Towards Syrian-led Transitional Justice
By Anne-Marie McManus. Images of joyful men and women waving Syria’s three-starred flag last weekend confirmed that many Syrians view the rapid overthrow of the Assad regime on December 8 as a revolution. Today, Syria’s political future is unclear, as the crowds celebrating on the streets of Damascus, Homs, and Hama know well. It is a mistake for European observers to attribute their optimism to naiveté. At this moment of opening and uncertainty – when Syrians, against all expectations and odds, have freed themselves from a decades-old dictatorship – their choice to publicly embrace national unity is a political stance.