By Khadijah BawazeerLike the Syrian and many Arabs, I do not want foreign countries to interfere in Syria. This is not to say that the problems in Syria are made up to overthrow the regime. The Syrian uprising is real and stirred by people who feel oppressed. We recognize this and we do not have to hear reports from the media or other sources to believe it. Since the regime of Bashar Al-Assad's father, every time there were reports that Israel would attack Syria, the Syrian government used to say that it would “exercise ultimate self-control”. I wonder why the current regime fails to exercise self-control when the Syrian people started protesting the way it rules. Some journalist say that the millions of protesters in Syria are puppets mobilized by foreign powers. Others blindly support the Syrian government and overlook evidence that it is killing its own people en masse. In assessing the situation, we have to be fair to the people and not to any political system. Russia and China are not supporting the Syrian regime out of goodness from their hearts. They are playing a power game that does not take into consideration the needs, pains or sacrifices of the average Syrian. Many people have not favored Bashar from the start while others turned against him after they saw the discrepancy between the regime's claims and what it does or is doing. A ruler who truly cares for his country should step down when the majority of his people take to the streets in protest against his rule even at the risk of sacrificing their lives. If Libya's Muammar Gaddafi had stepped down and Al-Assad would do likewise, there would be no justification for other countries to intrude into their country's internal affairs. .But Gaddafi and Bashar with their an inflated sense of self-importance put their pride above the welfare of their people. I detest them for not caring even if their countries are ruined. They lie to themselves and to the people and decided to fight to the end with a feigned altruistic motive of saving the country from whatever imaginable evil just to stay in power. It does not matter if thousands are killed, starved or sickened. What twisted logic! Al-Assad claims that he respects people's rights but he kills and tortures them. A singer was tortured and killed for joining the street protests. As an extra act of vengeance, his throat was ripped out. If a painter or a writer paint or write something that does not please the regime, his fingers would be cut and displayed publicly to warn those who do not acknowledge the ruler's “benevolence”. The Syrian regime keeps claiming that it is not to be blamed for what is happening in the country and instead tosses the blame on some foreign powers manipulating people to rise against the ruler. Sounds like multiple lies to me? Why doesn't Al-Assad just step down? (The author can be reached at khadijah_ [email protected]) __
