Syria: Will warring factions heed Pope\\\'s call for peace?

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury | Published: May 27, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Pope Francis called for immediate peace in strife-torn Syria as he arrived in Jordan on Saturday (May 24) to see for himself the Syrian refugees, now sheltered in Jordan. The Pope expressed deep anguish and frustration over the unremitting civil war in Syria that has claimed more than 1,45,000 lives and forced nearly ten million people to take refuge elsewhere like neighbouring countries Turkey and Jordan. He also stressed the need for a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that is also spilling blood in the region.
The devastating Syrian civil war entered into the fourth year more than two months ago. The uprising in Syria began on March 11, 2011 as a sequel to the 'Arab Spring' sweeping through the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Contending parties are showing no sign of slackening of the war while efforts have only floundered with the government and the rebels accusing each other for failure of talks.
The failure of the second international peace conference on Syria, held in Geneva in February last, has caused frustration and anger in all the concerned quarters of the conflict and consequently, the civil war seems to be getting further intensified. While varying interpretations were given about the extent of the collapsed talks, the Syrian rebels consider that the war would continue and little prospects exist for its cessation. They are putting pressures on their international backers for arms as the regime of President Bashar al-Assad appears relatively more comfortable at the moment.
The much-awaited peace talks on the complex Syrian tangle ended in Geneva without making any headway. Even though both the government and the rebel sides tried to put up a brave face following the week-long talks with both sticking to their respective positions, UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said the inconclusive discussions have made no progress, but everything is not lost.
The delegation of President Assad ruled out any major concessions to the rebels in the future while the other side initially boasted it was due to their victory that the regime had been forced to negotiating table. Their positions are vastly different as no side is willing to give an impression that they ceded ground. The second Geneva talks took place after painstaking efforts, as the UN-brokered meeting was supported by two world powers - the US and Russia. No dates could be fixed for the next round of discussions. But peace efforts have already suffered another setback as Lakdhar Brahimi, the veteran Algerian diplomat, quit as the UN peace envoy apparently in utter disgust. Earlier, Kofi Annan, the former UN chief, had also quit his mission driven by frustration.
The warring sides of the Syrian conflict finally met in Geneva after the United Nations peace envoy could avert a collapse in the crucial talks as initially  the two sides refused to meet in the same room and preferred to talk through mediators. The rebels wanted a commitment from the powers, which mediated the peace talks, that President Assad agree to a transition government in Syria and steps down to facilitate the process of reconciliation. Not surprisingly, the regime considered such an attitude as unacceptable and a deadlock persisted over the start of the crucial talks. Fortunately, the perilous situation was salvaged, thanks to the efforts of Lakdhar Brahmi, who made great efforts in convincing both the sides for adopting conciliatory approach for larger interests. But nothing tangible emerged.
The rebels fighting the regime of Assad are hell-bent on their demand that he quit power, but the Damascus government is equally adamant not to give in as its feels that the regime is firm in the saddle. It is in this diametrically opposite position adopted by the two sides,  the 'Geneva -1' talks took place earlier without any progress and later the 'Geneva-2' talks ended amid a growing necessity of a breakthrough in the conflict which is becoming increasingly bloody, causing all-round destruction.
Major global powers, taking sides of the warring parties in Syria, are involved in the peace talks with the United States supporting the rebels and Russia, most ardent backer of the regime, spearheading the mediation in the talks. But Washington and Moscow have also accused each other for failure of the discussions. The Ukraine crisis has relegated the Syrian war to the background to some extent and the US-Russia ties grew more bitter because of this crisis.
Despite huge differences on the reasons of the Syrian war, the US and Russia are sparing no efforts to convince the regime and the rebels for discussions to settle the crisis. But after the failure of the Geneva meeting, it is unclear how they can pursue the peace efforts. The Ukraine crisis also affected the Washington-Moscow ties.
As the 'Geneva-2' international peace conference on Syria ended, the government of Assad looked confident in remaining power and said it took part in the talks for the reason that it wanted peace. Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said no major concessions would be given to the rebels as the Syrian government made no concession to Israel in the last 25 years and also to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan in recent times. He was emboldened by the fact that the government troops achieved a symbolic victory in the Hom city a few weeks ago when the rebels left it following an understanding with the Damascus authority.
But Ahmad Jarba, the Syrian opposition leader, said that fighting would now further escalate and the regime would be forced to give concessions. He assured the rebels that they would receive more arms in the near future.
Meanwhile, the  prospects of a fresh round of talks on the Syrian conflict look bleak as the US and Russia are now engaged in the Ukraine crisis in which Moscow is directly involved while the US and its allies  have thrown their entire weight behind the pro-West new government in Kiev. This means that they would now have little time to think about the Syrian civil war. This means that now they would have little time to think of the Syrian war which looks certain to continue taking more blood and causing larger destruction.
The appeal by the Pope for cessation of the Syrian war is likely to fall on the deaf ears as the warring factions and their foreign backers seem least interested for making concessions to facilitate a resolution. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the plea by the Pope may a positive impact in the efforts for peace in Syria.  
zaglulchowdhury@yahoo.com