COMMENT: Syria, target of the West yet again
Chandra Muzaffar
ONCE again, Syria is being blamed. This time it is accused of
instigating and engineering the fighting in the Nahr el-Bared
Palestinian refugee camp.
A segment of the mainstream Western media whose views are echoed
all over the world alleges that Syrian intelligence has chosen to
pit a militant group, the Fatah al-Islam, against the Lebanese army
in order to prevent the international tribunal charged with
investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister
Rafiq Hariri on Feb 14, 2005 from carrying out its work.
This is utterly ludicrous. Fatah Al-Islam is a splinter group that
broke away from the Fatah Al-Intifada in November last year and is
ideologically orientated towards al-Qaeda.
Its leader, Shaker Abssi, was once imprisoned by Syrian authorities
for smuggling arms to Jordan. He is still on the Syrian wanted
list.
Independent analysts point out that groups like Fatah Al-Islam are
sponsored and supported by wealthy, politically influential
individuals in the Lebanese establishment who in turn are linked to
certain Saudi personalities who share their goal of using militant
Sunnis to weaken the Shia Hizbollah, Lebanons most powerful
peoples movement.
Sunni elements in Beirut, Riyadh, Amman and a number of other Arab
capitals have become obsessed with this goal in the wake of the
rising popularity of the Hizbollah among both Shia and Sunni
communities throughout the Arab and Muslim world largely because of
its ability to thwart Israeli aggression against Lebanon in the
34-day war in July-August 2006.
Needless to say, Washington and Tel Aviv also see the
containment of Hizbollah as a vital component of Washingtons
strategy to ensure its control and dominance over the Middle
East.
As the respected investigative journalist Seymour Hersh opines,
Washington is prepared to manipulate militant Sunni groups for this
purpose. This explains why the media is so willing to camouflage
the role of Sunni militants by scapegoating Syria.
Even in the Hariri murder, the media and Western governments
immediately pointed their finger at Damascus.
To this day, they have not been able to furnish hard, direct
evidence of Damascus involvement.
The murder ignited mass demonstrations that led to the expulsion of
the Syrian army from Lebanon.
This was what Israel and the US wanted. In fact, the
neo-conservatives (neo-cons) had all along pushed for Syrias
expulsion from Lebanon as part of their larger plan to create a
"new Middle East".
Why, one should ask, is Syria targeted in this manner? The primary
reasons are linked to Israeli interests in the Middle East.
Syria has been one of the staunchest supporters of the Palestinian
cause.
For Syria it is not just rhetoric.
Syria has for decades served as the hospitable home for a whole
variety of Palestinian liberation forces opposed to Israel, ranging
from George Habashs secular Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine to Khalil Meshals Hamas.
Besides, Syria will not concede to Israel on the question of the
full and unconditional return of the whole of the Golan Heights to
Syria.
Because Syria will neither sacrifice the rights of the Palestinian
people nor surrender to Israeli insolence, it has earned the wrath
of the US, Israels patron and protector and that segment of the
media that serves their interests.
By criticising the vilification of Syria one is not exonerating the
Syrian government of its misdeeds.
From the time of Hafez Assads presidency, there has been
widespread political suppression. Dissent has been curbed and
controlled. As in other authoritarian societies, political
accountability has yet to emerge as a social norm.
Nonetheless, the constant smearing of Syrias image has created a
situation where even its friends and sympathisers abroad are not
aware of some of its stupendous achievements.
Three of these will be highlighted here.
One, whatever one may say of Syrias involvement in Lebanese
politics from the 1970s onwards, it was instrumental in ending a
bloody civil war, restoring peace and stability and rebuilding some
of the institutions of governance that functioned reasonably well
until recently.
Two, Syria, often accused of harbouring terrorists, is the one
nation in the region that has provided shelter to millions of
refugees from neighbouring countries.
Today, it feeds one million Iraqi refugees, victims of the US-led
occupation of their land.
Since 1948, Syria has looked after almost a million Palestinian
refugees, victims of Israels policy of ethnic cleansing.
For a while, in the midst of Israels 34-day onslaught upon
Lebanon, it protected more than 300,000 Lebanese who had fled their
homes.
Three, despite the tremendous pressure exerted upon various states
in the Middle East in recent years by Washington and Tel Aviv as
they pursue their diabolical agenda of re-shaping the Middle East
to guarantee their long-term hegemony, Damascus has stood its
ground and refused to yield.
It is not prepared to barter the sovereignty of the nation or the
dignity of its people for meagre crumbs from the banquet table of
the superpower and its ally.
Syria is one of the few states in the Middle East that has adopted
such a principled position which, there is no need to emphasise,
reflects the feelings of the people.
Much of the credit for this should go to not only the late Hafez
Assad but also to his young son Bashar, who has displayed courage
and integrity in grappling with the challenges confronting his
nation.
In my one-on-one meeting with him in Damascus in early May, I was
impressed by his lucid grasp of international politics and his
clear understanding of what was at stake for Syria and its
neighbours in the "new Middle East".
These three achievements aside, Syria can be justifiably proud of
its inter-religious harmony.
With a 74 per cent Sunni population that combines with other Muslim
communities such as the Alawite and the Druze who constitute 16 per
cent of the total, and a 10 per cent Christian minority, Syria is a
country where religious affiliation has little significance to
public life.
Christian worshippers, for instance, move in and out of the
illustrious Ummayyad Mosque which houses the shrine of John the
Baptist (the Prophet Yahya to Muslims).
Syrias growth rate has risen steadily to 5.7 per cent in 2006 from
less than one per cent in 2000.
At the same time, unemployment has decreased to 8.7 per cent in
2006 from 20 per cent in 2000.
However, more than the economy, what really impacted upon me was
the helpful nature of the people; their generosity and
kindness.
Civility and courtesy are the hallmark of the Syrian.
There is, at the same time, a profound pride among Syrians in their
nation and its long and magnificent history.
It is this pride, and the sense of dignity that accompanies it,
which will ensure that in spite of all the dangers that lie ahead,
Syria will survive and thrive.
Dr Chandra Muzaffar is president of the International Movement for
a Just World (JUST)
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so which side of the story u believe ?
