SYRIA DESPERATELY
NEEDS PEACE AND NOT AN ADDITIONAL AGGRESSION NO MATTER HOW NARROW AND LIMITED.
About 100,000 people
have been killed since the conflict which began in 2011. Almost 2 million
people have fled the country to neighbouring countries: about half of this
number are children, 75% of which are under 11 years of age. And within Syria,
a further 4.25 million people are displaced.
These statistics come from the United Nations Humanitarian
Crisis Report on the Syrian crisis; and on paper, or from afar----in the eyes
and ears of some residing in distant lands of peace and harmony----these
reports might sound like a fairy tale or the retelling of events in a movie.
But one who has not been battered by the waves of civil war, or put him or
herself in the shoes of the people who are actually in this fatal reality, may
find it difficult to come to terms with the negative impacts any slightest of
an additional aggression, especially an external one, would have on the
millions of people whose gasps for breath hang on a very thin thread.
I, in its entirety, am against the use of chemical weapons
against even the worst of enemies not to talk of innocent civilians. No matter
which of the parties----the Bashar al-Assad regime or the rebel group fighting
him----that used the chemical weapon and for whatever reason, it was the most
terrible offence against humanity. But there is no concrete evidence proving
beyond all reasonable doubts which of the parties used the chemical weapons,
though one of them did use them. The twist here is that the Syrian President
did admit some time in the past that his government has stockpiles of chemical
weapons but that it would never use them inside Syria. If President Bashar
al-Assad, or any top level commander in his army as suggested by a new
gathering coming from the German Intelligence Unit, authorized the use of
chemical weapons, I believe they would have been targeted against the rebel
soldiers and not the over a thousand civilians that were killed as shown by the
videos released on YouTube.
On the other hand, the rebel group, since the beginning of
this year, has been canvassing for international support, in the form military
weapons and military training, to enable them overthrow the Assad regime. Is it
not possible that this rebel group could have used this chemical weapon (but
how they could have acquired it remains a big factor exonerating them) against
some ‘sacrificial lambs’ to achieve the bigger picture-driven goal? That is to
facilitate the toppling of the Assad regime because of the international law
prohibiting the use of chemical weapons.
The two possibilities presented above reflect the extreme
conclusions of the two World powers, the US and Russia, with the US rallying
for internal and external support for a narrow, streamlined military strike
against Assad to degrade his capability to use chemical weapons subsequently
and send a signal to other governments who may attempt such in the future;
Russia has vehemently opposed this proposal down to the UN Security Council.
I condemn the use of chemical weapons and neither do I support
any further provocation of a Syria that is chronically bleeding from both the
government and rebel forces. The best option in this situation is to find a way
to peacefully resolve this conflict. And I think there may be a sign of that in
the Russian proposal to Syria to place all of its chemical weapons arsenal
under international control. But this light is still at the end of a very long
dark, dangerous and winding tunnel because of the huge logistic requirements
that must be met to begin this process. However, I suggest that Russia,
considering its strong influence on the Assad government, can also capitalize
on this opportunity in which the government has accepted their proposal of
possibly giving up their chemical weapons, to persuade President Assad to
initiate series of peace and conflict resolution process with the Free Syrian
Army and other rebel groups. These peace dialogues would take place in Moscow
between Assad, his regime officials, the Free Syrian Army representatives and
diplomats from the governments of Syria’s main allies----Russia, China and
Iran----and representatives from the Arab League and the United Nations, with
set feasible objectives and motivational incentives from the allies and the
international community to facilitate resolution and the rebuilding of a
traumatized Syria.
Damascus, Syria’s
capital, is the oldest capital city in the world, having existed for over 3,000
years, carrying along with it some enviable cultural heritage that now stand on
the brink of extinction. If Syria did not fall and become desolate over the
last 3,000 years like cities such as Ephesus, I think it would be negligent on
the part of the Syrian government and its allies and the Free Syrian Army and
its allies to let that happen now. Those 100,000 people did not lose their
lives for Syria to fall; the 2 million people who have fled are, in the deepest
part of their hearts, longing to come back to their beloved country; President
Assad you were not raised up as a kid in a refugee camp, nor did you as a child
love the killing of your brother or sister, nor did your dream get shattered
while in your youth, and neither would you ever imagine any of your kids in the
shoes of those displaced children and youths whose lives, future, dreams and
aspirations are standing on the precipice of destruction. The killings among
brothers and sisters can be stopped, and everyone can once again come together
to uphold the cultural heritage and unity that has held Syria together for over
3,000 years. I believe this ambition is feasible, and that it should be the
globally trodden path towards resolving the Syrian conflict.
