Daily adult and student protests keep unfolding amidst
continued shelling of towns and neighborhoods and orchestrated support demonstrations
throughout the country.
Thursday October 27,
2011
14 people were killed in
the continuing crackdown by pro-Assad militias against unarmed protesters
throughout the country. 5 including one child were killed in the town of Karnaz
in Hama Province, 5 more fell in Homs Province, 2 in Deraa/Hauran Province and
1 in the coastal town of Jableh in Lattakia Province.
Links
Activists
and protest leaders decided to name the coming Friday, Friday of the No-Fly
Zone. It’s official then: the people want a no-fly zone http://youtu.be/4_hAwAvY1r8
“The overwhelming
majority of Arabs in the six nations covered in the survey side with those
Syrians demonstrating against the government (from 83% in Morocco to 100% in
Jordan). And when asked whether Bashar Al Assad can continue to govern, the
highest affirmative ratings he receives are 15% in Morocco and 14% in Egypt.”
Assad no longer popular!
Say it ain’t so! Oh, what a difference 8 months of killing your own people do!
All Assad had to do to prove that he is an irredeemable dictator is kill 3,500
of his own people. Arabs are definitely not so fickle!
But, of course, for a
poll sponsored by the Arab American Institute, a recommendation along these
lines is a must:
“The country receiving
the lowest rating for its role in Syria is the United States, which should
serve as a cautionary note for U.S. policy-makers. Despite the appeals of some
in the Syrian opposition, Syria appears not to be a place where U.S. interference
will ultimately be welcomed - especially in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi
Arabia.”
But how about Syria?
Would U.S. interference be ultimately welcomed there? Considering the warm
reception Ambassador Robert Ford had in Hama City and other protest communities
he visited, the answer might be frighteningly positive. But why should anyone
give a damn? Why should the possibility of changing the political landscape of
the region be of any tantalizing interest to the United States?
L’homme revolte et la fait accomplis
By coincidence, I received several inquiries today about the
influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Syrian National Council, and about
my current take on the SNC in general. Rather than send separate private
responses, I thought sharing my ideas in public would do more good seeing that
SNC is scheduled to announce its final structure in the next few days. So, here
goes:
Indeed,
the Muslim Brotherhood, especially the Aleppo Branch still loyal to former
leader Sadreddine Bayanouni, has a lot of influence over the SNC from behind
the scenes. In this, the MB doesn’t just rely on its formal representatives,
but also on allegedly independent Islamist figures, few Leftist sympathizers
and former members, excommunicated for one reason or another, who went on to
join other coalitions, such as the Damascus Declaration Council, among others.
This arrangement allows the MB to exert influence while maintaining a low formal
profile. As such, the official seats reserved for the MB seem reasonable, but
through this wider network, their influence is enormous.
Of
course, they still have to forge alliances outside this network, hence the
ability of Burhane Ghalioun and others to maneuver and dictate some terms. The
exclusion of certain figures like Haitham Al-Maleh, Abdurrazzak Eid from the
closed selection process that led to the formation of the SNC seems more
related to their unwillingness to play ball in this game. Private arrangements
and deals are part of the political process, but when the entire process is
based on these kinds of arrangements, it becomes problematic and open to hidden
agendas. This is the essence of y criticism of the SNC.
The
thing is there was really no moral or technical justification for the way the
SNC was put together. The previous attempts at council formation in Antalya and
elsewhere were criticized for insufficient transparency and inclusiveness, but
the process of forming the SNC was the least transparent and inclusive of all.
Considering
the fact that all of these efforts are being led by expats in exile, where we
have the ability to meet and discuss freely, and considering the diversity of
the Syrian political scene, I see little justification for the lack of a
democratic vote in the formation of a transitional council. Agreeing on a specific
electoral system and quotas for all the political and ethnic groups will not be
easy, of course, but attempting to sidestep this difficulty through the
adoption of a closed system of selection supervised by forces with ideologies
that fail to reflect the beliefs and interests of wide segments of the Syrian
population, is definitely not the solution, especially when that solution is
packaged, gift-wrapped and presented as a fait accomplis.
As
a democracy activist, I am not in the business of putting up with faits accomplis,
not when I believe they are wrong.
Many
people think or would like to create the impression that SNC critics like me are
those who were denied positions in its leadership structure and are sore about
it. Perhaps for some, this is indeed the case. But for most, myself included, the
main problem is that the SNC formation process robbed us of our voice, of our voting
right, of our say in the making and decision-making of an entity that could be
destined to play a crucial role in the history of our country, for no
fathomable reason other than logistical convenience, if we are to assume that
the intentions were always pure and that no hidden agendas were at play. The
problem becomes worse if we are to assume that the intentions of some key
players may not have been as pure.
