In one of her recent weekly columns, Buthayna Sha'ban, political advisor to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, welcomed the Egyptian uprising, describing it as a momentous event in Arab history. She wrote that Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak, had weakened and degraded the Arabs by withdrawing his country from the circle of the conflict with Israel, and had oppressed his people for three decades. Sha'ban also criticized the U.S. and the West, saying that they had refrained from supporting the Egyptian uprising out of concern for Israel's interests, and had thus violated the principles of democracy and freedom that they purport to uphold.[1]
In response to Sha'ban's claims, Islamic researcher 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Khatib published an article in the Saudi daily Al-Hayat, titled "The Ideologue of Syrian Policy," in which he pointed out that Sha'ban's criticism could just as easily be leveled at the Syrian regime.
The following are excerpts from Al-Khatib's article:[2]
"Dr. Sha'ban Criticized Mubarak's Regime and the Rule of His Party, but Forgot that Syria [Too] has a Single Party – the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party"
Dr. Buthayna Sha'ban, political and media advisor to the Syrian [president], has written an article that seems true but is in fact a lie... [Reading it], I felt she was talking about the Syrian regime [rather than the Egyptian one]... because Israel has enjoyed 38 years of quiet on the Syrian front, during which not a single bullet has been fired in its direction. And the secret negotiations between Syria and Israel are known to all...
"Dr. Sha'ban criticized Mubarak's regime and the rule of his party, but forgot that Syria [too] has a single party – the Arab Socialist Ba'th party, whose slogan is 'Unity, Freedom and Socialism.' [This party] hasn't achieved a thing since its establishment: not unity with any Arab country, for there isn't a single Arab state that Syria does not have some disagreement with, and [certainly] not freedom, for reports by international human rights associations list Syria in last place among the countries of the word in terms of granting political freedoms to its citizens. [As for] Syria's false socialism, it has turned thieves and swindlers into some of the world's biggest millionaires, such as Rami Makhlouf [President Assad's cousin, who is a wealthy tycoon].
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"Every year, the Syrian Human Rights Committee issues a report that lists numerous violations perpetrated against Syrian citizens in the name of the emergency law... There are 2,500 political prisoners in [Syria's] jails and [in the facilities of its] intelligence services. For a quarter of a century, the Syrian oil and gas revenues have not been reaching the public coffers."
"Sh'aban [also] Spoke of Forged Elections During the Mubarak Era, Forgetting that Forged Elections have been a Characteristic of the Syrian Regime"
"Sh'aban [also] spoke of forged elections during the Mubarak era, forgetting that forged elections have been a characteristic of the Syrian regime since the day Hafez Al-Assad rose to power, on March 12, 1971. She forgot that Syria has been ruled for four decades by a sect [i.e., the Alawis] that constitutes no more than 9% of the Syrian population.
"When some [Syrian] figures, such as [former Syrian MP] Riyadh Saif, wanted to establish independent parties, they were thrown in jail for many years.[3] Several days ago, 19-year-old Tal Al-Mallouhi was sentenced to five years in prison for writing against [Syrian] corruption in her Internet [blog]. When several dozen oppressed Syrians organized a peaceful demonstration in support of their brothers in Egypt, the Syrian intelligence services arrested them, lest it be thought that voices are calling for a similar revolution in Syria.
"Syria has seen no significant progress since the Ba'th party rose to power over half a century ago. Social and economic development has slumped: according to the latest reports, unemployment has reached an all-time high of 4.5 million people out of work, and the average annual inflation rate is 15%... Syria fought Israel and lost, and this destroyed its economy. Agriculture has suffered because there are no irrigation projects, despite the drought that has afflicted the country and the drying up of its rivers and water sources...
"As for Dr. Sha'ban's claim that the pro-Mubarak [demonstrations] in the streets [of Egypt] were staged, it's clear that the pro-Assad demonstrations, past and present, were held by students, civil servants, or security personnel in civilian clothes who were ordered [by the regime] to go out and demonstrate. When Syrian TV showed footage of President Assad coming [to the mosque] on the [festival of] the Prophet's birthday, and getting out of his vehicle to talk to an elderly woman, the Syrian citizen was not convinced. [The Syrian citizen] knew it was a staged scene, intended to demonstrate the Syrian people's love [for their president], following the Egyptian revolution. Ceausescu, Saddam, and Ibn Ali did the same thing, and so did Mubarak himself."
[1] Teshreen (Syria), February 14, 2011. Buthayna Shaban's weekly column is also published in the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
[2] Al-Hayat (London), February 23, 2011.
[3] Riyadh Saif was sentenced in 2008 to two years in prison for his activity in the opposition movement Damascus Declaration.
