Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Damascus, SANA- Member of the Civil Peace Committee, Hassan Soufan, said Tuesday that the civil peace measures taken were directly related to calming societal tensions and laying a solid groundwork for a state of citizenship and law.
Soufan added during a press conference at the Ministry of Information that the officers who were released lately after being investigated “have been in active service since 2021 and surrendered voluntarily at the Iraqi border and in the Sukhna area immediately after the fall of the regime, as part of the safety call issued by the Operations Directorate”.
‘This call was directed to all those who were not involved in shedding Syrian blood or complicit in the violations against them” and their continued imprisonment “does not serve the national interest and has no legal legitimacy” Soufan clarified.
He added that “transitional justice sought by Syrians will be better achieved by using reason and holding major criminals accountable”.
Yet the member of the Civil Peace Committee stressed that the Committee’s “measures are not a substitute for transitional justice” which has already begun under the authority of the National Commission for Transitional Justice.
Soufan said that “in a phase of civil peace, we are forced to take decisions to avoid more violent explosions and ensure relative stability for the next phase”.
“We say it with all sincerity: there is no homeland without justice, no justice without fairness, and no fairness without the courage to speak the truth. We promise to be transparent and work for true justice that redresses the victims, holds perpetrators accountable, and gives society an opportunity to heal its wounds” the Committee member pointed out.
In response to journalists’ questions, Soufan explained that the “Safety granted at the beginning of liberation contributed significantly to stopping the bloodshed” and emphasized that “arresting all those who carried weapons is unrealistic and will not achieve civil peace and transitional justice”.
Yet the official explained that the government is doing everything in its power to “pursue wanted individuals and is working diligently to achieve the country’s best interests”.
At this stage “there are two parallel tracks: civil peace and transitional justice” Soufan said, stressing that “the priority in the current situation is the civil peace track, as it provides a solid foundation for these strategic measures” and “stability in the country cannot be achieved solely through the establishment of justice, but rather through the presence of a solid social reconciliation”.
Soufan explained that “transitional justice does not mean holding everyone who served the former regime accountable, but rather holding accountable top criminals who ordered, planned, and executed crimes against Syrians”.
He stressed that “rushing the transitional justice process or implementing it by individuals themselves will lead to chaos and unrest” and show the government “incapable of fulfilling its duties, which will open the door to foreign interference”.
“Revenge and retaliation will not achieve justice, but rather will lead to the loss of responsibility and the escape of those responsible for committing massacres against the Syrian people” Soufan said.
The member of the Civil Peace Committee confirmed that more detainees will soon be released in Idlib Governorate and elsewhere after their non-involvement has been proven and after extensive legal procedures.
Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba, for his part, said that one of the most basic foundations of transitional justice is “ensuring a fair trial for those involved in war crimes, whether officers or others”.
Al-Baba noted that Interior Ministry is to communicate with Interpol to pursue perpetrators of crimes against Syrians.
He pointed out that “there are some 450,000 soldiers engaged in combat alongside the forces of the former regime and its militias within the ranks of the Ministry of Defense, in addition to 123,000 members of the Interior Ministry, many of whom have been implicated in crimes against the Syrian people”.
Al-Baba clarified that during the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation that “there were officers from the regime’s army and intelligence services cooperating with us and handing over military units and security branches to us, which facilitated the liberation.”
The Interior Ministry spokesman explained that the ministry “handles kidnapping cases equally across all Syrian regions, and that there is a great deal of exaggeration and fabrication surrounding kidnapping cases aimed at undermining civil peace”.
Nisreen/ Abdul/ Mazen
