Revolution, not War

Enab Baladi Issue # 128 – Sun, August 3 , 2014

Freedom, justice, dignified living… these are the main demands of the revolution against Al Assad; the revolution that broke out challenging the major powers in the region. Yet now, three years after its outbreak, despite the diversion of the revolution in several areas and despite the extreme suffering and humiliation by Assad forces and his allies, revolutionists are still trying to implement and enhance the concepts of the revolution.

Any step to be taken must help the country in overcoming the impasse it has reached; and support its unarmed people making their demands. The city of Daraya has reached a crossroad, to stand steadfast against Assad legion, or to agree to a truce; which crossroads the city takes does not matter. What is vitally important is to ensure choosing a path that will preserve the dignity of its people and its fighters after two years of displacement and fighting.

Reaching an honorable truce agreement will help the city grow in stature and will help the fighters to strengthen their position and redeploy, and to draw new long-term military and political strategies that will bring the city to safety.

The revolution’s military advantage cannot be measured by numbers of causalities or the size of controlled areas. Military advancement may help the revolution achieve its demands, yet true revolution lies in the amount of change it brings and lives it saves. A revolution holds whoever commits violations accountable fortheir actions. A true revolution does not justify rebels targeting Damascus with arbitrary mortar shelling endangering the lives of military and civilians alike while it condemns Assad shelling revolted areas.

A similar scenario occurred in Arsal, Lebanon, where some of the Syrian opposition fighters tried to rescue a military leader from detention, indifferent to the fact that Arsal is a breathing room for Qalamoun, refuge for thousands of displaced Syrians and a medical center for the injured. Then how could a “revolutionist” drag this place into the vicious war?!

Such actions are still limited to specific groups among the opposition; however, once they spread among other factions, it would be a success for Alassad in destroying the concept of revolution among the opposition, and in generating other “Assads” who will enter a competition with him for human rights violations. It would also provide Alassad with an excuse to present to the international community to attack the opposition.