Perhaps the truth is that Syria is bleeding due to the armed conflict that was intended to damage the first country to build Arab unity with Egypt in the modern history ...

Sadeq Khanafer, Hussein Mallah

Part 2 of “Why Assad Wasn’t, Won’t be Defeated?” discusses how Syria, the state and the institutions, was able to continue normally despite the mass destruction of its infrastructure and vital sectors, as well as the series of Arab and western sanctions and the siege imposed on the country since the beginning of the crisis.

Perhaps the truth is that Syria is bleeding due to the armed conflict that was intended to damage the first country to build Arab unity with Egypt in the modern history, support Egypt during the 1956 trilateral attack, and support the Algerian revolution against the French colonialism. This resulted from Syria’s position against the Zionist occupation to Palestine since its first days, which was revealed through being in the axis of resistance, especially after ousting Egypt through the Camp David Accord, and the systematic destruction for Iraq.

Syria…the Regime

There is no doubt that the pressure that was and still being exerted on Syria and its army was pretty sufficient to cause its defeat since its first months, but Syria survived after more than two years, despite pains and destruction.

Since the beginning of the events (in Daraa, in March 2011) till the moment, it became clear that the Syrian status is heading towards a systematic escalation although the leadership confessed that some demands of the demonstrators were righteous (in the beginning), that political faults took place, and it was ready for dialogue and reforms, but things then went like a rolling snowball after foreign interventions on the Syrian land and relating the “end” of the Syrian crisis with Damascene waivers among which the most important was dissolving from the axis of resistance.

Syria recognized this condition and chose the challenge, in parallel with several reformative steps such as adopting a new Constitution and holding parliament and local elections in which the opposition forces had participated for the first time. All this neither did please some opposition sides nor the regional and international forces. It was followed by an unprecedented media campaign on Syria, Arabic and national diplomatic pressure was represented by excluding Damascus from the Arab League and granting its seat to the opposition coalition. However, Russia and China, along with the BRICS countries, succeeded in preventing the attempt to exclude Syria internationally.

Pure Syrian… Coherent System

Syria couldn’t have resisted without a coherent political, military, economic, and social system, even though some limited splits took place. In this context, Khalaf Al-Muftah, Aide of the Syrian Minister of Information, said in an interview with Al-Manar Website: “The state and the institutions in Syria are purely made in Syria, that’s why they weren’t influenced by the foreign factor. Were they made abroad, they would collapsed. They represent a local product that saved its identity.”

Al-Muftah emphasized that “The Syrian leadership was able to manage the political game and the crisis with absolute wisdom.” “President Bashar Assad’s psychological stability and ability to add more values to the military and social factors, as well as his ability to grasp the international and regional game, all contributed to receiving strong regional and international support, as well as creating a sort of balance that protected the Syrian state form being defeated.”

Among the factors that helped Syria in facing the crisis:
• It knew how and on whom it could bet on the foreign level
• It didn’t pass a foreign conspiracy that was self-uncovered after its failure
• President Bashar Assad’s personality that wasn’t unpleasant
• The suggested alternative didn’t meet the expectations of the people in Syria
• The cohesion of the military, political, and economic system
• The regime still enjoys huge popularity according to western and Arab surveys

Syria… the Economy

Syria is facing a ruthless battle, just like those against the militants, represented by facing the western and Arab economic blockade, as well as progressing economic needs and providing its citizens with financial needs, and services such as health, electricity, and energy…

Despite the strict sanctions and pressures, the Syrian government succeeded in lessening losses through the moving-eastward policy, and making benefits from the expertise, which allowed Syrians to continue in the state’s affairs despite the growing emigration inside and outside the country. The governmental institutions continued their job despite the mass destruction of the infrastructure and the vital facilities, such as electricity generating and oil refining stations, and public streets networks. However, all of this didn’t prevent the Syrian government from saving the minimum monetary and financial stability.

Between Openness and Self-Satisfaction

Before 2000, Syria adopted along the past decades an economic policy in which the state was the main axis. The Syrian leadership, since the era of late President Hafez Assad, didn’t rely in its economy on the western aid or what is known the capital system. However, it adopted a self-satisfaction policy on the agricultural and oil levels, and somehow the industrial. It also rationed importing and set local production as its first priority.

However, after 2000, and especially during the last years before the crisis, Syria tended to economic openness on its neighbors such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and even Gulf countries, as well as the BRICS countries, South American and European countries. Syria also signed several agreements with those countries, yet it didn’t link its economy to the western standards.

Variety and Production

In this context, the Syrian Minister of Economy’s Aide Hayyan Suleiman said to Al-Manar Website that “The Syrian economy’s nature is diverse and productive. Syria is among the lowest indebted countries in the world. It has relationships with huge countries such as Russia, China, and the Iranian Republic, which allowed it to face the crisis whose effects were less than the expected.”

Suleiman emphasized that “Any institution or economic position didn’t postpone salaries payment. This is proved by the fact that the 2013 annual budget was greater than 2012 and the greatest ever. We also have pretty enough monetary reserve. We seek positive adaptation with the circumstances of this conspiracy and real war.” “Economic relationships with some Arab countries do exist, yet they are stronger with Iran, Russia, China, and other friendly states,” he added.

