Change is unavoidable and our goal is to guide it

The régime, which was established during the civil war and operated from the nineties to the present day, vitally depends on the influx of enough foreign currencies i.e. US dollars. These reserves, accumulated over the years, are running out. Conditions for a sufficient and sustainable influx of more dollars are no longer available. This means that the fuel that drives the existing system has run out, so how can this wheel keep on turning? From here, change is unavoidable, not because we want it, but because the old system can no longer survive.

Since change is unavoidable, what can we expect? There are two options.

• The worst scenario, which is the one we are currently witnessing, is for the society to adapt, which ultimately would extend the life of the coalition of sectarian leaders. This would push a large portion of the productive class in this society, mainly the youth, to emigrate. The domestic consumption of dollars would shrink and its influx would be reinforced again by the emigrants sending money to support their families back home. Society would continue to gradually erode until a balance is reached to secure the continuity of the régime in its current form. Society would be wrecked for a long time, without any chance for it to recover for decades.
• The second option is for society to be seen as a priority that must be protected and defended. For this to happen, change has to target the structure of the system itself. The power would be transferred from the coalition of sectarian leaders to the only entity that is functionally capable of defending the society, the whole society, which is the state.

We, at Citizens in a State, are aware that change is unavoidable, and therefore our goal is to influence its outcome, and this contribution must be decisive. Here and now, any step, any position, any confrontation action that we take must serve the purpose of this contribution, which is to build a civil, democratic, just and potent state. The opportunity for change is favorable, rather historical, and may not come around again, and the need for the establishment of a state that protects our threatened society, is pressing. Any losses affecting society will not be recoverable, but these losses can be turned into sacrifices whenever they are aimed at building a state.