Assad's Russian visit was a sorry spectacle

I have no long lost love for Assad, but his "Russia with love" meeting with Putin was a sorry spectacle. 

It is embarrassing to see a dictator grovel.

It is a sad day for Syria when its future has been sold to be played in a game of chess.

Supposedly he came to thank Putin "First of all I wanted to express my huge gratitude to the whole leadership of the Russian Federation for the help they are giving Syria," Assad told Putin.

Yet the Kremlin said it had invited Assad to visit Moscow, and kept the visit quiet until Wednesday morning.

The details of what Putin discussed with Assad at their meeting can not be revealed, the Russian leader's spokesman told reporters on Wednesday.

So it is not clear if he was summoned to come or if it was a courtesy visit.

What is certain is that the visit suggests that Russia, and not longtime ally Iran, has now emerged as Assad's most important foreign friend.

What is certain is that Putin used the visit to talk up the Kremlin's potential to help broker a political settlement to the crisis as he tried to show the West Russia has become a major player in the Middle East. Putin spoke to several regional leaders after meeting Assad. He talked by telephone to the kings of Saudi Arabia and Jordan, as well as the presidents of Egypt and Turkey to brief them on the details of Assad's visit.

What is certain is that Assad cannot play with Putin the tough guy game that he was playing with the Iranian. He will have to jump if the Russians tell him to jump. "Such details are of course unavailable," said Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, when asked if the subject of Assad's possible political departure and related issues were discussed.

They say a picture says a thousand words.

Assad was alone meeting with the Russian side I wonder why none of his team was accompanying him? 

was it because what Putin wanted to tell him was for his ears only? 

By the way the guy sitting on Assad's side was not somebody accompanying him, maybe a stand-in?

Assad can smile and posture as much as he wants.... Putin does not seem to be impressed...

I can even hear him thinking, you stupid person, we came to help and you are not being able to do anything on the ground! 

I can imagine myself telling Putin, all the Iranian four years support through Lebanese, Iraqi, Afghan, and Iranian militias did not help, did it?

Is non-violence relevant in today's word?

Meeting of Minds: Gandi and Haydar in today's world

was the subject of a panel discussion organized by the Embassy of India, the Lebanese American University & the Friends of Jawdat Haydar. It was held on October 2, 2015 at the Lebanese American University Business School.

It is a subject very dear to my heart.

Below is my intervention at the event as I was one of the four panelists.

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Today, the 2nd of October, is Ghandi’s birthday, commemorated as the International Day of Nonviolence. 

Non-violence? The word sounds a bit out of tune in the midst of the violent turmoil all around us. In our country, our region, the shores of the Mediterranean, central Europe, Myanmar, Ukraine, and, and, and, I could go on for hours mentioning clash points around the world.

The famous image of Ghandi, a thin man draped in white talking about peace and love relays the impression of an ethereal being, a sort of saint. The image of Jawdat Haydar, an attractive old man sitting in a garden pondering about love and peace translating his thoughts into poetry relays also the impression of an unearthly being.How can these persons and their belief in non-violence be relevant to the actual craziness and cruelty surrounding us?

In order to accept, or negate their relevance, we need to correct their schematic image.Both men were thinkers, but also “doers” who lived in eras where brutal colonialism reigned.

Gandhi's early life experience shaped his social activism and awakened him to social injustice. After witnessing racism, prejudice and injustice against Indians in South Africa, Gandhi began to question his place in society and his people's standing in the British Empire.He later on became the leader of the Indian independence movement. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. In his own words he viewed himself as

“a soldier, though a soldier of peace“

In 1920 he wrote in his publication “doctrine of the sword" he clearly defined his views

Non-violence in its dynamic condition means conscious suffering. It does not mean meek submission to the will of the evil-doer, but it means putting of one’s whole soul against the will of the tyrant. Working under this law of our being, it is possible for a single individual to defy the whole might of an unjust empire to save his honour, his religion, his soul, and lay the foundation for that empire’s fall or its regeneration.’ – Mahatma Gandhi 

 Haydar is a man from the Middle East who was a migrant to the new world, who came back to become an educator, public figure and opinion leader. He witnessed wars and civil wars, yet succeeded to create an oasis of peace within the turmoil of the region. He was awarded a number of medals for his humanitarian work, among them the Pope John XXIII award, and the Antakia’s Patriarch Alexander III medal.

