Arab countries’ normalization with Syrian regime “open”: Political opponents
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Syrian political opponents believe, the normalization of Arab countries with the Syrian “regime” has become “overtly and openly.”
Some Arab countries send private messages that include their intention to normalize relations with the Syrian government, especially since the new US administration has not shown any special stance in dealing with the Syrian situation.
The only attitude issued by the United States is to extend the state of emergency in Syria.
Among the Arab countries that seek normalization with the Syrian government are “the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Oman.”
“The convergence of the Arab regimes in general is done with the regime, and it has been initiated by the UAE,” Hassiba Abdulrahman, member of the political bureau of the Communist Labor Party (Syria), told North Press.
On May 3, The Guardian reported a visit by Saudi Arabia intelligence chief, Gen. Khalid al-Humaidan, to Syria, during which he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the special security advisor to the Syrian president, Gen. Ali Mamlouk.
“In case the news of the meeting was correct, this means that the process of normalization with the regime is accelerating, especially around the time of the presidential elections,” Abdulrahman said.
“However, Turkey and Qatar are still supporting the Syrian opposition, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, while Saudi Arabia has become closer to supporting the National Coordination Committee,” she added.
Floatation and recognition
The Syrian opponent considered, “communicating with the regime is a form of flotation, recognition and giving it some legitimacy. I believe Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf states will not dare to rapprochement with the regime without a yellow light.”
She stressed, the rapprochement “may be linked to the US-Iranian talks as a declaration of good intentions, and the US may withdraw from it at any political moment, because a settlement with the Russians has not yet been completed.”
Regarding the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Abdulrahman said: “The regime’s stance is manifested in indifference through stances and lack of official and unofficial statements, and through media coverage.”
“There was, as it is said, a cook prepared under the table related to settlement and normalization at the regional level, but this does not mean that the West will stop declaring the elections illegitimate.”
The effect of the cooking will be periodic until the appropriate political moment comes, either by floating Assad globally or continuing with the policy of depleting all Syrian forces, according to the Syrian opponent.
The matter, Abdulrahman stated, relates to “the US-Russian dialogue on the one hand, and the US-Iranian on the other, in addition to the completion of the settlement and normalization project with Israel. It is not linked to the interests and rights of the Syrian people.”
Re-establish relationship
While Munther Esper, member of the Executive Bureau of the National Coordination Committee (NCC), said, in addition to the distinguished relations of some Arab countries, such as Egypt, Algeria and Oman, “we see a re-establishment of relationship with the Syrian regime, such as the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, before his fall, the UAE and Mauritania, where all of which have close relations with Saudi Arabia.”
“Part of relations re-establishment is related to Iraq, whose invasion by the US resulted in the collapse of the Iraqi state, where the US was demanded to rearrange the Middle East,” Esper added.
He believed, the policy of the Arab system, which was pushed by events to exclude Syria from the Arab League, has failed, which has led to the need for a political solution to its problems, to defend the system’s continuity with the presence of Syria.
This rapprochement can only be understood in light of the reality of the Arab regime, that is, the Arab League, according to Esper.
“The Arab regime is not based on democracy or on the unity of Arab interests, but on recognition of the sovereignty and independence of member states with their existing borders.”
“This follows settling disputes by peaceful means, in a way that makes this regime continue in its duties,” the Syrian opponent noted.
“Therefore,” he stated, “the issue is not related to the rehabilitation of the Syrian regime itself, even if it will benefit from that, but rather to restore stability to the Arab-statist system without turning into a federal system that saves it from its contradictions or conflicts that explode under the pressure of Arab or foreign popular forces on it.”
The Arab regime is forced to work to deal with these countries “so that it does not explode, because its primary mission is to preserve these countries, their borders, and stability in them, above all.”
Esper stressed, it should not be surprised by the return of Arab relations with Syria and its join to the Arab League just as Egypt returned after its expulsion from it following the Camp David Accords against the rights of the Arab peoples.”
