Adonis Diaries

The Secular Free Syria Nation Movement: A synthesis of a popular political resolution?

The “citizens” of the “independent” recognized States in the Middle East are not enjoying this UN status.

Since after WWII, the citizens in the States of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine and Kuwait have experienced calamities in military coup, dictatorship, absolute monarchies, civil wars, foreign preemptive wars and occupations…

If the citizens in each one of these States (recognized or not by the UN) has to fathom “What wrong with us”  and try to take stock of his strengths and weaknesses, his capabilities and limitations… the citizen will feel totally desolate, helpless and dillusioned about the future in any which way he projects himself in the future and the “State of Union“.

One excellent alternative is to consider the perspective of sharing the experiences of the last 8 decades among the citizens of these States, communicate our idiosyncrasies that we acquired for centuries, and reach a resolution for tight cooperation among all these States.

The political leaders in these countries mostly failed to walk the tight rope between affirming self-autonomy and negotiating the “interests” of the many former mandated powers.

The “citizens” in the Near East and Middle East (ME) in general, experienced many military coup d’états since 1949, and the kinds of democracies they expected were short-lived, baffled by the foreign colonial powers, which didn’t appreciate any forms of smooth transition of powers and the establishment of durable State institutions.

A century ago, the people in Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Iraq identified themselves as one people and called themselves Syrians, even if they had the Ottoman passport.

The colonial powers of France and England tried hard for over 2 centuries to deconstruct the unity of the Syrian people in their customs, traditions and life style: They succeeded in dividing the Syrian Nation into smaller States such as in Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Kuwait (supposedly based on religious sects), but failed in further subdivisions in Syria and Iraq, though the political will of the colonial powers was there. The refusal of the people in Syria and Iraq to be citizens in small entities foiled the grand strategy.

The colonial powers, including the US, the Soviet Union and the nascent Israeli State in the last half century, managed to destabilize these States for another century, prevented the establishment of democratic and institutional structures by various economic, military and political interventions. And frequent preemptive wars, and frequent embargoes on foodstuff and financial transactions…

A popular political resolution among the secular political parties and associations is making inroads amid this tumultuous period of recurring civil wars and frequent superpower preemptive wars in this region.

A popular political resolution is fed up of the defunct notion of Arabic Nation and surely refuse this novelty of Islamic Umma, which is reminiscent of the archaic Arabic empires.

A popular political resolution is endeavoring for a long-term political and economic education:

1. Any military strike on any of these States is an aggression on every one of the 6 recognized States

2. Any military coup on a State is a foreign intervention in every one of the 6 States

3. Any set of economic and financial embargo on a State is an internal meddling with the 6 States

4. Every attack on the currency of a State is an attack on the currencies of the 6 States

The resolution is not meant to constitute a political entity, but a unity in the realization that targeting citizens in one State is targeting every one of the 60 million citizens in their dignity and daily welfare.

The resolution is to open up the internal market for the 60 million for free trade in order for emerging companies and industry to take off. Otherwise, all the innovation, development, opportunities and intellectual potentials are vain without the support of an internal market to boost any economy…

The trend is to encourage frequent meeting by parliaments and governments in the 6 States to negotiate legislation and decisions that open up the internal market of the 6 States and facilitate transport, communication and free travel of the citizens…

Internal Free-Trade Zones

Why free-trade zones?

Most of the recognized States by the United Nations in the Middle East were not naturally and normally constituted, and the borders are artificially delimited: The States  were divided up by the mandatory European nations of Britain, France and the active participation of the USA, after the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire lost the war in the WWI by siding with Germany.

There are many ethnic, emotional, economic, linguistic, and historical intermingling and rivalries among these States, and free trade zones are transitional zones for frequent easy and efficient ways among the traders and companies to meet, mingle and share ideas and plans for the internal market.

The free trade zones ARE OPPORTUNITY FOR GOVERNMENT TO negotiate common trade laws and facilitate interrelationship

The internal free trade zones could be:

One: The Basra region between Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait could alleviate recurring conflicts.

Two: Between Iraq, Syria, and Jordan, where their frontiers intersect artificially, a free-trade zone would encourage commerce in that desolate area.

Three: Daraa, the Golan Heights and Houran between Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon share borders

Four: Between Syria and Lebanon there are potential two zones (the northern Lebanese frontiers of Akkar, and the south-eastern Bekaa Valley with Shebaa Farms).

Five: The Deir Zur region in north east Syria on the Euphrates River can be an good free zone between Iraq and Syria

What are the processes for initiating these free-trade zones?

After a period of three years of ironing out details and instituting regulations with special passports or identity cards for the inhabitants of the zones, then all the zones between two states can be merged.

It is only normal that contiguous zones common to three States could eventually be merged and a belt of uninterrupted contiguous zones would form the natural borders of the Middle East.

As was done in Europe, let commerce and industry form the basis for these zones, which should generate rational cooperative decisions for our future.

What kinds of Free-Trade Zones?

The concept of a free-zone is to create a magnate cities, self-autonomous city, with laws and regulations agreed upon among the States.

Ultimately, an economic union could emerge, based on a set of procedures and processes that works, which form a firm ground to negotiating common interests, and disseminating common laws and regulations valid in the various lands.

I like to envision the creations of external free-trade zones among the States of Turkey, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and Cyprus. The next posts will develop more on the current political resolution…

The potential “Free trade zones” with neighboring States could be: in Iskandaron (Alexandretta) between Turkey and Syria on the coast, one at the junction among Turkey, Iraq, and Syria (in the Kurdish populated zone), one between Syria and Iraq in the desert region on the Euphrates River, one among Jordan, Syria and Iraq, one in Gaza between Egypt and Palestine, and one in Aqaba between Jordan and Saudi-Arabia.

Potential Free Trade Zones in the Syrian Nation: https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/free-trade-zones-in-the-middle-east/

Note: A partial map showing how the gas pipelines are meant to converge to Syria, bypassing Turkey, and Why Saudi Arabia and Qatar are angry that Assad refused their preconditions… Take three minutes to listen 3 minutes pour comprendre : les enjeux énergétiques de la guerre