19 April 2011
YA JAULAN!
Battles lost and battles won
yet nothing changes but the names
of martyred sons and widows newly made.
Over there, come spring, they'll laugh and sing and play
as they have for forty springs. And, they won't ask,
'Whose house is this? Whose field?
Whose tree is this that gives me shade?'
And, over here, should they ask,
we'll gladly answer. .And, until they do,
we'll barely live but bravely die.
Still, nothing will change
but the names.
SURAT AL-THAWRA
Then, the Merciful put these words about himself in the mouth of the Teacher and caused him to recite them, saying:
I am fever-breaking, I am an earthquake shaking
I am the sun arising
I am the oppressed, I am the dispossessed
I am the teeming Masses
I am no one's special mystery, I am the force of all history
I am all that is
I am everything that's possible, I am the least probable
I am the true revolution
I am what has to be, I am what will be
I am is who I am
A Dream
In dreams, I’d often find
A girl who naught could ever be
Burning bright within my mind
And waking think I’ll never see
And then, one day, before me stands
The face, the form, the life beneath
Which only in the Dreaming Lands
Did ever before I have belief
I learn her name, her age, her place
And, so knowing, become ever more bewitched
And, now, cannot let go of any chance
That dreams and life might yet be switched
So, like Old Biltis in her day,
These dreams I would not ever put away.
Making Sense of Syria today
DAMASCUS, April 19, 2011 – To say that things are complicated in Syria right now would probably be an understatement. No one seems to know precisely what is going on and even getting a grasp on what the main issues at stake are seems complicated. Are we heading towards civil war? Or moving towards a peaceful transition to a democratic society? Is a brutal crackdown in the offing? “Maybe,” is an answer to all of those …
On the one hand, the wave of protests continues to grow and spread throughout the country. At first, demonstrations were small and the demands were limited. A few hundred protested in Damascus, in Latakia, and in Dera’a for limited reforms: a release of political prisoners, a lift to the emergency law. But then something happened and the movement began growing. Instead of hundreds, opposition protests began numbering in the thousands and, now, tens of not hundreds of thousands. From Damascus to Dera’a, Latakia and Qamishli … then to Homs, Banias, Aleppo, and smaller towns and even villages from one end of the country to the other, protests and calls for reform grew. The demands grew too; for an opening up of the political system and for an end to Ba’athist rule.
On the other hand, government repression and state violence also seem to be growing in lockstep with the growth of opposition. One of the major ‘sparks’ that has seen opposition grow, ironically enough, has been the regime’s attempt to suppress it. What might have continued as a small ‘irritant’ of protests took off when the regime shot demonstrators in Dera’a. The same pattern has followed since then; the regime uses violence and, rather than suppressing things, only seems to build the will of the people against them.
But, just as they squeeze with one hand, the regime seems to give with the other. From the very beginning of the year, when protests rocked other states of the Arab nation, Bashar Asad’s government has tried to offer concessions to stall protests and appease the people. When food prices were seen as a major cause for ire in Tunisia and Egypt, the government lowered taxes and brought prices down for many staples. As protests grew, figures from the regime (notably Bouthaina Shaaban) promised a lifting of the hated emergency law, pay raises for government employees, and a possible legalization of opposition parties. President Asad himself has repeated some of these but action has been slow. What has happened in terms of reforms has been minor: the ban on the niqab (face veil) for school-teachers, a casino closed, and the granting of citizenship to formerly stateless Kurds.
The regime is now facing a severe challenge and is in some ways stuck in a trap of its own making. The more that they give in to opposition demands, the more that we in the opposition demand. The more they use violence, the bolder we get. If they give in, we ask for more. If they don’t, we demand more. The demands of the opposition have steadily gotten stronger; more and more are openly calling for the end of the regime.
