'Those who know how much I oppose Assad already know that I didn’t go, and those who don’t know can keep their illusions,” he said.'
That's the truth of these elections, that most Syrians won't vote, and many of those who do do only because they are scared of torture and murder by a state that does so all the time. Not so Robert Fisk*. He thinks that those who voted are good Arabs who are Western democrats like us, while the bad Arabs are scary in their Islamic clothes. I've seen a lot of people write a lot of ignorant things about Syrians, that those who are fighting Assad are jihadists and proxies for America, but this is one of the most blatantly racist things I've seen in the mainstream media.
"Is it by chance that the Arab peoples who were influenced by European politics over the past 150 years - the ones who generally wear Western clothes rather than Arab robes and whose forefathers read Voltaire and Rousseau and the great Victorians - imbibed the ideals of representative government? And does this explain why the Gulf Arabs, proud in their 'abayas', largely - but not entirely - show little interest in parliamentary democracy?"
The Independent did at least print this letter** from the Chief of Staff to the president of the Syrian Opposition Coalition,
"Assad caused the negotiations in Geneva to collapse by refusing to accept political transition as per the Geneva Communiqué road map. Since it seems that he only understands force, the West should help the moderate opposition with arms and training.
If Assad is not tackled, he will end up ruling over a brutalised and devastated section of Syria, and continue with his war, causing the escalation of a historic-scale humanitarian catastrophe, and also the strengthening of extremists, as moderates are frustrated and weakened."
*[http://www.independent.co.uk/…/syria-election-bombs-and-the…]
**[http://www.independent.co.uk/…/letters-breakaway-london-goo…]
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