Arab League in Iraq, BRICS Summit in India and Kofi Annan in China: New Failures for Syria

Political diplomacy and democracy enlargement touches new boundaries with the Arab League, BRICS and UN Envoy Annan, all discussing about ‘Syria’ this week.

Recently, President Bashar al- Assad agreed to adopt the 6-point peace plan forwarded by UN -Arab League Envoy Annan. No doubt, it was an intelligent move, as the statement is not a UN resolution, it does not demand Assad’s departure and no immediate date has been mentioned when this plan should be implemented. One can witness history repeating itself when the US Senators start the chorus of arming the opposition in Syria and UN Humanitarian Chief Navi Pillay states that there is ample evidence to arrest Assad. The same happened in the case of Libya when ICC issued arrest warrants against Colonel Gadaffi while David Cockburn revealed that both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch do not have evidence. No doubt, its not a conscientious choice to support Assad. But then again, we have to realise that at present, he is the one who is actually controlling Syria. If he goes away, who will take the responsibility that Libya does not shatter into a civil war.

Arab League Summit in Iraq

As far as the Arab Summit is concerned, its more of a long awaited opportunity for Baghdad to enter the limelight again. Unfortunately, only seven out of the 22 member states are attending the meeting. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have declined to join it. In fact, the Emir of Kuwait is the sole representative from Gulf countries to be present in Iraq. Sectarian issues are predominant here. Grudges against Sunni Arab majority being dominated by the Shiite government is unacceptable to Qatar. Nothing is more evident than the fact that Iraq’s PM Nouri al-Maliki has a lot of struggle to go through. No doubt, just like the ‘Friends of Syria‘ conference that took place in Tunisia last February, this Arab Summit is also not going to yield any specific results. Syria is no longer a part of Arab league and its Foreign Ministry is not going to accept any decision marked in this conference.

BRICS Summit in New Delhi

Talking about BRICS and how all these countries should really kick off an enigmatic and prudent head start in Syria’s case, everything turns sarcastic immediately. This week, Yeshi, a Tibetian revolutionary set himself on fire in New Delhi. Tibetans have been protesting against China’s embark to India as police officials jail them in. So, on one hand, India is trying to play the role of a saint by talking the measures that should be taken to ease of the burden of Syrian opposition rebels. But look whats happening inside New Delhi itself? Its neither retributive nor restorative justice being imparted to Tibetans.

Kofi Annan in China

Turning to UN envoy Kofi Annan, it seems, quite superficially that here comes a man who can make transparent changes. This week, he was in Beijing to talk with Chinese PM Wen Jiabao. Well, China agreed to support the peace plan but is not very clear whether it means complete commitment till the very end or just a casual backing of the peace plan. Annan also visited Russia and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev raise the same noble concerns. Sadly, diplomacy does not work by paying high profile visits. It concerns me why Vladimir Puntin and Kofi Annan did not meet and if they did, why no press conference has been launched for it. Russia indeed is a crafty situation. Well, Russia might be taking slow cautious steps just as Syria did in recognizing Russian Federation after the collapse of USSR.

Eventually, Syria is not Somalia where anarchy persists and the private sector adopts careful and meticulous moves to sustain the economy. The Syrian economy, or perhaps more, the common everyday livelihood of a Syrian has been effected by the US and EU imposed sanctions. Leaving the economy aside, one after another, all the foreign moves like Arab League Summit, the BRICS Summit and even Kofi Annan’s visit would not reap any results and are completely helpless. Well, perhaps this is exactly the right time to ask oneself, anyways ‘what exactly is the result we are searching for’.

The future of Syria after Bashar’s speech

96 Days have passed. 1300 civilians have died in the protest. And to add to it, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave a third speech which stated ‘ no development without stability, no reform in the face of sabotage and chaos.’

It reminds me of past Egyptian president Mubarak, who currently has now been diagnosed with cancer. The same tension, demand and proclamation during the eve of his speech which also proved to be marred with loopholes.

Speaking on the same fears as Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak did, during their penultimate public appearances, Assad blamed the entire protest on foreign intervention, reluctant opposition and above all, a small population which is exploiting Syria’s future.

‘Promises are lies’

Syrians are furious. Slogans like, ‘Its written on the tanks, Bashar’s promises are all lies,‘ have become a reality for the Syrian blood, sweat and soil. Few say that ‘Democracy can be tough and dangerous, especially for the minority’.

Others believe that the speech was meant only for the supporters and not for the opponents. But before engaging into any hard and fast judgement, my entire perspective is quite simple.

‘The future, the lesson’

If today, hundreds and thousands of Syrians believe that they do not want another Libya, Iraq or Afghanistan, then, what do they want? The Middle East uprising has stated the victory of Tunisia and Egypt. Unfortunately, in spite of conquering the electoral democracy, the conditions are still different.

The elections in Tunisia that were supposed to happen in July have been postponed. The Army which is in the interim control of the Egyptian government is criticized for its ‘insensitivity’. Initially, it did seem like ‘Justice delayed in justice denied‘. But unfortunately, both of them have interchanging meanings, now.

‘Fear and western powers’

Syrians are afraid to trust in the government again. Yes, no doubt, they will be. In fact, any opposition would be. It hardly matters whether Bashar stated that he would pass a law for the multi party democracy and call 100 leading personalities to discuss regarding constitutional reforms.

One must not also forget that Syria is also an oil exporter. Though, the industry has seen a decline, it still has the potential of exporting 400,000 barrels per day. This in itself means that the Western superpowers would soon be involved.

‘Where is President Sarkozy?’

Though, Bashar, in his 11 years of rule has chosen to win the trust of countries like Russia, Turkey, China and France. Interestingly, that is one of the reasons why President Sarkozy is not so strongly into international platforms regaring Syria. Though, Russia has state that another Libya is in the making and hence,  it would not let the history to be repeated.

The US and UK have condoned the entire proclamation and have stated that they want the Syrian president to surrender. Its all, talk, right now.

‘The common man?’

But ultimately, the average person has rights. And this fight is about his right. His right to be independent and survive. He cannot be called a ‘Saboteur’. He cannot be called as someone who causes destruction, disruption, subversion and obstruction.

It indeed is unfortunate to see that the Syrian President has been reduced to a game (Click to play)

What lies in front of Syria is a maze of convoluted thoughts. The days are numbered. But to what future, no one knows.