Two leading French politicians, former President François Hollande and former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, have issued a statement on the future of Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. While expressing optimism for a peaceful future in Syria, they also aired their doubts about the new Syrian government led by Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), and called for support for the Kurdish people in Syria to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS).
While the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government raises legitimate hopes for Syria, there is reason to worry about the future of the Kurds, who have historically opposed the Islamic State, Hollande and Raffarin warn. The fall of the Assad regime has “raised immense hopes” and led to “outbursts of popular joy” as many Syrians see it as an end to the Syrian civil war, which has “claimed more than 500,000 lives”, according to the statement.
“However, the HTS’s leaders’ past is a cause for concern. Ministerial portfolios crucial to Syria’s future are in hands that may only reach out selectively,” the French politicians stressed, adding that they feared for the safety of ethnic and religious minorities under the new Syrian transitional government led by the HTS.
According to Hollande and Raffarin, the Kurds in Syria “are attacked daily by the Turks or their allies [referring to the Syrian National Army] and have every right to fear an offensive on their territory by this powerful partner of the new regime”. They also highlighted the important role of the Kurdish people in the fight against ISIS in Syria, saying that this war has cost the Kurds “more than 12,000 dead and 30,000 wounded”.
“The Kurds are taking on the role of guardians of individuals and families who have served the Islamic State. Their flight would expose us here in Europe,” the statement stressed, referring to the tens of thousands of ISIS members and their families held in prisons and refugee camps in areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The French politicians called on the French government to “show its solidarity with historical allies and prevent future conflicts that are still avoidable for the moment” and also called for concrete measures to be taken, such as increasing the French military presence in northeastern Syria to “deter Turkey from a military incursion” and sending humanitarian aid and other financial and material support to the AANES to assist in its efforts to fight the resurgence of the Islamic State in Syria.
François Hollande was President of the French Republic between 2012 and 2017. Jean-Pierre Raffarin was the French prime minister between 2002 and 2005. He is the founder of Leaders Pour La Paix (Leaders for Peace).
