Kahlawi criticizes Lathqani’s appointment to the People’s Assembly and describes her tears as “crocodiles.”

Kahlawi said that his criticism stems from a political disagreement and a disagreement in principles and values, and not a personal disagreement between two colleagues in the artistic community.

Kahlawi, who lived for many years outside Syria after his defection from the previous regime, recalled during his speech the years of war and the great difference between their paths, noting that he was prohibited from returning to Damascus, while Lathqani continued her life and artistic work inside Syria during Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

"Crocodile tears" ignite debate

Kahlawi's attack did not stop at the appointment decision. Rather, he touched on the appearance of Lathqani crying in front of a model of a cell in Saydnaya prison during the Damascus International Fair, describing those scenes as "crocodile tears," in reference to his objection to her previous positions during the years that witnessed one of Syria's most cruel stages.

He considered that many Syrians lived the experience of displacement, asylum, and deprivation, while others remained inside the country, carrying on with their lives and work without taking public positions on what was happening, before they appeared today at the forefront of the new political scene.

From "takwiyah" to seats of power

What is striking in Kahlawi’s speech is that he tried to separate acceptance of political transformations from granting their owners leadership and representative positions in state institutions.

According to his vision, those who have changed their political positions can be dealt with as part of national reconciliation and civil peace and preventing the continuation of division among Syrians, but he believes that the matter is different when it comes to handing them public positions or representative seats.

Kahlawi asked a direct question about the criteria that should govern the selection of personalities in new institutions, demanding that we look at the previous record, qualifications and experience, and not be satisfied with the political discourse that appeared after the fall of the regime.

Rosina Lazkani in the People's Assembly

President Ahmed Al-Sharaa appointed Rosina Lathqani, last July, among a list that included 70 members who constituted a complementary third of the People's Assembly.

Lathqani said after announcing her appointment that she did not expect the decision, stressing that her family suffered during the era of the previous regime, and that she wanted to focus on humanitarian and national files, including missing persons, families of martyrs, and transitional justice.

But these clarifications did not succeed in ending the controversy, as Kahlawi’s attack reopened a broader discussion about the figures at the forefront of the political scene in the new Syria.

A dispute between artists or a question about the future of the country?

The debate between Samer Kahlawi and Rosina Lathkani quickly transcended the boundaries of an artistic or personal dispute, turning into a more sensitive discussion: Who has the right to represent Syrians in the new phase?

Is it enough for a person to change his political position and join the “New Syria” discourse to become eligible to hold public office? Or do representative positions require a previous record, clear positions, and experience that give their owner political and popular legitimacy?

Questions that Kahlawi raised aloud, while the debate remains open about the criteria for selecting new elites, the limits of reconciliation, and the difference between opening a new page for everyone and granting positions of power and political representation.