Regime In Damascus Condemned To History

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

THE ‘accomplishments’ of the Syrian revolution have not been provided to the people by the regime, as the official media and top officials want us to believe. They were provided by the protesters who are now changing the philosophy on which the country operated for the past four decades, and that is why we have all these massacres, butchering, repression, displacement and other atrocities in all cities and villages in defense of the status quo by those who stole the people’s money and impoverished the masses to build empires for themselves.

The Syrian people were left to bear their own cross without any help except from Turkey which opened its borders to receive those who fled the hell let loose by the ruthless Syrian regime. This is a regime that has its legitimacy eroded with every sunrise.

Freedom acquired through blood is not a passive issue in the recent history of the region. In fact, we are at a crossroad which will determine the direction of the Arab world and neighboring nations. The humane stance of Turkey will have profound effects, not only on the Syrian people but on all the Arab and Islamic nations that are now berating their governments and the Arab League for their silence on the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime which is aided by Iran and its allies in Lebanon on a daily basis. The helpers of the Syrian regime chose to support the killer and not the victims; they empowered it with all instruments of repression and torture. There are also those who are trying hard to justify what is happening in Syria under the claim of ‘conspiracy against Syria,’ when it is Syria that had actually conspired against itself by sowing venom in all corners of the country during the past four decades. After all this, we expect these people to show a little shame at least. They ought to hide their faces from the public, instead of flexing their media muscle in a bid to polish the already battered image of a butcher regime.

Yes! The Syrian regime fell with the first gunshot at an unarmed protester, because nothing it does now can bring that citizen back to life. What is going to determine the future of Syria is not the bragging of the Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on democracy, his geographical drawing of the new map of the world, where he cancelled off some countries, nor the promises of profound reform and a new constitution by President Bashar. Both are talking on an issue not in the hands of a regime already condemned to history after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets demanding for its fall and the trial of its top figures. What will determine the future of new Syria are those united voices challenging the brutality of the authority with a bare chest! The voices have spoken without any recommendation from a party that is already an item in the museum of terror.

Turkey has really embarrassed the Arabs, especially their league that is not capable of denouncing, let alone ruffling a feather on one of the worst massacres ever committed during our time. Even the Arab governments which buried their faces in the mud and disgraced their people by leaving the issue of the oppressed Syrian masses to a foreign neighboring country ought to feel embarrassed.

-This commentary was published in The ARAB TIMES on 25/06/2011
- Ahmed Al-Jarallah is the editor-in-chief of the Arab Times and of the Kuwaiti Daily Assyassah