This is a cross-post by Azzam “Kaboom” Tamimi
Some of our leftist friends, like many of us, welcomed the launch of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt and celebrated like us the downfall of Ben Ali and Mubarak. But Syria has proven to be different. Although in essence the Syrian people have the same motivations as their brethren before them in Tunisia and Egypt, our friends on the left seem to judge revolutions not on the basis of what the people aspire to see but on where the oppressive regimes stood on ‘U.S. imperialism’ and the question of Palestine. Before the Arab Spring Syria was part of the resistance axis as opposed to the pro-American moderation axis. It did not matter then that the regime in Syria oppressed the people and persecuted critics. It did not matter that Bashar’s father and other family members butchered thousands in the city of Hamas alone in the early 1980s. Many of us went along with this indifference because the people in Syria did not seem to mind. Yet, when the Arab Spring arrived at Syria’s door and the people of Syria joined in the Arab quest for freedom and dignity, it did not matter anymore where the regime stood in regional or international political alliances. The people had spoken; the people had risen and the people had decided not to be content anymore with less than freedom.
Many of the leftists (and Arab nationalists) justify their support for Bashar’s regime in claiming that Syria is facing an imperialist conspiracy of some sort. As usual, Israel and the USA are given much of the credit. The US and European statements of sympathy and support for the revolution are cited as evidence of foreign intervention. In fact the only effective intervention in Syria today is that of Russia, Iran and China who are keeping Bashar’s regime alive. It is true that the United States is responsible for atrocities in many parts of the world and so is France and so is Britain as former and present colonial powers. Yet, why should the Syria people be denied the right to rise against oppression simply because the U.S., France, Britain and other Western countries express ‘verbal’ support for such a right? What about war crimes perpetrated by Russia during the times of the Soviet Union and before and after? What about the political, cultural and religious oppression of so many nations within the territories controlled by imperialist Russia and imperialist China?
The facts are there for all to see. Bashar’s regime is perpetrating horrific war crimes in Homs and in other cities and villages across Syria. The evidence is well documented thanks to Syrian young men and women who risk their lives in order to relay the cries of help by their loved ones to the rest of the world. Yet, some of our friends on the left are so obsessed with conspiracy to the extent that the claims of the regime in Syria that it is the victim of foreign intervention sounds more credible to them than the images of brutality we see day and night on our TV screens.
My friends on the left will soon be disappointed. The Syrian people will win and Bshar’s regime will be no more.
