Syria To Integrate Children Of Surrendered Militants Into School System - Assad

The Syrian government plans to integrate into its national school system children of militants who have surrendered and undergone the process of setting their legal status in the country, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Sputnik and Rossiya 24 broadcaster

DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) The Syrian government plans to integrate into its national school system children of militants who have surrendered and undergone the process of setting their legal status in the country, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Sputnik and Rossiya 24 broadcaster.

As Syria continues to settle its ongoing political crisis through efforts to find lasting solutions for a sustainable peace, such as convening the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva, some militants in the country have surrendered their arms and are seeking reconciliation and reintegration into civil society.

"We announced a few weeks ago that schools would integrate these pupils within their programs and according to their age, so that they could adjust into the national curriculum within a few years and assimilate to patriotic concepts," Assad said when asked what kind of political solution Syria was offering to families of militants who were handing in their weapons after the civil war.

The president explained that since most of the children's formative years were spent being indoctrinated "outside of the law," it was critical to integrate them into Syria's national system to reeducate them.

Assad added that religious extremism was something the Syrian government saw as an important issue to address among the returning militants and their families.

"A second aspect is the religious extremism which has been promoted for years, and has become entrenched in the minds of entire communities .

.. you cannot talk to those extremists in the beginning about national and humanitarian issues. They must first understand that the religious concepts they have learned are wrong and distorted, and in contradiction with religion. We are working extensively in order to flush out these wrong concepts," Assad said.

Finally, Assad said that it was important to teach former extremists about the basic functions of civil society and governing rules in order to reintroduce them to the concepts of law and order.

"These communities have lived outside the law; they don't know the meaning of the state, of laws, courts of law, traffic police, and other instruments used by society to organize itself. This is the more difficult aspect. The challenge here is how to reintroduce the state in the best possible way to these towns and villages, in order to restore concepts of law and order," Assad said, adding that the Syrian government was constantly working on this issue as well in order to promote a sense of patriotism among the re-integrated individuals.

Since 2011, Syria has suffered an armed conflict between various opposition groups, including terrorist organizations, and the government. The Syrian army and other government forces have now regained control over most of the country's territories and concluded a ceasefire agreement with the opposition.