Houla massacre and its serious consequences

The Syrian regime cannot shirk from its responsibility for the massacre which took place in the town of Houla near Homs, the day before yesterday, which killed more than 100 people, amongst whom were 32 children under the age of ten. Those were Syrian citizens. The children were Syrians too. They cannot have been fighters in the armed groups which the regime talks of. Protecting Syrian people, all Syrians, regardless of their doctrine, religion, or ideological affiliations, is the responsibility of the Syrian regime first and foremost, as it is supposed to be representing the whole nation, and behave in a manner far apart from the behaviour of the military groups that it accuses of the killing and destruction. The Syrian regime, through its foreign ministry spokesperson Jihad al-Maqdisi, has categorically denied that it committed this massacre, and condemned it in the harshest tone saying it was the work of terrorists. It also announced the formation of a military judicial commission to investigate the events, and that the results of the investigations would be issued within three days. Since the system is so confident of this, why will it not involve a group from the international observers in these investigations so the results would be free of suspicions and would add credibility to their accusations of a foreign military intervention in the country? We do not deny there are armed groups working on Syrian soil who are trying to undermine both the security and political heart of the regime. International observers have reported that groups are engaged in counter-retaliation and violating human rights. We condemn the terrorist practices which target innocent children and civilians regardless of their identity and political affiliation, but when the head of the international observers team says that the carnage of Houla was due to shelling by tanks and heavy artillery that are not available to the Free Syrian Army, this prompts many to question the official Syrian version of events as told by Dr Maqdisi. We hope the Syrian authorities will actually investigate this butchery, and give us the results, fully proven with irrefutable facts and to condemn the armed groups knows as “Shabeeha” (thugs) if they were really the ones who carried out this massacre. We would be the first to talk about this step towards integrity. The events taking place in Syria prove beyond doubt that there are acts of killing and counter killing being committed. Innoncent people are being abducted amidst lawlessness and lack of state control in many areas in the country. However, if we believe the involvement of undisciplined armed and extremist groups in these atrocities, we cannot understand retaliatory acts being carried out by those belonging to the regime, as this would give a direct or indirect pretext to those seeking an international military intervention against Syria which the regime fears. The supporters of the regime should be the more disciplined and the more responsible and be aware to stay well away from activities who would open the door to a foreign military intervention. We were amongst the first to warn of a civil sectarian war marching towards Syria and the existence of a third party that is out of the control of both the regime and the opposition, which is pouring fuel on the fire of this war to broaden the circle of its destruction. It is unfortunate that we see no real efforts to rein it in and prevent it, either from the regime, opposition or the international community in a way that would create opportunities of success for the political resolution that Kofi Annan’s intiative hopes to achieve. The Lebanese civil war broke out in 1975 when Kataeb forces attacked a Palestinian bus and killed 33 of its passengers. We fear that the Houla carnage will be the spark which ignites the sectarian civil war in Syria and give a pretext for the intervention of NATO forces, similar to that which happened in Libya, and before in Iraq and Afghanistan. Personally I was shocked when I saw the bodies of young children lined before the press cameras, providing the most horrifying image we could imagine about this country or other Arab and Muslim countries. The image does not lie, particularly as it was not taken or distributed by the eyewitnesses whom the regime is accusing of lying and misleading. Every Syrian citizen. every Syrian child, no matter who, are our people and shedding their blood is haram. 13,000 Syrians have been killed so far, most of which were killed by the bullets of the regime, and perhaps this number will multiply more than once if the whirlpool of the killing and destruction we are witnessing continues. The regime is the one who bares the greater responsibility as it has exaggerated the implementation of its security resolutions, and rejected the early appeals by its people after the outbreak of the uprising calling for freedoms and democratic change. Syria needs the intervention of wise men, as it also needs the insight of both the regime and the opposition as to what awaits Syria, that of the terrifying bloody stages of a sectarian civil war that may leave no country left to be governed. The civil war in Lebanon lasted for 15 years, and the Algerian civil war lasted 10 years. How long would a sectarian civil war in Syria last? What would be the opportunities for coexistence in the mosaic which is the Syrian society in light of the attacks and counter-attacks? Am I being emotional? Yes. But how can one be dispassionate when analysing the situation we see now in Syria. Compassion has gone. Minds have been diverted. The gap is widening. Nothing is left for us except to pray for the martyrs of Houla and all the past massacres as well as the ones to come.