Eight months ago the mass protests in Syria erupted like a volcano, and took the fascist and repressive Bath Party led Syrian regime by surprise. Since 40 years the Baathists have ruled Syria with an iron hand in total disregard of the aspirations of the majority Sunni 80% and Kurd 10%. The Allawite – Air Force Major General Hafez-Al-Asad had staged a coup-d-etat in 1968 and was in the driving saddle for 30 years, and since his death in June 2000 his son Bashar Al Asad, a dentist by profession, a nominee of the Baath Party, Syrian military and the powerful Mukhabarat- Syrian Intelligence Agency has headed a repressive regime for eleven years. The mass protests in Syria since April 2011 erupted after the “Arab Spring” rallies in Tunisia, which unseated President Zain-Al-Abidin after 22 years of misrule; and in Egypt after President Hosni Mubarak was removed from power after forty one years of brutal rule. This peoples revolution was joyfully called the “Arab Spring”. Syrian people inspired by the “Arab Spring”, took to he streets hoping to topple the ineffective Bashar al Asad, who had no credentials for the top job except being hafef al Assad’s second son.
Having spent five years as Pakistan’s Ambassador in Damascus, I understand the psyche of the Syrian people and the vicious nature and mentality of the Allavite’s – Baathist rulers, who have slaughtered 3500 people with the motive to crush their peaceful freedom struggle from state tyranny. The people’s rebellion is being crushed by ruthless military action to snuff out dissent and opposition to the regime.
After forty two years of Baath Party dictatorship, which has shackled the 22 million Syrian men and women into bondage, the “Arab Spring” infused the Sunni’s -75% and Kurds 7%, to rise in peaceful protests to rid the country of the Allawite fascists, who had trampled them underfoot peoples rights and aspirations for decades. Syria is a fascist police state where the majority lives in fear of Mukhabarat thugs, who crack down on the people like Nazi Getapo or Soviet KGB.
In April 1982 after the kidnapping of 15 Sunni girls by Syrian Army soldiers in the city of Hama, the criminals were killed by the youth in retaliation. President Hafez Al Assad ordered retribution and revenge. Hama was besieged by two divisions of the Syrian Army, with tanks, artillery and the city was bombed for two weeks. Syrian Air Force was ordered to bomb the city regardless of civilian casualties. During the 14 days of incessant bombing forty two thousand people and fifty thousand injured. Hama was flattened and turned into a heap of rubble. After this slaughter, the people have lived in terror of the fascist Baath regimes under Hafez al Assad and his son Bashar al Asad. The Turkish Ambassador came to seen me after seeing the Hama carnage, narrated the Syrian governments barbarity with tears in his eyes. Turks never cry, and seeing tears in his eye I was moved. European and the American media condemned the Sunni carnage calling Assad “The Butcher of Hama”. At the Roland Reagan Library in Los-Angeles I saw a large portrait of Hafez al Assad with the caption- THE BUTCHER OF HAMA. No Arab of Islamic leader condemned Hafez al Asad for this mass slaughter. The Arab League of 20 Arab states and the Islamic Ummah-57 countries took no notice of this barbarity.
The recent wave of street protests in Syria started on January 26, 2011. The Army was ordered into the main cities, towns and villages. When Syrian Army fired and killed large number of protestors in the cities of Hama, Darra, Homs, Douma, Baniyas, Talkalakh, Deir ez Zor Aleppo Latakia and Damascus, the rallies turned into a mass uprising by 15 march 2011.
Unafraid of Army tanks, Mukhabart threats and kidnappings and military brutality, Syrian protestors demanded President Bashar al Assad to step down. They demanded the ruling Baath Party government to allow other political parties to function freely. They demanded parliamentary elections to replace the puppet Parliament. They demanded removal of the Army from cities, and riddance of corrupt party and government officials. That people held in jails without trial be released. Millions of jobless youth be given jobs. The Kurd minority demanded equality, end to harassment and grant of citizenship denied to them by the Baath regime since 42 years.
