Arab commentators lose faith in diplomacy with Assad

A sad first anniversary is being marked in the Arab press for the Syrian uprising Thursday.

London-based daily Al-Hayat writes that the Syrian army has decided to mark the occasion by storming the city of Daraa, where the uprising began one year ago. According to the daily, the Syrian army clashed on Wednesday with the opposition Free Syrian Army, killing nine defectors and 11 civilians in Daraa.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a hard-line daily based in London, reports the resignation of three central members of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC). Two of the men, Haitham Maleh and Kamal Libwani, posted criticism on their Facebook pages of the authoritarian character of SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun.

Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera reports that the Syrian army has taken full control of the city of Idlib, which had been an opposition stronghold. Many cities in Syria are now suffering a humanitarian crisis, claims the channel in a video report, displaying long lines of Syrians awaiting distribution of bread.

Al-Jazeera’s competition, Dubai-based Al-Arabiya, displays a state-of-the-art graphics screen indicating the layout of Syria’s opposition brigades on a map of the country.

In an editorial titled “Annan’s mission and the losing gamble,” Al-Hayat columnist Hussan Haidar claims that the international community was mistaken in counting on a diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis.

“For those who don’t know the regime in Damascus, deceit and use of vague and distorted formulas… is a central part of its tactics and strategy, its past and present,” Haidar writes.

“Annan’s mission has shown that negotiating with Assad is a waste of time. The makeup of his regime and his background allow him nothing but continuing the violence and holding on to power. We hope he will not succeed in acquiring a new extension from the international community.”

Those thoughts exactly are echoed in a Sharq Al-Awsat editorial titled “The Assad regime is truly a non-paper” by editor Tariq Al-Homayed. Homayed writes that “we are facing a useless diplomatic stage between the international community and Bashar Assad, who is trying to buy time as is his practice.”

Hamas is the new PA

An interesting editorial in Al-Quds Al-Arabi Wednesday equates the position of Hamas in Gaza today to that of the Palestinian Authority seven years ago, before it was displaced by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“History repeats itself more or less. Hamas has replaced the PA, and the Islamic Jihad replaced Hamas as it was before ascending to a position of power in administering the Gaza Strip. There is one basic difference, though, which is that Hamas continues to believe in resistance and adopts it as a strategic choice, and will not sign any agreements recognizing Israel.”

Israel, opines the editorial, was certainly not the winner of the last round of violence with Gaza.

“The Israelis believe they have won in the last round, but this is a false sense of victory. Because their Iron Dome, which they brag can stop resistance missiles, is not highly capable. Besides, what will this dome do if Hezbollah launches hundreds or thousands of missiles daily along with mortar shells which cannot be intercepted?”

Yemen establishes first Salafi party

A new Salafi party was established in Yemen, Al-Arabiya reports Thursday. The Yemeni Islamic fundamentalists announced the new party in a two-day conference in Sanaa Wednesday, under the banner “Salafis and political action.”

This conference is a turning point in Yemen’s political scene, writes Al-Arabiya, with Salafis now engaging in issues that were banned before.

“The people want to switch to a civil state that will serve them, to a state of institutions with separation of powers, to transparency, and to fighting corruption,” said Aqil Maqtari, a Salafi activist. But is that really all the new party will bring to the table?

Ahmadinejad mocks his parliament

The historic questioning of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by parliament on Wednesday is widely covered by Arab press Thursday.

Al-Jazeera quotes some of the provocative and ironic statements directed at the parliament, but buries the angry reaction by some parliamentarians deep inside the article. A-Sharq Al-Awsat, on the other hand, places it in its headline: “Iranian parliament questions Ahmadinejad and parliament members angry at his cynicism.”

The photo acompanying the story displays a smug Ahmadinejad walking confidently across the parliament floor. Parliament members are blaming the president for mismanaging the economy and making “improper [political] appointments,” the daily writes.

Some parliamentarians even vowed to isolate the president following his appearance, Al-Hayat writes.