As hundreds of thousands of migrants, most of them Syrians escaping a long and brutal civil war at home, knocked at the doors of Europe arriving by ramshackle boats, many perishing at sea, to live in peace, the Ummah's supreme body, Organisation of Islamic Countries, stirred into action deciding to hold an emergency meeting. OIC Secretary General Iyad Madani issued a statement before the event advising the international community to act in "humanitarian spirit" and "human dignity" in dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis. In case anyone had doubts why these people were fleeing, he explained, they are not responsible for starting the conflict in their homeland. Who bears the responsibility and what needs to be done was made clear by the 'Ummah' leadership at the OIC executive committee meeting at its General Secretariat in Jeddah.
The final communiqué emerging out of the September 13 meeting, of course, laid the entire blame for the Syrian exodus squarely on the shoulders of President Bashar al-Assad. "The root cause of the humanitarian crisis facing the Syrian people is the war crimes committed by the regime in Syria," declared the OIC worthies. They did not want to take any credit for their own effort. The truth of the matter though is that when four years ago a pro-democracy movement surfaced in Syria, the Sunni Gulf states worked hard to get hold of jihadists - religious extremists the likes of the al-Nusra Front - and provide them with training, arms and finances to go oust the Assad regime. The US and its European allies provided the same service to some 'moderate' groups while preparing to launch aerial bombing too. Soon enough, the protest movement turned into a bloody civil war. Better motivated religious extremists came to dominate the 'moderate' opposition fighters, taking over control of the areas wrested from the government forces.
Raising the slogan 'Shias to the grave and Christians to Lebanon', the extremists went on a killing spree. Countless members of the minority communities were massacred. Realising the dangers involved, Western backers of the rebels had second thoughts about bombing Syrian government forces. That made a certain kingdom very, very angry at its long-time ally and patron, the US. For, letting Assad stay would mean allowing Iran enhance its influence in the region. The real problem was not the government in Damascus but the one in Tehran. It had to be stopped at all costs, even if that meant offering generous concessions to Syria's other more powerful supporter, Russia. That did not work, either. The only option left was to continue bolstering the extremist fighters. Never mind the death and destruction the war brought to the Syrian people who had wanted only democratic reforms. In its place they got blood-thirsty religious extremists who despise social freedoms and draw special satisfaction from oppressing religious minorities. Thanks to the Sunni monarchies' contribution, the civil war in Syria raged on and on. ISIS, emerging from the aftermath of US invasion and occupation of Iraq, took advantage of the ensuing chaos to push into the country and establish its capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa.
It is worthwhile to note also that whilst the regime was accused (it has its own share of crimes) of a chemical weapons attack on a neighbourhood outside Damascus and consequently forced to give up its chemical weapons stockpile for destruction, later reports told a different story. The markings on them showed they were supplied by Russia to the Qadhafi regime from where the Western-backed jihadists participating in Qadhafi regime's ouster brought them into Syria. A few days ago, a BBC report on continued chemical attacks said the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) looked at three of these alleged attacks and told the UN they have "a high degree of confidence that chlorine has been used repeatedly and systematically as a weapon" in Syria. The same report also quoted a chemical weapons expert as saying there is "very strong and compelling evidence" that mustard gas has been used in a recent attack blamed on the Islamic State militants. "For the children of Syria" said the BBC's Ian Pannell "it is not the high seas they must fear but death on dry land," ie, on their own land. Death comes not only from barrel bombs dropped by the regime, but from lethal chemical and other weapons supplied to the rebels by certain OIC members and Western countries, a lot of which have fallen into the hands of IS. Further aggravating the situation is Turkey, which has jumped into the fray to bomb the Kurds fighting the IS.
Interestingly, a lengthy communiqué issued by the OIC committee called for a transitional government (of course, of their choosing) with full executive power in place of the Assad regime so as to "allow building a new Syrian state based on a pluralistic, democratic, and civilian system grounded in the rule of law, equality before the law, and respect for human rights." The talk of these high sounding democratic ideals emanating from Jeddah is touching, indeed. Apparently, it is for the same reason a Saudi-led coalition has been subjecting the people of Yemen to incessant bombing campaign for the last five months, and back in 2011 sent in troops to Bahrain to help the royal family there crush the Pearl Revolution. The coalition - it includes General Sisi's Egypt - busy bombing Yemen says it won't rest until the 'elected' Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur is restored to power. The Gulf monarchies surely are committed to defeating the Assad regime in Syria and the Houthis in Yemen even as these countries' people keep getting killed and survivors losing hope of living in peace. The accomplishment of an extraordinary mission like putting Iran in its place requires sacrificing ordinary lives. After all, every great mission demands sacrifices, doesn't it? Clearly, for the Sunni monarchies, the migrant crisis is a minor side-effect of a higher cause.
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