Masses demanded political and press freedom, and freedom of speech and assembly. Instead of listening and heeding public demands, Bashar al Assad unleashed the Syrian Army and the dreaded Mukhabarat to silence dissent, and muzzle and crush all opposition to his demonic regime. Bashar al Assad is embarked on snuffing out the “Arab Spring” in Syria and is resolved to clamp down on the people with military force. The protest marches were fired upon, mosque protestors were brutalized, slogans, banners, hunger strikes, were condemned as rioting and vandalism by Islamic anti state and foreign elements and dealt with ruthlessly.
After the slaughters of 3500 citizens, injury to 30000 and beatings and jailing thousands, Bashar al Asad claims that he has the situation under control.
But street protests are continuing with daily killings of scores of citizens. The end to the dark night of despotic rule is not in sight. Syrian tanks have been rushed into all cities, and tanks and snipers have forced the people to stay indoor. Public beatings have become a norm. Food stores have been emptied to starve the people into submission. Water and electricity were shut off, from the cities named above. Syrian Army has repeatedly stormed into houses and tortured inmate to perpetrate terror. In August the violence escalated as a crisis and thousands fled into neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Soldiers are refusing to fire on the civilians and a large number have defected. Soldiers who refuse to fire on civilians are executed. Syrian government has denied defections or execution of soldiers. Hundreds of detainees have reportedly been tortured and killed. Syrian authorities state that all those captured are terrorists, and have confessed receiving aid and advice from Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia and are Islamist extremists.
President Bashar al Asssad has addressed the Parliament-Majilis twice and announced reforms and concessions. The opposition has termed these as trivial eye wash, and Syrian protestors are demanding meaningful reforms. On April 21 the government had repealed the Emergency law, which had been in place since 1963, thereby fully establishing that Syria has been a fascist police state since fifty years. These draconian laws had given the government sweeping authority to suspend constitutional rights of the people. On 24 July a draft law was debated by the Parliament to allow more political parties, with the proviso that they must be secular, non-religious, shun tribal and ethnic beliefs, and do not discriminate against gender and race. Protestors have dismissed this draft law, and called it a wash up as long as Article 8 of the Syrian Constitution which grants the Baath Party the role as leader of the state and society is not repealed. On November 14 Syrian militants and the Army were engaged in a wave of violence across the country, that included deadly ambushes of government forces. In the southern province of Deraa seventy people had died in clashes including 36 Army and Security officers. The military officers were ambushed by defected soldiers. Nineteen dead bodies were delivered to hospital’s without identification papers. Four hundred people have died this month. People are in revolt and want a representative government, but Bashar al Assad is determined to keep Syria as a one party state by grant of total supremacy to the Baath Party, which is the garantor of Allawite rule in Syria.
The world media, has exposed the excesses of the Syrian regime, and except for Russia, China and Iran have vehemently condemned Bashar al Asad for the unabated violence against the defenseless Syrian people. The united Nations, European union, the US, the Arab League and leaders across the world are deeply concerned at Bashar al Asad’s insane behavior.
Sanctions have been slammed on the Syrian regime to force it to halt repression. European Investment Bank has stopped grants and loans to Syria. EU Banks have stopped all banking activities in Syria. European Union has frozen the assets of 19 Syrian companies, and financial and trading institutions. Embargo on Syrian oil imports has reduced oil production by 75%. Revenue from oil exports represents 35% of nation budget. 90% of Syrian POL is exported to EU countries. But Asad remained defiant and had enhanced the tempo of vicious and heartless slaughters till the Arab League suspended Syrian membership on November 16, 2011. Arab League has called upon the Syrian government to withdraw troops from cities, stop firing on protestors and release 30000 detainees from Syrian jails.
