Doaa El-Bey and Rasha Saad write on how pressure by the public on the Egyptian military and government is intensifying, and the fear that Bashar Al-Assad might repeat the turmoil which brought down Saddam Pundits focussed on the situation in Syria amidst international and Arab silence. In the London-based daily Asharq Al-Awsat, Mshari Al-Zaydi wrote that it is quite clear that the international and regional position towards the Syrian crisis is "somewhat elusive". Al-Zaydi wrote that there is a difference between the international and Arab stance towards what is happening in Libya and the people's uprising against the Gaddafi regime, and "the soft statements being issued regarding the Syrian crisis". "In Damascus, the regime is carrying out dialogue with its eloquent tongue, whilst it is sinking its sharp fangs into unarmed demonstrators in the rest of Syria." Al-Zaydi pointed out the reasons that might be behind such an attitude towards Syria, among them that the Arabs are not prepared to see a repeat of the chaos which broke out in Iraq following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. "Many believe that the Arabs are willing to coexist with Al-Assad's regime in Syria, provided that Syria does not fall into the same quagmire of chaos and failure that Iraq found itself in," Al-Zaydi wrote. And, adds Al-Zaydi, even if Syria's regime survives this popular revolution, "it would emerge with its wings clipped, and be much less powerful and influential than before." Another reason might be the fear of handing the country to the Muslim Brotherhood, considered the most powerful political party in Syria's opposition. "Here, we would be facing dangerous, radical, political organisations racing to take power, something that could affect the political situation in stable Gulf states," warns Al-Zaydi. Also in Asharq Al-Awsat, Abdel-Rahman Al-Rashid commented on the visit of the American and French ambassadors to investigate the demonstrations in Hama. In "Where were the Arab ambassadors?" Al-Rashid wrote that the attitude of the two ambassadors have put their Arab counterparts, who remained secluded in their homes in Damascus in line with the positions adopted by Arab governments, in an awkward position. Al-Rashid wrote that they departed the capital city "risking their lives in extremely dangerous circumstances, for they could have been targeted by thugs or the security services." In modern history, Al-Rashid maintains, there has never been an uprising "of such intensity, ferociousness, determination, bloodshed, and duration, as we have seen over the past three months in Syria." Al-Rashid maintains that it may transform into an armed confrontation if the world remains silent. "This is because demonstrations remain peaceful only when demonstrators feel that the world is doing something, and this has not happened so far," Al-Rashid wrote. Hassan Haidar, however, believes that it is difficult to accept the idea that US Ambassador in Damascus Robert Ford headed to the city of Hama against the will of Syrian authorities. If the Syrians had wanted to, Haidar wrote in the London-based newspaper, they would have stopped his motorcade at an army checkpoint at the entrance of the city and sent him back to the capital. Yet, Haidar continued, they allowed Ford to enter for several reasons, one of them of course concerns what was mentioned in the statement issued by the Syrian Foreign Ministry, which considered the visit "clear evidence of the United States' involvement in current events in Syria and its attempt to incite an escalation in the situation, which disturbs Syria's security and stability." Also in the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat Ghassan Charbel, praised the Sudanese president for allowing the independence of South Sudan. "It is no simple matter for a president to say good-bye to a third of his country, even if it is a peninsula; and to say good-bye to millions of its inhabitants, even if he consoles himself with the thought that the rest are more serene. It is not simple either for him to see Sudan's flag come down, and be replaced by the flag of South Sudan," wrote Charbel. He also praised Bashir's speech on the occasion saying it was "pleasant and transparent". "I wished that Bashir and his companions had had this velvety behaviour during the Salvation Revolution when they seized power two decades ago," wrote Charbel. The early velvet would have prevented a river of blood, tears, horrors, and sanctions. It could have also avoided the tearing of the map," Charbel argued. In Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Abdel-Bari Atwan described the appearance of the Yemeni president on television for the first time since he and other officials narrowly escaped an assassination attempt as "an earthquake and will have a serious impact on Yemeni politics and the shaping of its near future." Atwan said that the language of the Yemeni president's speech "was not the language of a president who wants to step down, pack his belongings, and prepare to go into exile." Rather, Atwan continues, "it is the language of a man who wants to remain in power as long as possible." Atwan said President Saleh never mentioned the Gulf states' initiative that calls for the transfer of power to his deputy for 60 days after which presidential and parliamentary elections would be held. The Yemeni president welcomed "political partnership on the basis of democracy and freedom of opinion and counter opinion, not on the basis of banditry and terrorisation of people". He pointed out that he wants the common denominator to be "dialogue, rather than arm twisting". "After this speech, the Yemeni political scene is likely to go back to square one, that is, the war of demonstrations between the president's supporters and opponents is likely to escalate, leading to the collapse of the truce that was reached with Saudi mediation after news of the assassination attempt broke," Atwan maintained.
