Before the second ‘Friends of Syria’s meeting was going to be held in Istanbul on 1st April, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was busy globetrotting in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The aim was to enhance diplomatic efforts against Bashar al Assad, fact that has become the burning topic of G-8 Summit, BRICS meeting and Arab League’s propaganda.
Interestingly, apart from Turkey which hits the limelight for garnering support against Assad, Saudi Arabia has evolved into a new haven. Hillary Clinton met Saudi King Abdullah and the Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal. Apparently, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been arming the rebels of Syria against the Army- a fact that was confessed after these nations mustered the courage to accept it internationally. Another objective of Hillary Clinton was also to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council-US strategic cooperation forum. Turning away from Syria, this aimed to target Iran and its nuclear power ‘development’. Behind the disguise of bilateral and regional issues, exists the Joan Of Arc narrative to declare ‘Iran and Syria’ as the new axis of evil. Somewhere perhaps, President Bush might be having the last laugh.
This Friday Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is going to hold diplomatic talks with Saudi’s King Abdullah about ‘Iran’ and “Syria’. Both Turkey and Saudi Arabia are predominantly Sunni Muslim majority countries. While Turkey has revolutionised its identity for the sake of joining the EU, Saudi Arabia stands to be audaciously dominating the population of its kingdom, denying them liberties and democracy.
Theories of international relations state that democracy enlargement does not mean ‘regime change’- the aim of US and Western allies. Endorsing a proxy government, endowing ‘popular’ democracy rather than ‘Representative democracy’ is not the right deal. Perhaps, all these leaders should learn from Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez who has implemented grassroots reform and never forgot the main cause that made him win- the fight for the better livelihood of the poor.
Eventually, the entire episode in Syria, even after the acceptance of the 6 point peace plan in Syria, is nothing but a manipulated game, or perhaps an already fixed cricket match. The peace plan puts no pressure on Assad to abdicate and hence, it does not change anything. The constitution was put to referendum and Syria is going to have its parliamentary elections soon. Kofi Annan, who never questioned the illegal NATO bombing in Bosnia is suddenly looked up as a ‘Messiah’ just because he admitted to BBC that Iraq invasion by US was illegal. Mind you, he was not looking for second term as UN Secretary General then as he was during the time of Kosovo.
In a nutshell, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are just flaunting their imperialist agendas under the mask of Islam which might not give them anything in the end. Certainly, not the lives of innocent civilians who are dead in Syria. A number that rose to 9000 according to UN, recently.
shubhdachaudhary 