Uppsala resident Abdulbaset’s concerns after the takeover of power • Participated in the unification of the Syrian opposition
Democracy in Syria is a long way off, but perhaps it is still the beginning of a democratization we are now seeing – at least Abdulbaset Sieda hopes so. He co-founded the Syrian National Council, which brought together the political opposition that the dictatorship had so effectively managed to divide.
– HTS cannot rule Syria alone. I understand when you say that those who fought for the land there have the right to decide. But if you have to think about Syria as a whole, you have to ask everyone to participate in the upcoming process, says Abdulbaset Sieda, former leader of the Syrian National Council.
Was interviewed in international media
Abdulbaset Sieda is retired now, and has retired. He came to Uppsala in 1994, as a political refugee after having been active in a Kurdish party in Syria. He had an academic career in Syria and Libya, in Sweden he has worked as a home language teacher in Arabic and Kurdish.
Even in Sweden, Abdulbaset Sieda continued his political involvement from a distance. He co-founded the Syrian National Council – a network of regime-critical Syrians from various ethnic groups and religions – with the aim of overthrowing the regime. This meant that during the Arab Spring he was interviewed by all major international television channels and rubbed shoulders with the world’s leading politicians. And with all of Syria’s actors.
He has not personally met rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, because his faction is relatively new – but he hopes they keep their promises of more inclusive rule.
– He said that he would respect all ethnic groups, rights and regardless of religion or ethnicity. But it is always said that Satan is in the details. You never know what’s coming. But we hope we have learned from our mistakes. When you mix politics and religion, it will be a disaster, says Abdulbaset Sieda.
Got the approval of the major powers
He believes that the record-breaking takeover of power by the Islamist-led rebels would not have been possible without the approval of the major powers, the United States and Russia, as well as regional actors such as Turkey and Israel. What was included in these settlements, the future will show, he believes.
He hopes leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is smart enough to understand that a fundamentalist Sunni state with Sharia law would isolate the rebels, when they need the world the most.
– I think they will lose a lot, they will become like the Taliban in Afghanistan. No one will recognize them or cooperate with them. There will be conflicts inside Syria and with the outside world as well, says Abdulbaset Sieda.