Free Michel Kilo Now - Enough Already

I and a lot of wise Syrians salute Ibrahim Sleiman trip to Israel, more trips like that need to happen. Communication is very necessary before any Peace initiative is signed and implemented. The Syrian authorities should even send diplomatic personnel over there to meet, and be ready to receive Israeli diplomats publically in Damascus instead of meeting them in secret. Ibrahim, just reading about him and his visit, proved to be a good ambassador and played his role perfectly, it helps when your brother is a big Syrian General (Bahjat Sleiman) and that you lived abroad for a long time where you see tolerance should be the norm and fighting for the hell of it does not make sense.

The Syrians have waited so many years ever since I was a child hoping for the conflict with Israel to end, so the situation can improve and they can reap economical and political benefits and rewards. Israel and the status of war with Israel was always the obstacle to big dreams or to achieve anything internally in Syria.  It was indirectly Israel and not the people that gave the Baath party, the army and the rulers all their power.  This was even more of a problem whenever Syrian rulers decided to raise the tone every time they faced a crisis. Syrians pinned a lot of hope on the Assad-Clinton meeting in Geneva in 2000 but allas nothing happened and everything went downward from there. 

I hope that this initiative and visit to Israel go somewhere for the Sake of Syrians and not of its regime. But I am skeptical and that is why I am not convinced that something positive will emerge, I hope I am wrong. The Syrian regime thinks that Israel and the world are blind to what Syria does internally and regionally. They think that big powers react to the noise and rhetorics that they generate, so they become big trouble makers in desperation.

Before starting Peace negotiations with the enemy, why not make Peace with your citizens and the people that get arrested arbitrarily (people that you accuse of treason and collaborating with the enemy when in fact you break all the taboos in secret or public). Why not free Michel Kilo, Anwar Bunni, and all their comrades who just asked for better ties with Lebanon which had never fought an open war with Syria (except for Michel Aoun who is now a Syrian Darling). Why not Free Kamal Labwani who met with some people abroad just like Pelosi met with Assad or Sleiman met some Israeli politicians. Why not free Dr Aref Dalila a respected economics professor who was charged 10 years in prison on bogus charges?

Also How can you talk peace when you fully support and arm Hizballa? and Hamas? and you keep increasing their resistance and rethorics? and they become so belligerent that they are ready to fight their own people, in fact you push them to do it calling it a winning card. How can you prepare your people for peace when you keep increasing the verbal attacks internally on Israel and you language has not changed on them since the 70s. 

I think it is so easy for Syria to send messages of Peace and show that they are serious. First tone it down in action and not only words, become a positive player in Lebanon, change your alliances and your friends. Internally try to reform, increase freedoms, release political prisoners, reduce corruption, give your citizens their rights and then Peace will happen eventually.  Of course Israel and the USA have their own will and sacrifices to make in order to achieve Peace. But I think just being hostage to changes in their policies make us irrelevant, also fighting useless battles make us irrelevant. Continuing the methods and tactics of the past won’t pay, a new approach is needed for any hope to emerge. Let’s learn from Europe where former enemies have build a new power.

Syria has not fought over the Golan since 1973 and no one has questioned that, the rulers have a carte blanche in what they do so opening up is their choice. The world will not miss any change in Syrian behavior, and it is better for Syria and the region.