By Latheef Farook

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Rivers of innocent peopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s blood, especially in and around the Sunni Muslim city of Homs, flow while indiscriminate bombing turned Syrian cities and villages into virtual graveyards causing untold misery to harmless people. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Senseless bombing and destruction of infrastructure deprived people of food, water, electricity and shelter forcing them to abandon their homes and flee for safety, leaving all their belongings, and languish in refugee camps in appalling conditions in neighboring Turkish and Lebanese villages.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Since the peaceful demonstrations began a year ago in Syria more than 8000 people were killed and tens of thousands detained, tortured and killed. This orgy continues unabated to date. Early this month UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said summary executions, torture and killings have become daily occurrences although no one knows the exact number of victims. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ According to one report ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-terrifying footages, documenting the dying tortured men, secretly filmed by a member of the Homs hospital staff, shows the instruments of torture, including rubber whips and electric cables on a table in one of the hospital wards. According to Syrian human rights activists, an ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Alawite group shot on ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ demonstration in Homs, picked up the wounded and sent them to their military hospitals only to torment them to death there.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

“I have seen detainees being tortured by electrocution, whipping, beating with batons and by breaking their legs. They twist the feet until the leg breaks. They perform operations without anesthetics. I saw them slamming detainees’ heads against walls. They shackle the patients to beds and deny them water. Others have their penises tied to stop them from urinating” stated the report.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The architect of this carnage is not an outside invader, not even the Zionist neighbor known for shedding Arab blood. It is SyriaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ tyrant turned heartless butcher Bashar Al Assad who transformed hospitals into torture centers where wounded were tortured by doctors.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Bashar, groomed by his equally cruel father Hafiz Al Assad who massacred around 30,000 Sunni Muslims in Homs in the early 1980s, belongs to minority Alawites; a section of Shiite group which is around 10 percent of SyriaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s population .However these Alawites control power, politics, economy and everything in Syria. Those demanding political reforms are majority Sunni Muslims who are more than 80 percent of the population but remain oppressed and brutalized for more than five decades. Thus the bloodbath in Syria has a Shia-Sunni twist involving almost all regional and international players with their own agendas.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This range from America, Britain, France, Israel, Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia led Gulf States and Iran turning Syria into a battlefield. This gives Bashar enough time to continue his killing spree with the indirect support of the West, Israel, Russia, china and Iran, while big powers hoodwink the world pretending to be doing something to stop the slaughter.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Regional and international powers are interested only in protecting their own interests. For example Russia is fully behind Bashar as Syria remains an important market for its weapons. Equally Syria is important to China for economic, political, military and strategic reasons. Bashar is a bastion of support for Iran, surrounded by hostile regimes, in its struggle against the west which is ganging up to destroy Iran under the guise of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Certainly Israel prefers secular Bashar to a Sunni government .Though described as radicals ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ father and son, Assads, failed to liberate an inch of Syrian land, Golan Heights, captured by Israel in its June 1967 war of aggression. At least Hezbollah fought back and forced Israel to withdraw from South Lebanon- an ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ achievement the combined armies of Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t dream of.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Israel established exclusive Jewish only settlements in Golan Heights and annexed it while Hafiz Al Assad remained silent. In 1976 Hafiz dispatched troops to Tel Al Zatar Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon to protect Palestinians from Israeli backed Falangists. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Instead of protecting AssadƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s troops butchered around 30,000 Palestinians under a secret agreement ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ with Israel.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Though despised by US and Europe, Hafiz Al Assad was bribed to support US led war against Iraq which killed around 1.5 million people and turned this ancient Arab country into a Wasteland. Under such circumstances Israel will always prefer ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ AssadƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s regime to a Sunni regime which will assert its rights and dignity, support Palestinians in their struggle against Israeli atrocities and resist IsraelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s lawlessness. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Meanwhile AssadƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s killing spree suits the agendas of Britain and France too. For example during the second half of 19^th century Britain decided toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  foist a hostile entity inƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the Middle EastƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to ensure the region remains in permanent turmoil ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and the peopleƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  illiterate and backward. Under this plan Britain helped Zionist Jews to set up ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ state of Israel for migrant Jews in the Palestinians lands after killing and kicking out Palestinians.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Since then the role played by Israel in destabilizing the region with frequent wars and killings and lawlessness is common knowledge. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the same way France has its own agenda in the region. For example Syria is a country carved and brought under French control in the aftermath of the World War 1 when Britain and France divided Middle East and North Africa which were provinces of defeated Ottoman Empire. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When Napoleon Bonaparte entered Egypt he adopted a policy of getting Muslims to kill Muslims. Up to date France continues this policy and the Alawaite Bashar killing Sunni Muslims suits this age old British-France agendas.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The US led invasions of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and the sudden eruption of Sunni-Shiite conflict shows that the British ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”French policies were implemented even today.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Under such circumstances Muslims expect countries in the regionƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to end this shameful carnage .However Arab countries , some in turmoil ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and ruled by stooges ad scoundrels installed by British and French colonial masters and US, have their own selfish agendas.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ For example Saudi Arabia which owes its survival to America is trying to fish in the troubled water by trying to exploit the bloodshed to settle its score with Iran which strongly supports Bashar. Thus the Syrian crisis has also become a battle ground between Saudi Arab led Gulf states and Iran.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Under the circumstance one could expect the Arab League to end the killings. However the Arab League has no record of solving any inter Arab dispute leave alone preventing foreign invasions. For example in the war between North and South Yemen in the 1960s, Egyptian President Gamal Abdul NasserƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s socialist forces backed by Soviet Union and King FeisalƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Saudi Arabia backed by America fought their battles in Yemen. Arab League failed to take any initiative to end this conflict. Later during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan suggested the need for an Arab solution and urged Arab League to play a crucial role to prevent US invasion.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Arab League remained impotent, US led NATO invasion destroyed Kuwait and Iraq leaving deep bitterness in the region and Prince Hassan lost his throne.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Thus the bankrupt Arab dictators remain spectators issuing statements from their ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ glittering conference halls to hoodwink their own people who have woken up from their long slumber. Equally shameful has been the Organization of Islamic Unity, OIC, not known for any initiative to settle inter Muslim disputes often instigated by the west.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the midst the United Nations dispatched former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan last week to bring about a negotiated settlement. However his mission is bound to fail in view of the wide gap between the two sides.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ For example all what the people wanted when the uprising broke out a year ago was political freedom and dignity, end to arbitrary arrests, indefinite detention, endless torture and killings. They did not ask for regime change. Bashar responded by unleashing unprecedented barbarity to crush the democracy movement as his father had done in 1982 in Homs when he massacred more than 30,000 Sunni Muslims. As a result the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ two sides have reached the stage today people demand nothing but the removal of Bashar and his regime.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Bashar ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”s tyranny shows that he has even failed to learn lesson from the disgraceful end ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ of ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi who, tried to crushƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  his people stating they are ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-rats and cockroachesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Indications are that Bahsar and his gangs ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ are heading towards the very same end. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Under such circumstances Kofi AnnaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s task of narrowing the gap between the two sidesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  seems to be an ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ impossible one. Kofi Annan was not known as a successful negotiator and his performance during his two terms in office was marked by his failure to stop the Rwanda massacre and the massacre of Bosnian Muslims. It was during his tenure that the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ draconian UN sanctions on Iraq killed around 500,000 children and caused untold misery million of Iraqis.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ AnnanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s only qualification which won him the second term in office was his obedience to US which controls the UN .He met Bashar and on his way beck told a press briefing in Ankara on Tuesday 13 March that he had submitted his proposals and expected answers on the same day.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The question is whether his mission is just another ruse to buy time for Bashar to continue his killing spree before US and NATO embark on yet another Libyan style ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- so called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- humanitarian interventionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to turnƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Syria into a wasteland as they had done in Afghanistan ,Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Algeria, Palestine and several other Muslim countries.

Now with Syria in turmoil it seems US-NATO- Jewish conspiracy to destabilize Middle East and North Africa to ensure IsraelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s safety seems to be complete. However an enlightened generation is emerging with great bitterness and hatred towards the perpetrators of these heinous crimes and their Arab collaborators. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The question is what next?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