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Protest in Syria; International Response; Support and Hostility

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While Egypt and Tunisian protest is almost over, and Libya is being bombed, another protest in Syria is going on, people are asking for reforms.

One of the major reason of the protest is that the country is under the state of emergency continuously since 1962 suspending most of the constitutional protection for the citizen saying that it is in the state of war with Israel. Absence of effective constitution, corrupt government, unemployment and inflation were the other reasons.

The country went through major political changes during 1966 coup and 1970 Syrian Corrective Revolution, but Ba’ath party remained the sole authority governing in Syria banning all other parties from contesting in elections.

The phrase “Down with Bashar”,
during the Syrian Uprising 2011.
Photo taken by jan Sefti

While in Libya, Gaddafi is hardly getting any appreciable amount of public support; Bashar al-Assad has good number of supporters. The leader was aware of the uprising happening in other Muslim countries in Africa and Middle East and was ready to bring reforms in his country to avoid any such incidents taking place in Syria

In an interview published 31 January 2011, al-Assad declared it was time to reform, that the protests in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen indicated a “new era” was coming to the Middle East, and that Arab rulers needed to do more to accommodate their peoples’ rising political and economic aspirations.

He permitted playing of Western Pop Music on air on radio stations, Ban on websites such as Wikipedia, Youtube, Facebook and Amazon was lifted up in the beginning of the year 2011 and permitted the citizens to sign up for high speed internet.
The protest began with slow pace but later gained momentum and excalation with the involvement of clashes between the security forces. Israel earlier had raised concerns that Iran and Hezbollah militants are interfering in the political condition of Syria and are supporting the Syrian leader to suppress the public anger demonstration, reported Army Radio on Sunday. Local protesters claimed that they heard security forces talking in Persian/farsi.

“Syria is an Iranian acquisition, and it is clear that Iran is afraid that its investments will go down the drain. So it has allowed for greater involvement than in other Arab countries,” Army Radio reported Foreign Ministry officials as saying as quoted by The Jerusalem Post.

The demands of the protester is resignation of the leader Bashar al-Assad, ending the state of emergency, change in regime and lifting bans on election, freedom and recognition of the kurds. So far the leader has acted on abolition of the Supreme State Security Court and lifting of the emergency law.

Countries Supporting Syrian Government:

Syria: Supporters and Condemners
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Iraq, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey, UAE, Venezuela

Countries with hostile attitude towards Syria:

Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Mexico, Norway

International Response:

Unions

1. European Union: On 22 March, Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a statement which said that the European Union “strongly condemns the violent repression, including through the use of live ammunition, of peaceful protests in various locations across Syria”
2. United Nations: On 18 March, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the use of deadly force against protesters by the Syrian authorities as “unacceptable”.

Asian Nations

1. Iraq: On 3 April, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called Syria’s President and voiced Iraq’s support of Syria “in the face of conspiracies targeting Syria’s stability”.

2. Israel: On 24 March, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman said: “the same principles, activities the Western world [has taken] in Libya. I hope to see those regarding the Iranian regime and the Syrian regime.”

3. Lebanon: On 31 March, Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati commended the “ending of the chance to cause strife in Syria” as well as the Syrian people’s support for their president. Also, President Michel Suleiman highlighted the importance of stability in Syria, and its positive impact on the security of and economic situation in Lebanon and Syria.

4. Qatar: On 3 April, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani sent a letter to Syrian President al-Assad voicing Qatar’s support for Syria amid attempts at destabilization.

5. Saudi Arabia: On 28 March, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia expressed his support to the Syrian leadership in a telephone conversation with President al-Assad, claiming that the uprising is in fact a conspiracy targeting the legitimate government.

6. Turkey: On 21 March, Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said: “Syria is on an important threshold. We hope problems between the people and the administration [in Syria] can be handled without trouble.

7. UAE: On 29 March, United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan called Syrian President al-Assad, and reaffirmed that the UAE stands by Damascus.

European Nations

1. France: The Foreign Ministry condemned the violence carried out against demonstrators, and called for political prisoners to be freed. On 23 March, French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero called on Syria to carry out immediate political reforms.

