The Local Coordination Committees of Syria ( ar, لجان التنسيق المحلية في سوريا: ''LCCSyria'' or ''LCCs'') are a network of local groups that organise and report on protests as part of the Syrian uprising. In June 2011, the network was described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as beginning to "emerge as a pivotal force" in Syria. , the network supported

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". H ...

and opposed local armed resistance and international military intervention as methods of opposing the Syrian government.

Creation

The Local Coordination Committees of Syria started in March 2011 from local groups that published reports about protests during the Syrian uprising and developed into a national network involved in journalism about protests and the protests themselves. The groups had developed from informal networks of friends and colleagues involved in dissidence that had existed for many years. Prior to the uprising, Syrian activists had brought in mobile telephones, satellite modems and computers in anticipation of

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...

protests developing in Syria. In June 2011, ''

'' described the network as beginning to "emerge as a pivotal force" in Syrian politics, "earning the respect of more recognized, but long divided dissidents."

Structure

The LCCSyria network consists of "overwhelmingly young" demonstrators of multiple religious and class backgrounds. The network is decentralized and works in secret. The first of the committees was created in the Daraya suburb of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. , the most active committee was in

Homs ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_t ...

. , the network had 35 individual leaders, who tried to communicate daily. , the network had 14 local committees, one each in

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jord ...

, Homs,

Baniyas Baniyas ( ar, بَانِيَاس ') is a Mediterranean coastal city in Tartous Governorate, northwestern Syria, located south of Latakia (ancient Laodicea) and north of Tartous (ancient Tortosa). It is known for its citrus fruit orchards and ...

, Saraqeb, Idlib, al-Hasakah, Qamishli, Deir ez-Zor, the Syrian coast,

Hama Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial ...

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) ( Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...

, as-Suwayda', Damascus and the Damascus suburbs.

Finances

LCCSyria is financed by donations from individual supporters.Donations website
, Local Coordination Committees of Syria. Retrieved on 2012-05-12. This is further facilitated by the " Adopt a Revolution" initiative.Louise Osborne (2/28/2012
“Syrian activists appeal to West to be adopted”
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''. Furthermore, the Office for Syrian Opposition Support, which itself was founded by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

and Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is funded by the Friends of Syria Group, provides "material support" and "training assistance" to the LCCs.

Human rights journalism

Rami Nakhle, who helps LCCSyria from exile in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, said that media activities documenting protests were the network's first main activity. The Syrian human rights lawyer Razan Zaitouneh, winner of the 2011

Sakharov Prize The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. Named after Russian scientis ...

and the 2011 Anna Politkovskaya Award, has documented human rights in Syria for the network. The network's text and photographic reports of injuries and deaths of protestors have been used by CNN, Al Jazeera English, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

''. The network publishes reports on its own website and on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

. On 1 February 2012, LCCSyria criticised the international and Arab community as having been "unable to take any decision that contributes to stopping the cycle of violence in Syria". It estimated the number of deaths in the civil war is more than 100,000.

Protest methods

Amnesty International describes the network's methods as peaceful protests.

Civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". H ...

methods used by the network include nightly protests in Hama and refusal to pay water, electricity and telephone bills in the Duma suburb of Damascus. The network called for a two-day

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...

on 5–6 February 2012. They also called with other non-violence groups to the

Dignity Strike in Syria Strike for Dignity ( ar, إضراب الكرامة, the Karamah Strike, transliterated: ') was a nationwide general strike organised by groups in the Syrian Civil War in December 2011 as a nonviolent expression of dissent against the g ...

"Karamah Strike".

Non-violence

In August 2011, LCCSyria declared that it understands the calls for internal armed opposition to the Syrian government and international military intervention, but opposes both. It said that militarisation would reduce popular support for the opposition, reduce the opposition's moral superiority, and put "the Revolution in an arena where the regime has a distinct advantage". The network said that peaceful demonstrations would make it easier to develop democracy following a revolution, while militarisation would make it "virtually impossible to establish a legitimate foundation for a proud future Syria." LCC Syria was one of the groups that formed what's called "Freedom Days" as an umbrella for non-violence groups in Syria.

References

External links

LCC website
(inactive as of December 2022 or earlier; ) *
LCC on Twitter
{{Syrian Civil War Anarchism in Syria National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Organizations of the Syrian civil war 2011 establishments in Syria Organizations of the Arab Spring Political opposition organizations Politics of Syria Protests in Syria Syrian opposition Syrian democracy movements