DAMASCUS: Dozens of Syrian writers, artists, and academics signed a petition posted online on Friday calling for the respect of public freedoms after the overthrow of Bashar Assad in December.
The publication of the petition came two days after the leader of the militant offensive that toppled Assad, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, was named interim president.
“We call for the restoration of fundamental public freedoms, foremost among them the freedoms of assembly, protest, expression and belief,” the petition said.
“The state must neither impose nor interfere in people’s customs regarding food, drink, clothing, or other aspects of daily life,” it added, alluding to fears that the new authorities might impose religious law.
Al-Sharaa promised on Thursday to hold a “national dialogue conference” to help shape a “constitutional declaration” that will serve as a “legal reference” during the country’s transition.

The signatories called for “the election of a constituent assembly under a fair electoral law and adopting a new constitution that guarantees freedom and dignity for all citizens, men and women alike.”
Among the signatories were award-winning filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab and Mustafa Khalifa, author of “The Shell,” an autobiographical account of an activist imprisoned for years.
Since Assad’s overthrow, deadly fighting has continued in northern Syria between militants and forces loyal to a Kurdish-led administration in the northeast.
The petition called for a “just resolution to the Kurdish question” that “must uphold the legitimate cultural, linguistic, and political rights of our Kurdish citizens within a mutually agreed framework of administrative decentralization.”
Syria’s new rulers have called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to hand over their weapons, rejecting demands for any self-rule.
During more than half a century of rule by the Assad family, public displays of dissent were savagely repressed.
After Bashar Assad succeeded his father, Hafez, in June 2000, there was a period of greater openness, but it was short-lived.
Al-Sharaa, in his speech on Thursday, said he would form a small legislative body to fill the parliamentary void until new elections were held after the Syrian parliament was dissolved on Wednesday.
He said he would also, in the coming days, announce the formation of a committee that would prepare to hold a national dialogue conference that would be a platform for Syrians to discuss the future political program of the nation.
That would be followed by a “constitutional declaration,” he said, in an apparent reference to drafting a new Syrian constitution.
Al-Sharaa has previously said that drafting a new constitution and holding elections may take up to four years.

CAIRO: Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie has told shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk there are signs of stability returning to the Red Sea, and urged the company to take that into account when planning sea routes, according to a statement from the SCA.

The statement said Rabie made the comments at a meeting with the CEO of the Danish container shipping group and other senior executives but did not say when the meeting took place.
“We seek to take into account the positive indicators observed in the Red Sea region when planning maritime schedules in the coming period,” Rabie was quoted as saying.
Several major global shipping companies have suspended Red Sea voyages and rerouted vessels around southern Africa to avoid potential attacks from Houthis.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said in December the disruption had cost Egypt around $7 billion in revenues from the Suez Canal in 2024.
Last week, Maersk said it would continue to divert vessels away from the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea and toward the southern tip of Africa despite the Houthis announcing they would curb their attacks on ships.
Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023 and sunk two vessels, seized another, and killed at least four seafarers.
Meanwhile, the volume of goods moving through Spanish ports rose by 6 percent in 2024 after they became the first point of call in Europe for many companies sending their goods around southern Africa.
The state port agency said Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and Barcelona saw 13 percent and 9 percent increases in volumes of merchandise, bulk liquids, and dry bulk last year.
“The situation has caused some specific peak moments of extra activity, to which Spanish ports have adapted,” the agency said, adding it expected higher port traffic to continue as instability in the Red Sea persists.
“Carriers will want to be assured there is an outlook for long-term safe passage before returning to the Red Sea to avoid further massive disruption if the situation deteriorates and they are forced to divert around Cape of Good Hope once again,” said Emily Stausboll, a senior shipping analyst at freight platform Xeneta.
The traffic of goods moved in containers through Spain’s ports rose by 11 percent last year, while Spanish ports also recorded an increase in vessels bunkering to prepare for longer routes, the agency said.
In 2023, the ports saw a 4.5 percent decline in container traffic.
According to two executives in the local fashion industry, some Spanish retailers shipped more goods by air to meet demand because of the additional two weeks required to ship goods to Europe via southern Africa.