anwer.mooraj@tribune.com.pk
‘God save the Syrian Army’, is a phrase from the documentary, Syrian Diary, which was screened at the Russian Consulate General last week, in which the only consul general who attended was the Iranian. The Westerners boycotted the function. The thinking man in Karachi who wants to know what is happening in the rest of the world usually does so by tuning in to one of the Western channels or Al Jazeera. And they are told that the Syrian Army is being quite beastly to the freedom fighters who are trying to liberate the country from a tyrannical leader. US President Barack Obama endorsed this view by saying the Syrian government should allow the ‘peaceful’ demonstration of the protestors. Now where have we heard this line before? Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya? The message is more or less the same and one gets the distinct impression that all these channels employ the services of the same news editor. Syrian Diary, in a sense, shows us the other side of the coin and chronicles the atrocities committed by the militants on the civilians, rather than the other way round.
The Russian consul general in Karachi, Andre Demidov, said in his welcome address that he didn’t necessarily want the audience to like the film, but just to watch it with an open mind. Perhaps, it was because the story line is littered with scenes of the most horrific violence, or perhaps, because people in this neck of the woods have been so brainwashed with Western propaganda that they would be suspicious of any approach that didn’t toe the official line. The film, which is more like a series of news reports rather than a documentary, took seven months to complete and was produced a couple of months ago by an attractive Russian lady journalist named Anastassia Popova. It is dedicated to the Syrian soldier and all the civilians who have died at the hands of the terrorists. It consists of a series of interviews interspersed with scenes of executions and decapitation of civilian prisoners by the militants — all cobbled together to form a gripping commentary on the secret war taking place inside Syria.
Documentaries produced in the West are often shot in the safe past tense, clinical and detached, ending with the usual clichés about free speech and freedom, which apparently is only possible under a Western-style democracy. Syrian Diary takes place in the present tense and has a freshly minted terror. It is, in many ways, a sad, sad film — a movie that shows the savage nature of mercenaries who call themselves liberators and make the TTP look like boy scouts. Sure, our local militants attack military and police targets and blow themselves up in crowded places, but they don’t go around raping six-year old girls and ripping open pregnant mothers and using the baby as a football as some of the freedom fighters in Syria have been accused of doing.
In Syrian Diary, there is no sermonising, no moralising and no calls for help. It tells the story of a people who love their soldiers. Cynics might dismiss the chronicle as a bit of emotional prurience and mawkish sentiment — a bravura exhibition of quivering lachrymosity — an amateurish attempt to cover up the excesses committed by the Syrian Army. But the scenes are too authentic, too real and too stark to have been fabricated in some studio in Moscow. It should be screened on one of the Pakistani television channels so that the public can get a glimpse of what the average Syrian thinks about what is really happening in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2013.
COMMENTS (8)
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Sir, glad you wrote about that and showed us a different and real picture. I think we know very well in the whole world about these fighters because we are seeing them here from the last many years. So no doubt, what is happening there in the name of Democracy or Freedom is totally a well planned propaganda. And even from the beginning, Syrian opposition is not ready to hold talks with the government and they only promote violence. God save the Syrian people and their protectors. Btw, there were tears in my eyes when I heard one mother saying about his martyred son that "He was defending mosque. We are Christians. But my boy said he would defend the mosque because its a holy place. He even fought with barefoot out of respect for the tradition despite the broken glasses and shells."
@Ejaaz: Have seen a comment from you after a very long time. Your comments are amongst the most thoughtful and thought provoking from either side of border. You have been missed.
We are witnessing what had been described as " creative chaos" by a US Secretary of State. Former General Wesley Clark in an interview said that as far back as 2001 he was informed that Syria was a target for change. As one of the better informed commentator has mentioned Pakistan is not immune to this policy of "creative chaos", and by the way General Clarke also mentioned that Iran was next on the hit list. All regional and international powers are complicit in the disintegration of Middle East and creation of a new world order, none happier for it than the Zionist regime. To get a better perspective read Franklin Lamb's articles from Lebanon and Syria. It is all about the economy stupid.
The anti-Assad uprising may have been infiltrated by hardcore militants, but that doesnt take away the fact that Assad and his father, are/were brutal dictators. The Syrian Army has just recently become an instrument of oppression. That doesnt take away the fact that they are legitimate grievances against Assad, and the poor ol Syrian Army isnt a victim of circumstances, its a tool of oppression. You sympathise with the Syrian military, but say nothing of the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Turkey and Lebanon who are braving a harsh winter.
As for showing this documentary across private tv channels, sure, but first perhaps Pakistanis should be allowed to access YouTube, Rolling Stones magazine, various online Baloch newssites etc, so that we may learn about our own country to begin with. If its not bad enough that you pander for a strong man dictator in Pakistan, now you are peddling support for dictators abroad as well. As for Russia, perhaps you havnt got the update. Even they have called time on Assad, pulled out military advisors and embassy staff, halted weapons supplies and have started talks with the opposition leader.
