The West and its Arab allies put much more pressure on Syria

After the fall of Gaddafi the West and its Arab allies dramatically increased the pressure on Syria, where, according to human rights defenders, over three thousand people were killed in March. Representatives of the League of Arab States (LAS) on the initiative of Qatar on October 30, 2011 made another ultimatum warning about the inadmissibility of the suppression of "popular protests" and offered their way out of crisis. 

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Jassim bin Hamad, a meeting with representatives of Syria was "candid" in nature. However, he did not disclose the details of the LAS plan.

All this is occurring against the background of strengthening of the information war against Damascus. The TV channels "Al Arabiya" and "Al Jazeera" indicated that in recent clashes in the towns of Homs and Hama Syrian authorities have allegedly used combat aircraft against "peaceful demonstrators". Then they showed rallies where Syria's population, allegedly disturbed by this, demanded that the international community introduced a no-fly zone similar to the Libyan example.

However, "Al Arabiya" and "Al Jazeera" have not shown any scenes of destruction in the aforementioned cities that were bound to be there after the air strikes. Of course, the government denies the fact of using planes and helicopters in Hama and Homs.

A representative of the National Committee of Russia in Syria, Ali Salim al-Assad, talked about the events in Syria in an interview with "Pravda.Ru".

"What is the plan proposed by the LAS to Bashar Assad?"

"Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met a few days ago with the representatives of the Arab League, and Damascus in the near future should give an answer to the proposals made by the organization. In many ways, the statements by the Arab League were categorical in nature. In fact, the Syrian side was told that if it does not comply with the requirements of the LAS, the use of force is not ruled out.

It is the representatives of Qatar who exert the pressure on the politicians disliked by the Arab countries in the Persian Gulf. We are virtually talking about Saudi Arabia and other states acting as a united front. As you know, once a month presidency of the Arab League is transferred from one Arab country to another. Now the organization is chaired by Qatar, which uses the LAS to achieve its goals."

"What does this country and its allies want from Syria?"

"Based on the information from the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qatar wants the Syrian authorities to enter into negotiations with the "Muslim Brotherhood" - an organization considered terroristic in Syria and Russia.


Apparently, the official Damascus is not going to succumb to this pressure. Anyway, the reason to think so is provided by the president Bashar al-Assad. On October 30, Russia's Channel 1 aired an interview with him. However, it was not shown in full. The Syrian TV aired a more detailed version, in which the head of Syria touched upon the pressure exerted on him.

According to him, the authorities of the country are under a serious pressure to recognize the so-called "Transitional National Council" of Syria, established by the opposition. However, al-Assad said that the matter is the responsibility of the Syrian people, who in December 2011 local elections and February 2012 parliamentary elections should vote for someone they want to see as part of the country's authorities.

With regard to this Syrian version of the PNS, now this organization has 800 people who call themselves "opposition leaders" led by a person who the media reported to have been promoted to the post thanks to 20 million euros he paid to appropriate people."

"Does the government talk with the opposition?"

"The situation in Syria is very difficult. Since March, the country has been repelling attacks. Now there is a serious aggravation in Homs. For the last few days there have been reports of attacks of militants at the non-Muslims and representatives of the security forces. It seems that someone is trying to strike Syria in the weakest spot. As you know, Homs is a multi-religious city, and if the government continues to make mistakes, the extremists will draw many people into the opposition, the process of destabilization may be brought to other areas.

To avoid this, the government should not shy away from a dialogue with the people that, admittedly, is moving slowly. The normal opposition that wants the change and is ready to communicate should be separated from the radical one whose members are taking up arms.

Under the circumstances, the authorities should rely on the population, as it was in the early 1980s. Then the statement "Muslim Brotherhood" has been largely eliminated due to the support that the government received from the Syrian people.


To secure the help of the masses once again, the regime should hold the delayed reform. Of course, there is nothing to talk about with those who shoot and kill. But to provide a reliable barrier against Islamic fanatics it would be sufficient to carry out the principle according to which Syria is a secular state where religion is separated from the state.

First of all, it is necessary to introduce a multiparty system, which would allow the authorities to communicate with people on a continual basis. Activation of extremists, including the "Muslim Brotherhood", shall not be grounds for the denial of long-overdue modernization of the country."


Sergei Balmasov

Pravda.Ru

Read the original in Russian