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Syria: From peaceful uprising to armed rebellion |
By all accounts, the success of the uprisings against the
old guard in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya was not matched in Yemen and Syria. The
failure of the Yemeni and Syrian uprisings to achieve their goals can be
explained by the post-revolutions’ events in the Arab Awakening countries and
the Gulf States’ meddling therein.
After nearly a year of hard struggle against the authoritarian
regimes in the first three Arab Awakening countries, the youth of the revolution were overlooked
in the elections due to the efficiency of the political machine of religious
parties. In all three countries, Islamists, moderate and otherwise, reaped the
fruits of uprisings initiated and realized by apolitical youth who were less
interested in ideology and more driven by their yearning for dignity and
respect.
But when the dust settled, religious and nationalist groups
were able to mobilize their followers and gain control of elected bodies. This
trend sent a shock of despair among the youth in Syria and Yemen. They became
uninterested in sweating and bleeding for a cause that will be hijacked by Muslim
brothers, salafis, and tahriris.
The second factor that contributed to the starving of the
uprisings in Syria is the uncharacteristic “support” from the Gulf States, especially
Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Syrian youth were not interested in having their
fight for dignity sponsored and bankrolled by regimes that have no culture of
social justice, shared governance, and respect for human dignity. For many
Syrians, it is bizarre that the Saudi family could offer the former dictator of
Tunisia protection while calling for Assad’s removal from office. It is inexplicable
that the same regime that hospitalized and supported the dictator of Yemen and
called for a peaceful, political solution to the crisis there was willing to
arm and finance the rebels in Syria. It is disturbing that the same regime that
sent military tanks and troops to crush a peaceful uprising in Bahrain wants the UNSC and the Arab League to send troops into Syria.
Simply put, the Syrian youth
who struggled for political rights were not persuaded by the crocodile tears of
the ruling families in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Perhaps, when those rulers
recognize the human rights of immigrants, respect the dignity of women, and end
sectarian and ethnic discrimination in their countries, then, and only then,
can they side with the Syrian people and speak on their behalf.
Considering the Saudi involvement in the Syrian crisis, it
would seem as if the Saudis gambled on a win-win situation: the removal of
Assad whom they despised for many reasons or the derailing of the Arab Awakening.
They may have gotten the latter; while depriving the Arab peoples of a chance to
transform their world for the better.
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