Insights from Syria, 3rd March 2018.
The United Kingdom’s attempt to restore some semblance of global diplomacy by calling the UNHCR Conference in Geneva to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ghouta yesterday made one thing absolutely clear: the axis of power relations across the globe and the character of power in a post-truth world has radically changed. As the world’s favourite tragedy was being discussed and dissected like a news item, words like “humanitarian aid”, “cross-border help”, “crisis” echoed in the air. Apart from impassioned speeches and a joint clarion call for a 30 day period allotted to Resolution 2401 which acts like a temporary ceasefire and opens a window for civilian evacuation, a lot of diplomats were spotted texting through the conference. How does one look away from such a callous degree of indifference?
Those looking for a clearer understanding into the Syrian conflict, what constitutes “the ought to be” is precisely what one needs to question, in the event of the brutalization of the private and the public. Safe to look towards spots of time in history that have lessons to profess : post-Lundendorff Germany is a befitting example of the threat excessive foreign power meddling inside a sovereign State poses to 1) its interim population by inducing hunger and unemployment and a general economy of fear with WMDs and warfare 2) the underlying game of thrones at play with Turkey, Iran, Israel, Russia and the US offering humanitarian aid only for territorial expansion.
The question one needs to ask is who are these militant groups still operant after the demise of ISIS? According to an on-ground source, they call themselves counter-revolutionaries and freedom fighters, absolutely sick of the 7 years internecine. The call to violence has been a direct offshoot of foreign intervention and a complete blurring of lines between the good spirited fight for overthrowing terrorism and occupying the seat of the neo-colonial power. The two have fudged, leading to rather ugly ramifications.
World diplomacy is no morality tale, and even after imposing Resolution 2401 and expecting safe evacuation, where are the 400,000 refugees going to go? Will these countries rabble-rousing the UNHCR floor with ethics open their borders?
If the world does not want the rise of another proxy dictator like Hitler who would probably shake up or take over the Assad regime, our time with the land of Syria (and its oil) must be up. Foreign intervention must end now and the country left to its own means for a plausible peaceful solution. When we talk of the Right to Self Determination accorded to a State, the conversation we often ignore is that between the strands of a dominant autocratic rule, there is a counter-culture that houses the power to change a country’s political setup. Revolution, as songs of Freedom in Syria interpret, must come from within and without a foreign import of what an ideal governing body must look like. The West’s evangelical saving pursuit in Syria is the single most potent culprit for all the years of suffering, as most people who have survived the 7 year war period had to say. The free flow of information from the Middle East is a carefully packaged Western hegemonic lie as well, Eva Bartlett and the allies have been responsible for flooding the media with propaganda. Real accounts and real sources seldom reach the receiver, and in times like these, independent journalists must take the baton.
Reports on site include evidence of Russian ballistic missile tests happening on Syrian ground and its subsequent backing of the Assad regime. Russia’s treatment of Ukraine as a satellite state marks the roadmap ahead for Assad’s political win if such a scenario were to arise. For any sort of peace to prevail, the country must be given independent space to negotiate its future on its own.
Disclaimer: The following post is based on conversations with a source living in Syria, who has experienced the agony and strife of war. I have tried to keep the story free from any personal viewpoint whatsoever.
