Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Only a Syrian Solution to the Syrian Crisis


A year has passed carrying memories of thousands of lives lost, and the pain of broken families, orphans and widows. Since last March, Syrians undertook the most noble of all actions; speaking truth to power. They demonstrated against oppression, economic injustice and marginalization.

Syrians have taken on the bravest of all maneuvers, namely risking their livelihood in order to see change through. The areas in cities and villages that have risen up are predominantly the poor and marginalized, hence the most vulnerable of Syrian society.

Decades of authoritarianism is coming to an end thanks, in the most part, to the bravery and selfless activism of these Syrian communities.

What strikes me as a disgrace to the honorable sacrifices of these communities, who demonstrated against injustices, is the advocacy of the outside opposition for military intervention and arming of militias inside Syria. Basically, a call for Syrians to continue killing Syrians, on a larger scale.

It is not only about the 8,000 lives that have been lost thus far, by encouraging an unequal confrontation between armed groups and military/security apparatuses, but also the countless families and communities that have been displaced and shattered.

One can not expect to advocate military intervention and the arming of militias, and then expect stability and national reconciliation to take place in the aftermath of the carnage. Libya is an example.

In Syria at this point, one can blame and hold accountable certain groups and individuals who have committed excess violence. However, with military intervention and an official supply of arms to the 37 different armed groups in Syria, the situation will be irrevocably fused between a proxy and civil war. All Syrians will loose, in particular the Syrian communities that have risen up since last March.

It is not an anomaly for opposition groups to differ. However an opposition group can not differentiate itself by claiming a pretentious style of patriotism, while paying for it with the lives of the most vulnerable of Syrian society. These European based opposition groups have not felt the brunt of what they are advocating. It is a shame and a disgrace to call for Syrians to kill Syrians. This is the epitome of moral and ethical failure.

ُNeither the government and its supporters nor the Syrian opposition can eliminate and isolate the other. Both, if we like it or not, are an integral part of the Syrian fabric. The two sides need to be pushed to the negotiating table.. check your ego at the door, and get involved with the negotiation process!! Save Syrian lives, save the homeland.

سوريا حبيبتي .. الحرية و الكرامة