In
all cases, being who I am, I cannot accept or be quiet about this situation,
even if my attitude proved unpopular in certain quarters. Certain things just have
to be done right, because they are meant to be the basis of so many other
things in the future. Many argue that the SNC in its current makeup is only a
temporary short-term procedural entity, and that, for this reason we can put up
with its shortcomings, but the way they themselves jockeyed for positions in
SNC belie that they actually believe that. When SNC figures and their
supporters ask us to be quiet and refrain from public criticism without
addressing any of the concerns we raised, and by using emotional arguments
regarding the disastrous effect the collapse of the SNC will likely have on the
Syrian street not to mention on the credibility of opposition groups on the
international scene, throw even more doubts on the intentions of SNC leaders,
as these arguments show that they are unwilling to change. But transitional processes
are too complex and unpredictable, and we cannot afford to tackle them with a mentality
that tries to sweep errors under the carpet rather than fix them.
In
short, don't count on me to become a yes-man irrespective of the pressures I am
under. Before asking me to be a team-player, let’s agree on the rules of the
game. Once the rules are agreed, I will play for the team regardless of my
position in the field, because I am not in it for myself, and I am not a
naysayer for the sake of it. My critique of anything, and not just the SNC, will
always be premised on the ideas and principles I have always advocated. For
instance, the Tharwa Foundation started out as a project dedicated to raising
awareness about minority rights and improving inter-communal relations, so is
it any surprise that I keep raising the issue of communal representation in my
critique of opposition coalitions.
Some
are wary that we are focusing too much on each other at this stage, rather than
the regime. They are both right and wrong. Many feel free and justified in
focusing on oppositional politics because they sincerely believe that the
regime is in its final days, and that it is only a matter of time before it
falls. I believe this is an arrogant assumption. I believe the Assads have a
good chance to survive this. To believe in victory without entertaining the
possibility of defeat numbs the senses and makes one impervious to feeling the
urgency of the situation, opportunities get missed as a result.
Personally,
updating this digest, among other activities, helps me avoid this pitfall, as
it keeps connected to the raw realities on the ground.
On
the other hand, focusing on the SNC and oppositional politics is part of the
process of conjuring an alternative to Assad rule. As such, it is a healthy and
necessary phenomenon. It might be confusing and frustrating as hell, but it’s
also unavoidable. But it needs to be tackled with the right frame of mind,
herein the challenge. The fate of the revolution depends in no small part on how
many of us, inside the country and out, have that right frame.
A debate in SAIS between myself
and my colleague Radwan Ziadeh on the future of the Syrian Revolution and the
SNC http://youtu.be/xJoOAVe-srs
Pro-Assad militias roam the streets of Da’el
in Deraa/Hauran Province http://youtu.be/iuzYLBU0F20
, http://youtu.be/5lyxMNf3TkQ A child
is killed as a result of their activities http://youtu.be/u3AN_QCTZBs
, http://youtu.be/zEfPsQHFgf8 The
funeral http://youtu.be/f5-Rdc3FxXE
In Saraqib in Idlib Province, people bury
http://youtu.be/OV6MjyfAVqg the child
http://youtu.be/SOzM0jrLOSo that fell
yesterday http://youtu.be/Qr9kbiugMIg
A martyr from Kafar Nabboudeh, Hama
Province http://youtu.be/smEWthiVd94
A new Brigade formed by defectors under the Free
Syrian Army umbrella http://youtu.be/G9rw7ax8I5k
Impact of shelling on Baba Amr
Neighborhood in Homs City http://youtu.be/hDjc0MXmjto
, http://youtu.be/dcw_e1x3st0 , http://youtu.be/3uQONRU3N9k Bab
Al-Sibaa http://youtu.be/t1y0vpvutSQ
Elsewhere in the city, a Deir Baalbah
martyr http://youtu.be/e9z67dcPZoI
In Shammas, a car explodes after being
shelled http://youtu.be/dEy9R2rhSD8 ,
http://youtu.be/0LQnE1ph3_8 Tanks
roam the nearby neighborhood of Midan http://youtu.be/CAiO9AcOmGQ
A funeral in Qoussour http://youtu.be/JURv9Ws5ipw
But people still take to the streets in Wa’er
http://youtu.be/tLwfGk6d6XQ Baba
Amr http://youtu.be/dJq0rvkZqhw Khaldiyeh
http://youtu.be/xZ5BRT_fP-k Deir
Baalbah http://youtu.be/VnWeE0DbFIk
Bab Houd http://youtu.be/90FFGitOOMA
Karm Al-Shami http://youtu.be/FuYZdjbTbuM
Jib Al-Jandali http://youtu.be/uyHMFIkv4os
Insha’aat http://youtu.be/dP8LyltCUVU
At night shelling of Deir Baalbah and
other neighborhoods resumes http://youtu.be/G44BtOhqiSQ
Khaldiyeh http://youtu.be/-q13h_Z4jUg
Qoussour http://youtu.be/F4j7rmZx_MY
Other major demonstrations
Damascus: Harasta http://youtu.be/tHfIo6NJq7Y
Homs Province: Palmyra (Tadmor) http://youtu.be/7KlxsQp_4zU Houleh
http://youtu.be/7PyE2u1uWi8
Deraa/Hauran: Hraak http://youtu.be/4FTGX8axtVc Basr
Al-Harir http://youtu.be/jRKHBbVZmfs
No comments:
Post a Comment