Human rights, democracy, the US, and Syria

I spent a few days in Damascus at the end of February, and was able to get a ground-reality view of the effects of the Bush administration’s (former) campaign for the forced ‘democratization’ of Middle Eastern societies on the work of Syrian citizens with long experience struggling for human rights and democracy in their country.
Bottom line: “Very bad indeed.”
That was the verdict rendered on the Bushites’ ‘democratization’ campaign by Danial Saoud, the President of the venerable Committee for the Defence of Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms in Syria (CDF).
Saoud was himself a political prisoner from 1987 through 1999, and has been President of the CDF since August 2006. He was adamant that what Syria’s rights activists need most of all right now is a resolution of their country’s state of war with Israel.
Speaking of Condoleezza Rice he said,

    Her pressure on the regime had a very bad effect for us. Now, for 18-24 months the Americans and Europeans have put a lot of pressure on the regime– but the regime then just pushes harder on us.

Mazen Darwish, who is Saoud’s colleague in the CDF’s three-person Presidential Council, told me,

    Before the US invasion of Iraq, people here in Syria liked us, the human rights activists, and we had significant popular sympathy. But since what happened in Iraq, people here say ‘Look at the results of that!’

Saoud stressed that for Syrians, the question of Israel’s continued occupation of Syria’s Golan region itself constitutes a significant denial of the rights of all the Syrian citizens affected– both those who remain in Golan, living under Israeli military occupation rule there, and those who had fled when Israel occupied Golan in 1967 and have had to live displaced from their homes and farms for the 40 years since then. “Golan is Syrian land, and we have all the rights to get it back,” he said.
In addition, he and the other rights activists I talked with pointed to the fact that the continuing state of war between Syria and Israel has allowed the Syrian regime to keep in place the State of Emergency that was first imposed in the country in 1963. “All these regimes in this area say they are postponing the issue of democracy until after they have solved the issues of Golan and Palestine,” he said.

    So let’s get them solved! Everything should start from this. The people in both Syria and Israel need peace. We need to build a culture of peace in the whole area.
    … The CDF is working hard to build this culture.

Both men pointed out the numerous contradictions and ambiguities in the policy the US has pursued regarding democratization in Syria. Darwish noted that, “When the US had a good relationship with Syria, in 1991, Danial was in prison– and the US didn’t say anything about that.” These two men, and other rights activists I talked with also noted that more recently, even during the Bushites’ big push for ‘democratization’ in Syria in 2004-2005, the Bushites were still happy to benefit from Syria’s torture chambers by sending some suspected Al-Qaeda people there to be tortured. (Canadian-Syrian dual citizen Maher Arar was only the most famous of these victims. In September 2005, Amnesty International published this additional list.)
Over the past year, two processes have been underway in Syria that seem to confirm these activists’ argument that US pressure on the Damascus regime has been detrimental to their cause. Firstly, the rapid deterioration in the US’s power in the region has considerably diminished Washington’s ability to pressure the Syria regime on any issues, and Damascus has become notably stronger and self-confident than it was a year ago. For some evidence of this, see my latest interview with Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem, serialized here, here, and here.
Secondly, over the same period, the situation of human rights activists within the country seems to have improved some.
Saoud told me that the number of (secular) political prisoners in the country is now less than 20. Indeed, the day we talked, about 16 Kurdish and student activists who had been held for less than a month had just been released. He said “No-one knows how many Islamist activists are in detention… We don’t hear about them until they come to court.” He said, “They don’t torture people like Anwar al-Bunni or Michel Kilo, or the others who were detained last year for having signed the Beirut-Damascus Declaration.” He indicated, however, that it was very likely that many of the Islamist detainees had been tortured. (Human Rights Watch’s recently released report for 2006 states that in Syria, “Thousands of political prisoners, many of them members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and the Communist Party, remain in detention.)
… Meanwhile, the main factor dominating political developments in Syria as in the rest of the Middle East, is the continued and extremely painful collapse of conditions inside Iraq. Syrians have watched that collapse in horror. Their country has received and given a temporary refuge to more than a million Iraqis (a considerable burden on their nation, equivalent to the US taking in some 17 million refugees within just a couple of years.) And since Iraq’s collapse has occurred under a Washington-advertised rubric of “democratization”, the whole tragedy in Iraq has tended to give the concept a very bad name, and has caused Arabs and Muslims throughout the Middle East to value political stability much, much more than hitherto.
Under those circumstances, it is very moving to still hear people living in Arab countries talking about the need for democracy. But when they do so, they are very eager to distance themselves from the coerciveness inherent in Washington’s recent ‘democratization’ project. And they all– regime supporters and oppositionists, alike–stress the need for moves toward democratization to grow out the local people’s needs and priorities, rather than the geostrategies pursued by distant Washington.

