Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Al-'Arabi, who has been appointed the next Arab League secretary-general, recently said that Syria's stability is part of Egypt's national security and Arab security, and that the only way to resolve the crisis in Syria is by national dialogue and through the government's immediate compliance with the people's demands for democracy and reform. He went on to say that Egypt was working to convince the Western countries to send an envoy to deal with the crisis in Syria, in order to prevent a harsh anti-Syria resolution by the U.N. Security Council.[1]
In response to Al-'Arabi's statements, Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, Syrian journalist and Al-Jazeera TV bureau chief in Pakistan, posted an article on his blog on June 14, 2011, under the headline "Is Nabil Al-'Arabi a Spokesman for the Obsolete Syrian Regime?"[2] The article, which was also published by the Egyptian daily Al-Misriyyoun, which is close to Islamist streams, and by the Syrian opposition website Sooryoon.net, attacked Egypt's silence in the face of the bloody events in Syria, and called on the Egyptian people to support the Syrian revolution.
Zaidan added that the Egyptian revolution would not be complete until the revolutions in Tunisia, Syria, Yemen, and Libya were also complete, and called on Egypt's citizens to take a good look at their government's foreign policy, because it was indicative of its domestic policy.
The following is a translation of Zaidan's article:
Egypt's Official Silence Is Not in Line with the Revolution
"Egypt's absolute silence vis-à-vis the events in beloved Syria saddens us, the Syrian people. This is all the more true because this silence came after the daring popular revolution that threw one of the pharaohs of our time into the courtroom.
"We thought that post-revolution, big-sister Egypt would be loyal to the framework of the new revolution, and to the revolutionaries freed from the yoke of pharaonic tyranny and slavery – and that it would stand alongside every revolutionary in the world, so that we could see a new Egypt. We are sorry about, and baffled by, the apparent position of the foreign minister of the old – that is, pre-revolution – Egypt, Nabil Al-'Arabi, who called for a European foreign minister to be sent [to Syria] to resolve the crisis...
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"Is this the Egypt for which hundreds of her sons sacrificed their lives in the revolution – the revolution so pure that all the world, and perhaps all humanity, never knew one purer? Is this the Egypt that the Egyptian people anticipated? Is this the Egypt that wants to lead an Arab world free of dictatorship, corruption, and criminals – or is it still functioning according to the mentality and character of Mubarak's Egypt?
"Egypt, whose word is the most powerful in the Arab League, uttered not a single comment on the slaughter that made every honorable man in the world lose sleep. Egypt did not remark on Hamza Al-Khatib, Tamer Al-Shar'i, Hajer Al-Khatib, and the hundreds [of children] like them [murdered by the Syrian regime]. The silence of the Egyptian [government] is the silence of the grave, on all the massacres and atrocities that have happened and are still happening in Der'a, Al-Rastan, Jisr Al-Shughour, and Ma'arat Al-Nu'man. This is pre-revolution Egypt, and we don't think that it's the new Egypt."
Without the Success of the Syrian Revolution, the Egyptian Revolution Will Never Be Complete
"Post-revolution Egypt, the new Egypt, must cut itself off from the era of Mubarak and from defending the tyrannical Arab regimes. Only after Egypt supports the peoples and their demands will we be able to say that the Egyptian revolution has triumphed.
"It is inconceivable that the Egyptian revolution would be complete without the triumph of the Syrian revolution. The wings of the Arab world are Egypt and Syria, and the Arab world will not be able to take flight – as only God knows – if the second wing is unable to remove the Ba'thist tyranny, the foundation of corruption, which has kept the Arab world in chains for decades."
Egypt's Revolutionary Domestic Policy Must Also Be Reflected in Its Foreign Policy
"This is an open call to the young men and women of Arab Egypt, which is so dear to our hearts, to be alert to their new government's foreign policy – since foreign policy echoes domestic policy.
"Until the region is free of the corrupt atmosphere, the atmosphere of Ba'thist and dictatorial tyranny, we will not be able to say that the Egyptian revolution has triumphed. The victory of the Egyptian revolution will be completed by the victory of the revolutions in Tunisia, Syria, Yemen, and Libya. Only then will we be able to say that a clean atmosphere prevails; only then will we say that the rulers, ministers, and officials are loyal to the revolution.
"A last piece of advice to our brothers, the revolutionaries in Egypt: The harvest of the revolution will be not only in the domestic sphere, but also in the foreign sphere. Pay attention to the declarations of the Egyptian officials abroad; make sure that they echo domestic policy and are befitting the revolution, the revolutionaries, and freedom and liberation, by standing alongside the revolutionaries in Syria, Libya, and Yemen.
"We do not want the remnants of the corrupt regimes and tyrants to impose their agenda. If they do – [it will be as if nothing at all has changed]."
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Akhbar (Egypt), June 6, 2011; Al-Hayat (London), June 12, 2011.
[2] http://ahmedzaidan.maktoobblog.com/1610297/, June 14, 2011.
