When Arab revolutions started, there were high hopes that Arab countries will be freed from dictatorships and corrupt rulers, and there will be democratisation, rule of law and peaceful transition of power.
This optimism, however, has waned because of the developments in Arab Spring countries, as many of them are embroiled in conflicts over narrow interests that have nothing to do with the aspirations of the people. The political scene has degenerated into silly things, which have nothing to do with national issues or problems, giving rise to the impression that Arab Spring countries are stuck in a mire.
Now, come to Syria. Everybody thought that Syrian people would win the battle against Bashar Al Assad, and I was one of them, and expected a quick overthrow of Assad along with his Ba’athist regime which has been in power for more than half a century. The situation in Syria changed quickly and dramatically as an unprecedented crackdown on the people resulted in armed conflicts. The international community proved shockingly incapable of taking any measures to stop these massacres. This changed the Syrian uprising into a regional and international conflict, and the blood of Syrians became a negotiating card between the United States and Russia.
The international community and the US have disappointed us. The US is still resisting an intervention to serve its own interests and please the Russians, as if both have struck a secret deal to keep Assad in power until the end of his term in 2014.
After a meeting with the US Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow this week, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that they have agreed to convene an international conference for launching talks between the Syrian government and the opposition.
“We are going to explore all possibilities to bring the Syrian government and the opposition to the negotiating table,” he said, highlighting the importance of a political solution to the crisis.
At the same time, the latest Israeli strike against Syria has lent support to Assad’s argument that he is being targeted by Israel and it is waging a regional and Arab war.
If Israel had really wanted to weaken Assad, it could have hit more important targets rather than make a media show of its force.
The Assad regime too is playing a similar game which explains why it chose to react to the Israeli attacks through the media instead of reacting militarily.
The US and Russia have a common interest in keeping the fire raging in the region.
They have an interest in keeping this region busy with internal wars and adding more fuel to the fire by fanning sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shias which would engulf Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
The Arabian Gulf is of course not far from all these. The US will wait until the next presidential elections in Syria in 2014.
This means that the time has not come yet for the fall of Assad regime. So let’s pray for the martyrs of Syria and say to the Syrian people, “God is with you’.
