I participated in the SyriaPol devised by George Ajjan today. It gives 16 different scenarios of what Syria's future might look like and asks Syrians to rank each according to how they feel about that particular future from ideal all the way to totally unacceptable. I am glad this poll is taking place but it is anybody's guess as to how representative the results will be. Internet access from within Syria is tightly controlled and those who do have access are likely to abstain. Completing the poll, I must say, was a discouraging and sobering experience. Only one scenario of the 16 proved marginally acceptable to me. Now I am assuming that the different scenarios given are based on extensive research, but in the end how things will materialize. Most of the scenarios included either a Sectarian government (a la Libanaise) or an Islamic government; neither works for me. The former has been tried and failed miserably next door. As for the latter, show me an enlightened Islamic state before I will start considering the possibility. I accept and respect the fact that Muslim values will be represented in the government of a country where conservative Muslims are in the majority so long as it is not at the expense of the rights of minorities and individual rights. The Syrian Muslim brotherhood, despite its demonization by the Assad government, has, at least on paper, accepted this formulation in agreements with secular opposition groups.The last question on the survey asked, almost like an afterthought, was whether sustained violence is to be expected if the regime collapses suddenly. Who the hell knows? I don't. Trying to read the tea leaves in a country run by a government more opaque and secretive than the Bush administration is not easy. I don't think any of pundits know for sure; if they do, no one is saying. Syrian government papers predictably every few weeks report a battle with "terrorists" inside Syria. Whether these "terrorists" are real threats or props for the Syrian government's internal (see what awaits you if we fall) and external (we are your partners in the war on terror) propaganda is hard to say.
I am eager to see what the results of the poll show. Frankly though, I think a bassara looking into your coffee cup may do as well as George's poll.
(Photo by AK: Merced River, Yosemite National Park)
2 comments:
I, too, have just taken part in the poll.
Although I share your reservations about the validity of any results, I was delighted to be able to voice my opinion regarding Syria's future. I found some of the cards are a bit hypothetical, if not contradictory in their contents.. For example, you will never have free elections without uprooting the current regime, or conversely, free elections will, by default, lead to the uprooting of the current regime. Perhaps the same can be said about free elections and an Islamic government...
My 'Ideal' card would be: change through domestic protest, secular government, economic reforms leading to strong growth, free vote for all citizens and parties, and return to 4th June 1967 borders... Well, I did say 'Ideal'..
(although for a 'strongly preferable' option, I would accept return of some of the Golan Heights in exchange of peace)
Syrian brit, we must be tuned to the same wavelength, that was my first choice too.
Post a Comment