COMMENT: Syria, target of the West yet again
Chandra Muzaffar
ONCE again, Syria is being blamed. This time it is accused of instigating and engineering the fighting in the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp.
A segment of the mainstream Western media — whose views are echoed all over the world — alleges that Syrian intelligence has chosen to pit a militant group, the Fatah al-Islam, against the Lebanese army in order to prevent the international tribunal charged with investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri on Feb 14, 2005 from carrying out its work.
This is utterly ludicrous. Fatah Al-Islam is a splinter group that broke away from the Fatah Al-Intifada in November last year and is ideologically orientated towards al-Qaeda.
Its leader, Shaker Abssi, was once imprisoned by Syrian authorities for smuggling arms to Jordan. He is still on the Syrian wanted list.
Independent analysts point out that groups like Fatah Al-Islam are sponsored and supported by wealthy, politically influential individuals in the Lebanese establishment who in turn are linked to certain Saudi personalities who share their goal of using militant Sunnis to weaken the Shia Hizbollah, LebanonÂ’s most powerful peopleÂ’s movement.
Sunni elements in Beirut, Riyadh, Amman and a number of other Arab capitals have become obsessed with this goal in the wake of the rising popularity of the Hizbollah among both Shia and Sunni communities throughout the Arab and Muslim world largely because of its ability to thwart Israeli aggression against Lebanon in the 34-day war in July-August 2006.
Needless to say, Washington and Tel Aviv also see the containment of Hizbollah as a vital component of WashingtonÂ’s strategy to ensure its control and dominance over the Middle East.
As the respected investigative journalist Seymour Hersh opines, Washington is prepared to manipulate militant Sunni groups for this purpose. This explains why the media is so willing to camouflage the role of Sunni militants by scapegoating Syria.
Even in the Hariri murder, the media and Western governments immediately pointed their finger at Damascus.
To this day, they have not been able to furnish hard, direct evidence of DamascusÂ’ involvement.
The murder ignited mass demonstrations that led to the expulsion of the Syrian army from Lebanon.
This was what Israel and the US wanted. In fact, the neo-conservatives (neo-cons) had all along pushed for SyriaÂ’s expulsion from Lebanon as part of their larger plan to create a "new Middle East".
Why, one should ask, is Syria targeted in this manner? The primary reasons are linked to Israeli interests in the Middle East.
Syria has been one of the staunchest supporters of the Palestinian cause.
For Syria it is not just rhetoric.
Syria has for decades served as the hospitable home for a whole variety of Palestinian liberation forces opposed to Israel, ranging from George HabashÂ’s secular Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to Khalil MeshalÂ’s Hamas.
Besides, Syria will not concede to Israel on the question of the full and unconditional return of the whole of the Golan Heights to Syria.
Because Syria will neither sacrifice the rights of the Palestinian people nor surrender to Israeli insolence, it has earned the wrath of the US, Israel’s patron and protector — and that segment of the media that serves their interests.
By criticising the vilification of Syria one is not exonerating the Syrian government of its misdeeds.
From the time of Hafez AssadÂ’s presidency, there has been widespread political suppression. Dissent has been curbed and controlled. As in other authoritarian societies, political accountability has yet to emerge as a social norm.
Nonetheless, the constant smearing of SyriaÂ’s image has created a situation where even its friends and sympathisers abroad are not aware of some of its stupendous achievements.
Three of these will be highlighted here.
One, whatever one may say of SyriaÂ’s involvement in Lebanese politics from the 1970s onwards, it was instrumental in ending a bloody civil war, restoring peace and stability and rebuilding some of the institutions of governance that functioned reasonably well until recently.
Two, Syria, often accused of harbouring terrorists, is the one nation in the region that has provided shelter to millions of refugees from neighbouring countries.
Today, it feeds one million Iraqi refugees, victims of the US-led occupation of their land.
Since 1948, Syria has looked after almost a million Palestinian refugees, victims of IsraelÂ’s policy of ethnic cleansing.
For a while, in the midst of IsraelÂ’s 34-day onslaught upon Lebanon, it protected more than 300,000 Lebanese who had fled their homes.
Three, despite the tremendous pressure exerted upon various states in the Middle East in recent years by Washington and Tel Aviv as they pursue their diabolical agenda of re-shaping the Middle East to guarantee their long-term hegemony, Damascus has stood its ground and refused to yield.
It is not prepared to barter the sovereignty of the nation or the dignity of its people for meagre crumbs from the banquet table of the superpower and its ally.
Syria is one of the few states in the Middle East that has adopted such a principled position which, there is no need to emphasise, reflects the feelings of the people.
Much of the credit for this should go to not only the late Hafez Assad but also to his young son Bashar, who has displayed courage and integrity in grappling with the challenges confronting his nation.
In my one-on-one meeting with him in Damascus in early May, I was impressed by his lucid grasp of international politics and his clear understanding of what was at stake for Syria and its neighbours in the "new Middle East".
These three achievements aside, Syria can be justifiably proud of its inter-religious harmony.
With a 74 per cent Sunni population that combines with other Muslim communities such as the Alawite and the Druze who constitute 16 per cent of the total, and a 10 per cent Christian minority, Syria is a country where religious affiliation has little significance to public life.
Christian worshippers, for instance, move in and out of the illustrious Ummayyad Mosque which houses the shrine of John the Baptist (the Prophet Yahya to Muslims).
SyriaÂ’s growth rate has risen steadily to 5.7 per cent in 2006 from less than one per cent in 2000.
At the same time, unemployment has decreased to 8.7 per cent in 2006 from 20 per cent in 2000.
However, more than the economy, what really impacted upon me was the helpful nature of the people; their generosity and kindness.
Civility and courtesy are the hallmark of the Syrian.
There is, at the same time, a profound pride among Syrians in their nation and its long and magnificent history.
It is this pride, and the sense of dignity that accompanies it, which will ensure that in spite of all the dangers that lie ahead, Syria will survive — and thrive.
Dr Chandra Muzaffar is president of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST)
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so which side of the story u believe ?![]()