Al-Assad: From the Baath to absurdity

Just as a snowball rolling down from the frozen mountain top gains momentum through movement, gravity and propulsive force, this is the case with the Syrian revolution which refuses to stop before achieving its most important goal, namely overthrowing the existing regime, after more than four decades of humiliation, subjugation, poverty, deprivation, suppression and killing.

Last week witnessed a number of official stances and media stunts from the Syrian regime, proving that it has entered the phase of political delirium and hallucination which precedes the death rattle and the departure of the soul. Firstly, an almost unopposed Arab condemnation of the al-Assad regime took place, resulting in the suspension of Syria’s membership in the Arab League. Secondly, in response to that, the al-Assad regime’s trumpets could be heard through its Arab League representative, and a mass of partisans who began hurling a stream of abuse; cursing and accusing all Arab countries that adopted an honourable and courageous stance to support the Syrian people, who have been savagely and ruthlessly massacred on a daily basis for eight continuous months.

The regime did not stop there; it also brazenly attacked Arab embassies and consuls whilst ravaging their contents, in a barbaric manner so defiant to all international norms, charters and diplomatic protocols. Meanwhile, the number of defectors from the Syrian army now constitutes a qualitative figure, currently estimated in the hundreds and rising, having previously been written off as mere dozens defecting in a sporadic manner. The collapse of the al-Assad Baathist regime in this manner, with the destruction of the fear barrier and the regime’s terror machine, will one day serve as material for a case study.

The regime’s extensive promotion of the lie that it is a secular rather than sectarian regime, while the facts on the ground reveal a totally different reality, will also be examined in detail one day. All influential and powerful posts have been reserved for members of the Alawite sect. The same goes for the military establishment, where the top brass ranks are occupied by organized groups of the ruling Alawite sect. The quota they have been given is completely disproportional to their ratio to the Syrian overall population. Meanwhile, all posts granted to other sects remained nominal and completely ineffective on the ground.

The Syrian regime has long spoken in the name of resistance and opposition, while its borders with Israel, which has occupied the Golan Heights for over four decades, have remained surprisingly quiet and secure without any disturbances or scenes of resistance. The complex of Hama, that valiant city which paid a costly price with its youth and residents in 1982, returns today with its sister town Homs. The Al-Assi River flows through each of the two cities, nourishing their inhabitants with the revolutionary spirit and compelling most Syrians across the country to join them.

Today there is clear talk moving in one direction; that is to establish a safe and secure buffer zone with the aim of providing civilians with security and protection from the brutality of the murderous, oppressive regime. This step shall be implemented soon in an area near the city of Aleppo in northern Syria, which lies in close proximity to the Turkish borders. The rise in the numbers joining the Free Syrian Army and its establishment of a temporary military council means that it has become a genuine and difficult proposition on the ground. It can no longer be ignored or ridiculed as one pro-regime analyst tried to do when he commented that “the number of defectors from the Syrian army is no more than those who normally defect every year.”

This kind of lie is similar to the false claim that there was no revolution to start with in Syria, or the threat that Syria could impose a no-fly zone across the Mediterranean. These lies are another indicator of the complete bankruptcy of a regime which has failed to offer anything to its people except fear and apprehension over 40 years of its illusions. Syria is too great to be ruled by the “father” who turned against his fellow officers and then bequeathed power to his “son”. Now Bashar al-Assad’s uncle has gotten on board in a bid to ride the wave of the revolution, in the hope of reaping some of its rewards. At one point in time, Syria was a democratic country with political parties, a functioning parliament, an active media, freedom and justice, before the arrival of a reckless regime under the name of the Baath party. In reality, this regime did nothing but tarnish people’s dignity, civil liberties, aspirations and security.

One day history will recount how the Assad regime tyrannized over proud and free people and stripped them of their dignity, until thousands of youths took to the streets demanding the overthrow of the regime, and calling upon the free world to support and stand by them. A revolution has never broken out in search of true freedom and dignity and returned with its tail between its legs. The last grains of sand are moving through the hourglass. Soon the world will celebrate the liberation of Syria and its ultimate release from the lengthy nightmare of the Baath party and its absurdities.