Self-Satisfaction

It is true that this policy had both advantages and disadvantages, yet it produced a country that enjoys economic, military elements that don’t exist in many countries blessed with oil.

About this point, Vice-President of the Syrian Parliament Khaled Al-Abboud mentioned to Al-Manar Website that “The relationship between the people and the head of the political system is accepted in comparison with the relationship of that between the peoples of the region and their leaderships.” “Going back to the governmental institutions, and despite the siege on Syria and the attempts to hinder its progress in the past decades, the slogan in economy, agriculture and industry says that people must eat less than they produce, plant, and invest. Thus, we became a self-satisfied country. Syria could say that it is a self-satisfied country, and I believe it is the only self-satisfied country on the regional level,” he added.

Industry… Destruction and Theft

In the industrial field, as it became known, Syria relied mainly on its local industries. Aleppo was the economic lung and was described the second capital since it is the center of the Syrian financial and industrial flow. It is remarkable that the city’s population that hits around two and half a million persons was apart from the events until the last summer when thousands of militants sneaked into it in an unprecedented plan to control the city, which failed to succeed in the presence of the Syrian army operations.

Syrian estimates noted that sneaking into the city was coordinated by an intelligence operation within the Turkish government that stole Aleppo’s industries. Economic expert Hayyan Suleiman emphasizes this to Al-Manar Website saying that “Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, seeks destroying Syrian facilities, stealing production lines especially the products that compete with the Turkish industry such as spinning, nutritive and medical materials, as well as cement factories and selling it for the cheapest prices.”

“Syria was stolen twice clearly. The first time was in 1865 when the Ottomans moved all jobs and crafts to the Astana, and the second in 2012 that was ordered by the Turkish Prime Minister and the Head of the Justice and Development Party, in which criminal gangs were sent to move all the industries to Istanbul,” he added.

According to Suleiman, “Those issues didn’t stop on the industrial level; rather it harmed the national economy. This is proved by their theft of the oil wells, burning them, and letting those gangs hurt people and everything else. They also stole grains, cut olive trees, and stole goods from the warehouses.”

Whether the Turkish government was aware of that, Suleiman answered that “the machines were recorded while being entered via Bab Al-Hawa passageway on the Turkish borders. Those machines couldn’t be moved but using heavy-loading trucks that couldn’t pass but through certain borderlines.” “The theft didn’t include the industrial side; however it included all the other economic fields. The losses are estimated by more than 300 billion Syrian Liras, in addition to the moral and humanitarian losses and damages,” he added.

Media… Challenges and Confrontation

There is no exaggeration saying that media was one of the main reasons in escalating the Syrian crisis and pushing it toward this limit. It used more than 200 Arab and international media outlets as a weapon in the battle with Syria. This huge imbalance was normal especially that those outlets are sponsored by countries and governments that employed billions of dollars to build “media empires.”

For this reason, the Syrian media (visible, audible, and electronic) suffered from obvious gaps since the beginning of the events. It found itself in an unfair and unequipped battle. However, after a period of time, Syrian media could minimize this gap in the coverage in front of the competent media outlets, in convenience with the available capabilities.

After the Crisis… Different Media

Khalaf Al-Muftah, Aide of the Syrian Minister of Information, emphasizes to our website that “Syria is facing an unprecedented media war, and the misleading media took benefits from the empty zones left by the official media. It was able to adapt with the crisis and restore its audience for its nearness from the ground, as well as presenting real news.” “The Syrian media, despite being in an unfair battle, could influence and acquire a huge audience through its relativity with the reality,” he added.

Al-Muftah noted that “The role of the resistant media, and the journalists, educated people, and Arab authors, contributed to enlightening the public opinion without creating a gap, as well as facing this international campaign and attempting to affect the international public opinion that became influential in the regional and international decision making. We mustn’t forget social networks, and the electronic Syrian army.”

Al-Muftah added that “The battle is between resistance and the hegemony powers. Every person could make a difference in the battlefield.” “The battle of awareness was important. The awareness of the battle and its dimensions contributed to shortening the way and facing media outlets that enjoys equipments and money, as well as –unfortunately- loud voices that could affect some areas,” he said.

Syrian media’s role in this phase is to alert decision-making areas in Arab and western world because Syrian satellite channels were banned from the Arab and European satellites. In the meantime, wide terrifying campaigns were launched against media employees. In addition, numerous media members were targeted, the Syrian Television was exploded, and the Al-Ekhbariya Channel was destroyed.

Because it is Different from All

Syria, despite the violent attack on all levels, could resist and wasn’t defeated because it is different from the all, and what is going on there is different from what went on in other countries:

The Russian Communist Revolution lasted two months.
The French Liberal Revolution lasted three weeks.
The Iranian Revolution lasted six months.

As for the so-called “Arab Spring”:
Tunisia: Fifteen days
Egypt: Two months
Libya: Ten months
Yemen: One year
However, Syria = Resistant

Coming soon:
Part 3: When the Army Resisted…and Challenged
Part 4: Policy and Diplomacy… Sticking to the Principles
Part 5: The Inside and Outside Opposition
Part 6: Syria… the World Became Two Poles
Part 7: Solution in Syria?

To read the original version of this article in Arabic, click here

See also:
Why Assad Wasn’t, Won’t be Defeated? (1/7)