Most Arab States and Arab media have chosen to remain silent about the brutal crackdown by the Syrian regime against unarmed civilian protesters. The international stance has been disappointing but the shameful Arab silence is baffling. The impotent Arab League had given the green light for the no-fly zone over Libya and supported the UN Security Council Resolution 1973 which called for the protection of civilians in Libya. Yet the same Arab League has not taken any steps to protect the civilians in Syria. The Arab League's silence is interpreted by many as backing a murderous regime and giving it the green light to continue with its brutal abuse of the Syrian people.
To their credit, Alarabiya, Aljazeera and Asharq Alawsat, have been extremely critical of the violent repression of the Syrian people by the Damascus clique.
Even activists who instigate weekly protests in Jordan to demand reforms have been very quiet about the massacres in Syria. This silence is explained by the fact that the Syrian regime has for decades been able to portray itself as the last citadel of Pan-Arab Nationalism, projecting itself as the Champion of the so-called Rejectionist Front which comprises Iran, Hezbollah and Syria, so called for rejecting peace with Israel and rejecting US military presence in the Middle East. This sort of propaganda has been swallowed whole by the gullible Arab Street.
The thugs of the regime which are referred to sometimes as "Al-Shabbiha" have committed horrendous crimes against civilians including children. Between 15th March and 31st May some 26 children were killed. Two cases received a great deal of media attention: Hamza al-Khateeb a 13 year old boy was arrested on 29th April 2011 in Saida, 10 km east of Deraa. His mutilated body was returned by Bashar al Assad's security forces to his family on Tuesday 24th May 2011. According to Press reports the body was subjected to brutal beatings and extreme forms of physical torture such as cuts, burns, laceration, bruises as a result of whipping by cable and electrocution. According to media reports his eyes were swollen and black; there was a deep, dark burn mark on his chest. His neck was broken and his penis cut off. The pictures of Hamza sent shock waves throughout the Middle East.
To add insult to injury, the Syrian security thugs arrested Hamza's father Ali al-Khateeb and forced him to tell the state media that his son was tortured and killed by Islamic extremists. The regime recruited doctors from government hospitals to say they had not seen any signs of physical abuse.
The second case was that of Murshed Aba Zaid, 18 years of age. His body was returned to his family at the end of May. News Agencies reported that Murshed was shot in the face by Bashar's thugs outside his home in Izraa north of Deraa, he was taken to hospital for treatment but the security forces snatched him from his hospital bed. When his body was returned to his family they found his neck and nose were broken and showed signs of burns. His abdomen had a huge scar. Human Rights Watch reported that Syrian detention centers are the worst in the world for the mistreatment of detainees where torture is routine. Amnesty International reported that detainees were forced to lick blood off the prison floor and some were forced to drink from the lavatory bowls.
In the meantime, Walid al-Muallem, the Syrian Foreign Minister, had the chutzpah to chide the Arab Ambassadors in Damascus for not condemning the United States and the European Union for imposing sanctions against certain individuals in Syria. None of the Ambassadors dared to remind the foreign minister of the Syrian regime's crimes against the Syrian people. I haven't heard a single condemnation from any Arab government or official. Arab and International response has been slow and feeble. With a few exceptions (Qatar and Saudi Arabia) most Arab regimes and media remained silent. There has been no official protest about the collective punishments meted out such as the cutting off of water supplies and electricity.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Hamas remained embarrassingly silent. Iran and Hezbollah decided to defend the Syrian regime. Should the International community take a stand against the Syrian regime, this trio Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran would be the first to condemn the external imperialist intervention in the internal affairs of a sovereign Arab country.
Russia and China are known apologists to the Damascus murderous regime. They are not known as champions of democracy and freedom. It is now time for the EU, the US and the UN to make it clear that the Syrian regime is not legitimate and must fall.