Walid al Moallem the Syrian Foreign Minister has now reiterated Syrian resolve that Syria has complied with the terms of the Arab League peace plan, by withdrawing troops from urban areas, releasing 1200 political prisoners and pardoning militants. But Arab League member states and Syrian activists are insistent that Syria had failed to comply with the Arab League Peace Plan, and embarked on renewed violence against the people. In the fresh wave of violence Syrian Army killed 400 civilians during the last thirty days. Despite agreeing to the accords, Syrian troops attacked Hom’s and killed 240 unarmed civilians. The massacre was perpetrated in Homs, just after Syria had agreed to the Arab League Peace Plan.
The unabated barbarity has angered Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who warned Bashar al Assad “not to feed on blood. Bashar is on the edge of a cliff.” In his personal message to Bashar, whom he addressed by his first name to show disrespect, Erdogan stated, ” those who fire on their own people will go down in history as leaders who feed on the blood of their own people. You are on the same path”. Addressing Turkish legislators from the ruling Justice party Eerdogan said, “No one expects the Syrian regime to meet the expectations of the people and of the international community, because it is in continuous deception.” Following this blunt statement Turkey shut down electricity supply and has cancelled oil exploration in Syria. Thousands of Syrian dissidents have fled to Turkey to escape death. They have a safe heaven in Turkey.
After state sponsored attacks, Syria apologized for attacks on the Embassies of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Morocco and France. On Saturday Nov 16, the 22 member states of the Arab League retaliated, and in a unanimous vote suspended Syrian membership of the Arab League. This has shaken the Syrian regime. Syrian Foreign Minister immediately called for a national dialogue with opposition leaders. But the opponents have refused the offer and demanded release of the thirty thousands political prisoners and activists from Syrian jails. On Sunday November 13, Damascus had called for an emergency Arab League summit to discuss the unrest and invited officials from all Arab countries to visit Syria, before Syrian suspension is put into effect from Saturday November 17, 2011. The government of Syria wants Arab officials to oversee implementation of the Arab League Peace Plan. But the Saudi led bloc of six Gulf states rejected the Syrian plea, underscoring Gulf states hostility towards Bashar al Assad. Saudi prince Turki al Faisal, the nephew of king Abdullah predicted that it was inevitable that Bashar Assad will be forced out soon. “whenever you perpetrate violence against your own people, it will never end well.
In Cairo Nabil el Araby, Secretary General of the Arab League said that Syrian request for an Arab summit has been forwarded to all member states, with a tentative plan to protect Syrian citizens by deploying 500 Arab observers including members of human right organizations. But clearance of the government of Syria is awaited. On November 16, Arab Foreign Ministers gave Syria three days to cease “bloody repression” against the people or face economic sanctions”. After the Arab foreign ministers meeting, Foreign Minister of Qatar said that “Artab states had reached the end of the line with Assad governments bloody repression.
On Monday 14 November king Abdullah of Jordan advised “President Bashar al Asad to step down for the good of the country. If Bashar has the interest of his people, he should step down, and reach out to start a new phase of Syrian political life. If I was in his position, I would step down, and make sure that whosoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo”. This bold statement cannot go unnoticed in Damascus.
Bashar al Assad feels strongly entrenched. He has full backing of his loyal Syrian Army, and the powerful Mukhabarat-Syrian spy agency, the police and bureaucracy- and all other instruments of the police state. With substantial number of armed loyalists- Allawites who comprise ten percent of the population, a pliant Parliament and powerful allies,viz Russia, China and Iran, he believes that he will weather the storm of public protests, international criticism, and Arab uproar. He cannot see the writing on the wall, and surrounded by psychophants and boot lickers, he is living in a dream of unreality like Muamar Gaddafi.
But with tough EU sanctions in place, and with suspension of Arab League membership and impending sanctions, and continuing anarchy, he will buckle. He will quit sooner and cannot hang around for very long. Syria gets weapons from Russia and China and financial and moral support form Iran. But these weapons and funds have been of no avail. Bashar is a symbol of despotism and anarchy, and after the Arab Spring and the valiant struggle of the people of Syria to get rid of him, his days in power are numbered.
