Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Good riddance to those who turned their guns on the people

Only three top regime criminals have perished in the suicide bombing in Damascus today .Whose turn is it going to be next?

Syrians are regaining their freedom the hard way - through blood and tears.  Russia has its own strategic interests in the region and (like other governments) could not care less for the torment and violent deaths in Syria.  Syrians should nevertheless be pleased that Russia has thus far prevented Western military intervention, which would have resulted in more deaths and destruction and culminated in the installation of a fractious  puppet government. Russia is  however becoming less and less relevant as more senior regime figures defect or are assasinated.

The risk of Western intervention is increasing by the day. The excuse will be to safeguard the stockpiles of chemical weapons. No doubt Mr Putin will start panicking soon and be forced to accept the compromise that Obama offered him in the first place - a more representative Syrian government that will preserve the "special relationship" withn Russia.

If Putin does not give way on Syria now, Iran could be attacked after the US presidential elections. Russia would then risk losing its remaining influence in the Middle East completely and comprehensively.  

The silent minorities in Syria (decent Alawites, Christians, Kurds, Druze and others) should now rise up against the regime or risk being totally marginalised or even persecuted after its collapse. Those who are risking their lives today will want to run the country tomorrow. Unfortunately for them, and like in Egypt, those who end up running the country are not those who have risked their lives but the more organised and clandestine political opportunists who are happy to climb the mountain of dead bodies to reach the top.

A truly just and democratic government can only be born out of a fully representative popular uprising.  Justice and democracy for all have to be earned by all.