Writer and former political prisoner Louay Hussein talks to MICHAEL JANSENin Damascus
SYRIAN OPPOSITION leader Louay Hussein regards the crisis in his country as “most dangerous” and believes “all indications say the situation is drifting towards civil war”, although a “majority of Syrians are against war”.
Speaking to The Irish Timesin the modest office of the Building the Syrian State movement he founded, Hussein, a writer and political prisoner from 1984 to 1991, explains why he takes such a dark view.
“People who took part in the protests during the first three months were different from the people now,” he says.
The original protesters “had political ideas and values and called for liberty and equality. They were for positive action . . . During this stage, I was part of the movement in the street, as an organiser. But we lost contact because of arrests and loss of communications.”
Then, he says, “others joined the protests in reaction” to killings and detentions.
“They regard this regime as murderers rather than a tyranny or dictatorship and raise harmful slogans” by calling for external intervention or executing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Hussein, a slim professorial figure with grey curls and a bristle of moustache beneath an eagle nose, adds: “Now protests are diminishing because of the violence and the occupation of protest zones by the security forces.”
He estimates that 15,000 people have been detained since protests began in mid-March, and says there has been a turnover in the prisons, with some people arrested while others are released. “I know the situation from experience. I multiply how many people can stand in a cell by the number of prisons,” he jokes.
Hussein does not think the Syrian National Council, an umbrella grouping of mainly exiled opposition groups favoured by the West, could gain international recognition and sideline Syria-based factions with popular followings. “I do not think the US is ready to recognise this council.”
In his view, the EU will follow Washington’s lead but perhaps not Turkey, which brokered the formation of the council. He expresses concern that Ankara might try to use its strong ties to the council to advance Turkey’s agenda on the international scene. However, he observes that the “council has a lot of financial and diplomatic support. Many EU states give visas to its members but not to us.”
He adds that “council members say what outsiders want to hear”, without elaborating.
Hussein warns that it is “dangerous” for outside powers to rely exclusively on opposition groups “because they do not represent the will of all the people . . . some support the regime”. He says it would be a mistake to equate the Syrian National Council with the rebel movement that took power in Libya.
In spite of escalating clashes between the army and armed opposition elements, Hussein insists that the uprising must be peaceful and hopes the Free Syrian Army formed by deserters will be marginalised.
“I don’t know anything about the origin of the Free Syrian Army. It has no political arm . . . Its members want to fight tyranny to bring tyranny. I’m afraid they will be freedom fighters like the Taliban of Afghanistan.”
Commenting on the opposition, he says: “Historically, the opposition has always been in a bad situation, it is not organised.”
He does not believe veteran leaders who have fought the regime in the past and served terms in prison can lead at this juncture. “We need new leaders to emerge from the street.”
His movement urges dialogue while the Syrian National Council rejects contact with the regime. He was the first to organise a meeting of opposition groups in Damascus. This took place at the end of June.
“There is always a possibility for dialogue,” he says, but dialogue can take place only “when the regime is ready for dialogue”. Unfortunately, he says, the regime “thinks dialogue is an exchange of points of view . . . not a means of reaching accommodation”.
“We tried many times to speak with the government. At first the regime did not acknowledge us, now it recognises us. Now that the time is ripe for dialogue, conditions do not give us a chance.”
He pauses, adding: “We don’t trust the government.”