Syria the Survivor
By Aditi Bhaduri
Syria the Survivor – the name aptly fits in, after almost a decade of bloodshed, a sectarian and fratricidal civil war which attracted fighters jihadists from across the world, Syria has emerged victorious. The regime of Bashal Al Assad has emerged victorious prevailing over all the different forces that had allied against it – the Free Syrian Army, and the numerous jihadist groups like the Al Nusra Front, with support from states like the US, Turkey, Qatar, and the Is Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).. A UN report says that more than 40, 000 fighters from 110 countries travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the ISIS.
Of course, Syria’s victory has largely been made possible because of the support that Syria received from countries like Russia and Iran, and oganisations like Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Yet it has to be acknowledged that it would make for a very strong willpower and determination to overcome all the myriad adversaries arrayed against it.
Syria was thrown out of the Arab League, Arab states severed relations with it; the Western powers rallied against it; America imposed sanctions on the country. Yet, like the proverbial phoenix Syria is rising again. Syria, the survivor, Bashal al Assad the survivor, but most of all it is the Syrian people who are the survivors and the heroes.
There is no official count of the death toll and casualties, estimates range from 65,187 to 100,187 deaths of soldiers alone; some other estimates say that 400,000 lives have been lost in this war. The war has resulted in massive displacement of the population, six million Syrians are said to have fled the country while six million remain internally displaced. The recent military incursions by Turkey in north-east Syria alone has resulted in displacing ulted in 190, 000 people displaced.
It will take a long time for the reconstruction of Syria and of course Syria will never be the same again. The destruction and devastation is incomprehensible and even for those who have known Syria from a distance, especially those who have value history, heritage, beauty, aesthetics have mourned the often wilful destruction and loss of so much of heritage and culture. Western sanctions mean that even those countries which want to re-establish full-fledged ties with Syria are unable to do so, or are able to or only partially able to do so, both diplomatically and economically.
Yet, apart from the victories on the football field, Syria’s resilience was reflected at the recently concluded Damascus trade fair in which 39 countries participated. Besides Damascus’s traditional allies Russia and Iran, some of the other countries that participated in it were China, UAE, Indonesia, Phillipines, Iraq, the Chamber of Commerce of the Sultunate of Oman. Slowly but surely countries like the UAE and Bahrain which had severed ties with Syria soon after the start of the civil war have once again opened their representative offices in Damascus.
One of the major reasons for this reconciliation process with Damascus is that Syria the survivor, proving its resilience, has now emerged as a bulwark against the Muslim Brotherhood and religious fanaticism in the region. The one big threat that most leaders in the Middle East now face is that of a resurgent Muslim Brotherhood, with the active support of countries like Turkey. Always a champion of secularism and Arab nationalism Syria has been at the forefront of the fight against religious radicalism since decades ago. It has now emerged even more battle hardened and will make for a valuable ally in the fight against terrorism.
As analysts and counter-terrorism pundits have noted (and warned) the threat of groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are far from over. There are credible reports that Turkey’s incursion into north-east Syria since October this year has resulted in numerous prison breaks and flight of prisoners belonging to the ISIS. There are other terror groups also operating in the region.
India has taken a bold and resolute stand in sending its ambassador back to Damascus, at a time when many other Arab countries like Egypt and Tunisia are dithering. India has also extended 1000 scholarships for Syrian students for capacity building in different fields under its ITEC programme.
During the recent visit of Mohsen Bilal, the head of the Syrian Baath party, as a special guest of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, both external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Vice President Venkiah Naidu expressed and affirmed strong support to Syria in its war against terrorism, for its territorial integrity, and for its reconstruction efforts.
It is possible that Syria is now destined to play an even bigger role in the region, which is now coming around to understanding the futility of religious and sectarian politics. Powers that had once stoked are now trying to blunt the religious radicalism. If earlier Syria had been at the forefront of Arab nationalism, then now it is the frontline state in the region against Islamic extremism and terrorism.
Like India, Syria has been a victim of cross border terrorism – most of the jihadists who flocked to the country from other parts of the world used Turkey as a passage. Turkey has become the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose ideology provides the base for ISIS and other Islamist groups. It is also the twin face of the subcontinent’s Jamaat-e-Islami, which has shaped Pakistan’s politics and has wreaked havoc in Kashmir. Turkey and Pakistan are forging ever closer ties. Turkey recently hosted an international conference of the Muslim Brotherhood, where, amongst other things, participants recommended setting up a think-tank for Muslim minority studies. Perhaps not coincidentally, Turkey last week hosted a conference on Kashmir. Turkey has roiled India with its comments on India’s decision to reorganise the state of Jammu and Kashmir and support for Pakistan. A strong pluralist Syrian state is therefore in India’s interest and forging close ties with it will serve both countries well.
(The article was first published in The Quint and can be accessed here.)
