When we enter the building of the mohafazat, the town hall of Damascus, employees are still cleaning up the broken glass and pieces of plaster. A Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTC) fighter filters entry into the ransacked building. “The coffers have been emptied (by the pro-regime, Editor’s note) and computer hard drives destroyed before our arrival”explains Mostafa Fadlali, one of the right-hand men of the new mohafez (the equivalent of the mayor) of Damascus, appointed by HTC to take over the administration of the city.
«But we are working hard to resume basic services. As of last Tuesday, garbage collection was operational again, water management ensured, state bakeries open. Today, it is gasoline and the supply of electricity that we are improving,” welcomes this man from Idlib, holder of a law degree, who held an identical position within this province in north-west Syria, among the best managed in the country.
An image to take care of
In Damascus, HTC is only repeating the recipe for its success in Idlib: reestablishing the governance of institutions allowed it to be accepted by the population, while it was undergoing a fierce military siege from the regime’s forces. In Aleppo, a city conquered at the beginning of December, Ahmed Al Charaa, head of HTC and new strongman of Syria, reproduced this same pattern: he covers the needs of everyday life, which had no longer been there since the war, and guarantees the security of residents to better rally them to its cause.
This means that the question of settling scores with the former regime executives will have to wait. The team of “people of Idlib”, which is taking over everywhere, has not carried out a large-scale purge or mass executions. Within the administration, she even knowingly preserves the intermediate levels on which Ahmed Al Charaa intends to rely so that the country can restart. “Justice will be done. Committees will be set up to purge the administration of shabihas (the gangs serving Assad, Editor’s note), but, for now, we are retaining the technical teams. Otherwise, the state would collapse and chaos would ensue.”continues the official.
Transition without violence
Even among the security forces, although they were committed to the old power, the witch hunt did not take place. If the old police force has been dismantled and replaced by new recruits straight from Idlib, the return of the former peacekeepers to their post should take place in the coming months. «We must put in place a system for checking their backgrounds. The elements least involved in the abuses of the Syrian regime will be taken back. We are even planning training to “de-Baathify” them “ », explains an officer in reference to the Baath party at the heart of the overthrown power. His role: to supervise the deployment of his subordinates on the Umayyad Square in Damascus, where the jubilation of liberation is expressed.
This desire to quickly put the State back in working order even plays a role in the organization of ministerial portfolios. «The former ministers have been dismissed, but they retain an advisory function to the new appointees, with the exception of the ministries of justice, defense and public transport.», testifies an employee of the Ministry of Culture, responsible for the heritage of the old town.
Three months to “prove yourself”
Generally speaking, this smooth transition satisfies the residents of Damascus. “So far, it’s been a flawless journey”appreciates Mohamed Hourani, mokhtar (civil status officer) of the Malki district in Damascus. “This does not detract from the need to pay attention to the government’s first decisions, regarding respect for minorities, women’s freedom or arbitrary executions. They asked us for three months to “prove themselves”: it seems to me that we can give them that, right? »he adds.
One last time, Mostafa Fadlali pleads his case, ensuring that the “long-awaited political transition”, or the integration of all Syrian components within the government, will come later, when the survival of the Syrian state has been assured.