In the thirties the Arab world was suffering under the yoke of British and French occupation, and Haydar, who had himself as a child felt the sting of Ottoman occupation, knew the value of liberty and liberation. Serving as director of Al-Najah College in Nablus, he was touched by the Deir Yassin massacre. His outcry was not the classical call to arms of the era, but showed his early commitment to conflict resolution through mediation and international law. 

My old father was killed at Deir Yassin,My mother, my sister were also slain,The world was blind but the blood I have seenGushing out from those dearest hearts again.The UN should have been the sword to shieldThe rights of man and his integrity,The heavily armed brigade on the fieldTo smash the oppressors of liberty.But tis a tavern for talk, wine and dice,The Superpowers take their drinks and go,The small and weaker nations pay the priceThen come Sam and the Bear to close the show.

His words resonate strangely in my ears as relevant to today’s UN failures to mediate conflicts

In his upper management role at the petroleum company IPC, he became renowned for fighting corruption and nepotism.

Who are they?Who fight for the rights of man and they abuse themThey break all the laws and pretend to protect themThey eat the fish and they sell the scales a dear gem(...)

Again a very contemporary concern

With the onset of the Lebanese Civil War, amidst the violence, he retired to Baalbeck working hard on creating an oasis of sanity by his writings and everyday actions.His anguish and pain is best expressed in his poem

Balls crossing ballsOf hopes and fearsTouching down and up again On the field of destiny.Our men are playing A bloody match today Our children are crying Stop it, stop the game Their cries echo bulletsAnd rockets the speed of levin bursting in flame.(…)Leaders enough quarrels and bloodshed Enough bluffs rivering in our earsEnough thatch veiling your hatePull down the tents pitched for gain Pull down the tents of shameGo straight and let the ball of hopes Outweigh the ball of fears

Collectively, Haydar’s poems do constitute a relatively consistent outlook on life, which may be summed up in fairly simple terms: Peace should be mankind’s collective goal; love informed by reason should be its main aim. These were the qualities he most admired in Mahatma Gandhi, the man whom Haydar seems most to have sought to emulate.

Peace but the glory of a real lifeKeep it in your mind, live it in your strifeTis the treasure of belief in your storyIt is the vim of faith in your glory 

An important point to note briefly when is that both men condemned man’s aggression against nature. Gandhi said

"Anyone who fouls the air by spitting about carelessly, throwing refuse and rubbish or otherwise dirtying the ground, sins against man and nature."

For Haydar it was a crusade that haunted him all through the last decades of his life

O world, just once listen and be awareOf the damaging noise and the thick smokeThe strong reek of powder in your big noseCan’t you smell, can’t you foresee the death stroke?  

At this point I want to draw the attention to the subject matter of the comparison. Ghandi’s importance is well known even if we disagree about his relevance today. 

But why Haydar? What is his importance and relevance? 

Ghandi comes from a culture where Ahimsa or non-violence is an important tenet of 3 major Indian religions, Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Haydar roots are Arabo-Mediterranean, a culture that historically has no connections or connotation of non-violence. He is almost unique in his philosophy in a region plagued by violence.

Now that we defined non-violent action as a technique by which people can wage their conflict without violence. It consists of acts of protest and persuasion, noncooperation and nonviolent intervention designed to undermine the sources of power of the opponent in order to bring about change. Let’s try and explore the relevance of non-violence today.

There are numerous examples of successful non-violent revolts through history, from the early Christians versus mighty Rome to Martin Luther King. There are some examples of unsuccessful ones such as the Prague Spring.

If we look closer to home we see

• The Egyptian Revolution of 1919 who led to Britain's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922, and the implementation of a new constitution in 1923. It was a civil disobedience against the British occupation that started as strikes by students and lawyers, then communication and transport workers, and eventually all Egyptian government personnel.
• The Iranian 1978 revolution against the Shah is another example of success. Between August and December 1978 strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country. The Shah left Iran for exile on January 16, 1979.
• In Palestine the first Intifada that was peaceful, it resulted in the Oslo accords, the second failed when it became armed.
• In Egypt and Tunisia the Arab Spring protests led to the fall of the Presidents in these two countries.
• In Syria all was lost when after 9 months of non-violent demonstrations the opposition armed itself.

By these concrete examples, the discussion is open as to relevance and applicability in today’s world of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawdat R. Haydar belief in non-violence.