In a very short time, it feels like the decades of repression and refusal to discuss political issues openly has fallen away from one end of the country to another. Not very long ago, you didn’t talk about political issues openly here. Instead, we would chatter about unimportant issues and steer away from ‘forbidden’ topics if possible. Now, everyone speaks openly about the future and how to reach a better Syria. For those of us who have taken part in the protests, there’s no going back. For decades, we were afraid; be too critical of the regime, be seen as stepping out of official views, and one might expect a visit from the security police or a trip to a jail. Be more vocal and publicly call for the overthrow of the government and be prepared for either exile or death. Those of us who criticized things were very careful with our words and the forums we raised criticisms in. Now, though, everything has changed; too many have crossed those lines for there to be a going back. Perhaps a million Syrians (at least) have already participated in things that, just a few months ago, would have meant at least prison. And all of them know that, if the government wins and tries to go back, our lives are forfeit. So, we can’t go back.
And the opposition keeps growing. It’s hard to believe that only a little more than a month ago, we were hardpressed to get more than a hundred people to take public stands in opposition to the regime. Things are different now …
On Saturday, for instance, here in Damascus a march was planned from the suburbs to the center of the city. I live downtown so I had travelled out to meet what I expected was going to be a few hundred people … instead, I would venture that the march involved tens of thousands (some guesstimates are over 100,000; considering that the city has only about 1.7 million inhabitants, that is quite a lot). As we moved south, the crowd kept getting larger. For a brief moment, I wondered if this would be it; if we would arrive in Marjeh Square to establish a new regime. The current one, though, had other plans. Busloads of secret police armed with batons – thousands of them – met us around Abbasiyeen Square and began to assault the edges of the crowd. Teargas was lobbed at us. I saw people vomitting from the gas as I covered my own mouth and nose and my eyes burned. (As an aside, I am sure I wasn’t the only one to note that, if this becomes standard practice, a niqab is a very practical thing to wear in future.) We broke and were scattered.
The next day, the President met with a new government. While it was meant as a sign of reform, the new prime minister and new cabinet looked to most of us like a reshuffling of the same people. Maybe it would bring reform, maybe not. In his address, he made more concrete promises of reform; a lifting of the emergency laws (to be replaced by an ‘anti-terrorism’ law), more reforms … but always just over the horizon.
In Homs, the third city of the country and, historically, one of the least restive and most prosperous, people began protesting the lack of reform. Thousands turned out and the government met them with repression. More and more came; tens of thousands camped out in a peaceful sit in there. And rather than hold back, the regime struck. How many have been killed in Homs is unclear; I’ve heard anywhere between 25 and 200. The sit in was broken.
Today, the Interior Ministry issued a statement: “The course of the previous events have revealed that these are an armed insurrection by armed groups belonging to Salafist organizations, especially in the cities of Homs and Banias.” Many scoff at that notion; it doesn’t match the reality on the ground. Peaceful sit-ins are hardly an armed insurrection and the claims of outside influence are, while not totally imaginary, simply wrong. The use of the term ‘armed insurrection’, though, is ominous.
From the beginning of the unrest, the government has implied that there is an outside conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the regime and, possibly, plunging Syria into civil war. That claim is not totally unfounded. Recent releases of US government documents by Wikileaks, for instance, reveal that, since 2005 (at least) the American regime has been involved in funding some Syrian oppositionists. However, when I heard that Barada-TV was US funded, my first thought and that of many here was “What-TV?” as it is watched even less than the other US propaganda station (Al Hurra). The faction of the Muslim Brotherhood that they funded is also fairly minor. (Meanwhile, the USG has admitted that they are funding such groups). More ominous, before the unrest began, at least one truckload of US-issued weapons was stopped at the border with Iraq and a second one was recently caught. Similarly, there is evidence that some groups based in Lebanon but ultimately funded from Saudi Arabia are involved in trying to stir up problems here. (Not least among these are the al-Qaeda linked groups involved in the anti-Syrian March14 bloc in the Lebanese parliement (it is probably not widely known in the west but the US and Saudi Arabia supported the election of the uncle of one of the 9/11 hijackers there and bin Ladenists in Lebanon are considered ‘pro-US’. Really.) Enough reports have been made of people from outside Syria trying to stir the pot of sectarian conflict to be ignored.
