Arab turmoil spreading in Asian neighbors

Just one day after Washington called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, as it toughened the sanctions against his government, thousands of Syrians took the streets calling for downfall of the decade-old Assad Dynasty. According to news sites, at least 18 people were killed, including some soldiers who disobeyed orders to shoot at anti-Assad protestors.

There was no official Syrian reaction to the international call for Mr. Assad to leave office, but the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Ja'afari, rejected it and accused the United States of "instigating further violence in the country, and giving the wrong message to the armed terrorist armed groups that they are under American and Western protection so that they go ahead with their insurrection and destructive activities in the country."

An American ban on Syrian oil would not by itself be significant, but Syria would feel the effects of a European ban on oil from Syria, which exports more than a third of its annual production to Europe. In Brussels on Friday, the European Union took a significant step toward such a ban, when senior diplomats in Brussels requested that plans be drawn up to stop all imports of Syrian crude oil. The diplomats also agreed to add 15 names of individuals or companies to the list of those already subjected to asset freezes or visa bans, and to look at ways of widening the categories of those affected. The European Union has already imposed asset freezes and visa bans on 35 individuals and placed restrictions on trade with firms linked to the Syria suppression of dissent.

Syria is accused of patronizing jihadist as well as anti-Israel terror outfits. Analyst Elias Youssef Bejjani said: "It is well known to all Middle East analysts and specialists as well as to Western and Arab countries that the majority of the terrorist and jihadist organizations all over the world, including al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas, are mere military tools and proxies that are found, financed, used, sponsored and fully controlled by rogue and dictatorial regimes, especially the two notorious regimes of Syria and Iran. Both Iran and Syria are alleged for patronizing the August 18 attack in Israel. The Syrian regime intended the attacks to detract the Arabic and global political pressures that President al-Assad is facing because of his ongoing criminal atrocities against the peaceful Syrian public uprising that has been escalating for the last five months and is seriously threatening to topple his regime.

"In the same realm, Iran which also is encountering immense internal and worldwide setbacks and problems did not dare to ask its militant proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, to attack Israel as al-Assad has been requesting because of the very serious Israeli warnings. Israel has made it very clear that her army will respond with extreme military harshness to any stupid Hezbollah attacks and stressed the fact that its response will include Syria itself."

He said "Like the Mafia which uses money, crime, fear, intimidation, and violence as instruments of pressure to buy silence from otherwise good and honorable people, the Syrian and Iranian regimes use their proxy terrorist organizations [Hamas, Hezbollah and new versions of al-Qaeda] as instruments of pressure on their neighboring countries and as bargaining tools in their foreign policy strategies that have earned them a "no questions asked" attitude from the Free World with regard to their bloody interference in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, the West Bank, Egypt, Kuwait, Yemen, South America and many other countries. In 1983, Syrian and Iranian terrorist proxies were responsible for bloody attacks against the American embassy, marine compound and French troops in Lebanon costing hundreds of Lebanese, French and American lives."

In another development Tunisia has become the latest country to summon back their ambassador in Damascus.

"In view of the serious developments in Syria, the Tunisian government has decided to recall its ambassador in Damascus for consultations," the Tunisian foreign ministry source said.

Tunis' move follows the earlier decision by other Gulf States including Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to summon back their respective ambassadors from Syria. It was apparently intended to convey widespread protest over the brutal suppression of protesters by government forces.

Adding to the chorus of protests against the embattled Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus, Saudi activists Wednesday urged Riyadh to throw out the Syrian ambassador. In a statement they said the al-Assad regime had lost its legitimacy and was killing defenseless civilians for retaining its stranglehold on power.

"We call upon the Saudi government to evict the ambassador of this [Syrian] regime that has lost its legitimacy and knows no language but that of guns and killing defenseless civilians," it said.

Meanwhile, Syria's football federation announced on Friday that their national team have been banned from the 2014 World Cup qualifiers by FIFA for fielding an ineligible player.

International media are continuing to publish commentaries about Washington's policy of supporting "Jasmine Revolution" in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, which they also see of spreading in a number of Arab countries in months. While India has already been uneasy about American patronized "Jasmine Revolution" in the Arab countries, the State Department has finally extended its support towards the anti-corruption movement of activist Anna Hazare, who now is sitting with thousands of his supporters with the fasting program against corruption.

The Anna Hazare has already spread in two of the South Asian nations, Pakistan and Bangladesh, which are infamous of high profile corruption in politics and bureaucracy. It is also indicated that, Anna's anti corruption movement may also spread in a number of Asian nations such as China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Philippines. South Korea, in particular is a nation, where state-level corruption as well as corruption in corporate level has reached to an alarming level. It is even believed that, a number of the mentioned nations are in reality continuing extreme dictatorship under the garb of democracy.

For example, Pakistan, which already is a failed state is under the governance of Pakistan People's Party [PPP], a party founded by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and now by his son-in-law, Asif Ali Zardari, who also is the President of Pakistan. It is documented that, Zulfiqar Ali's daughter Benazir Bhutto [who was assassinated few years back] is one of the worst corrupt politicians in South Asia. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari is proved to be the most corrupt person at home and abroad. On the other hand, the main opposition led by Mian Nawaz Sharif are no angels. Nawaz Sharif is also one of the top graded corrupt politicians in the world. Such painful situation prevails in most of the South Asian as well as Asian nations.

India has been seeing the fall of rulers in the Arab world, such as Tunisia, Egypt or lately Syria as American plan in toppling down secularist governments, while Washington is reluctant in taking similar actions against Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait or a number of Arab nations, where dynastic or dictatorial regime is grabbing power for decades.

New Delhi argues that democracy would result in conservative or fundamentalist political parties coming to power. These regimes, even if they remain democratic, would be sympathetic to pan-Islamic causes, fellow Muslim governments and possibly even terrorist groupings. Primary armed Libyan opposition is an al Qaeda affiliate. Similarly, those taking up arms against the Assad regime are part of one of the more militant arms of the Muslim Brotherhood. If the Arab spring is watered with blood, then it's militant Islam that gets most of the points.

Of Indian claim or assessment is correct, then there is valid reason to ask, if Washington or Obama administration is giving scope to fanatic Islamists to capture power in the Arab countries.

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Arab turmoil spreading in Asian neighbors

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