Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Syria’s interim president today, despite the fact he leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an organization Canada declared a terrorist group 12 years ago.
“The Prime Minister offered congratulations on the success of ending the Assad regime, which inflicted decades of suffering on the Syrian people,” reads a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. “He underscored that Canada continues to stand with Syrians in their pursuit of a more just and inclusive society, noting Canada has welcomed over 100,000 refugees since 2015.”
Ahmed al-Sharaa heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which toppled the previous dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, who ruled the Syrian people from 2000 until last December.
The dictatorship was supported by the Russian government.
“Prime Minister Trudeau and interim President al-Sharaa agreed on the importance of an inclusive political process to ensure lasting peace and stability for all Syrians,” continued the PMO’s statement. “The Prime Minister underscored the importance of protecting human rights, including women and minority communities, as well as establishing good governance for Syria.”
Last year the Trudeau government began reviewing sanctions against militant groups involved in driving out Bashar al-Assad, which included potentially lifting sanctions imposed in 2011 and reassessing whether the 2013 terrorist designation for the rebel group was still appropriate.
The HTS currently remains a Listed Terrorist Entity as defined by Public Safety Canada, which says the group is responsible for nearly 600 attacks including “ambushes, kidnappings, assassinations, Improvised Explosive Device attacks and suicide bombings” throughout Syria and the Levant.
“In March 2017, 2 HTS suicide bombers attacked Damascus, killing at least 74 people, including 8 children. More recently, on December 21, 2019, HTS claimed killing 30 Syrian regime troops in a suicide bombing in Raffa, a town in the southeast of Idlib governorate,” writes Public Safety Canada.
The PMO did not respond to True North’s request for comment on the future of the terrorist designation.
HTS is a Sunni-Islamist terror group created to wage jihad and establish an Islamist state in the former territories controlled by the Assad regime. It was one of the main groups involved in this year’s capture of Damascus and is now in control of most of Syria.
Canadian officials say the recognition of the new Syrian government will be contingent upon the establishment of democratic institutions and a commitment to building a modern state that respects the rights of all Syrians.
The review is said to include examining the status of HTS. The group has tried to distance its past ties to al-Qaeda, and Al-Sharaa himself has made overtures to Western governments claiming Syria will follow a more pluralistic path.
HTS evolved from al-Qaeda, existing as Al-Qaeda in Iraq between 2004 and 2006. It has since cracked down on al-Qaeda sympathies within its ranks and has engaged in open hostilities with ISIS.