Since the eruption of the bloody events in Syria last March, President Bashar al-Assad gave three speeches, on 1/4/2011, 22/6/2011, and 10/1/2012, (and an address on the 66th anniversary of the Syrian army on 1/8/2011). All these speeches were almost the same, as they maintained that there is a ‘big conspiracy' against Syria staged by near and far away countries, “chapters of conspiring and killing”, or a “foreign conspiracy” at play, along with offers, on the other hand, for national dialogue, reform and resoluteness in staying the course. The Syrian opposition, which rejected the president's recent speech as it had rejected his first speech, wants him to step down so that it can succeed him in power, but he won't step down. I feel, with respect to both sides' positions, that the crisis will last longer than the opposition expects – an opposition that only speaks in the languages of wishes while no facts on the ground support it. I also feel that the crisis will not end with a victory for the regime, which is promising an impending defeat for conspiracies and terrorists of all kind, local or imported. In other words, daily killings will continue. In fact, 20 Syrians or more were killed on the day the president gave his last speech, and more were killed on the following day, and this day will have barely ended when we shall hear about even more victims. Once again, I call for an end to the killing, whether the regime survives or collapses, or whether the opposition wins or ceases to exist. Saving lives is more important than everything else. For what use is for a man to win Syria, or the world, but lose himself? I had heard the president's speech in the beginning of April, and was full of hope in that he will announce a program for reform that would buy him weeks or months, and which he would implement in part and win more time, after which we would enter 2012 with Syria having overcome its crisis. However, the president did not offer anything in his speech before the parliament, and offered nothing in his speech two days ago, so his talk of reform remains rather unconvincing. Even more so is his talk of a foreign conspiracy. For one thing, there always are conspiracies, but the Syrians who protest every day are not part of such conspiracies, and are instead citizens with known and legitimate demands. At the same time, the Syrian opposition refused to deal with the regime. Its only demand seems to be for the regime to leave, but the regime will not willingly do so. In truth, the regime has enough cards that guarantee it would remain in power for a long time, definitely longer than the opposition expects. Between the hammer of the regime and the anvil of the opposition, the Syrians are paying a high price from the blood of their children every day. The Arab countries were supposed to rush to the defense of the Syrian people, but every single Arab country is instead in need itself for help. Thus we saw the Arab group, represented by the Arab League, which was not welcomed by the Syrian government to begin with, nor by the opposition. But the Arab group soon became part of the problem, instead of being part of the solution. In the ongoing conflict, I am neither with the government nor with the opposition. Rather, I hope to be with the Syrian people. Indeed, by virtue of my age, I know Syria before three-quarters of its people do, and it is my country as much as it is theirs (this also applies to Egypt). Today, the Syrian people are paying the price for suicidal policies. The regime, for one thing, had chosen a security approach from day one, and ended up in a cul-de-sac out of which it knows no exit. As for the opposition, it too closed all doors from day one, and I don't know on what basis it has built its assumptions that the regime would collapse quickly. The regime is stronger than the dissidents think, and the opposition is more steadfast than the regime wishes it to be. Thus, Syrian political bankruptcy is a mirror of the wider Arab bankruptcy, and there is a sense of general confusion that can only benefit the enemies who are plotting conspiracies, which we carry out or embrace. We are then facing a situation that has no silver lining to it, and God knows I have tried, in my attempt to ease the burden on the readers or myself. However, the factors at play in the confrontation have left me no window for hope, no matter how small it may be. [email protected]
