Al-Hijri Insists on accountability, rejects negotiation

Al-Hijri added in a statement published by the “Spiritual Presidency” on Wednesday, May 20, that “international allies and guarantors are making efforts to consolidate the structure of our administration and our full sovereignty over our lands in Mount Bashan as a stable reality,” according to his wording.

Al-Hijri thanked what he described as the states and organizations “working on the Suwayda issue in secret and in public,” naming in particular “Israel, government and people,” and the Druze community in Israel.

He said the “Spiritual Presidency is moving steadily to ensure the administration of the mountain’s affairs and safeguard its future and the rights of its people, to implement the right to self-determination,” away from what he described as “the domination of the Syrian government, which facts have proven impossible to coexist with,” according to his wording.

Al-Hijri said “the path toward the goal is clear, and the demands are not negotiable,” adding that he remains committed to “holding the Damascus government accountable for all its violations and crimes under international law,” according to his statement.

He said the immediate goal is to compel those he described as “the aggressors” to “implement the international solution approved in the July 2025 truce, by returning abductees, disclosing the fate of those forcibly disappeared, and liberating the devastated villages and towns.”

Al-Hijri had previously called for Suwayda’s independence and for it not to be subordinate to the Syrian government in more than one position since July 2025. He rejected Damascus’ control over some villages in Suwayda’s countryside, describing the presence of Syrian government forces in these villages as “illegitimate control.”

On February 26, Suwayda governorate witnessed a detainee exchange between the Syrian government and the “National Guard,” which included the release of dozens of detainees from both sides.

A total of 61 detainees from Suwayda were released in exchange for the release of 30 members of the Ministries of Defense and Interior who had been held by the “National Guard,” as part of understandings reached after rounds of negotiations mediated by the United States.

“Self-determination is not for bargaining”

Al-Hijri affirmed that the choice of freedom and self-determination is not subject to bargaining or conditional loyalties, saying that “Mount Bashan is overcoming all attempts at economic siege, destructive administrative invasion, and systematic starvation policies aimed at paralyzing institutions and cutting off livelihoods.”

He rejected attempts by what he called “de facto forces” to impose their guardianship “through coercion and deception,” noting that no authority over the mountain belongs to anyone except those chosen by its people.

Suwayda governorate is suffering a rapid decline in living and service conditions, which has directly affected residents’ daily lives, amid a continued rise in the prices of basic goods, declining purchasing power, delays in salary payments, and the repercussions of the security and political turmoil the governorate has witnessed recently.

“The people of Suwayda know best how to run their affairs”

Al-Hijri said the people of Suwayda know best how to manage and administer the governorate’s affairs, rejecting attempts at outside interference by parties that “have no authority or legitimacy in Suwayda,” in his words.

Suwayda witnessed tension over administrative appointments after armed men stormed the Directorate of Education in April, following the Syrian government’s appointment of Safwan Balan as director of education in Suwayda. The move was rejected by the “National Guard,” which is affiliated with al-Hijri, prompting Balan to apologize for taking on the task.

Al-Hijri said the commitment of the people of “Mount Bashan” and their absolute trust in technocratic administration positions represent the foundation of success.

The spiritual leader of the Druze Monotheist community announced on April 7 the dissolution of the “Higher Legal Committee” and the formation of the “Administration Council in Mount Bashan,” assigning Judge Shadi Marshid the task of forming the council.

The statement stressed that this council “must be an administrative edifice built on purely professional standards, staying away from any form of quotas, to ensure the right person is placed in the right position among those with scientific specialization and experience.”

Since then, the members of the “new Administration Council” have not been announced.

At the end of his remarks, al-Hijri called on the people of Suwayda to limit Eid al-Adha celebrations to religious rites and ceremonies in their designated places, out of respect for “the shared feelings of grief, pain, and separation in every home of the mountain.”

[Source: Enab Baladi English]