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العربية – Why is the International Anti-War Conference providing a platform to Syrian regime mouthpieces?
– Should the Syrian opposition talk to the Iranian government?
WHY IS THE INTERNATIONAL ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE PROVIDING A PLATFOR TO SYRIAN REGIME MOUTHPIECES?
An international, supposedly anti-war conference to be held in London later this month has caused a storm of anger and disgust among Syrians on social media. The reason is that the organisers of the high-profile event – that is, the British Stop the War Coalition – had invited to speak, alongside the usual suspects, an infamous Syrian nun called Mother Agnes-Mariam.
Mother Agnes is known for her pro-Syrian regime and anti-Syrian revolution propagandist nonsense, and is often referred to by Syrians as “Bashar al-Assad’s favorite nun.”
One commentator, Mayyar Al-Saleh, posted this on his Facebook page: “As a Syrian citizen, I would say that you people are anything but ‘anti-war’. You’re pro-genocide, pro-oppression, pro-dictatorship. All for the sake of ‘fighting imperialist powers’.”
Another one, Odai al-Zoubi, asked: “How many Syrians are invited to speak in this pro-Assad festival? How many of them represent the opposition? How many speakers have been to Syria? […] None. Zero. Syrians and their lives and suffering [are] absent from this great festival. Of course. It is not about us, about people who are killed everyday, who are raped and tortured. No. It is a racist brutal festival to celebrate the death of a real leftist movement in the UK.”
And the protests seem to have paid off, though the sickening position of the conference organisers hasn’t probably changed much. Two day ago, Stop the War Coalition posted an official statement of the event’s Facebook page saying: “Mother Agnes has now withdrawn from speaking at the conference,” and admitting this was due to “a campaign” that had “developed… over the last few days… over the invitation we extended to Mother Agnes.”
As far as we know, the only actual participant who made a fuss about this controversial decision – at least publicly – was the American author and filmmaker Jeremy Scahill. In a Twitter message he said: “I’ve informed organizers of @STWuk that I will not participate in their conference if Mother Agnes is on the platform.”
Sources: Various Twitter and Facebook pages. StWC’s statement can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/227171110774591/?source=1
For a more in-depth analysis of Stop the War Coalition’s position of Syria, see this long piece by a Syrian leftist:http://newsfromsyria.com/2013/05/28/a-left-wing-response-to-left-wing-delusions-on-syria/
COMMENT FROM THE EDITOR:
If you’re an Iranian leftist (or from any other country, for that matter) and were planning to attend the conference, perhaps you should rethink your decision if you’re really concerned about Syria and Syrians. That’s the least you could do, for God’s sake! Of course if you prefer to go and express your disgust in person, that would be even better!
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SHOULD THE SYRIAN OPPOSITION TALK TO THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT?
An independent Syrian magazine, Souriyatna (Our Syria), has conducted a survey of a random sample of Syrians through social media, asking them to answer in 150 words this question: “Following the call by the former president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Mu’ath al-Khatib, [urging the opposition] to meet with Iranian officials, and after members from the Coalition met the Russian delegate to the Middle East in Istanbul, do you think that meetings between [Syrian] opposition bodies and personalities with Iranian officials could end the fighting in the country, stop the bloodshed and result in a political settlement?”
Although the main finding of the survey was “I don’t really have an opinion on this,” some of the responses are interesting and worth reading.
Dr Ghassan Karkoutli wrote: “I think Iran plays a crucial role in the war unfolding on Syrian soil, so meeting Iranian officials and reassuring them that the opposition forces, if took power, would not be against Iranian interests in the region, may have a positive impact on the Iranian public opinion, which opposes intervention in Syria because it is draining [their country’s] budget and heightening the conflict with the Gulf countries. You may remember the chants that Rohani’s supporters were shouting in the recent election [campaign]: Neither Syria, nor Lebanon, I sacrifice my soul for Iran.”
The Qudsayya Coordination Committee was less diplomatic in its response: “Iran is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Its siding with the [Syrian] regime from the beginning put it in an antagonistic position vis-a-vis the Syrian people. And today it is a direct partner in the killing [of Syrians] and cannot be regarded but a direct, brutal occupier of our land.”
Orwa al-Ahmad, a journalist, wrote: “In my personal opinion, I don’t think communicating with Iran – out of all Assad’s allies – would be fruitful for various reasons, the main one being that Iran has, for a long time, had an expansionist project in the Middle East. It is clear from all the political and logistical support it has given to the Assad regime that it will not abandon it so easily. Whatever diplomatic offers the Syrian opposition may make, these cannot compete with the concessions al-Assad has made in return for staying in power.”
Finally, poet and journalist Luqman Derki wrote: “I don’t know, I really don’t know. But I know that the revolution is stronger than negotiations.”
Source: http://www.souriatnapress.net/?p=4867
COMMENT FROM THE EDITOR:
The more important question, perhaps, is: Would the Iranian government want to meet Syrian opposition representatives? Probably not. Certainly not as long as the government is dominated by these blood-thirsty theocrats who would sacrifice anything (people, land, religion… anything) in order to stay in power and have it their way.
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