Statement by Druze Notables in Jabal al-Shaykh on al-Suwayda'

In analysis of the current situation in the primarily Druze province of al-Suwayda’ in southern Syria, supporters and sympathisers with the government sometimes argue that the hardline rejectionist position towards the government among the Druze is partly the result of a consensus enforced by arms, in that virtually all the armed Druze groups have rallied around Hikmat al-Hijri, thus preventing dissenting voices from speaking out.

There is some truth to this talking point, but even those inside the province who are skeptical of rejectionism and Druze separatism primarily fault the government for what went wrong and call on it to take the initiative to make serious amends and hold perpetrators of violations against Druze accountable if there is going to be any real dialogue for a lasting solution. As one source in Rijal al-Karama skeptical of the rejectionist direction put it: “What happened is no small thing…perhaps you remember the man who was sitting on the school steps and they asked him: what are you? He replied: I am Syrian. They said to him: What does Syrian mean, Muslim or Druze? See how his Syrian identity could not intercede for him so that they would spare him. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what happened.”

Moreover, outside al-Suwayda’ itself, there is widespread solidarity among Syrian Druze with their brethren in al-Suwayda’, especially in the Druze villages of the Jabal al-Shaykh area that is near the border with the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. This is in part because of the fact that these villages are still hosting Druze who fled from the Damascus suburbs of Jaramana, Sahnaya and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya as a result of violations committed by pro-government forces in late April and early May.