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Counter Revolution by any other name would still look as Suspicious

Nizar Awad - 4/23/2011

Counter revolution as I see it refers to activities or positions adopted by governments, media or individuals to downplay or reverse gains by a given revolution. Nowadays counter revolutions are escalating rapidly in Arab countries that are more or less embroiled in popular uprising or full scale revolutions including Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria and Jordan.

Counter revolutions are not a product or even a byproduct of revolutions but rather pre-exist revolutions, coexist with revolutions and even in some cases post-exist revolutions. The post-existence of counter revolutions could happen due to the co-option, neutralization or annihilation of popular revolts. In some cases even when revolutions triumph, counter revolutionary advocates could still continue to function in the form of opposition groups whether inside or outside the state. When open opposition is not an option counter revolutionaries could resort to clandestine activities by engaging the state in propagandist war of words or escalate the confrontation into guerrilla or full scale warfare. As a matter of fact revolutions and counter revolutions could coincide and even co function in such a way that the line of separation between the two becomes blurred. Due to fact that the term counter revolution entails multiple definitions and functions it is important to focus on counter revolutionary activities endorsed by Arab states be they immersed in popular uprising or simply adopting pre-emptive measures to avoid similar uprisings at home. Along with looking at counter revolutionary programs adopted by some national and international media it is also as important to look at how certain states which are directly or indirectly involved in Arab uprisings are also taking part in counter revolutionary activities in subsiding or sustained conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East. In this case the counter revolutionary activities to look at are first those devised and implemented or even enforced by Arab states. Second, counter revolutionary incitements in both visual and written medias propagated by satellite TVs stations and Websites. Third, overt or covert counter revolutionary activities involving several sates outside of the Arab world.

When it comes to Arab instate or interstate counterrevolutionary activities there are several examples to pick from. In terms of instate counterrevolutionary confrontations these would include intermittent skirmishes between demonstrators and security forces as in the case of Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen. These confrontations which claimed many lives are engineered with the consent of former heads of states such Bin Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt or embattled heads of state such as President Ali Abdullah Salih of Yemen. This type of armed confrontation could escalate to unprecedented levels as in the case of Gathafi’s all out war on the Libyan people which had already claimed more than ten thousand lives. When it comes to interstate counter revolutionary intervention the most immediate example that comes to mind is the recent foray into Bahrain by the Arab Peninsula Shield (Dar’ al-Jazeera) force spearheaded by mostly Saudi security forces to subdue the uprising by the mostly Shi’a population. Even though the grievances behind the uprising are legitimate and involved Sunna (followers of the prophetic traditions) and Shi’a (followers of prophet Muhammad, his cousin and son in law Ali and their descendents) however members of the Peninsula joint command interfered under the pretext that the Bahrainis demands for reform are essentially sectarian and therefore instigated by Iran and neighboring Shi’a populations in Iraq and Lebanon.

Moreover Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, Jordan’s king Abdullah II and Algeria’s president Boutaflika whose governments are inching closer to direct and sustained confrontations with their revolting populations, have been pursuing policies that can be described as that of “the carrot and the stick”. They are pursuing two simultaneous counterrevolutionary approaches which involve the use of their heavy handed security forces to crack down on demonstrators and at the same time pursuing pre-emptive measures to contain revolts by promising to accede to some and not all of their people’s demands. These measures include the lifting of emergency laws (Syria’s draconian emergency laws have been in place since 1963), combating rising unemployment and promises to implement policies which would allow for certain degrees of freedom and democratic reforms. These proposed policies could be serious or simply charades to buy time which would enable these regimes to wither the storm for now and that would most likely be scraped later. Only time would tell. I personally have my doubts regarding the sincerity of the Syrian and the Algerian regimes. While al-Assad and Boutaflika are promising their people openness and reforms they are at the same time providing the regime of Gathafi with mercenaries and weapons to massacre his own people. Could they be thinking that once Gathafi, God forbid survives his ordeal he would eventually return their favors just when they are ready to lower the boom on their own restive populations.

