Editorial: Syrian quagmire Monday, 16 January 2012 06:27

As the Syrian crisis drags on, there seems to be a certain lack of cohesion in the Arab reaction. On the one hand, the team of Arab League monitors already working in Syria has failed to impress both the Syrian opposition and the international community, with some quarters calling the mission a failure. Secondly, President Bashar Al Assad is going ahead with a slew of measures to break the will of the opposition and regain control over the violence hit nation.

Assad yesterday announced an amnesty to citizens who have taken up arms against him. A Syrian news agency report said the amnesty for “crimes committed in the context of the events that occurred from March 15, 2011, until January 15, 2012” would run until the end of January for army deserters and people who possessed illegal arms or who violated laws on peaceful protest. The amnesty is the second to be announced by the president since the uprising erupted in March last year, which has so far killed more than 5,000 people. The first one fell on deaf ears, and the response to the current one too is expected to be the same. The protesters have taken to the streets demanding the ouster of President Assad and an amnesty offer is not an answer to that demand. But it’s worth noting that the president is trying to wean the protesters away from the streets with a number reconciliatory steps and that can throw hurdles in the international community’s attempts to force his fall.

At the same time, there has been talk of sending Arab troops to Syria which has evoked positive and negative responses from Arab leaders. Former Arab League secretary general Amr Mussa said the League should consider sending troops and start consultations on the issue, while Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki has warned severely against the move saying any foreign military intervention in the country would spark an “explosion” across the entire Middle East.

The Arab League’s experience of intervention in the Syrian crisis should send a powerful message to the pan-Arab body – that it needs to tread extremely cautiously while planning the next move, because the reputation of the body is at stake. A wrong move can boomerang violently and fritter away the progress which the Syrian opposition has made so far, while planned, intelligent interventions can enhance its standing. Unlike in Libya, the West has no appetite for an intervention in Syria and is relying completely on the Arab League to dethrone Assad.

Given the lack of complete unity among Arab leaders, sending troops will be an idea that will require serious groundwork, determination and a clear focus.