The Syrians are tired of war and pose no threat to the outside world, the HTS leader believes Ahmed al-Sharaa in an interview with BBC. Shaara, named by the BBC as Syria’s de facto leader, wants the outside world to reconsider its economic sanctions against the country and for the terrorist classification of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to be lifted.
Ahmed al-Shaara, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, led the blitzkrieg that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime less than two weeks ago. Shaara is the leader of the Islamist group HTS, the dominant group in the rebel alliance and named by BBC as the de facto leader of Syria.
In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, Shaara said that Syria is exhausted by war and poses no threat to the outside world. Also, that the sanctions against the country should be lifted.
– Now, after everything that has happened, the sanctions must be lifted because they were aimed at the old regime. The victims and the oppressor should not be treated the same, he told the BBC.
Wants to lift terror classification
The UN, the US, the EU and the UK, among others, have classified HTS as a terrorist organization since 2016, when the group branched off from al-Qaeda. Shaara wants HTS to no longer be on the terrorist list, and believes that HTS was never a terrorist group because it did not attack civilians, but rather a victim of the Assad regime, like everyone else.
He opposed the claim that he would like to turn Syria into a new Afghanistan, saying that the countries have very different traditions. Among other things, he wants women to have the right to education.
– We have had universities in Idlib for more than eight years, he says, referring to parts of northwestern Syria that have been held by rebels since 2011.
– I think the proportion of women at the universities is more than 60 percent, he added.
“Experts” must make decisions about alcohol
The BBC reports that Shaara was relaxed during the interview, dressed in civilian clothes and with constant assurances that the group had broken with its extremist past. But when asked whether the consumption of alcohol will be allowed, he could not give a straight answer.
– There are many things I simply do not have the right to talk about because they are legal matters, he said.
According to Shaara, a committee of legal experts will be appointed to write a constitution that will be equal for all, and that the issue will end up on their table.
– Any ruler or president must follow the law.