2. Greece: On 24 March, Greek Foreign Minister Dimitrios Droutsas said: “The use of violence to repress protests that has led to the murder of citizens is absolutely condemned. We call on the government of Syria to guarantee the fundamental rights of its citizens.”

3. Norway: On 24 March, Norwegian minister of foreign affairs Jonas Gahr Støre condemned the violence, saying: “Norway urges the authorities of Syria not to use violence against peaceful protesters, to respect the freedom of speech and assembly, and to enter into a dialogue with the people about their legitimate demands.”

4. Russia: On 6 April, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called al-Assad to voice support for the latter’s decision to make reforms in his country.

5. United Kingdom: On 24 March, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “We call on the government of Syria to respect their people’s right to peaceful protest, and to take action about their legitimate grievances,”

Americas

1. Canada: On 21 March, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon stated: “Canada deplores the multiple deaths and injuries following protests in several Syrian cities over the weekend.” On 24 April, Foreign Affairs advised Canadians not to travel to Syria, and for those in Syria to consider leaving by commercial means while these were still available.

2. United States: President Barack Obama’s administration condemned the use of violence, stating: “The United States stands for a set of universal rights, including the freedom of expression and assembly, and believes that governments, including the Syrian government, must address the legitimate aspirations of their people.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that it was unlikely the US would intervene in Syria, since the US Congress views al-Assad as “a reformer”.

On 9 April, it was reported that Obama had said, “I strongly condemn the abhorrent violence committed against peaceful protesters by the Syrian government today and over the past few weeks. I also condemn any use of violence by protesters … I call upon the Syrian authorities to refrain from any further violence against peaceful protesters … Furthermore, the arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture of prisoners that has been reported must end now, and the free flow of information must be permitted so that there can be independent verification of events on the ground … Violence and detention are not the answer to the grievances of the Syrian people. It is time for the Syrian government to stop repressing its citizens, and to listen to the voices of the Syrian people calling for meaningful political and economic reforms.”

3. Venezuela: On 26 March, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said: “Now some supposed political protest movements have begun [in Syria], a few deaths … and now they are accusing the president of killing his people and later the Yankees will come to bomb the people to save them … How cynical is the new format the empire has invented, to generate violent conflict, generate blood in a country, to later bombard it, intervene and take over its natural resources and convert it into a colony.”

Others

1. Australia: On 25 March, Australian foreign minister Kevin Rudd said: “we are deeply sceptical about the official explanations as to what has happened with the various killings which have occurred in Daraa. And we call directly on the Syrian Government to exercise restraint in their response to peaceful protest seeking democratic change.”

2. Sudan: On 6 April, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir called al-Assad to voice his support for Syria against “the attempts aimed at destabilizing it.”

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Sanskar Shrivastava is the founder of international students' journal, The World Reporter. Passionate about dynamic occurrence in geopolitics, Sanskar has been studying and analyzing geopolitcal events from early life. At present, Sanskar is a student at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture and will be moving to Duke University.

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India

Government Changing Syllabus to Include Sikh History in India

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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Moon Jae-in jointly inaugurating the Samsung manufacturing plant, World’s Largest Mobile Factory, in Noida, Uttar Pradesh on July 09, 2018. The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath (in saffron), the Minister of State for Culture (I/C) and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma and other dignitaries are also seen.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, most populous state in India, has announced inclusion of Sikh history in the state syllabus. Students of all schools under UP State Board will see the new chapters. The announcement came when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath (BJP) was observing Sahibzada Diwas.

Why do we Observe Sahibzada Diwas?

Sahibzada Diwas marks the martyrdom of four ‘sahibzada’ (or sons) of Guru Gobind Singh (10th Sikh Guru) and his mother Mata Gujri. In the year 1705, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb had ordered torturing of youngest sons of Guru Gobind Singh aged 5 and 8. He later executed the little sons by burying them alive into a wall. The reason for this act was that they refused to convert to Islam. Soon after this event Guru Gobind Singh’s mother, Mata Gujri also martyred her life under Aurangzeb’s captivity. The cause of her death is still unclear. Guru Gobind Singh’s other two sons martyred their life in the Battle of Chamkaur Sahib. Thus the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh had lost his whole family by 27th December. This is an important event in the Sikh history in India and UP Government is finally keen on observing Sahibzada Diwas every year.

