A 'Clarification' from Damascus Governorate on Restricting Sale of Alcoholic Drinks

The decision by Damascus governorate to restrict the sale of alcoholic drinks has sparked some local controversy, including a demonstration in Bab Touma (a historically Christian area of Damascus) in opposition to the regulations, complaining that they discriminate between Syrians and negatively impact the country’s diversity and personal freedoms. The decisions were also implicitly criticised by Hind Kabawat, the Christian minister of social affairs and labour, on the basis that they negatively associate Christian areas in Damascus with alcoholic drinks rather than their embodying the ‘heart of Damascus’ and a ‘place for co-existence’ that respects diversity, which itself encapsulates the ‘strength’ of the Syrian state.

Amid the controversy, Damascus governorate has issued a ‘clarification’ on the new regulations. The clarification does not itself constitute a retraction of the regulations. Rather, it generally seeks to justify them as representing continuity with older legislation and decisions in the modern Syrian state, but it does emphasise that facilities of relevance to tourists are either exempt from the regulations or will be subject to further consideration.

Below is the clarification fully translated.