Culture Minister Mohammad Yasin Saleh has issued a circular to all bodies, directorates, and venues affiliated with the ministry, prohibiting them from organizing events or celebrations in which figures linked to the Assad regime might take part.

In the circular, published by the ministry through its official channels, Saleh stressed the ban on any figure who has previously been associated with the former regime, glorified it, or produced works that “covered up its crimes” against the Syrian people or denied them.

The circular, released by the Culture Ministry on Friday, 21 November, underlined the need to focus on the concepts embodied by Liberation Day, whose first anniversary falls on 8 December.

The ministry said the circular comes “based on the provisions of the constitutional declaration, out of keenness for the public interest, in consideration of the enormous sacrifices made by the Syrian people, and to raise the level of Syrian cultural work in all its fields.”

Saleh affirmed in his circular that leading Syria into “an era of freedom and justice, building a prosperous state, and strengthening national identity and the unity of the Syrian people are concepts that must be highlighted.”

He called for adherence to cultural, intellectual, and national goals, and to the applicable administrative systems when selecting the activities and events organised by the bodies, directorates, centres, and cultural venues affiliated with the ministry.

Syrian artists had split after the Syrian revolution into those who supported the Assad regime and became part of its propaganda, those who opposed it and lost their work, were detained, or forced to leave Syria, and others who chose to remain silent about political events.

After the regime fell, many artists changed their positions and became involved in cultural and artistic events, sometimes with licenses from the Ministry of Culture, while the ministry intervened in other cases, sparking controversy and criticism among Syrians over the continued presence of such figures today.

The Culture Directorate in the city of Aleppo (in northern Syria) had denied cancelling an event titled “Al Aqsa Flood” that was scheduled to be held on 14 November in response to alleged Israeli pressure.

A source in the Culture Directorate, who asked not to be named, told Enab Baladi that the event was announced on 6 November without having been approved.

He added that the announcement was deleted less than two hours later, noting that the relevant parties were informed that the event had not been approved and was therefore cancelled, without explaining the reasons for the cancellation.

He said that some “tried to exploit the situation and mislead people” into thinking that the event was cancelled due to political pressure, insisting that this was “absolutely untrue.”