In an interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Dima Moussa, the vice president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces has said that the new Syria, after the Bashar al-Assad government’s fall, will be a democratic and pluralist country with women free to dress as they want. There will be no requirement for women to wear the hijab or burqa and they can keep their hair short, long and uncovered, as they prefer. Moussa also says that all the communities of Syria – Sunni, Shia, Alawite, Druze and Christian – will be equal with the same rights and privileges.
Moussa also makes clear that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham did not receive any support from Turkey to enable the extraordinary speed with which it has taken over the country.
She spoke specifically about the Alawite community, to which the Assad family belongs, who she says have been reassured that there will be no mistreatment of them. She says many Alawites in the coastal region where they live have celebrated the fall of the Assad government.
Asked whether the new government will seek the extradition of Assad, to bring him to justice for the crimes committed under his rule, Moussa indicated that this will not be the first priority of the government. She didn’t rule it out but she clearly suggested that there were other prior issues the new government will first seek to tackle.
