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https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-the-west-betrayed-syria-194245>
"“Assad, or we burn the country,” Syrian government loyalists chanted in 2011.
It was a statement of intent that proved to be prophetic.
In early 2011, the Arab Spring tore through Tunisia, then Egypt, Libya,
Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, and Jordan. Syria stood at the precipice as people rose
up against the dictatorship of President Bashar al-Assad, who had ruled since
2000.
Assad had assumed power from his father who had himself taken power in a
military coup and then ruthlessly cracked down on the opposition. Hopes that
Assad junior would prove be a reformist soon dissipated as his regime too ruled
with an iron fist: a security state that used terror and torture to keep
control.
The regime responded to peaceful protests with force, gunning marchers down in
the streets of cities like Daraa and Hama. The opposition – bolstered by mass
defections from the army – turned to force. But the opposition was always
fragmented, riven by internal dissent and a sharp divide between secularists,
moderate Islamists, extremists, and the Kurds.
Nonetheless, they made significant gains. Assad responded brutally, gradually
reclaiming control of much of the country through a campaign of indiscriminate
bombing, siege and starvation, mass detention, torture, and killing.
As diplomats at the United Nations argued about what to do in Libya few seemed
to understand that Syria was descending into a hell that would consume more
than half a million lives, displace more than half the population, incubate the
genocidal Islamic State, and draw in Iran, Hezbollah, Russia, the United
States, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Britain, France and others
– including Australia.
Except for the courageous Syrian White Helmets and a few humanitarian
organisations, no-one made the protection of Syrians from atrocities their
priority. As the UN’s envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, put it in 2015,
everybody had their agenda and the interests of the Syrian people came
second, third, or not at all."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