12 thoughts on “Human rights, democracy, the US, and Syria”

  1. under those circumstances, it is very moving to still hear people living in Arab countries talking about the need for democracy.
    What you think? Are they from another Glob?
    Are they different Humans?
    These people have had gave you very first Cod of Law they adapted the sciences and add a lot to it, then you took it from them not far in late 1500-1600 when the west start his journey for democracy, but what we seeing today a deformed democracy it’s ugly used to slaughtering Iraqi and others in Arab land like Palestine, did you see the daffness of the western democracy did not hear the crying, shouting of those who suffering form your democracy Helena.
    But when they do so, they are very eager to distance themselves from the coerciveness inherent in Washington’s recent ‘democratization’ project.
    Off course they love to do it on own way, they may need hep yes, but not you copy of     ‘democratization’ project.”.
    Is it Washington creates and support Al-Saud in Aljazerah?
    Is it Washington/London create Al-Subah in Kuwait and Al-Thani, Al-Maktom, and Al Qabos?
    Or Mubarak and Abdullah II whom living on your tax money Helena, both regimes survive by your administration support to both of them, and other you can find more, all for …. OIL Helena….
    All these regimes are they include in old US/UK democratization’ project?
    What we see of democratization’ project just a joke Helena and what you talking of Human rights jut another joke you need to look not far what’s your administration done in Iraq from the suppressions of speech, torturing and slaughtering of Iraqis or killing the journalist, detained them some still now in US custody no one knows why and where are they? Is this you call it “democratization’”.
    Call it any thing you like but distance the name from call it “democratization”

  2. I never believed bush’s goals for the Middle East had anything to do with peace, stability or democracy. I have done some blog posts on my blog called Democracy Hypocrisy! – 19 installments, if I remember right.
    I think we could run an entire blog on just that.

  3. salah’s comments are very understandable. democracy is becoming something of a last frontier in the battle against cant: what do people mean by “democracy”? Lots of different things obviously but there is not much question about the fact that Bush’s regime has a very unusual notion of what democracy is. This, after all, is a government whose primary characteristic has been its contempt for the electorate. Expressed categorically in the Florida Recount business and on every possible occasion ever since. Who could possibly believe that these people had any interest in government by and for the people? If there was one thing that everyone knew about this mob is was that there was no limit to their hatred of anything resembling democracy. Was Negroponte ever interested in Democracy? Or Reich? At every level the government was staffed by veterans of coups, death squad massacres, black ops and every conceivable sort of crime against democracy. They don’t really take much trouble pretending that they suscribe to the idea that the people should rule.
    And yet, when they pretend that their middle eastern policies are intended to promote democracy the entire public debate is reframed to accomodate their manifestly ludicrous claim. People fall over themselves to wonder whether this “devotion to democracy” is perhaps a trifle naive, a symptom of American idealism, perhaps or going too fast… whereas every barefooted urchin in Aden understands full well that US policy is, and has been for many years wholly aimed at preventing Arabs from achieving the democracy which they see as the foundation of a better life. And what they mean by democracy is something that the West, whose governments are becoming increasingly distant from the people, controlled by plutocrats and founded upon a public discourse of lies, will learn much from when it comes. and it seems increasinly likely that it can only come after the west has been humiliated.

  4. “ Fort Lewis
    said in a news release the vehicles are being moved in groups of about 25 vehicles in non-peak hours, under escort of military and local police, in support of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division’s upcoming deployment. The protesters accused the Army of moving the equipment when the fewest people would notice.
    “They’re sneaking in under cover of darkness because they know how unpopular these are,” said T.J. Johnson, an Olympia city councilman and one of the protest leaders.”
    Helena just let you know about ” I watched to see if I could see any noticeable military supply trucks barrelling along to Iraq, but failed to. “ its from home country are their, they shipped to ports? , guess where may be…….

  5. I’m a little surprised you haven’t mentioned the U.S.’s refusal to let Israel negotiate with Syria. Why is this happening? It sounds so stupid.

  7. Greg, I didn’t mention that because I was writing this primarily for the Nation’s blog, the Notion, and they want posts that are very short.
    It is of course an important part of the story… But I dealt with it also in the Mouallem interview.

