A Syrian Blogger Silenced

David Keyes
Adelson Institute
Reposted 18 October 09

David Keyes, Coordinator for Programs in Democracy at the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies, writes about the fate of a Syrian freedom fighter and the mistakes of an American Administration. Read also in Point of View on Why Russia is Not Afraid of an Iranian Bomb by Boris Morozov andThe Goldstone Factor by Yossi Klein Halevi.

When Syrian deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad visited Washington in early October, he became the highest-ranking Syrian to visit America in half a decade. During his visit, Mekdad lavishly praised President Obama and his dialogue-based approach towards the Middle East. Nothing could be better proof that Washington is pursuing failed policies in the region. When the senior representatives of a ruthless dictatorship praise you, chances are you are doing something very wrong.

Mekdad, and his boss Bashar al-Assad, are clearly relieved that President Obama loosened sanctions on Syria this past July. They know that America is determined to pry Syria away from the Iran-Hezbollah axis and they are playing it for all it's worth. While Americans rejoice at every step in this process, the Assad dictatorship remains as oppressive as ever. Only two and a half weeks prior to the deputy Foreign Minister's sycophantic gushing over President Obama in Washington, his government was sentencing bloggers to prison for the unthinkable "crime" of voicing dissent.

Consider the case of Kareem Arabji, a 31 year old business consultant who helps manage the online youth forumwww.akhawia.net. Kareem supervised Al Mabar Al Hur, a section within akhawia.net dedicated to free ideas, and wrote numerous articles under a pseudonym criticizing corruption and dictatorship in Syria. On June 7, 2007 Arabji was arrested by Syrian security forces and held incommunicado at the Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence in Damascus. He was charged with, "broadcasting false or exaggerated news which would affect the morale of the country.”

Just what outrageous, unforgivable words did Kareem utter that so threatened the Syrian nation? "The press is a very important mechanism to struggle against the corruption, there should not be any restrictions or obstacles to it," he wrote in Akhawia. Or perhaps it was his skepticism of the Syria-Hamas alliance: "Since I was a kid in school we were always taught that the Muslim Brotherhood is a criminal gang, and I agree. And now we proudly consider Hamas, which is a Muslim Brotherhood proxy, as an ally!!!?"
On September 13, 2009, Arabji was sentenced by a Syrian court to three years in prison.

Did President Obama raise Arabji's imprisonment while his tormentor toured Washington? No. To do so would be to jeopardize "peace," "diplomacy" or some other fiction masquerading as prudence which in actuality prolongs a hideous tyranny. Mekdad's visit was a golden opportunity to make Arabji's name as famous as Havel, Bukovsky and Sharansky once were. Instead, the most powerful nation in history remained silent.

In theory, President Obama's approach makes perfect sense. Encourage Syria to moderate its policies and tilt Westward instead of Iran-ward. But as the idiom goes: In theory there is no difference between theory and reality, but in reality there is. Not only is America feeding an alligator hoping to be eaten last, but the Obama administration does not grasp that true peace and lasting regional stability cannot be purchased at the expense of human liberty. If Syria cuts its ties with Iran, but remains a fearful, impoverished, repressive and conspiratorial society, the West--let alone the Syrian people-- are no better off. America's goal should be to terrorize the Syrian dictator more than he terrorizes his bloggers.. Sakharov and Sharansky's brilliant dictum is simple enough: A nation can only be trusted as much as its leaders trust their own citizens. By this standard, America should be isolating and punishing Syria, rather than appeasing and rewarding it.

Despite a sustained public relations campaign in the West, Syria remains one of the most repressive regimes in the Middle East. Those who voice dissent are regularly intimidated, arrested, tortured and imprisoned. In September 2009 the Jordanian Business Magazine reported that Syria blocks at least "160 web sites, including Facebook, Amazon, YouTube, and the popular online-telephone service, Skype." Cyberdissidents such as Arabji face regular harassment from security forces. Ironically, article 38 of the Syrian constitution allows "the right to freely express one's opinions by spoken word, in writing or in any other medium." But this is little more than hollow rhetoric. The same article also states that expression must be in a "manner that safeguards the soundness of the domestic and nationalist structure and strengthens the socialist system." This clause effectively guts any true form of freedom of expression in Syria.

What kind of regime tortures bloggers and shuts down Facebook? Only one that is terrified of truth and free thinking. This, ultimately, is a sign of deep insecurity, not strength. The good news is that although political repression can work for a time, the forward march of history records that few forces are as powerful as a liberated soul. Someone should tell this to Obama.

David Keyes is the Director of Cyberdissidents.org and the Coordinator for Democracy Programs at the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies.