Nour sent me this regarding my post yesterday about this Syrian "legal" opposition party:
"In response to your post about the death of Ismail Haidar, I wanted to clarify some things.
1. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party headed by Dr. Ali Haidar is not a "splinter faction," but is rather the SSNP itself in accordance with the constitution of the Party. I realize you are not well-versed in party constitutional or organizational fundamentals, or in the history of the party, nor am I here to lecture you on these matters. However, to a neutral observer, the group headed by Dr. Ali Haidar is one of the institutions which claims to represent the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, and is not merely a "splinter faction" of another group.
2. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party is not a "legal opposition" as there is still no such thing as a "legal" opposition in Syria. The SSNP is still in fact not licensed in Syria because the license in that name was previously given to the other institution carrying the same name due to their willingness to join the National Progressive Front, which the opposition SSNP refused to join rejecting it outright and realizing that this front was a mere cover for the regime allowing it to feign toleration of any real political life in the country. However, the SSNP has been recently given some space to speak publicly and present its views due to a realization by some elements in the regime that it is better to have a strong patriotic opposition which completely and utterly rejects any form of foreign interference in the country and is totally opposed to the militarization of the opposition than to treat all oppositions in the same manner, thereby strengthening the extreme Islamist opposition and foreign sponsored oppositions such as the SNC. This realization of course came as a result of the courage and sacrifice of many Syrians on the ground. However, there continues to exist a more extreme faction within the regime, which still is inaccepting of any opposition to the regime in any way, and which continues to use repressive tactics against any and all those opposed to it. For this reason SSNP members continue to be harrassed, arrested and detained by certain security elements, including a member of the Higher Council of the SSNP who was arrested and detained last month.
3. The SSNP indeed does not call for the overthrow of the regime, as it rejects this slogan in the way it is used today. This does not mean that the SSNP believes this regime should remain. However, the toppling of the regime on the street and its sudden collapse is bound to create a vacuum, leading to a power struggle that can only result in chaos and civil war. For this reason, the SSNP has maintained that this security regime (nizam amni) needs to be disassembled in a calm, deliberate, and studied manner, and turned into a civil, secular, democratic system. While the party realizes that others do not believe that such a scenario is possible given the very nature of the regime, those holding such opinions are not providing us with any solutions or outcomes other than civil war. The SSNP believes that the regime has already been weakened, and that the Syrian people can use the pressure they have successfully applied on the regime to force a peaceful change and a transition from one situation to a better one. However, this needs all sectors of Syrian society to come to an understanding that there needs to be a process of national reconciliation and national dialogue allowing Syrians to determine themselves the future of their country, rather than allow it to become prey to foreign agendas and internal hatreds. "
"In response to your post about the death of Ismail Haidar, I wanted to clarify some things.
1. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party headed by Dr. Ali Haidar is not a "splinter faction," but is rather the SSNP itself in accordance with the constitution of the Party. I realize you are not well-versed in party constitutional or organizational fundamentals, or in the history of the party, nor am I here to lecture you on these matters. However, to a neutral observer, the group headed by Dr. Ali Haidar is one of the institutions which claims to represent the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, and is not merely a "splinter faction" of another group.
2. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party is not a "legal opposition" as there is still no such thing as a "legal" opposition in Syria. The SSNP is still in fact not licensed in Syria because the license in that name was previously given to the other institution carrying the same name due to their willingness to join the National Progressive Front, which the opposition SSNP refused to join rejecting it outright and realizing that this front was a mere cover for the regime allowing it to feign toleration of any real political life in the country. However, the SSNP has been recently given some space to speak publicly and present its views due to a realization by some elements in the regime that it is better to have a strong patriotic opposition which completely and utterly rejects any form of foreign interference in the country and is totally opposed to the militarization of the opposition than to treat all oppositions in the same manner, thereby strengthening the extreme Islamist opposition and foreign sponsored oppositions such as the SNC. This realization of course came as a result of the courage and sacrifice of many Syrians on the ground. However, there continues to exist a more extreme faction within the regime, which still is inaccepting of any opposition to the regime in any way, and which continues to use repressive tactics against any and all those opposed to it. For this reason SSNP members continue to be harrassed, arrested and detained by certain security elements, including a member of the Higher Council of the SSNP who was arrested and detained last month.
3. The SSNP indeed does not call for the overthrow of the regime, as it rejects this slogan in the way it is used today. This does not mean that the SSNP believes this regime should remain. However, the toppling of the regime on the street and its sudden collapse is bound to create a vacuum, leading to a power struggle that can only result in chaos and civil war. For this reason, the SSNP has maintained that this security regime (nizam amni) needs to be disassembled in a calm, deliberate, and studied manner, and turned into a civil, secular, democratic system. While the party realizes that others do not believe that such a scenario is possible given the very nature of the regime, those holding such opinions are not providing us with any solutions or outcomes other than civil war. The SSNP believes that the regime has already been weakened, and that the Syrian people can use the pressure they have successfully applied on the regime to force a peaceful change and a transition from one situation to a better one. However, this needs all sectors of Syrian society to come to an understanding that there needs to be a process of national reconciliation and national dialogue allowing Syrians to determine themselves the future of their country, rather than allow it to become prey to foreign agendas and internal hatreds. "