Yet, even if there are outside agitators trying to foment trouble, there is no question at all that nearly all the killings that have taken place were by government forces. Here, at least, the opposition is adamant in being opposed to sectarianism and, while we are not strict pacifists, we are seeking non-violent change. We reject the violence of both the state and of those seeking change through armed insurrection.
So what is it that we want? We want an end to the Emergency Law and not their reinstatement under a new name; we want an end to the use of torture and violence as state policy; we want a free press and free speech where we can speak openly and critically of government policies; we want an end to the crony-capitalism that sees the politically and familially connected get rich while poverty increases; we want all political parties unbanned, not just the official nine; we want free elections; we want an end to the Baath Party’s constitutional role; we want dignity; we want freedom. We do not want civil war; we do not want to replace one oppressor with another; we want a strong and united Syria free from foreign domination and influence and free from despotism and sectarianism. Our demands are simple and come not from abroad but from here. We are Syrians and we are one people.
So, can the government fulfill our demands? Or will doing so mean their own end? Can they give enough to survive or will Asad be following Ben Ali and Mubarak? I honestly don’t know; certainly the easiest path to reform has been closed as the violence has grown. At the same time, the regime has waited too long if a full out repression is in order; too many have crossed the line into opposition to go back to the way things were and too many to kill us all.
To survive, the regime needs to do a major game-changer, something that will convince Syrians that the talk of reform is real. Perhaps, they could legalize some of the opposition parties, like the Muslim Brotherhood, and lift up some of the more oppressive laws and policies. An end to torture and detention might help. But, if not something soon, it will be too late. Then, the choices for the regime are simple: step aside as Ben Ali and Mubarak did. Or fight. And now, that means civil war. Will it come to that? All I can say is that I hope not!
Within the regime, there are forces that are pushing for reform. Some at least of them know what is needed to avoid those last two choices and do seem genuinely to be willing to reform. Many suspect the President himself is in that group. Others, though, especially members of the President’s family (including his brother-in-law) know that change means loss of at least some of their wealth and power. How hard they will grasp to power and how strong they are within the regime is an open question; rumors have said that there’s been an internal coup with hardliners now running the show though other rumors deny that. However, the idea that they want civil war is hard t o believe.
Whatever will be the future, I suspect we will know soon!
Related articles
* Dispatch from Damascus (lezgetreal.com)
* Damascus Dispatch: Another Day in the Revolution (lezgetreal.com)
* Syrian protesters call for end of regime at mass funerals (guardian.co.uk)
* Syria: Shooting in Homs at latest anti-government protest - The Guardian (news.google.com)
* Syria Activists Call For President's Ouster (huffingtonpost.com)
* Syria protesters take over square (bbc.co.uk)
* Syrian Forces Reportedly Open Fire On Protesters (huffingtonpost.com)
On the one hand, the wave of protests continues to grow and spread throughout the country. At first, demonstrations were small and the demands were limited. A few hundred protested in Damascus, in Latakia, and in Dera’a for limited reforms: a release of political prisoners, a lift to the emergency law. But then something happened and the movement began growing. Instead of hundreds, opposition protests began numbering in the thousands and, now, tens of not hundreds of thousands. From Damascus to Dera’a, Latakia and Qamishli … then to Homs, Banias, Aleppo, and smaller towns and even villages from one end of the country to the other, protests and calls for reform grew. The demands grew too; for an opening up of the political system and for an end to Ba’athist rule.
On the other hand, government repression and state violence also seem to be growing in lockstep with the growth of opposition. One of the major ‘sparks’ that has seen opposition grow, ironically enough, has been the regime’s attempt to suppress it. What might have continued as a small ‘irritant’ of protests took off when the regime shot demonstrators in Dera’a. The same pattern has followed since then; the regime uses violence and, rather than suppressing things, only seems to build the will of the people against them.
