Baku, Azerbaijan, March 27
By Azer Ahmadbayli – Trend:
No pain, no gain. Damascus's sluggish reaction to Washington's recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights predetermines the reaction and further attitude of other Arab countries to this issue.
The response of Turkey, Iran, Russia and a number of other countries to the decision of President Trump has been more clear and consistent.
Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu blasted “some Arab countries” for their silence on President Trump’s decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over occupied Golan Heights, Anadolu Agency reports. He said even the European Union is reacting but “some Arab countries” are unable to raise their voice due to fear of the US and Israel, Middle East Monitor wrote.
I don’t believe that’s because of their fear of the US and Israel but because of their indifference to the issue as a result of the land owner’s indifference.
One can justify the position of Damascus by the fact that the country is weakened by the civil war and is not capable of any decisive moves now. But that would be half-true or even untrue, because for 52 years Syrian authorities have never tried to retake the Golan from Israel, since the 6-day war of 1967.
Representatives of the Syrian opposition believe that the Syrian regime has never been interested in the return of the Golan Heights. Naji Mustafa, a spokesman for the opposite National Liberation Front, told Anadolu Agency that the Syrian regime is using the Golan Heights problem to "suppress any potential uprisings in the country."
He also believes that Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, in due time secretly sold that piece of land to Israel.
According to him, the regime of Bashar al-Assad has never tried to politically defend the problem of the Golan on international scene and has not taken any action against Israel.
"The Assad regime never wanted to return the Golan," he said. "Rather, he used the problem as an 'external threat' against his people."
Some time ago, President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and now he has recognized Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights. Tomorrow, who knows, he can do the same towards the West bank.
Arabs should be grateful to Mr. Trump for his efforts to wake them up and revive the once-existing Arab unity. But it seems that the Arabs are unable to pass this exam.