Other side to be coin should be shown too. Atrocities of both sides should be condemned (and perpetrators prosecuted and punished; War crime tribunal?). What I found in your article was a bias, e.g. using word atrocities for Syrian rebels but word "excesses". More importantly I found your article trying to find a hidden hand in all these; you mention "Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya". Were they not under control of tyrants and dictators, ruling over their people for decades? Is Syrian leadership not establishing a form of kingdom? Quida-e-Azam and Gandhi worked hard for peaceful protests and were critical to the use of violence, Matur Luthar King was non-violent to the core, but that all three knew the violence of few don't automatically nullify the rightful demands.
Of late the western channels also show the atrocities committed by the "liberators" and the non intervention hitherto is a reflection of understanding the ground realities and the liberators are already crying that they are running out of ammunition.
That said, it is not that west did not understand what is happening in the middle east and the fear of Arab spring spreading to other regions was voiced very early when it happened in Tunisia, a legitimate upraising which took different turns. And that fear came to be true and the policy of containment by going along with the drunken mania for now is in vogue. Let us deal with them when dust settles is the going policy.
The issue is how to deal with Syrian anarchy, freedom struggle, civil war, whichever phrase one wants to use. It is widely believed that Sunni regimes in middle east is supplying the arms.
Let the Syrian army slaughter these liberators and regain control and rule with greater repression than before, or let the situation rest without blood shed or limited anarchy as in Egypt and Libya and deal with the revolutionaries later. - these are the abstract choices. The chaos will only rest, only temporarily, when the liberators retreat, as in Mali, or when truce is established.
The west approach -deal with the revolutionaries later. Russia and Iran approach -squash the revolutionaries; collateral benefit will be that it can keep the west (US) at bay.The latter approach will only delay the inevitable destruction of Syria. And once Syria is settled, the revolutionaries will move east, if they are not contained. Iranians are also equally apprehensive that similar upraising will happen in Iran as it is already happening in low intensity in Iraq.
Revolution is easy but governance post revolution depends on integration with the rest of the world and the best way to deal with illegitimate revolutionaries is when they assume power. That is the US policy in Syria, if one can sense what has happened elsewhere, and it is not bad. The alternative is booed shed, as it is happening now.
As more and more refugees migrate, the world will sympathize with the refugees' plight and inevitable interventions occur from all sectors ensuing further chaos.
Modus operandi of Arab spring : create general public protests in the streets using educated youths using sermons, social media etc in the name of democracy. At the opportune time, send in Islamists in elections or gun slingers to capture power.
The question now is which state is next after Syria? By the way, PAK is not immune from this upraising either, yet.
The one thing I cann't understand is why has the government not banned this film? Sometimes I really feel sorry for the whole pakistani population because we are a victim of everything. Remember when Russia attacked Afghanistan many muslims were killed. Some of our sisters were also raped and killed. Many childrens dies and so on. It was a time of zia-ul-haq but US has a plan which they published in Pakistan. United nations warned if pakistan doesn't want to accept their plan then pakistan will met with santions.The plan was pakistan and US has to train mujahedeen. But ladies and gentlement look what happened now in pakistan? What are these so called mujahedeen not doing in our sovereignty? Now I'm a litlle bit afraid that Russian and Iran wil puss pakistan forward and will conceal behind pakistan so pakistan can send their soldiers to Syiran. But what kind of effect has the film on the pakistani population? Of course will many people take a choise! I'm a litte bit concerned and afraid what the reaction of our army and people wil cause. PAKISTANI is so innocent when ever they heared that somone is killing muslims we are ready to help. But when somebody is killin us then nobody helps us. Why so? This man is so stupid! ''The Russian consul general in Karachi, Andre Demidov, said in his welcome address that he didn’t necessarily want the audience to like the film, but just to watch it with an open mind''' hahaha the whole world wants assads removed but they have another interest. And of course do you want the pakistani people to support you and india. First his army killed many muslims in Afghanistan for many years ago and now his army is supporting Al-assad who is killing muslim women, children, but always it's muslims who are been in the middle. Allahu Akbar! Everybody no that Russia has talked against the Natos nuclear shield.
"so that the public can get a glimpse of what the average Syrian"
Mooraj ji: I have seen the documentary. And who or what is the average Syrian? Are the people bombed and butchered in homs not average syrian? Our curse is that sectarian war rages across muslim lands and there is NO ONE who is capable of standing up and showing the mirror to those who encourage it. Do we here in Pakistan not know the brutal and violent tit for tat that the Iranians and the Saudis have been doing for decades? Guess who is supporting Assad? Iran for those who have been asleep. And who is supporting the brutal "freedom fighters"? One guess should suffice. Given a little time we will forget all this butchery as the "brother" nations of Iran and Saudia hug and kiss, and we will be told that it is the usual Hanood-Yahood being backed by the Great Satan who were behind all this muslim killing muslims every where.