The shame of Arab rulers

The ghost of the Syrian immigrants who drowned off the Turkish coasts will continue to haunt Arab leaders and will be a disgrace and shame that will follow them until the day of judgement. They will go to the dumpsters of history where they belong, while the image of the drowned Syrian child that shook every free to their very core will remain as proof that these leaders have lost all sense of humanity and mercy.

To those Arab leaders, I say this: Before blaming Hungary for their position on Syrian immigrants, who fled from Bashar Al-Assad’s explosive barrels, blame yourselves for not opening your borders to them and receiving them as dignified guests in your countries. They are your brothers in blood and religion, but you closed your doors in their faces and put up barbed wire and barriers on your borders. You arrested those who were able to pass through these barriers and you tortured them in your prisons that know no mercy or humanity. You then handed them back over to Bashar Al-Assad to eliminate them.

It is as if the Syrians have been destined to die by drowning, in prisons, or by means of explosive barrels. Despite all of this, Arab leaders dealing with the criminal murderer Assad, who in his latest television interview revealed that he was in contact with the Egyptian government and that there is every security and strategic coordination between the two regimes. This statement did not surprise me, as Assad is dealing with another murderous dictator just like him; a man who killed thousands of helpless Egyptians in Rabaa and Al-Nahda squares over the span of eight hours. Al-Sisi would have no qualms shaking the hand that is covered with the blood of thousands of Syrians when his own hands are covered with the blood of ordinary Egyptians. A fascist only deals with other fascists; the only thing that matters to him is retaining his position of power, even if that means killing all his people.

The Syrian tragedy could not have gone on for so long if it weren’t for the collusion of Arab countries with the Syrian regime against the Syrian people. The fate of these people has been lynching, murder, and displacement from their country. They were replaced by mercenaries from other countries brought in by Bashar Al-Assad to fight his own citizens after turning the situation into a sectarian war. He did so to scare them away from their peaceful protests demanding regime change, and thus brought us a new understanding of the meaning of “homeland”. A homeland, according to Assad, belongs to those who defend him, not the indigenous people of that land. In his twisted logic, those who are fighting the Syrian people in order to keep Bashar Al-Assad as leader are the defenders of the homeland.

Why does this surprise us? Tyrants like Assad consider themselves to be synonymous of both the state and the homeland. I say, once again, that if it were not for the plotting of some Arab leaders with the fascist regime in Syria, along with the support of Iran and Russia, Assad would not have been able to survive the revolution of the Syrian people. He would have been overthrown during the first year of the revolution. However, the Arab leaders are afraid of the Syrian revolution succeeding because it would be an example and model for the Arab world to follow and it would knock them off of their thrones.

This is also why they plotted against the Egyptian revolution and paid billions of dollars to stage the July 2013 coup. They are still doing the same thing in Libya and have thwarted the Yemeni revolution. They have even restored Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s government in Tunisia in the form of Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi. The Arab leaders continue to be hostile towards the Arab Spring and are standing against the people who staged the protests, working to abort the revolutions and nip them in the bud so that the winds of change do not reach them.

Do not expect them to help the oppressed people of Syria, as they are partners in the crimes committed against them and their death. May God watch over you, Syria.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.