Why UP Government is Changing the Syllabus?

Soon after the independence of India in 1947, the school education came under tight grip of far left and communists. Most of the Indian history in the recent past has been written by Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib. They have close ties with left wing ideology and Irfan Habib has delcared himself as Marxist. They wrote history text books by either phasing out sections of Indian history or diluting certain events. The motivation to soft alter the history has been to propagate left-wing/communist ideology. Historian Koenraad Elst once highlighted that Romila Thapar is comfortable neither in Sanskrit nor in Farsi language. The knowledge of these two languages is a must to understand India’s history.

In the recent years, various public opinions have gained momentum to rewrite Indian text books to include more content on Indian rulers and native ideas. Currently, Indian text books mainly teaches about foreign rulers of India such as Mughals and British.

With this announcement of inclusion of Sikh history in history text books, the government is bringing historical facts in mainstream.

27th December as Real Children’s Day

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also reached out to the Education Minister to declare Sahibzada Diwas as Children’s day. He further added that “The history of Sikh gurus will be a part of the syllabus. Apart from this, we should observe December 27 every year as Sahibzada Diwas in all schools. Today is the day to pay gratitude to the sons of the Guru and mother who martyred their lives for the motherland, country and religion.” Yogi Adityanath also said that “No society can move ahead if it forgets history. The Sikh society is known for its hard work. The Sikh gurus sacrificed their lives to defend the Hindu religion. The country will always remember this.”

Yogi Adityanath added that learning about the sacrifices by Sikh Gurus would inspire future generations to dedicate themselves into nation-building. He emphasized that we should make future generations realize that India and Indian culture was safe because of sacrifices of Sikhs.

What Should We Do On Sahibzada Diwas?

Sahibzada Diwas should be an important day for every Indian regardless of their region, culture or religion. On this day, we are in the Holiday mood as it falls right between Christmas and New Year’s eve. However, we should remember that a Guru and his entire family sacrificed their life for the well being of India and the idea of India.

On this day we can fast, do sewa (service), visit a nearby Gurudwara and sleep on the floor at night.

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China

Ridiculous Tariffs on Wines – China Australia Trade War Explicated

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China Australia Trade War
Scott Morrison (right) has not yet been able to secure a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (left).(ABC News)

Earlier in November 2020, Communist China slapped Ridiculously high tariffs up to 212.1% on Australian wines. These tariffs were in the response of ongoing trade war between Communist Party of China and Australia. China is the biggest importer of Australian wines making up a whopping 39% of Australia’s total wine export. Australia has already raised concerns at a WTO meeting about China taking measures against its barley, wine, meat, dairy, live seafood, logs, timber, coal and cotton, according to a reuters report.

How did China – Australia trade war begin?

China and Australia shared one of the best times in their relationship after Kevin Rudd from the centre-left Labour party came to the power in Dec 2007. During his leadership Australia decided to pursue appease China policy which included steps such as:

  1. Chastising Taiwan for its renewed push for independence and reiterating support for a one-China policy in favor of People’s Republic of China. (Source: The Age)
  2. Signing a A$50 billion deal with PetroChina in 2009 (largest contract ever signed between the two countries) that ensures China a steady supply of LPG fuel until 2029.
  3. Unilaterally announcing departure from Quadrilateral Security Dialogue to appease China.

Nosediving of China – Australia Relationship

The course of this partnership changed when Julia Gillard from the centre-left Labour Party took over the leadership and initiated closer partnership with United States. This included revival of interest in Joining Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and stationing of US troops near Darwin, Australia.

In 2013, Tony Abbott from centre-right Liberal Party took over the leadership. During his term Australia saw some confusion in its China Policy. His Defence Minister Senator David Johnston told in a statement that Australia is seeking to balance their relationship between China and the United States. It was during his term when Australia and China established a Free Trade Agreement.

However, the relationship between Australia and China took a downturn in 2015 when Malcolm Bligh Turnbull from the centre-right Liberal Party came into power. This is the point in history which has led to current trade war situation between Australia and China.

