A DEADLY HARVEST
After the initial euphoria of the Arab Spring, millions across the Middle East suffer from gross violations of their human rights, with their oppressors on both sides immune from any accountability. SYNERGIA FOUNDATION R E S E A RCH
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he Tunisian inspired ‘Arab Spring’ that spread like wildfire to Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria in the early months of 2011 promised much to the long-suppressed masses of these countries. However, soon the euphoria turned into distress as the unexpected upheaval brought with it destabilisation and disruptions in existing political, economic and administrative ecosystems, followed by bloodshed and unending civil wars. Worse, despite all the sacrifices, the much-coveted transition to democracy remained a mirage. The peaceful protests quickly degenerated into armed struggles across the region as rival rebel groups took control of their respective ethnic areas and fought pitched battles with each other and the government, turning whole cities into a mountain of rubble. Extra regional players and nonstate entities entered the fray as proxies of regional powers, adding to the mayhem. The tragedy was that what began as a campaign to restore human rights ended up with mass perpetration of some of the worst human rights violations in Libya, Syria and Yemen. The whole world cheered from the sidelines as the international media beamed images of enthusiastic crowds toppling authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and besieging well-entrenched tyrants in Syria and Libya. However, when the killings started and the despots struck back with vengeance and little remorse, there was silence in the galleries. The human rights violations by all sides seemed out of control and beyond the judicial reach of the international community.
The Koblenz verdict is a morbid reminder of the fact that victims of state persecution often have no recourse to justice. Similarly, international law is weak, when it comes to establishing attribution and accountability for foreign powers fuelling the conflict The recent case of Anwar Raslan, a former colonel in Assad’s army, sentenced to life in prison (with a chance for parole after 15 years) by a German court comes as a flash of hope in an otherwise bleak landscape. As the head of the investigative unit in the notorious Damascus detention centre (Branch 251), he was convicted for 4000 cases of torture, 27 cases of murder and other violations, conducted in a systematic manner under state control. But the question remains, is this too little and too late?
THE USUAL SUSPECTS
As the first legal action taken on the global fora, demanding accountability from one of the parties committing crimes against humanity (this time a sovereign state), it raises the hope that at long last, the victims on all sides of the conflict will be delivered justice. After all, the rebel forces opposing tyrants like Assad and Ghaddafi, supported by regional and extra-regional powers, have been equally ruthless in their military campaign, making little concessions for the civilians caught in crossfire. This is true for the entire stretch of Middle Eastern trouble spots - from Iraq to Syria to Yemen and elsewhere too. Even powerful states like Saudi Arabia and its partner UAE have a lot of blood on their hands in Yemen, as have the western-supported rebels in Syria - the Free Syrian Army (FSA)/ Supreme Military Council (SMC).