  8. Helena,
    Syrians have watched that collapse in horror. Their country has received and given a temporary refuge to more than a million Iraqis
    Helena did you actually making any efforts to hear from a few of Iraqis from that Million in Syria?
    Tell us what they can tell you of the horror they had in 2003 US invasion?
    The horror they living in?
    While you highlight the report of (Human Rights Watch’s recently released report for 2006 states that in Syria, “Thousands of political prisoners, many of them members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and the Communist Party, remain in detention.) I am not undermining those people rights and lives but I think it’s more important. that the same agency “Human Rights Watch” stand with deafness and blindness about what’s happening in Iraq there are 34,000 detainees hold by US/UK forces in Iraq (Iraqi ministry of Justices gave this figures in Parliament Dec 2007).
    Wish that you post some stories “real stories” as yours marvellous tell about yours land journey from Amman to Damascus.
    Let know their point view about US, UK, Iran, and Oil Law and Women Rights and finally and most importantly Human Rights for the Last four years of Washington’s recent ‘democratization’ project in the demolishing state of Iraq….!.
    Helena, your stand about “Washington’s recent ‘democratization’ project” in ME and the criticism of this project, put me in a status of confusions of your stand of the democracy in ME.
    Back with your stand about 33days war, where you sympathies, may I say supportive position for Nasrallah, his adventure behaviour that caused killing and injuring thousands of people in Lebanon, where there were a government have some shape or form to be some sort of democratisation (I know Sanurra with US stand, this is not the matter I argue now) there is a parliament and members representing the people of Lebanon from different ethnics and structure, this man “ Nasrallah” he created State-in-State status in Lebanon, he caused a huge damage and losses to the country by his adventure as himself admitting he was wrong.
    In all your posts about Lebanon, looks to me its odd what you argue in this post and your stand for native democracy in ME , simply Nasrallah have demonstrated utterly irresponsible behaviours and a single sided mind who had no respect whatsoever for any governmental and justice institution in the country. I still believe this man should be brought to justices and hold accountable for his personal behaviour that causing the suffering and the damage to the country.

  9. طارق عزيز يتهم إيران بقصف حلبجة كيميائ
    اتهم نائب الرئيس العراقي السابق طارق عزيز، أمس، إيران باستخدام الأسلحة الكيميائية في قصف بلدة حلبجة الكردية في العام ,1988 مستشهداً بتقارير أميركية صادرة في تلك الفترة.
    وأشار عزيز، الذي مثل بصفة شاهد أمام المحكمة العراقية التي تنظر في دعوى الأنفال، إلى أنّ «تقريراً صادراً عن معهد ديفنس إنستيتيوت التابع لوزارة الدفاع الأميركية في العام ,1989 وآخرً كتبه صحافي أميركي اسمه ميلتن كيوريس في مجلة نيويوركر الأميركية يؤكدان أن الضربة على حلبجة بالأسلحة الكيميائية كانت إيرانية وليس عراقية».
    وأوضح عزيز أن هذين البحثين يشيران إلى أنّ السلاح الذي استخدمه العراق في تلك الفترة كان «غاز الخردل وهو لا يؤدي إلى الوفاة وان نسبة الوفاة الناجمة عن استخدام هذا الغاز لا تتعدى الاثنين في المئة»، في حين أنّ «الغازات التي أدت إلى القتل في حلبجة كانت غازات السيانيد القاتلة… وإيران كانت تمتلك غاز السيانيد آنذاك.. والعراق لم يكن يمتلك هذا الغاز».
    ولفت عزيز إلى أنّ اجتماعات عقدت في العام 1991 بين القيادة العراقية ووفد من القيادات الكردية، تناوب على رئاسته الزعيمان الكرديان (الرئيس العراقي الحالي) جلال الطالباني و(رئيس إقليم كردستان العراق) مسعود البرزاني، للتعويض على ضحايا الحرب من الأكراد، حيث «لم يثيرا أياً من الاتهامات التي نسمعها وتثيرها المحكمة الآن.. ومنها تهم تتعلق بإبادة الشعب الكردي».
    وخلال الجلسة عبر طارق عزيز عن اشادته بالرئيس العراقي المخلوع صدام حسين الذي اعدم مؤخرا، لكن القاضي رؤوف رشيد عبد الرحمن، امره بالسكوت.
    (رويترز)
    Libby found guilty 12:45pm ET
    Former vice presidential aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby was found guilty of four of five counts of lying, perjury and obstructing justice during an investigation tied to the Iraq war. He could face up to 25 years in prison.

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