But, just as they squeeze with one hand, the regime seems to give with the other. From the very beginning of the year, when protests rocked other states of the Arab nation, Bashar Asad’s government has tried to offer concessions to stall protests and appease the people. When food prices were seen as a major cause for ire in Tunisia and Egypt, the government lowered taxes and brought prices down for many staples. As protests grew, figures from the regime (notably Bouthaina Shaaban) promised a lifting of the hated emergency law, pay raises for government employees, and a possible legalization of opposition parties. President Asad himself has repeated some of these but action has been slow. What has happened in terms of reforms has been minor: the ban on the niqab (face veil) for school-teachers, a casino closed, and the granting of citizenship to formerly stateless Kurds.
The regime is now facing a severe challenge and is in some ways stuck in a trap of its own making. The more that they give in to opposition demands, the more that we in the opposition demand. The more they use violence, the bolder we get. If they give in, we ask for more. If they don’t, we demand more. The demands of the opposition have steadily gotten stronger; more and more are openly calling for the end of the regime.
In a very short time, it feels like the decades of repression and refusal to discuss political issues openly has fallen away from one end of the country to another. Not very long ago, you didn’t talk about political issues openly here. Instead, we would chatter about unimportant issues and steer away from ‘forbidden’ topics if possible. Now, everyone speaks openly about the future and how to reach a better Syria. For those of us who have taken part in the protests, there’s no going back. For decades, we were afraid; be too critical of the regime, be seen as stepping out of official views, and one might expect a visit from the security police or a trip to a jail. Be more vocal and publicly call for the overthrow of the government and be prepared for either exile or death. Those of us who criticized things were very careful with our words and the forums we raised criticisms in. Now, though, everything has changed; too many have crossed those lines for there to be a going back. Perhaps a million Syrians (at least) have already participated in things that, just a few months ago, would have meant at least prison. And all of them know that, if the government wins and tries to go back, our lives are forfeit. So, we can’t go back.
And the opposition keeps growing. It’s hard to believe that only a little more than a month ago, we were hardpressed to get more than a hundred people to take public stands in opposition to the regime. Things are different now …
On Saturday, for instance, here in Damascus a march was planned from the suburbs to the center of the city. I live downtown so I had travelled out to meet what I expected was going to be a few hundred people … instead, I would venture that the march involved tens of thousands (some guesstimates are over 100,000; considering that the city has only about 1.7 million inhabitants, that is quite a lot). As we moved south, the crowd kept getting larger. For a brief moment, I wondered if this would be it; if we would arrive in Marjeh Square to establish a new regime. The current one, though, had other plans. Busloads of secret police armed with batons – thousands of them – met us around Abbasiyeen Square and began to assault the edges of the crowd. Teargas was lobbed at us. I saw people vomitting from the gas as I covered my own mouth and nose and my eyes burned. (As an aside, I am sure I wasn’t the only one to note that, if this becomes standard practice, a niqab is a very practical thing to wear in future.) We broke and were scattered.
The next day, the President met with a new government. While it was meant as a sign of reform, the new prime minister and new cabinet looked to most of us like a reshuffling of the same people. Maybe it would bring reform, maybe not. In his address, he made more concrete promises of reform; a lifting of the emergency laws (to be replaced by an ‘anti-terrorism’ law), more reforms … but always just over the horizon.
In Homs, the third city of the country and, historically, one of the least restive and most prosperous, people began protesting the lack of reform. Thousands turned out and the government met them with repression. More and more came; tens of thousands camped out in a peaceful sit in there. And rather than hold back, the regime struck. How many have been killed in Homs is unclear; I’ve heard anywhere between 25 and 200. The sit in was broken.
Today, the Interior Ministry issued a statement: “The course of the previous events have revealed that these are an armed insurrection by armed groups belonging to Salafist organizations, especially in the cities of Homs and Banias.” Many scoff at that notion; it doesn’t match the reality on the ground. Peaceful sit-ins are hardly an armed insurrection and the claims of outside influence are, while not totally imaginary, simply wrong. The use of the term ‘armed insurrection’, though, is ominous.