  1. Australia became the strongest opponent of China’s territorial claim in South China Sea.
  2. Banned foreign donations to Australian political parties and activist groups in a move to target Chinese interference in Australian democracy.
  3. Revived Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with United States (Donald Trump), India (Narendra Modi) and Japan (Shinzo Abe). This was the time when Quadrilateral Security Dialogue saw hope of becoming something bigger as all four countries had centre-right governments who had a clear China Policy.

2019 Onwards: China – Australia Trade War

In 2019, relationship between the two countries further took a dip with Scott Morison from centre-right Liberal party becoming the Prime Minister. During his leadership:

  1. Australia signed a letter condemning China’s mistreatment of Uyghurs and other minorities.
  2. Suggested investigating the cause of Covid 19 in April 2020, which resulted into an angry response from China threatening to reduce Tourism and Trade.
  3. Opposed the Hong Kong National Security Law in June 2020.
  4. Reiterated its support for ethnic minorities in China and freedom in Hong Kong in October 2020
  5. Demanded a formal apology from China for posting a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife against the throat of an Afghan child

In conclusion, these continuous attack on China made China so angry that they deliberately leaked a list of 14 points suggesting why China is angry at Australia

China’s attempt at “buying” left wing politicians around the world

Recent trend is suggesting China’s attempt at “buying” influential left-wing politician around the world. In November, 2017 Australia’s Labour Party’s MP Sam Dastyari went against his own party on South China Sea. He later quit his party after he was found of taking financial favours from China.

In 2008, India’s Centre-left party – Indian National Congress signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Communist Party of China. Its contents are still hidden from the Government of India and the people of India.

Recent US Report has shown concern on President Elect Joe Biden not clearing doubts on his China policy.

How Can we Help Australia Post Ridiculous Tariffs on Australian Wines?

In 2020 China has directly or indirectly impacted many of our lives. Some of us have lost our jobs, some of us are taking a reduced salary. In fact, some of us are sitting at home instead of travelling; while some of us have lost our loved ones only because of communist party was incapable of controlling a virus outbreak.

As the entire world is struggling with this virus, Chinese economy continues to be on path of surpassing the US. Therefore, we should pledge to minimize buying Chinese products. It might be impossible to completely boycott Chinese products, but we can at least minimize it.

Install Cultivate Chrome Extension (non sponsored/affiliate link – We are not getting paid to post this). This plugin works on both Google Chrome and the new Microsoft Edge. It helps you understand the origin and seller location of a product on Amazon. It is a great tool to minimize your dependence on Chinese products. If you are lucky, this extension will also suggest some Made in USA alternatives

Buy Australian Wines – Australia desperately needs a new market for its wine and other products. This New Year and Christmas season, we should pledge to celebrate with at least one Australian wine!

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India

Congress’s Electoral Enervation

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Rahul_Gandhi_at_The_Doon_School

BlakeShramster / CC BY-SA

Lately, the Grand Old Party of India has been suffering from severe political lacerations. It is bleeding profusely but it still refuses to recognize and feel the pain of its grisly wounds. The Congress party is obstinately practicing political podsnappery and this is further eviscerating its relevance. Slowly and steadily, its ideological roots are being chipped away. We are witnessing a kind of dilemmatic democratic party, which is strangulating in the ever-shifting tectonic plates of Indian politics. The fresh act of defection by Jyotiraditya Scindia foregrounds the ideologically weak aura which now surrounds the Congress.

In every period of its history, a particular type of ideological encrustation surrounded the Congress and illuminated its charm among the Indian voters. This ideology rooted it firmly in a vast network of ideologies. This ideology, for the most part, has been secular and liberal and acted as a strong bulwark against a xenophobically framed anti-secular strategy. But now, this prodigious party has shrunk to a miniscule group. This cataclysmic contraction has happened primarily due to the elitist imagery to which it was tethered. Congress’s political rivals portrayed it as an inherently elitist group by harping on its corruption scandals like the Satyam Scam, Coal Scam, Chopper Scam, Adarsh Scam and Tatra Truck Scam. All this overemphasis on the financial impurity of the Congress led to the citizens believing that the Congress party is an aristocratic admixture of kleptocracy and bogus secularism.

