31 August 2012 By Tariq Alhomayed It seems that every Arab, Western, or even UN
official, including joint UN-Arab league envoy to
Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, is saying: "The most important
thing in Syria now is a ceasefire". Yet this should
cause observers and those concerned to be highly
suspicious, and not expect anything practical or
tangible to come from these efforts to deal with the
plight of the uprising Syrian people at the hands of
the tyrant Bashar al-Assad. It is not acceptable under any circumstances to say
in the case of Syria: We must focus on achieving a
ceasefire, because we must ensure that al-Assad stops
killing the Syrian people for good. What is happening
in Syria, plainly and simply, is that the repressive
regime that dominates power there – in a country that
claims to be governed by a "republican" political
system – has been using warplanes, artillery and
missiles in order to suppress the uprising for nearly
18 months. The people did not take up arms against the
tyrant al-Assad and his gang in the early days of the
revolution, as was the case in Libya; they did not
even use Molotov cocktails. Rather it started out as a
peaceful revolution that the al-Assad killing machine
confronted with death and organized violence. This is
not all, for since the outbreak of the revolution and
up until today, the al-Assad regime has not put forth
one soldier, let alone an officer, to stand trial for
killing innocent human beings, committing abuses, and
destroying the Syrian fabric as a whole, so how can
anyone say that what is needed in Syria today is a
ceasefire? What is actually required is to stop al-Assad's
killing in Syria for good, and if an official actually
said that then one would consider it a victory for the
defenseless Syrian people, and believe that there are
those looking out for the Syrian state and the
protection of its social fabric. We should not try to
portray al-Assad as one party and the rebels as
another, as the Russian Foreign Minister is currently
doing, especially when he says that demanding the al-Assad
regime to initiate a ceasefire from its side only is
naïve, and more like surrender! The real naivety is to
justify the crimes of a regime like al-Assad's that
wants to rule through killings, injustice, abuse and
the destruction of the country as a whole, rather than
protecting civilians. As a result, the fabric of the
Syrian state has become virtually impossible these
days to maintain, let alone in the future. What the
Syrians and the Arabs will remember for a long time is
that Iran and Russia enabled Bashar al-Assad to kill
the Syrian people and threaten the unity of the
country as a whole. In order not to expose the vulnerable Syrian people
to further tricks, whether from some countries in the
region or elsewhere, we must reject the term
"ceasefire" in Syria. What is correct, and more
accurate, is to put a definitive end to al-Assad
killing defenseless Syrian people, especially as we
hear al-Assad's Minister of Information yesterday
defining the conditions of Mr. Brahimi's mission, and
heaping insults and accusations on the countries of
the region while al-Assad's forces run riot without
mercy, or any form of deterrent, in Syria.
Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq
Al-Awsat, the youngest person to be appointed that
position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from
King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also
completed his Introductory courses towards a Master's
degree from George Washington University in Washington
D.C. He is based in London. Comments 💬 التعليقات |