A new generation of activists are leading the way in Syria

Protests against Syria’s Baath party have breathed new life into traditional opposition parties long hunted by the ruling dynasty, but young activists fear anti-regime veterans may claim their “revolution”.

“Even before the protests, Syria had a traditional opposition movement, but we were surprised by the movement that has emerged in the streets... and that is now leading the way,” said top Syrian rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni.

“In the past, we formed the main opposition against the ruling regime, but we never once thought it possible it would fall,” said Mr Bunni. “The popular protests have outdone us and proved that it is in fact, possible.”

Mr Bunni, who spent five years in a Syrian prison before being freed in May, still recalls the sarcasm of his fellow opposition supporters when, in 2005, he drafted a constitution for a new Syria.

“At the time, everyone was asking: Who are you doing this for? Do you really think the regime will disappear?” remarked Mr Bunni.

But almost 50 years after the Assad dynasty rose to power in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad is facing an unprecedented challenge to his rule, as protests demanding he step down spread across the Baath-ruled country.

In rural areas, protesters in March first began to brave the iron fist of the Assad regime after Muslim prayers on Friday, when they would rally to demand a say in the governance of their country.

The UN says more than 2,200 people have been killed by Assad’s forces since the mass protests began. And as the death toll continues to mount, some opposition figures in Syria believe it is time to usher out the old and bring in a new generation of young activists, with the hope that they will find a way to stand united.

“The regime had always sought to prevent the opposition from building a real network among the Syrian people,” said Fateh Jamus, head of Syria’s opposition Labour Party.

“Before the revolt, we tried to unify the opposition,” said Mr Jamus. “But we failed because we could not agree on how to effect democratic change and had diverging views on the regime and foreign intervention.

“I do not think the opposition has been able to keep up, or really build ties, with the protesters in the streets today.”

One activist who has been involved in the rallies said there are three groups of protesters now in Syria: Islamists, Arab nationalists, and the secular opposition leaders who were behind the Damascus Declaration, a statement released in 2005 demanding dialogue and reform in Syria.

But the Syrian revolution, as a wildly popular Facebook group calls it, was launched by young Syrians who were new to political activism but skilled in the social media, namely Facebook and YouTube.

Five months ago, online activists first began to demand more freedoms in Syria. Today, they are openly demanding the Assad regime step down.

Syrian activists have also begun to organise their efforts, with dissidents in Turkey on Tuesday announcing a broad-based “national council” to coordinate their campaign to topple Mr Assad. But the new opposition is not immune to the divides that plagued the previous generation.

Activists inside Syria on Friday formed their own “general authority for the Syrian revolution,” which joined 44 groups and committees that had been the driving force behind the popular movement.

These activists, however, are opposed to the Istanbul meeting and issued a statement that criticized “holding several conferences and calling for transitional councils or governments while in exile abroad”.

Zaradacht Mohammed, spokesman for the independent Kurdish Democratic Union Party, says his biggest hope is that opposition parties inside Syria and abroad will unite for the sake of their country.

“Differences exist and will always exist, but we must unite on areas of agreement – the rejection of foreign intervention, a peaceful revolt for a secular state,” Mr Mohammed said.