William Hague has chimed in on
the situation in Syria, unsurprisingly condemning the horror and bloodshed being perpetrated by al-Assad’s regime. But considerably more significant is the statement that has today been released by the Arab League. Although the text doesn’t mention al-Assad by name, it clearly has the Syrian autocrat in
mind when it calls on “Arab regimes and governments to commit to and speed up reforms, [and to] immediately stop using force against demonstrators and spare their citizens bloodshed.” And
it goes further, too, in defending the political — and moral — legitimacy of the protests, saying that the unrest blazing across the Middle East heralds “a new Arab era …
led by youths seeking a better present and a brighter future.”
Words, even righteous ones, won’t defend the Syrian people from the brutality of al-Assad. Yet these particular words still carry some force. It was, really, only once the Arab League gave its backing to a no-fly zone over Libya that the Western powers were able to sign one into being. The body’s support was the key legitimating factor that Britain and France, in particular, were seeking. Not that the same will happen in the case of Syria, of course. But with its support, albeit rhetorical, for the protestors — and its warnings against Iran and, now, Syria — the Arab League is tentatively putting itself on the side of democracy. If it stays there, sincerely, once the revolutionary fires have dwindled, then it could be a prominent actor for good in the region.
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