MESOP INSIGHT : ‘Street agitators’ reflect on course of Syrian revolution / By Tareq al-Abed
March 15, 2014 – AL MONITOR – In the early days of the popular protests in Syria, many so-called tansikiyyas, or “coordinating committees,” were formed. They were the cornerstone for gathering crowds for street demonstrations, for delivering the public’s voice to the media and for “supporting relief operations.”The tansikiyyas appeared at the beginning of the demonstrations. They worked on inviting people to protest, on “securing the [protest] areas” and on videotaping then broadcasting the demos through the media. Tansikiyya activists used to appear on TV under pseudonyms and with their faces hidden. They also had a big role in giving titles to the individual protests, in writing banners and in promoting those banners during the protests.
Later, “revolutionary gatherings” formed, such as the Local Coordination Committees, the Tansikiyyas Union, the General Revolutionary Committee, the Leadership Council and dozens of other entities, some of which remain and some which faded with the entry of political money and the buying of loyalties, or because their members broke up or because they didn’t have clear goals.
A [former] member of Homs’ tansikiyya Salim Qabbani said, “After three years, the revolution has a major split in the ranks, especially among activists and the military. Some consider what’s happening in Syria to be a state of war, while others still see it as a revolution despite deviating from its path, which we had set in the early days by calling for freedom and dignity. … Perhaps this split is due to the emergence of formations that claim to be Islamic and that claim to be fighting under the [Islamic] banner. In addition, there is the dramatic entry of political money, especially for the military formations, which now control the revolution. So the latter turned into a ‘bank’ that everyone is trying to steal. All those things have caused a dramatic drop in support for the revolution.”
The Syrian activist, who was once arrested by Syrian security forces, added, “We used to think that the regime is stupid and doesn’t known how to deal with the revolution. But, despite its stupidity, it turned out to be much smarter than us. [The regime] planted in the ranks of the opposition battalions that fight for its interest. It managed to tarnish the image of the armed opposition not only thanks to those battalions but also because of the actions of some leaders of the armed opposition battalions fighting the regime.”
The 20-year-old activist recalled the work of the tansikiyyas by saying, “The tansikiyyas used to be the voice of the revolution and the media of the revolution. And they were the heart of the revolution in the first year and up to half of the second year. [The tansikiyyas] used to broadcast demonstrations, build field hospitals and tried to do relief work. … But after this period their role declined because most [activists] are now working in the tansikiyyas not out of love for the country or out of love for the revolution, but out of love of money: if you pay me, I will work; and if you don’t pay me, I won’t work. … Some activists have become like mercenaries who only work for money because they think that the National Coalition is being paid millions [of dollars] and it’s giving them just thousands [of dollars]. That [situation] was also caused by the revolution’s military aspect, which hires activists to work in media offices in return for money.”
Qabbani said that “at a later stage, we left Homs’ tansikiyya in favor of Local Coordination Committees for several reasons, the most important being that the political decision is controlled by certain individuals and the fact that Homs’ tansikiyya received no relief or logistical aid, and it got marginalized. For example, the members of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces were nominated for their posts without our knowledge. … The revolutionary formations had differences among their leaders. … The coordinating committees were known for their secular trend while the National Coalition was closer to the [Muslim] Brotherhood line. The Tansikiyya Union shifted from one political current to another.”
Abu Yasser al-Shami, the code name for an activist in the tansikiyya for Maydan in Damascus, said that the work of the tansikiyyas in the initial period was more important in terms of organizing demonstrations, communicating with the media, and organizing other peaceful activities, which have been documented and posted online. He added, “But the militarization of the revolution and the increased security grip on areas controlled by the regime led to the decline in the tansikiyyas’ role in providing relief and in media,”
Shami, who subsequently joined the Violations Documentation Center in Syria, said that today the political and military opposition is fragmented and in a state of chaos; they lack a unified decision-making, while the regime commits crimes against its opponents. Amer al-Qalamuni agreed. He is an activist in the Syrian Revolution General Commission. He said that the military situation has weakened the role of the tansikiyyas without that changing the discourse of the street or of the activists. “Everyone is still demanding freedom and is optimistic about victories after the people have paid a heavy price,” he said.
The so-called Local Council in Daraya, however, has a different experience than that of the tansikiyyas, which were excluded in favor of more sophisticated formations, says Council member Hussam Ayyash. He said that the tansikiyyas, which are first-generation revolutionary entities, are no longer adequate because of the increased requirements in general and the need to expand the organization and decision-making circles to ensure continuity. He added, “We consider the [tansikiyyas] to be first-generation revolutionary entities. The developments of the current stage and especially the need to unite and organize the work and institutionalize the activities and the infrastructure was necessary so that the new structure appears in the form of the local councils, which included all forms of revolutionary activity. … Perhaps what distinguishes the experience of Daraya was that we included military action in the Council and we didn’t subordinate it to another party. That is a very positive role. In addition, we don’t accept conditional support in any form. Our decision is now purely internal and not subject to any external dictates.”
Noureddine al-Abdo, an early activist in the popular movement in Jabal al-Zawiya in the countryside of Idlib, said that the tansikiyyas were the first “revolutionary institutions” and later evolved into several new entities. “In the beginning,” he said “our work was fun as we prepared the crowd for the demonstrations. But it was very easy compared to other regions in Damascus and Aleppo, for example. But the change started with the military action. So it became an individual effort and many abandoned work in the tansikiyyas while media offices and journalists who did not have prior work experience appeared.”
He said that their lack of experience impacted the movement negatively and that the components of the media machinery started working against each other. “The situation was exacerbated,” he said “when some submitted to ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham] and to other large factions because of ignorance or because of the wish to support the stronger party. It’s as if the Syrian mindset has gotten used to slavery and now moves from one dictator to another. Emotions overcame reason and we moved to the world of the warlords.” But he said that it’s not too late. “I’m trying to work on educating societal groups in the interior, especially the fighters in the factions, because they are fighters, not killers, and refocus on the ideas for which we came out [to support] at the beginning of the revolution. … The worst is yet to come. But I would not wait too much. Perhaps many will retire from revolutionary activities by the end of the year if nothing changes in our revolutionary reality.”
Rafi, a media activist who worked as a photographer for many tansikiyyas and brigades from east Gouta to Damascus, is now working as an independent activist. He described his experience in the peaceful and civil movement and in the military movement as positive and that he learned a lot from them. But at the same time he thinks that most tansikiyyas have become politicized by the military leaders responsible for the areas. Their discourse has changed, and they no longer represent the true opinion of the street. In this context, Rafi blamed political money for “the failure of the popular revolution” and its turning into a civil war, he said, in addition to the change in attitude by many in the country. He expects himself to be outside the country if the events keep moving away from the original objective for which the protests were launched.