Some media outlets both national and international have been contributing to counter revolutionary activities. Arab regimes are known to control all media outlets which they have been putting to full use to back and support their counter revolutions. When one watches reports of unfolding events on state televisions say in Libya or Yemen then watch reports on similar events on international satellite TV such as al-Jazeera, one would encounter two totally different worlds. While al-Jazeera shows death and destruction being visited upon the Libyan people by the ruthless regime of Gathafi, the Libyan TV mostly shows supporters of Gathafi singing and dancing outside the residence of Gathafi in camp Bab al-Azayziya as there is no tomorrow or for that matter no war raging just kilometers away from their hangout.

International satellite stations including the Qatari al-Jazeera and the Iranian al-Alam (the world), which have been closely monitoring the developments in all the Arab countries affected by the rising tides of popular discontent, have lately veered from their roles as objective observers to expressing opinions that could be interpreted as counterrevolutionary. When influential and popular TV stations focusing on escalating events in North Africa and the Middle East start to inexplicably retract or downplay earlier positions in support of beleaguered Arab masses in Libya for example and instead adopt what appear to be reconciliatory and counterrevolutionary approaches to the conflict, that alone would raise eye brows and even viewed as suspicious. Lately while al-Jazeera has increasingly been casting doubt on the abilities of the Libyan and Yemeni peoples to achieve the goals of their revolutions and is hinting at possible reconciliation between the revolutionaries and their outcast regimes, the Iranian al-Alam is obviously abandoning urgent and serious developments on the ground in Syria, Libya and Yemen and instead retreating back to the usual anti-Western anti-American rhetoric. I can’t help but wonder whether al-Alam prefers that NATO scales back its involvements in Libya to the detriment of the besieged Libyan populations in Masrata, Zawiya, Zwara and Ajdabiya. When one watches al-Alam these days one would be shocked when listening to the counterrevolutionary reports describing the Syrian uprisings as being planned and carried out by armed members of al-Qaeda or other radical Islamist or by the West including but not limited to the United States and of course the state of Israel just to make sure that what they are presenting to the world is an air tight case aimed at discrediting the genuine aspirations of our people in Syria. Al-Alam continues to expose the atrocities of Arab regimes in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain but when it comes to Iran’s ally Syria the TV station seems to take its cue from the Syrian embattled regime of Bashar al-Assad in the capital Damascus. Please al-Jazeera and al-Arabia try to make the salvation of Arab populations your priorities and I can assure you that once humanitarian crises are over there will be plenty of time to go back to politics as usual. I promise.

The survey of what are identified as counterrevolutionary influences on revolutionary activities would not be complete without the inclusion of state-sponsored counterrevolutionary interventions. Since the passing of the UNSC Resolution 1973 to impose a no fly zone on the Libyan government, member states have assigned to themselves variable roles that range from supporting the measure, objecting to the measure or remaining neutral. However once NATO and Gathafi forces along with the Libyan revolutionaries began to mix it up we have been witnessing constant reshuffling of stances and statements on the part of many countries including Russia, Germany, China and Turkey among others. What should really matter when it comes to the constant squabbling over the extent and priorities of the UNSC and NATO involvements in Libya is that such incessant quarreling is not only emboldening Gathafi but also providing him with ample time to replenish and rearm his troops and continue his assaults in on our Libyan people. How, could Germany, Russia, China and Turkey be turning a blind eye to the killing of the Libyans and are instead calling for dialogues with Gathafi? It is truly a very sad day when countries as significant as the ones mentioned above turn to counterrevolutionary measures only to sustain and preserve their economic interest while overlooking the human suffering right before their eyes.

The Libyan conflict that could have already been resolved is actually entering its second month with mounting loss of lives and monumental loss of livelihoods. I wish that the leaders and people of these particular countries would take the time to reflect on the genocides that took place in their countries. Maybe if the Turkish PM Rajab Tayeb Erdogan and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel would revisit the Nazi Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, they would drop their efforts to initiate dialogues with the already discredited Gathafi regime and focus instead on saving the Libyan people. These countries and their heads of state should know that helping dislodge the autocratic Gathafi regime is a win-win endeavor. By becoming actively involved in the battle for Libya they would help get rid of a dangerous man and make the world safe for democracy and they would also help establish a stable and democratic government that would ensure their economic interests in the country.