There is no point of being a legitimate president these days – Lessons from Syria and Turkey

I’ve been watching the events folding in the Middle East with a lot of interest. Not only because I’m a quasi-student of global affairs but also because the precedents that these events are setting might come and bite us in the behind. The ongoing civil war in Syria has been on our screens for about two years now and it doesn’t seem to be getting better. In fact, just a few weeks ago, the maverick of the US Senate, former Republican presidential nominee John McCain, travelled to the rebel-controlled zone where he met with their leaders. Senator McCain’s visit, while political theatre, makes one wonder what it means in terms of international policy and law. Say what you want about President Bashar al-Assad, the fact that he is the legitimate president of Syria isn’t in dispute. At least according to international law. However, we are now witnessing circumstances where he’s being treated like a pariah despite the fact that the other side isn’t exactly a collection of angels. Recently the European Union, which had earlier placed an arms embargo on Syria, rescinded that ban. The new decision will allow the rebels to access expensive weaponry in their fight against the government troops. How the EU came to such a decision is beyond me; does it expect that giving them arms will push them over the line? If they did, and do, then those guys in Brussels are more naïve than I thought. Any student of history will tell you that it is never a good idea to hand over high-tech weapons to rebels whose aims you don’t really understand. Especially when those rebels have links to Islamist militants. Remember who gave Al-Qaeda members its first ground-to-air missiles? It was the CIA who armed them during their guerilla war against the Soviet war machine in Afghanistan and we all know how that experiment with Bin Laden ended for all concerned. What makes those who want to arm the rebels think that this will go differently? Regime change is a very tricky business, especially in the Middle East. Better the devil you know. Funny enough, one of the most anti-Assad leaders in the region, Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing a similar challenge to his authority for a week now. Under the pretext of going against his government’s decision to convert Istanbul’s Gezi Park into a shopping mall, an amalgamation of liberals, university students, members of the middle class and football fans who hate the direction Erdogan’s AK Party, an Islamist party, is leading the country, have erected barricades around the area and sworn not to move. They don’t only oppose his construction plans; they hate the fact that he’s introducing Islamic practices into the formerly fiercely secular country. The problem is, he’s only doing what the people want. Since 2003, his party has won the general election three times with increasing majorities. What the government is facing is NOT a manifestation of democracy but rather a sneaky coup d’état. His opposition, hitherto unable to beat him in a free and fair election, is now using underhand methods to nullify the wishes of the people who voted for him; all this under the guise of civic disobedience and freedom. What bothers me the most is that this undemocratic move isn’t being scrutinised by the media and western politicians the way it should. Instead of questioning the motives of the demonstrators, there is unmitigated excitement on the part of the media and weak statements from the western governments. It is as if they wish PM Erdogan’s government to fail. Is it because it is Islamist in nature? I wouldn’t be surprised. Just look at how long it’s taken Turkey to get into the EU. Smaller, less strategic nations have got in. But Turkey? No. The situations that Assad and Erdogan find themselves in have made me ask myself, does it matter whether a government is legitimate anymore? Especially when it is ‘unpopular’ to the powers that be? How can some of those so-called ‘powerful’ countries preach democracy to us when they change tack whenever it suits them? It seems to me that whenever interests come in the way of democracy and legitimacy, the latter always lose out. What lessons can we take from this? The only way that our countries can survive and thrive is to act out of self-interest. We cannot please anyone except ourselves. We shouldn’t think that international rules and norms will help us because they will not. Those norms only apply to the strong. Not all of us. C’est la vie, as the French say. Twitter: @sannykigaliBlog: sunnyntayombya.wordpress.com

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There is no point of being a legitimate president these days – Lessons from Syria and Turkey