CAIRO – WHAT does Bashar al-Assad think he gains from continuing to murder the Syrian civilians with impunity? Does he believe that he can abort the massive revolution erupting in each corner of his country against his tyranny? Does he fear the fate of Mubarak, Saleh or Gaddafi if he submitted to the demands of the revolutionaries to step down and so decided to continue setting fire to his country thinking that its flames won't eventually reach his presidential palace? Al-Assad should admit after five months of excess use of violence against his civilians that the old means of suppression followed by his late father Hafez al-Assad are now no longer applicable, especially after the success of the Tunisian and Egyptian peoples in removing their rulers via peaceful demonstrations. The proof of this is that the more he directs his armed machinery towards the civilians causing the death of dozens of victims, the more the revolt gains more ground in society. It is spreading from town to town and from one faction of the people to the other until reaching the Alawites themselves. The Alawites, who form less than 25 per cent of the population comprise the ruling regime in Syria. However, some of them have started expressing opposition to the violent means that al- Assad insists on deploying against the revolutionaries. There are also indications of divisions within the military institution, which led to the dismissal and replacement of the Minister of Defence Ali Habib, who was said to oppose the brutal military operations against the town of Hama. The following day, Habib was found dead in his home. Sooner or later, al-Assad will be toppled if not by the persistent revolutionaries, by some men of his regime especially the military institution that has been greatly harmed through being involved in these acts of violence against civilians. In addition to the growing opposition of the international community against the Syrian regime, some Arab rulers, uppermost King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, have decided to confront the Syrian president with his crimes. They are practically expressing their opposition to the bloody acts and cruel assaults on the unarmed civilians of Syria, by recalling from Damascus their respective ambassadors to Syria. Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Nabil el-Arabi seems to be changing his previous supportive stand for al-Assad when he recently expressed his concern over the excessive use of violence against the civilians. Apparently, no one would request the Arab League to urge the international community to militarily interfere in Syria as it once did, when it approved the intervention of the Nato forces in Libya. However, the least the Arab League can do is to condemn the practices of the Syrian regime and to announce the rights and freedom of the Syrian citizens to change their rulers via peaceful means. What is really significant here is the new trend the Arab rulers seem to be taking pertaining to conditions in the other Arab countries. King Abdullah, in particular, was first active in that domain, when he intended with other Gulf Co-operation Council member states to conduct an initiative for transfer of rule in Yemen. However, President Abdullah Saleh continued to manoeuvre until he was injured when his palace was bombed; hence he was forced to go to Saudi Arabia for treatment. King Abdullah had also intervened, but very differently, in the Bahraini crisis when he sent military forces to support the Bahraini king against the revolutionaries, with the pretext of deterring a Shi'ite plot against the tiny Gulf Kingdom. However, King Abdullah's vocal and fierce criticism directed at the Syrian regime has initiated a new page of relation between the Arab rulers, allowing one of them to criticise the policies of another towards his subjects. However, would the Saudi king allow other Arab rulers to criticise his strategy of rule in Saudi Arabia? Some local and foreign media have attributed the Saudi stand to the ongoing political differences between Riyadh and Damascus, given that the Saudi King has not issued a single word of criticism of Hosni Mubarak. The former Egyptian president is charged with murdering demonstrators in Tahrir Square and elsewhere during the January 25 revolution. However, King Abdullah has continued to support Mubarak and even welcomed him to depart for the Islamic Kingdom instead of remaining in Egypt and facing trial. I personally believe that the Saudi king considers he is embellishing his image in the eyes of the Arab nation in general and the Saudi citizens in particular by appearing as the just Muslim ruler who doesn't accept the injustice of any ruler against his people. Given also the strong Turkish stand on Damascus and its willingness to intervene to end the crisis, al-Assad seems to have no other choice but to submit to national and international pressure and step down. His only alternative is to continue with his vicious policy until he is forcibly toppled by the angry citizens. But, by that time, he might not find any place to flee to, not even Iran that for the present continues to support him. Sooner or later, the Syrian nation will obtain its freedom from the tyrannical regime that lost its legitimacy when it insisted on violently confronting the opposition.