He pointed out that reconciliation between the Arab regimes is taking place at the expense of their opposition.
The US options, as it announced, remained aimed at confronting ISIS, while “it was able, for the Syrian regime, to threaten its military elimination, so the shift from that would be by not targeting it.”
Washington called on the “Syrian regime” to improve its behavior, and imposed sanctions on it and on the people as well. “And the improvement of behavior will take place after the removal of the military threat, by establishing the peaceful negotiating solution that the US proposes with Russia by accepting the conditions of the first.”
“The US is the necessary nation that the world needs,” according to President Clinton, and because the world needs (the leadership of America) according to the US Secretary of State, Blinken, and there is no leadership without the protection of interests and influence, as Esper described.
“The US, as it used to, in its relationship with various regimes, whether dictatorial or not, and according to its pragmatic policy, and rather utilitarianism, is ready to reach out the Syrian regime as long as it improves its behavior,” he noted.
Regarding the orientation of the US administration, he said: “It is inclined to calm the situation in the Middle East, resume negotiations with Iran, end the Yemeni war, and continue unconditional support for Israel.”
The Syrian opponent believed, the US “will not object the return of the Syrian regime to the Arab regional system, taking into account the American conditions.”
He does not rule out that these conditions would be “participating in the reconstruction of Syria, establishing a government loyal to it, engaging in normalization, and reducing Russian and Iranian influence.”
Special interests
“The Arab states have their own interests with the Syrian regime, and they also play a functional role within the international community, at the behest of this state or those decisions against the regime,” Sahar Hawija, Syrian lawyer and political opponent, said.
“The role of Saudi Arabia is affected by its relations with Russia and according to the positions towards Iran, as it seems that Russia is seeking to weaken the Iranian position, and the regime’s complying to this decision contributes to the Syrian-Saudi rapprochement,” she added.
“The Israeli role is important and it affects the move of the Arab regimes towards Syria especially after they normalized with Israel. This Israeli role has given these countries a margin of move to make some settlements through agreement with Israel even without American consent.” Hawija noted.
Regarding the relations between these countries and the opposition, the she pointed out that when Saudi Arabia approaches the regime, it means it gives it a legitimacy that it previously refused, but this does not mean that it cuts its link with the opposition, as it is in a position of strength in relation to the regime, and the latter needs its position.
The Syrian opponent stressed, Saudi Arabia is not obliged to stop supporting the opposition, as part of the latter depends on Saudi support. Saudi Arabia may be a party to settlement initiatives in light of the lack of international role.
The international legitimacy to impose the implementation of the international resolutions related to the Syrian issue, demands concessions from the regime without affecting its legitimacy, regardless of the opinion of the opposition, according to Hawija.
For his part, Ahmad al-Khalil, a Syrian opponent and journalist, said, “the rapprochement between the Syrian regime and some Arab countries is a common desire, as Arab regimes are no different in nature from each other, and I believe that the brutal suppression of the Syrian uprising has been admired by other Arab regimes.”
“The Arab regimes, contrary to what their media announces, and the position of some Arab countries towards the Syrian regime during the years of the uprising, came in the context of a regional political conflict involving Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar,” he added.
“Back to the barn”
“After the sound of tanks has calmed down and the death toll in Syria has slowed, relations between the Arab countries and the Syrian regime will return as they were before,” al-Khalil noted.
He believed, rehabilitating the regime has been in swing for years, as for the US, the Syrian issue is not at all on its list of priorities.
Other sanctions are taking their course without any push or acceleration. The US is not upset with the rapprochement between the Arab countries and the Syrian regime, on the contrary, it is rather pleased with it, according to al-Khalil.
He pointed out that the regime remained legitimate according to international law, and its embassies were not closed in any of the countries of the world.
“The regime is running its presidential elections with reassurance, as it realizes the desire of major countries and regional states to turn a blind eye to what happened, and to bring it back to the barn of the international community, as an obedient and cannibalized regime that rules a completely broken country,” he concluded.