omeyas was invaded by paratroopers during one of the military exhibitions organized by the Ministry of Defense in different regions of the country to accompany this anniversary. President Ahmed al Shara arrived in the capital after praying in the Mezquita de los Omeyas (dressed in the military uniform of one who fought in the war). He promised to “rebuild a strong Syria, according to its present and its past, from north to south and from east to west”.
To the northwest are the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish militia-led alliance that controls 25% of the territory and has banned concentrations. Last month, he issued a conciliatory message of congratulations to all Syrians on the fall of El Asad, but he insisted on the need to put an end to the “language of incitement to hatred” against the Kurds who continue to use it today in power. “This tense and arrogant discourse is not acceptable and cannot be the basis for building a new homeland; moreover, it is a direct continuation of the mentality of the regime that has fallen and will not return,” he said.
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