As a result of increasing distrust between members of the Syrian opposition, and accusations of betrayal between activists on some occasions, members of the Bees of the Coast Movement launched the Yes to Thinking, No to Distrust campaign in October 2012.

The campaign was launched through a statement released on the group’s Facebook page.

“We, the Syrian revolutionaries, peaceful and armed, civilians and militants, of all religions, sects and ethnic backgrounds, inside and outside the country, and despite our ideological differences, renew our oath to God and to our country that we will pay whatever price needed for our revolution to succeed. Ours is a revolution of freedom and dignity, and we swear by God that when victory comes about, none of us will claim it for himself. We will not deny anyone the role they played in bringing the regime down, nor will we accuse those who followed a path different than ours of ignorance or shortsightedness. Our goal is one, and we call on all Syrians to remain united in their struggle to topple the regime. Syrians, reject any discriminatory speech. Reject any messages related to sectarian, ethnic or religious difference, for this will only delay our victory and will stand in the way of the Syria of freedom, justice and dignity that we all envision.”

As a part of the campaign, activists distributed leaflets with slogans such as “No matter what, I trust in you,” “Yes to the sound of reason,” and “Distrust harms the revolution.”

Activists also distributed “bands of trust and brotherhood” - yellow bands carrying the campaign’s slogans that were hung on trees - and designed posters calling out against distrust between activists.

One of the posters used in the campaign. Source: Bees of the Coast Official Facebook Page