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By Mufid Abdulla:
The Syrian uprising marks a turning point in the demands of its people for liberation. The Syrian dictatorship has been in power for almost 45 years without any kind of popular participation. The nepotistic nature of this dictatorship – comprising al-Assad’s father, uncle, brother and father-in-law – is clear and their power is starting to crumble. The wealth and prospects of the Syrian people have been stolen by the junta for too long and now, at last, the people have taken to the stage to tell their rulers, ‘enough is enough’.
The latest in the series of uprisings and political revolutions in the Middle East is this, the Syrian uprising. It has surprised not only the Syrian people but also the whole community of political observers and analysts – for two main reasons:
- an iron fist has been imposed on the people for decades through mass killings, torture and ‘disappearances’
- there is strong unity of the people, both Arabs and Kurds, around demands for freedom and respect for basic human rights.
It seems to me and many observers that the Western-educated Bashar al-Assad and his party have no hesitation and nothing to fear in slaughtering their own people. If we consider the bravery of the people and the brutality of the regime, the Syrians are the most courageous people and al-Assad is the most rotten dictator in the Middle East. I have always considered the Syrian regime as the twin of Saddam’s – both of them based on the Ba’ath Party which was founded by Michael Aflaq with branches in Iraq and Syria.
Every day the Syrian dictator is killing people on the streets of Damascus and elsewhere in Syria. Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators have been detained and many political activists have disappeared. The world should not ignore the Syrian people’s commitment to peace and freedom. The West, in particular, should act immediately. There is a need for all types of international pressure on the Syrian dictatorship to stop the slaughter of its people, including my fellow countrymen of the Kurdish nation in Syria.
The Syrian dictator has sought to brutally crush the uprising, even with help from the Iranian thug Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – as reports are being confirmed to us that the Tehran regime is sending help to the Syrian ruler.
