Okab Yahya; the Syrian Dissident Who Resisted the Tyranny of Assad Regime for Half a Century

The Syrian dissident, Okab Yahya, died at the age of 75, after more than half a century of political struggle against the rule of the Assad family represented by Hafez and Bashar al-Assad.

The “National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces” mourned through an official statement, on the evening of Monday, July 5, Okab Yahya, who served as the coalition's vice-president.The statement said: “With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn (National Coalition) the veteran politician and opposition figure, Professor Okab Yahya, who passed away of cancer on Monday.”

He was also one of those affiliated with “Salah Jadid” in the Ba'ath Party when the party was formed, after the end of the union between Syria and Egypt, with Hafez al-Assad carrying out his coup known as the “Corrective Movement” and Salah Jadid arrested, Okab Yahya became an opposition against Hafez al-Assad. In 1976, he formed a secret opposition organization called the “National Democratic Rally.” He was harassed by the Syrian Regime's intelligence for 5 years due to his activity in his political party.

In the eighties, he had to move to Algeria, he remained there until the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, and then he resided between Istanbul and Algeria.

Okab Yahya was one of the founders of the “Syrian National Council” on August 23, 2011, which is considered the first Syrian political opposition entity after the outbreak of the Syrian Revolution in the same year, Yahya was also one of the founders of the “Syrian Democratic Bloc” in late 2011 and headed it for several years.

The Syrian dissident also participated in founding the National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces on November 11, 2012, in which he held many positions, the last of which was the position of coalition’s vice-president from June 2019, until the moment of his death last Monday.

 

Yahya left behind thousands of articles and studies, a few published books, and four novels. He has about 30 books, including a novel, a story, and stories for children. It is ready but not published yet.

In 2016, Okab Yahya wrote an opinion article entitled “Will Syria Remain United?”  In it, he said: “We must recognize that the Syrian issue, which has become international, a group of conflicting parties entered its line with its projects, with a capacity for understanding and bargaining, today it goes beyond the story of the revolution and its fate.”

Yahya considered that political solutions of all kinds are working to turn the revolution into a matter of disputes between major parties, and major countries such as Russia and the USA, the distribution of influence between regional and external countries, the reality of the absence of the role of the Syrians (the Opposition and the Regime) in influence, decision and fate.

He saw that, “despite the factors of weakness, robbery, dispersal, and the lack of unity of the armed factions affiliated with the Free Army, the lack of unity between the political and military opposition, the Syrian Revolution has many capabilities that can be organized and employed in the battle of existence, especially when it returns to its natural folds.”

He also considered that “the people who make the most precious sacrifices, are ready to go in resistance, steadfastness and endurance until the goals for which they revolted are achieved.”

He added that “the unity of the Free Army factions today is an urgent task that must be accomplished, the harmony between political and military opposition, according to a unified work program that is the basis for facing the upcoming challenges, contribute as an active partner in the political solution or otherwise.”