• Men of Dignity (Rejaal Alkaramah): “Preventing drug smuggling requires regional and even international cooperation.”
• SETF: “We delivered a message to decision-makers in Washington so that civilians will not be targeted again.”
Hazim Alaridi – for Suwayda 24
Some of the anti-drug operations that plagued Syria did not manage to prevent attacks on safe civilians, and the regime in Damascus turned the Suwayda Governorate over the years into a corridor for smuggling its Captagon products abroad. The issue of drug control is closely linked to human rights, and strict measures to confront this menace, if not carefully implemented, may lead to violations, including violence related to the spread and control of drugs that can violate the right to life and security. Balancing effective drug control and human rights requires the adoption of comprehensive strategies that prioritize harm reduction, promoting a holistic approach that addresses the complexities of this global challenge.
At an international level, Washington approved the Anti-Captagon Law, which calls the Assad regime a “drug exporting regime.” According to this law, the United States is supposed to undertake the task of striking Assad’s drug trafficking network. In turn, the civil society in Suwayda had, over the years, confronted gangs affiliated with the Military Security and other regime agencies, with the blessing of the spiritual leadership of the Druze Muslims and some components of the civil society. The local Men of Dignity (Rejaal Alkaramah) movement also returned to its activity in combating some individual elements of smugglers affiliated with the network run by the regime, with the authorization of the people, as happened in the border village of Dhibin and elsewhere.
A spokesperson for the Men of Dignity Movement assured us of the serious effort to confront the problem, and regarding the measures taken he said: “We took some steps in this regard, including arresting dozens of those involved in smuggling and trafficking in narcotic substances.” He also referred to what he called “efforts led by the movement to unify public opinion within the governorate to eliminate these gangs.” This raises the question of the extent to which this movement in its current form serves the public scene, especially since it is incapable of eradicating the root of the problem. Accordingly, the movement’s media official comments, “We are working within the capabilities available to us to reduce smuggling operations across the governorate.” But eliminating it completely is a major challenge and requires a lot of cooperation and support.”
The Men of Dignity Movement had requested from the neighboring Kingdom of Jordan lists of names of those whom Amman confirmed were involved in drug smuggling after the Jordanian air strike that targeted civilians who had nothing to do with the case except that they live in the border areas, as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago.
The local treatment of the problem is not useful without regional, and even international, cooperation, as experts and many local leaders point out. For its part, the Men of Dignity Movement acknowledged the weight of the challenge and its connection to countries and cross-border militias that tamper with regional security, in reference to Iran and its militias. When we asked the movement’s media official about the necessity of cooperation In this context, he said: “Yes, certainly, preventing drug smuggling requires regional and even international cooperation, especially since it is sponsored by sectarian militias that enjoy wide influence in the region, and we alone, without regional cooperation, will not be able to completely eliminate this business.”
To follow up on the international horizon of the issue, we communicated with influential decision-making personalities in Washington, to assess the position on the recent developments in this file, especially since the Captagon Law stipulates that the “Syrian government’s” trade in Captagon is a “transnational security threat” to the American government. Therefore, the law aims to identify and address Captagon production and trafficking networks directly linked to Assad*2.
When we asked the Syrian Emergency Team Organization (SETF) about the vision of decision-makers in the US Congress regarding dealing with the recent transgressions, and the possibility of activating the “Captagon Law” that was adopted by legislators there in 2022, the organization confirmed that “Congressman French Hill is aware of the important role of Suwayda in the fight against drugs.” And the harm that was caused to her,” referring to the American representative who presented the Anti-Captagon Law*3 and worked to make it legally approved and adopted so that its implementation mechanisms could be followed up on.
It is worth mentioning here that Hill had communicated with the spiritual head of the Druze Muslims sect earlier in 2023 during the renewal of the uprise in Suwayda. He is also considered to be at the forefront of American decision-makers who refuse to rehabilitate Assad but he supports reaching a political settlement in Syria.
CEO of SETF, Moaz Mustafa, told us that the organization addressed a group of congressmen in Washington, including Hill, regarding the recent developments, especially since the organisation is continuing to work with them on issuing laws, decisions, and executive mechanisms regarding the Syrian issue in general. Later, we will publish an interview that addresses some of the issues and endeavors. These will be on the Suwayda 24 website.
In a context related to the latest developments, Mustafa said: “We delivered a direct and clear message to Representative French Hill and others that we do not want a repeat of what happened in the past, when innocent civilians who died were targeted, as a result of a bombing whose goal was to stop the smuggling of Captagon,” and he also indicated that work is underway. He added : “we need mechanisms to activate regional and international cooperation in combating drugs that ensure confronting the root of the problem and ensure the protection of civilians from any targeting or harm by various parties “.
Therefore, the solution to the problem of the regime’s addiction to the manufacture, promotion and smuggling of drugs is neither local nor regional because this remains a minor abuse limited to treating the side effects in isolation from firm international action that targets the root of the problem. The serious solution requires “drying up the sources responsible for the manufacture, smuggling and promotion of this scourge”. He adds “the whole thing is run by rogue countries like Iran or what is left of the regime in Damascus and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon”.
As such, cutting off the head of the scourge cannot be done below the international level. Otherwise, it would be initiatives and movements that may re-float the Assad by some of the forces involved or complicit in and with the continuation of the dangerous drug trade, whether local or not. Regionally, this may require an alliance similar to the one that eliminated ISIS ; therefore, cooperation at all levels will be useful, with the exception of the forces drowning in addiction to this scourge in Damascus and Tehran.
1 Hazem Al-Aridi is a Syrian journalist who worked in investigative journalism in Damascus and in audiovisual media in London, Istanbul, and Amman.
*2 Syrian Center for Justice and Accountability.
*3 On December 23, 2022, US President Joe Biden signed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included the “Combating Assad Drug Trafficking and Stockpiling Act,” known as the Captagon Act.
