By implementing the April 12 ceasefire which former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan proposed, President Bashar al-Assad has finally recognised the deepening global anxiety over Syria. The fighting has taken a terrible toll; according to the U.N., 9,000 civilians have died since public protests against Syria's regime started in March 2011. The government also says 2,000 soldiers have been killed. As the conflict developed into civil war, the army increasingly used tanks, armoured vehicles, rocket-armed helicopters, and mortars; 42,000 civilians fled the country, the majority to Turkey and the rest to Lebanon and Jordan. The situation on the ground remains potentially unstable, as troops and heavy weapons are still deployed across the country and the government insists it will respond “proportionately” to any attacks, even though Mr. Assad seems to have abandoned his earlier demand for a written guarantee that the rebels lay down their arms first. The Free Syrian Army, the opposition's main military body, had rejected that call anyway, seeing it as yet another attempt by the regime to evade any serious commitment to a ceasefire. The plan, which Mr. Annan conveyed as an envoy of the Arab League also calls for a Syrian-led political process to address the “aspirations and concerns” of the people and, among other things, requires freedom of association, the right to demonstrate peacefully, and freedom of movement for journalists.
The guns may be silent for the time being but the situation remains dangerous. Although the Arab League has heeded Russian concerns by not requiring Mr. Assad to leave office, his departure is a non-negotiable demand by the Istanbul-based Syrian National Council (SNC), the key opposition grouping. Secondly, the President can claim popular support of a kind — he has stood up to Israel and the West, especially by supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon — but the opposition, internal and external, is severely divided. The Kurdish faction has walked out of the SNC, as has a senior dissident, and the Council has been criticised for the influence of its biggest single group, the Muslim Brotherhood. In addition, some Gulf states want tough action against Mr. Assad, while Lebanon and Iraq do not. The ceasefire is nevertheless to be greatly welcomed. In order to build political momentum in the wake of the ceasefire, India and its fellow BRICS countries should join others in facilitating an inclusive Syrian political process. For Mr. Assad and the Ba'ath leadership, the ceasefire is a last chance to push for such a process. Failure to do so will only increase the clamour for external intervention.
Keywords: Syria uprising, U.N.-brokered truce, Kofi Annan, Bashar Assad regime, Free Syrian Army, Arab Spring
Seriously now!!! A murderer of 10,000 of his own citizens, including women and children (not to mention 200,000 missing in torture chambers), should be offered an invitation to a dialogue!!!?? The mrere suggestion of this stupidity a cruel insult not only to every Syrian but to every human being who values human rights and justice in this world. Shame on you Shashikant Sharma for your unjust and cowardly suggestion!!! I suspect that you are one of the Syrian regime's benifactors.
The extent of casualty as reported is only a tip of iceberg because the
free movement of journalists is not allowed. Yesterday I was listening
to an interview of a representative of SNC. He was unequivocally asking
for the ouster of Mr. Assad. The kind of words and phrases he was using
in that interview clearly suggested that there is a huge huge distrust
between two warring sides. Free Syrian army is unwilling to believe
that Assad's military will stop using arms and Assad regime is brewing
in disbelief vis-a-vis rebellions. One more thing I want to say that
ceasefire in Syria in few days is a not possible. Because as things
stand and reports are coming Assad's regime has an upper hand at this
point of time. During a bloody conflict rarely does it happen that you
go for a compromise when you are at the driver's seat. My only wishful
prayer is that may this case become an exception and violence in Syria
come to an end.
There is no short cut to a national issue where the mandate is divided. The people of Syria and President Bashar al-Assad should come together for dialogue under the aegis of United Nations, Arab League and BRICS for peaceful resolution of the political crisis which has turned into a bloody civil war. The foreign intervention should be in the form of moderation and not military action. The fate of the West Asia is under a threat of foreign action in the name of political stability or pre-emptive action against the terrorist or dismantling nuclear installations. The whole issue of creating a tough situation and political crisis and then intervening is a political strategy employed which is a form of neo-imperialism. The most prone to this form of geo-politics is the West Asia which is the petroleum reserve of the world. The Aran League and the concerned countries must awoke to the looming danger over them. Iraq has faced, Syria and Lybia are facing,Egypt overcame and next target is Iran.
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