As Hemingway once wrote about bankruptcy The fall of authoritarian regimes tends to happen gradually. and suddenly—slowly and all at once This is not just a literary metaphor. The tyrant’s followers remained loyal to him as long as he was able to protect them from the wrath of their countrymen. In Syria, suspicions about President Bashar Al-Assad slowly but surely rose after his Russian backers began transferring people and equipment to Ukraine. Starting in 2022– The recent Israeli attack on Hezbollah’s leadership. This prevents Iran, another ally of Assad, from helping him as well.
Then, after a well-organized and highly motivated armed opposition group seized Aleppo on November 29, many government defenders abruptly stopped fighting. Assad disappeared.– The scene that followed today in Damascus—the toppling of statues. Take a selfie at the dictator’s palace—the same thing that will be launched in Caracas, Tehran, or Moscow the day soldiers in those regimes lose faith in their leadership. And the public also lost fear of those soldiers.
The similarities between these places are real, because Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, and now Syria is all in an informal dictatorship network. Russian troops and mercenaries have spent decades fighting in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa. Russian political and information operations have sought to undermine, dominate, or topple democratic governments in Moldova, Georgia, and, most recently, Romania, starting in 2015. Russian troops support Assad in collaboration with Iran and Iran’s proxy Hezbollah. In Ukraine, Russia’s war was made possible by Iranian drones. Soldiers and ammunition from North Korea and secret aid from China. Russia, Iran, Cuba, and China have worked together to keep the regime in power in Venezuela, which has also caused catastrophic damage to its own people.
These were mostly military conflicts. But Russian President Vladimir Putin also believes he is fighting a war of ideas. and he persuaded others to follow him. both in occupied Syria and Ukraine. Russia has deliberately supported or created a regime that not only seeks to suppress its opponents. But they also try to show a blatant disregard for human rights and the rule of law. The ideas he claims belong to the past. When Putin talks about a new world order or A “multipolar world,” as he puts it. Did it again last month.This is what he meant: he wanted to create a world where his cruelty could not be contained. for which he and his fellow dictators enjoyed impunity. and there is no universal value. Even inspiration
The results are stark: Since 2011, the Syrian Network for Human Rights has documented more than 112,000 disappearances: men, women and children have been arbitrarily arrested and detained without official or legal justification. The regime has tortured tens of thousands of people in brutal prisons. By keeping them in the dark. and forbid them from contacting the outside world. It is shameful that Assad used poison gas to attack his own people and then lied about it– Airstrikes between the Russian and Syrian governments deliberately targeted hospitals and Practice attacking “Double tap”They bombed a civilian target and then attacked the same location soon after to kill rescue workers.
The Russian-Ukrainian war was just as brutal. similar and equally illegal, in many cases replicating tactics used in Syria. In occupied Ukraine, thousands of mayors, local leaders, teachers and cultural figures have also disappeared from invisibly detained. It is reported that the former mayor of Kherson, who was kidnapped in June 2022, is being held in Illegal prisons in Crimea– Mayor of Dniproprudne He recently died while in custody.– In other areas of Ukraine, Russia has deliberately targeted hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. Just like Russian and Syrian government planes did in Syria. Double-tap strikes are also common in Ukraine.
Cold, deliberate, and well-planned cruelty like this makes sense: it is meant to inspire hopelessness. Laughable lies and cynical propaganda aim to create apathy and destruction. Random arrests have driven millions of Syrians, Ukrainians and Venezuelans abroad. This creates a large number of refugees and instability. and make those who are still hopeless Desperation is once again part of the plan. These regimes want to rob people of any incapacity. To plan for a different future To convince people that their tyranny is eternal. “Our leader forever” is Motto of the Assad Dynasty–
But all such “eternal” regimes have one serious flaw: soldiers and police officers are also members of the public. They have relatives who are suffering. cousin and friends suffering from political oppression and the effects of economic collapse. They also have their own doubts. And they might not be safe either. In Syria we are just now seeing the results.
I do not know whether today’s events will bring peace and stability to Syria. Not to mention freedom and democracy. A group calling itself the National Provisional Government has reported issue a statement Ask the Syrian people “United and standing together” to “rebuild the state and its institutions” and to begin “Comprehensive national reconciliation” includes the return of all refugees. The leaders of the rebel army include Islamic extremists. In an interview with CNN, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of the largest group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, discussed his past ties to al-Qaeda. that teenage mistakes– This may be tactical or propaganda language or it doesn’t matter. While I’m writing Syrians in Damascus are looting the presidential palace.
However, the end of the Assad regime has brought new things. Not only in Syria There is nothing worse than hopelessness. There is nothing more soul-destroying than pessimism, grief, and hopelessness. The collapse of regimes backed by Russia and Iran. This creates the possibility of sudden changes. The future may be different. And that possibility will inspire hope in people around the world.