The political dynasticism of the Congress further solidified this elitist imagery and soon, Congress became the ‘suit, boot ki Sarkar’. The usage of the aforementioned epithet successfully established the presence of the Congress party as a technocratic liberal party, accustomed to high-handed bureaucratic methods of administration. The attribute of a ‘pro-people party’ was snatched away from the Congress and it was represented as a technocratic group, largely unconnected from the material conditions of the citizens.

Apart from the political and financial palm-greasing, the Congress has also been disemboweled due to its confounding ideological quagmire. The Grand Old Party is stuck in a regal fort, where it is continuously wavering between a secular strategy and a thinly-veiled contrivance of religious pandering. It has already flip-flopped on its ideological plank by pitching Rahul Gandhi as a religious leader which actually backfired because people at once understood that he had suddenly become a synthetically Hinduized leader.

And now, it is lending its support to the Anti-CAA protests and has all of a sudden, arrived like a knight in shining armor, chaotically shouting secular slogans. Opportunistic acts like these cause severe trust deficit and the party incurs widespread odium for its electoral opportunism. So, due to the Congress’s ideological shilly-shally, its attempt to provide guidance to the Anti-CAA protests is seen as a crude act of politically hijacking the protests. To say succinctly, the Congress has been utterly passive in reacting to some major political events and has not even tried to extend its sinews to drag itself out from the quicksand of financial dissoluteness and ideological vacillation.

Due to all the above mentioned iniquitous inadequacies, Congress is withering and losing its elephantine presence on the electoral platform. This is the most appropriate time for the Congress to recognize its Achilles heel and try to overcome this deficiency. The defection of Jyotiraditya Scindia highlights the fact that now, an ideological string no longer ties any Congress member and the party needs to alter its highly feudal organizational structure which is identical to a form of royal structure, based on monarchical munificence. The Congress party can utilize the following remedial measures to perform the medical operation which is indispensable for it to regain its health.

Constitutional Struggles

It should try assiduously to interconnect itself with the common masses and change its political behavioral pattern by staging what can be called ‘constitutional struggles’. These constitutional struggles will essentially be democratic demonstrations, aiming to recover the lost sheen of the constitution. These protests should be able to blend constitutional patriotism with a Gandhian non-violent idea of struggle. In this way, the Congress party would be successful in politically fructifying its vast receptacles of historical significance and will harmonize its history as a torchbearer of freedom with the present calamitous conditions. One important reason behind the need to make Mahatma Gandhi the vanguard of Congress’s recuperation struggle is the vast space which he occupies in the collective imagination of the Indian citizens. By spotlighting Gandhi, the Congress party can easily initiate a resistance movement whose objective will be to find the Gandhian truths in this age of political prevarications and fabrications.

Change Organizational Configurations

The Congress party needs to change its organizational configurations. The sybaritic structure of dynasticism should be superseded by a bottom-up approach which is decentralized. The present organizational architecture is extremely centralistic and all the members of the Congress party are seen as the supine members of a sycophantic entourage, revolving around the singular nucleus of nobility, which has invariably been the Gandhi family. The senior members of the Congress party such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel and Manmohan Singh are depicted as the servile stooges of the Gandhi family who possess an unbreakable fidelity to the dynastic autocracy of the Congress party. The congress leadership is also currently rudderless. During the elections, it played the role of a dabbler. After Indira Gandhi, all the Gandhis (Except Sanjay Gandhi) were reluctant politicians. They were compelled because the Nehru – Gandhi name was associated with the party. All these aspects of party functioning need to be radically changed so that non-Gandhi members are not seen as mere appendages of the supposed undisputed overlord which is the Gandhi family. (3) A coherently unified ideological political programme needs to be built. The lumbering party is in a state of delirium and is unable to properly specify its political stance. It should solidly settle this predicament by choosing to continue with its former political posture as a truly secular and democratic party, committed to constitutional values. If this operation is not undertaken, the Congress will be finally consigned to the political graveyard, where it will die with its shambolic ideological structure.

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