When the first suicidal operation erupted in Syria last year, it was a clear message to the people of Syria. The bombings announced the arrival of Al-Qaeda and its affiliated criminal outfits, trained and brain-washed in Afghanistan and Iraq, into peaceful cities of Syria.
Damascus tried to explain her views to the international community, but it fell on deaf ears. Propaganda triumphed. Top Western media outlets continued to tag the Syrian regime as an autocratic regime headed by a brutal dictator. A tag, which was a deliberate distortion, but was successful enough to keep away the pseudo democratic countries and neutral international media houses, if there is any, under the pretext it is an “undemocratic regime” and must go.
Hence Syria was left with a few friends to deal with global terrorist groups fighting the government under the banner of global jihadists, sponsored by the Gulf countries, and trained and armed by hostile countries who are the sole beneficiary of the chaotic situation created in the Arab world by what is called the “Arab Spring.”
Sadly, what started as a genuine demand for social, economic and political reforms has been rapidly hijacked by organized militant groups and the aspiration for a better future has become a chimera. Caught in this diabolic politics, it’s been easy to forget that the fight for survival is the prime concern for millions of Syrians inside and outside Syria.
A Syrian friend of mine based in Chennai was talking to his father on the phone who fled to Cairo because he was hijacked twice for ransom by a criminal group from Aleppo, northern commercial capital of Syria, and how he was released by the Syrian army. His father told me this story, but he told me not to share it with his young son. He had to flee Aleppo because life had become unbearable and criminals, jihadists and armed militia were calling the shots in many parts of the city where more than a thousand factories were dismantled and sold at a token price to Turkish parties.
Ankara suffered economically after the revolt started in Syria and severed relation with Damascus, after President Assad declined Turkish PM Erdogan’s request to give one third of cabinet seats to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is a banned organization. It needs underlining that the Syrian constitution is a secular one and does not permit religious parties in government. This angered the Islamist Erdogan and made his country a fertile territory for thousands of jihadists from more than 30 nationalities to be trained and sneaked into Syria for “jihad.” Erdogan managed to conveniently forget the best of relations Ankara had with Damascus for a decade and sided with the enemies of Damascus despite the fact that the vast majority of Turks rejected his interventionist policy. There have been hundreds of demonstrations against this policy, but they are being brutally suppressed by the security forces and his securities apparatus.
What resonated with me at the end of the conversation with the father of my friend was his sincere emotion, when he said in a trembling voice: “Believe me, the sand of Syria is better than any heaven on Earth, I wish our people will realize that and find an end to this mess.”
This is the view of a middle-class Syrian who’s able to afford to stay in a rented apartment in Egypt. My heart pained me thinking of all those who were forced to flee into neighbouring countries living in miserable conditions in tents, exploited by religious groups and organized criminals who are getting young girls married to wealthy elderly people from the Gulf.
Let’s get the facts straight. A humanitarian crisis was intentionally created to justify “Humanitarian Intervention” by external powers. This move was thwarted by China and Russia in the UN Security Council because they realized that what was happening in Syria was a proxy war. They have wisely sensed that if these foreign extremist elements are not checked Syria will become the hub for Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups and this contagion may spread to provinces in Russia and China to Muslim minorities. Mercifully, the gameplan is unravelling and clearly indicates that what is thought to be a spring has turned out to be a bloody tsunami, threatening to engulf many countries in its vicious violence.
The record of destruction and suffering is chilling, specially since extremist elements infiltrated the ranks of rebels. Factories dismantled, food grains storage looted, bakery shops destroyed, government distribution centers demolished, more than 3800 schools destroyed. And the carnage goes on. Many hospitals have been blown off and economic sanctions have exacerbated the misery of ordinary Syrians because of the crippling shortage of medicines and essential items.
The movement of armed militants in highly populated areas is aimed at increasing the number of causalities, and is used as a tactic to blame it all on the government forces for targeting civilians, so it is easy to recruit more armed volunteers to their sides. This is the strategy adopted by their masters across the borders of Syria and has been partially successful in brain-washing and recruiting youngsters to the cause of an ill-conceived jihad. The US and West have realized lately that this menace needs to be curbed as it could spill over to their territories. They are now, therefore, speaking in a double voice, trying not to arm the rebel themselves but through some of their stooges in the Gulf.
Moscow has been given the lead to find a way out and craft a face-saving formula. Hence, a political de-escalation is taking place prior to the proposed Summit between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June next.
The last series of suicidal operations that hit Damascus coincided with bomb blasts in Hyderabad in India. Although the intensity of the blasts differs, it’s a deadly reminder that India, too, remains vulnerable to ravages of terrorism. India should learn from Syria’s lessons as it did from Afghanistan and Iraq and support the comprehensive fight against global terrorism. Syria is a victim of global terrorism and so are India, Iraq Mali and many other parts of the world.
Given its growing global stature, New Delhi can leverage its diplomatic clout and send a strong message to the world about the imperative need for a peaceful solution to Syria’s crisis. India can play a key role in getting the international community to advance national reconciliation through dialogue and elections. At the forthcoming BRICS summit in Durban March 26-27, Syria is hoping that India will be taking the lead in backing a political solution to end the impasse.
The world community needs to do all it can to salvage the Syrian people from the pit of aggravating misery. According to latest estimates, it requires more than $30 billion to rebuild Syria.
The fight against global terrorism must continue and those behind it must be exposed and tried in the International Court of Justice. The injustice done to Syria and her people is unforgettable and the culprits must not go unpunished and left to roam free to make another similar devious design on a peaceful country for their vested interests.
(Dr. Waiel Awwad is Senior International War Correspondent based in South Asia. The views expressed in this article are his personal views.)
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