Accountability… is a concept that must be understood and the mechanisms for its implementation known

This material is published in cooperation between the Syrian Kurdish Journalists Network (SKJN) and ASO News Network in a cooperation program within the “Mirror” project on human rights and public freedoms.
 
Ava Hassan

The Autonomous Administration’s decision to set the purchase price of wheat from farmers at 31 cents of the US dollar per kilo for the 2024 agricultural season sparked protests and demands to reverse it, despite the fact that Kurdish society has no experience in holding governments accountable for decisions that do not serve the public interest, and that sit-ins are not every day work, but there are attempts by the people.

Aziz Bahlawi (a citizen of the city of Qamishlo) says about this decision: “It affects employees, farmers, and students, and opens the door to corruption. Therefore, I joined the sit-in in Qamishli on 6/3/2024 in protest against this decision, based on the fact that the decisions taken by our administration do not serve my interest and must be modified.”

Aziz adds: “Sometimes families participate in such sit-ins for the benefit of their children, which is a kind of peaceful accountability to the ruling authorities, and the reason why people do not participate in these sit-ins is their lack of belief in change, so when we went out to the street, even the passing cars did not stop even.” Out of respect for the peaceful sit-in. Despite this, the concept of accountability remains a humanitarian duty.”

Transparency in setting goals… eliminating the dependency of states and governments
As for farmer Idris Qasim, who lives in the village of “Karnko” in the city of Amuda, he says about the concept of accountability, “It expresses the embodiment of freedom and democracy, and these are two concepts that do not exist in an oppressed society.”

The people have learned that accountability is not their job and that people with responsibilities must do this work, and this is what Idris confirms when he says: “If there is law and enforcement, it will become a culture, whether in the family institution or in government institutions, as they are all linked to each other.”

Idris points out that the economic crisis pushes people away from accountability. Because he believes that any demands will fall on deaf ears, “There is no room for accountability under the burden of poverty and running after a living!”

In this regard, writer and political analyst Burhan Raouf says: “Accountability is an intellectual and complex issue that needs sterile study, especially since the Kurds do not have any institutions or state, and their homeland is occupied and subservient to other countries. As a result, despite the sacrifices, there are interventions and they are unable to achieve the people’s demands.”

“Accountability by the people is not that whenever they see a decision that is not in their interest, they demonstrate and picket, and this is not a normal thing, because they choose institutions and parliaments democratically, and when there are corrupt people and those who exploit public money for their interests, these parties from the executive councils who must legally investigate in the democratic system accountable.” Raouf says.

Workers must know the concept of accountability and be aware of how to apply laws and methods of accountability, according to civil activist Mizgin Mahmoud, who points out that every institution must be held accountable, and thus solve the problems that appear before these workers in a systematic manner.

Accountability is a mechanism for improving work, not an investigation and punishment
“Having the ability to say the word no and publicizing it is what we need, and public opinion must exercise a spirit of responsibility and express their aspirations, but the loss of hope for change has made people more isolated, in addition to the absence of awareness of rights and belief in positive change or highlighting the negative phenomena that may be practiced by the existing authorities.” “ Jiyan Haj Youssef, who is from Amuda and one of the participants in the sit-in in protest against Resolution (119), which stipulated an increase in fuel prices for specific sectors, which amounted to about 400%, said.

Jiyan describes his participation in the sit-in as “shy participation,” and Mizgin Mahmoud confirms this in his own way, saying that the concept of accountability for governments and even organizations is not clear, and he continues, “At the level of government institutions, there must be a policy and training for employees.”

While journalist Iman Suleiman says that within the framework of the government’s work, she has not heard of anything called “accountability,” and this means that there is no transparent accountability with the people, as she said. Iman emphasizes building an individual free of the impurities of backwardness, discrimination, and fanaticism, and who understands the meaning of social life, the goal of which is to build an individual who is aware of his demands.

“The process remains incomplete.”

The civil organizations present in the region, whether in Qamishli or Raqqa, conducted workshops within the framework of training on methods of investigation in institutions, as well as on transparency, including (Demos, Shar, and Bell), but the process remains incomplete and formal and is not applied by one party and from the other party, there is no reporting. A follow-up destination for the topic. According to what was stated by Mizgin Mahmoud.

Governments and democratic regimes deal positively with peaceful gatherings and sit-ins, and in many countries they have achieved positive results and they are part of the culture of their society. This is confirmed by Nisreen Hussein, director of Afrin Organization, and she continues: “Peaceful assembly is a human right and a democratic means to express one’s opinion and demands to amend the law.” Cancellation or desire to combat corruption.”

In the Middle East in general, despite constitutions and laws guarantee the individual’s right to express his opinion in peaceful ways, most governments and regimes have practiced violence and intimidation against any form of public demand and suppressed it.

This created disappointment among citizens in any attempt to express their demands through protest gatherings, but “we believe in peaceful assembly that serves the citizen and his right to demand the amendment of a decision or the fulfillment of a popular demand, whether economic, political, or social.” Nisreen Hussein says:

Radical solutions

“The issue of democracy, democratic transformation, and reforms is slow work and requires patience, continuity, deliberation, change, and work in all educational aspects so that the new generation learns to preserve public property and fully realizes that it is the property of the people,” according to what Sociology teacher Zarka Mahmoud in Al-Darbasiyah explains, and she indicates that the citizen in their societies does not have the tool to hold the government accountable, because the foundations of the government were not built on freedom of choice.

“It is the duty of every citizen and the parties I mentioned to urge and educate the citizen to be effective, and in this way restore his confidence in the government to respond to his demands.” Zarka says.

As for the writer and political analyst Burhan Raouf, he explains that accountability requires a philosophy, diligent work, the presence of institutions, and awareness-raising by civil organizations and the press, as they are the fourth estate, and must work to spread the spirit of responsibility, adherence to laws, and societal peace.

The people in North-East Syria sometimes suffer from the issue of holding governments accountable in the simplest elements of life, and it is one of the concepts that requires focusing on and knowing the reasons for not redressing it, whether “it is the effect of behavior acquired from a society oppressed by the countries occupying its homeland and depriving them of their rights in all fields.” Or their lack of awareness to focus on all societal issues that must be worked for and for the individual to come to an understanding of his rights and duties as a citizen.

*The image is from the internet