Like father, like son: My post yesterday was mostly tongue-in-cheek but deep down, there was a glimmer of hope tha Bashar was different. That glimmer was instantly extinguished today with the Syrian mukhabarat re-arresting Mamoun el-Homsi, a human rights activist and member of the Damascus Spring recently released from prison. What the hell is going on? Talk about sending mixed messages! How many chances do we give Bashar to get it right before concluding, like many have long since concluded, the he is no different and that this regime is incorrigible and beyond reform?
(Photo AK: Nile river at Luxor)
10 comments:
There are no mixed messages here, my friend.. The message is crystal-clear.. You put one foot outside the strict limits, and the long arm of the Mukhabarat will reach you and deposit you where the sun won't shine!.. The regime has long used up all its chances for redemption.. As the re-arrested Riad Seif put it, this regime is incapable of reform.
La sawtan leeman tunady. It reminds me of my 7th grade arabic classes: the teacher always used to tell us the story of how Mu'aya ruled by saying that bet. him and the people there is a string, when they pull on it he lets it go, and when they let go he pulls on it. The rule is to never let the string break so he can stay in power. Hafez el Assad mastered the game, Bashar is working on it. Of course it is interesting in the context of VIIIth century Damascus, but what is needed today is to have a modern state. Maybe the time has come to learn a new game.
True, Mu3awiya's rule was not to break the 'hair' between him and his people. But that was not so that can stay in power.. It was so that he would maintain a balance between what he wants and what his people need.. If only the Assads (father and son) would rule like Mu3awiya and the Ommayyad have ruled!!.. Instead of 'Mu3awiya's hair' between him and his people, Assad and Son have wrapped a chain around our necks, and they have been tightening it ever since!!.. There is no 'give and take' in this relationship...
Syrian Brit, in a modern nation what the ruler and his entourage want for themselves should not be more important than what the people need. Let us not forget that the chain you are talking about exists, but there are a few people in Syria who are pretty happy with the situation: the ones making money, the apparatchiks of the Baath, and a sizable segment of the population who would have "100 years of dictatorship rather than one day of chaos" as the saying goes. Look at Iraq, you still have people missing Saddam. My point was that it is difficult in our countries (I am Lebanese) to create a framework for modernization. At the very least we should offer the people above something tangible for they think we want to take them in the great unknown.
Ms Levantine,
I entirely agree with the first part of your comment. perhaps I should say 'Assad & Co.' to include all those benefiting from the current situation. And, yes, you are right.. a sizable segment of the population dread that if the regime falls, then we will have chaos similar to what is happening in Iraq.. There is no doubt in my mind that the American/British venture in Iraq had the paradoxical effect of crippling the move for a regime change in Syria.. People do not want that chaos, and the regime was quick to capitalize on this opportunity to say to the Syrian people 'Do you want Syria to become a second Iraq?.. Is THAT what you really want?.. You are much better off with US!!..'
Please forgive me, but I could not quite get what you meant in your last sentence.. Who are 'the people above'?.. If you mean 'above' as in the people of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, then I agree entirely. People must see immediate and tangible improvement if they were to support change. On the other hand, if you mean 'the people above' as in those who are ruling, controlling and abusing us, then to hell with them.. If they end up in the 'great unknown', then I hope that this 'unknown' is as deep and as dark as the deepest hole in Hell..
Syrian Brit,
First allow me to apologize to Levantine Dreamhouse for crowding his blog. Second, I am not a defender of Assad & Co. On my blog I advocate the removal of all Lebanese politicians, so you can imagine what I think of Syrian ones. By "the people above" I mean the Syrian population at large, not the ruling establishment.
I fear that there is a bifurcation bet. people like us who have been lucky enough to live abroad, and the populations of Lebanon and Syria who had to struggle with the dismal reality of their daily lives. I hear a lot of calls for drastic changes in the political life of Syria, and once again I have zero sympathy for the regime, but I hear nothing about economic or social programs.
In Syria, if you take out the population below 17 years old, women, subsistance agriculture, the army/baath/administration, the Syrians abroad (Lebanon/Gulf/Europe), you are not left with many individuals that are economically productive. And all the fluff of multi-billion $ projects announced by the regime will never materialize in most cases. My point is that once the regime is gone,you are going to need massive foreign aid and an administration that is not corrupt to handle it properly.
The best way for Lebanon to strive is to have a free and prosperous Syria. I read a lot about Khaddam and the Muslim Brotherhood, but precious little about economic/social planning for the after-Assad. To get the avg individual from Dar-el-Zor on board you are going to need more than promises of democracy.
Ms Levantine,
I agree entirely and without reservation with what you are saying. I assure you, we are on the same side..
I, too, share your concern about what happens when the existing set-up finally implodes.. I wish I have the right answers...
p.s. Rather than crowding abu kareem's blog, why don't you post directly on mine?.. I tried to access your blog to post this, but there were no 'blog names' on your blogger profile.. or am I missing something??..
Ms Levantine,
You do not have to apologize. This exchange of ideas is what blogs are for. What's more, it is nice to see a Syrian and a Lebanese having a civil discussion instead of hurling insults at one another. In fact, I was thinking today that it is a pity that Syrian and Lebanese bloggers are so seggregated. We need more cross talk. After all, we are either going to sink or swim together. I opt for the latter...
Syrian Brit, my blog address is mslevantine.blogspot.com. My profiles are way too long so the link does not appear when I post a comment. I will have to take care of that. I will aslo be following your blog closely from now on, and I will add your link the next time I rearrange my blog.
Abu Kareem I totally agrre with you: we are going to sink or swim together. For the moment we have been sinking but I am confident we are going to start swimming soon. I am glad I found your blog as well as that of Syrian Brit, I was getting tired of the stubborn jingoism on both sides.
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