Syria: One-eyed quest for democracy

The first Arab League accounts of what is going on in Syria have been met with both widespread disbelief and discontent. Experts say the opposition only wants to hear what falls in its version of the events.

The reports from Syria have been very controversial, with human rights activists claiming fresh casualties and Arab League observers reporting that nothing too severe happening in the country.Activists say that over a hundred people have been killed by security forces since Tuesday when the Arab observers began their fact-finding mission in Syria's flashpoints.On Friday, mass marches were held across Syria amid fresh reports of violent crackdowns against protesters. The anti-regime choir was joined by those who are dissatisfied with the Arab League observations in the country. The opposition is accusing the observers of aligning with the Syrian regime, but political analyst Kamel Wazne says the reason for that is that the opposition wants “to hear one thing and nothing else.”He also sees the United States behind the whole propaganda war in Syria. “They (the United States) don`t want to see a settlement in what is taking place in Syria and they are instigating things in the media,” he explained.“Somebody in the West, in the United States, decided they don`t want the regime of Bashar Assad and they want to topple the regime,” he added.Another journalist Ramzy Baroud also thinks the United States is involved in the Syrian conflict, but the real concern is that “we do not know what the Americans are cooking right now.”“Obviously they are thinking of a much greater political context than Syria, they are thinking Iran, they are thinking of the stability of Iraq in post-American withdrawal and they are also – and most importantly – thinking Israel.” “Americans are worried about Israeli security,” he said, adding that they have “very little concern about democracy or human rights anywhere else in the Middle East.”