Syria: the spectre of civil war
Syrians took to the streets last week, in an effort named by the opposition 'the ambassador expulsion week'. According to the local coordination committee, an opposition group that formed after the 15th of March events in Syria, sixteen people were killed. The scarcity of hospitals and medical staff contributed to the rising number of deaths. As stated in press reports, Syrians have protested in 250 places across the country, with Daraa being the most active, followed by Homs.
There is talk now of an armed revolution in Syria; this stems from the transformative nature of the resistance and the desire to irrevocably alter the power balance! It is naïve though to presume that an armed uprising will be successful in toppling a regime that is known for oppression and dominance. Shouldn't the leaders who call for the militarisation of the struggle know better than to fall into the trap set up by the regime and push people's protests into a violent vortex.
Violence will make it easy to isolate the protests and to justify continuous oppression and harassment. Resorting to violence will only satisfy the thirst of a few and it is the quickest route to defeat, and is more likely to lead to civil war. The high price we will pay will be giving up on coexistence, stability, and the condition of national unity.
The truth is that it is in the interest of those who have the say over security to divert the protests from the political and peaceful route to the violent factional one. Relying solely on excessive repression in order to incite instinctual actions fuels revenge and pushes people to adopt violent resistance methods. These people do not miss a chance to boost all backward forms of struggle, breeding fundamental forces, then linking it to Salafism and Al Qaeda with the sole purpose of legitimising oppressive practices.