From the beginning of the unrest, the government has implied that there is an outside conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the regime and, possibly, plunging Syria into civil war. That claim is not totally unfounded. Recent releases of US government documents by Wikileaks, for instance, reveal that, since 2005 (at least) the American regime has been involved in funding some Syrian oppositionists. However, when I heard that Barada-TV was US funded, my first thought and that of many here was “What-TV?” as it is watched even less than the other US propaganda station (Al Hurra). The faction of the Muslim Brotherhood that they funded is also fairly minor. (Meanwhile, the USG has admitted that they are funding such groups). More ominous, before the unrest began, at least one truckload of US-issued weapons was stopped at the border with Iraq and a second one was recently caught. Similarly, there is evidence that some groups based in Lebanon but ultimately funded from Saudi Arabia are involved in trying to stir up problems here. (Not least among these are the al-Qaeda linked groups involved in the anti-Syrian March14 bloc in the Lebanese parliement (it is probably not widely known in the west but the US and Saudi Arabia supported the election of the uncle of one of the 9/11 hijackers there and bin Ladenists in Lebanon are considered ‘pro-US’. Really.) Enough reports have been made of people from outside Syria trying to stir the pot of sectarian conflict to be ignored.
Yet, even if there are outside agitators trying to foment trouble, there is no question at all that nearly all the killings that have taken place were by government forces. Here, at least, the opposition is adamant in being opposed to sectarianism and, while we are not strict pacifists, we are seeking non-violent change. We reject the violence of both the state and of those seeking change through armed insurrection.
So what is it that we want? We want an end to the Emergency Law and not their reinstatement under a new name; we want an end to the use of torture and violence as state policy; we want a free press and free speech where we can speak openly and critically of government policies; we want an end to the crony-capitalism that sees the politically and familially connected get rich while poverty increases; we want all political parties unbanned, not just the official nine; we want free elections; we want an end to the Baath Party’s constitutional role; we want dignity; we want freedom. We do not want civil war; we do not want to replace one oppressor with another; we want a strong and united Syria free from foreign domination and influence and free from despotism and sectarianism. Our demands are simple and come not from abroad but from here. We are Syrians and we are one people.
So, can the government fulfill our demands? Or will doing so mean their own end? Can they give enough to survive or will Asad be following Ben Ali and Mubarak? I honestly don’t know; certainly the easiest path to reform has been closed as the violence has grown. At the same time, the regime has waited too long if a full out repression is in order; too many have crossed the line into opposition to go back to the way things were and too many to kill us all.
To survive, the regime needs to do a major game-changer, something that will convince Syrians that the talk of reform is real. Perhaps, they could legalize some of the opposition parties, like the Muslim Brotherhood, and lift up some of the more oppressive laws and policies. An end to torture and detention might help. But, if not something soon, it will be too late. Then, the choices for the regime are simple: step aside as Ben Ali and Mubarak did. Or fight. And now, that means civil war. Will it come to that? All I can say is that I hope not!
Within the regime, there are forces that are pushing for reform. Some at least of them know what is needed to avoid those last two choices and do seem genuinely to be willing to reform. Many suspect the President himself is in that group. Others, though, especially members of the President’s family (including his brother-in-law) know that change means loss of at least some of their wealth and power. How hard they will grasp to power and how strong they are within the regime is an open question; rumors have said that there’s been an internal coup with hardliners now running the show though other rumors deny that. However, the idea that they want civil war is hard t o believe.
Whatever will be the future, I suspect we will know soon!
Related articles
* Dispatch from Damascus (lezgetreal.com)
* Damascus Dispatch: Another Day in the Revolution (lezgetreal.com)
* Syrian protesters call for end of regime at mass funerals (guardian.co.uk)
* Syria: Shooting in Homs at latest anti-government protest - The Guardian (news.google.com)
* Syria Activists Call For President's Ouster (huffingtonpost.com)
* Syria protesters take over square (bbc.co.uk)
* Syrian Forces Reportedly Open Fire On Protesters (huffingtonpost.com)
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