The American draft law aims to prevent the normalization of relations with any Syrian government headed by Bashar al-Assad (Al Jazeera)

The US House of Representatives took a more escalatory step against the Syrian regime by approving, by a large majority - in recent days - the draft law “Anti-normalization against the Bashar al-Assad regime,” awaiting its passage in the Senate and the US President’s signature on it, before it becomes a binding US law.

The goal

of the draft law is to prohibit the United States government from legally recognizing any Syrian government headed by Bashar al-Assad, as well as new amendments related to the “Caesar Civilian Protection Act in Syria,” which has become an American law in force since December 2019, in addition to sending political messages to countries. Which plans to normalize its relations with the Assad regime, knowing that it could be exposed to American sanctions.

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In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net

, the policy official at the American Council for Syria, Muhammad Alaa Ghanem, said that the new draft law sends political messages against all regimes that are trying to normalize relations with Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and contains new provisions that are considered an important escalation against him, including:

  • The ban on normalization

    is one of the most important provisions of the draft law, and it will become the policy of the United States not to recognize or normalize its relations with the Syrian governments headed by Bashar al-Assad - whether that is currently or in the future - and it also opposes other countries’ recognition of the Syrian governments headed by Bashar al-Assad.

  • The regime “manipulated”

    the United Nations system by infiltrating its work and seizing humanitarian aid allocated to the Syrian people, commissions, and employees.

  • Punishing the leaders

    of the Arab Socialist Baath Party, according to the capacity they hold and not just by name, as well as members of the Syrian People’s Assembly.

  • The Caesar Act

    will be extended to 2032, with a strict approach to those who “try to steal the Syrian people’s money” through reconstruction, or attempt to conclude deals that achieve privileges for the Syrian regime.

Ghanem said that the draft law is the result of a great effort made over the past years by the Syrian community in the United States, and “a message that relying on the factor of time will not whiten Bashar al-Assad’s page for the crimes he committed against the Syrian people.”

Repercussions

Regarding the repercussions, Ghanem said that if the draft law “Anti-normalization with Bashar al-Assad’s regime” is passed, it will result in the following:

  • It becomes a law effective and applicable to any American government, whether Democratic or Republican, and is in effect inside or outside the United States.

  • Confronting the regime’s manipulation of the United Nations system and international institutions by obtaining aid or indirect investment and concluding deals.

  • Confronting normalization, the draft law is a message to all countries that have opened a new page in relations with the Syrian government, or intended to do so.

  • The rehabilitation of some figures through which the regime promotes its openness to other countries will be the subject of US sanctions.

  • The US State Department must submit annual reports on the measures it has taken against anyone who violates the provisions of this law, and indicate the resulting effects on US national security.

International positions

Regarding international positions on the draft law “Anti-normalization with the Bashar al-Assad regime,” the policy official at the American Council for Syria said that countries’ positions will be determined based on the following:

  • Stop

    Russia and Iran

    . They have been major supporters of the Assad regime for more than 13 years, and thus they help the regime circumvent the various sanctions issued by international bodies.

  • Capital left

    , the regime's treasury became empty, the economic situation deteriorated greatly, the Syrian currency collapsed and lost its value, and merchants took refuge in neighboring cities.

  • Preventing normalization

    with the Syrian regime, which many international powers began planning recently, and this law came to obstruct these movements.

The positions of the Arab countries

Alaa Ghanem said that the positions of the Arab countries towards the Bashar al-Assad regime took more than one direction, and the draft law will rearrange these positions as follows:

  • The recent moves by various Arab governments to restore relations with Bashar al-Assad's regime "were only made with a green light from the United States."

  • The multiplicity of voices in the United States was behind this duality in dealing with the Syrian regime.

  • Now, the draft law came to legally obligate American governments to prevent American normalization, “prevent countries that orbit the United States as well,” and impose sanctions on countries that do not adhere to the vision of the United States.

  • There are Arab countries that tried to pressure the US House of Representatives to prevent the passage of the “Anti-normalization with Bashar al-Assad” bill.

Source: Al Jazeera