A 14-year-old child had written a line on the wall of a school inside Syria. That line written in Arabic means, “Now it’s your turn, Doctor…” People used to call Bashar-al-Assad, the President of Syria till yesterday, by the name of Doctor, who studied ophthalmology from London. . How did a 14 year old schoolboy destroy a 54 year old dictatorial regime? How despite Russia’s support, Bashar-al-Assad had to leave Syria and take refuge in Russia? To know the answers to these questions and understand the whole story, we will have to go back 54 years.
The matter is of 13 November 1970. Hafiz al-Assad was the Chief of the Syrian Air Force. He had a good hold in the army. Taking advantage of this, on November 13, 1970, Hafiz Assad declared himself the President of Syria in a coup by overthrowing the then government. However, at that time people did not expect that Hafiz would be able to remain dictator for long. The reason for this was that Syria has been a country populated by Sunnis since the beginning. The population of Sunnis in Syria is about 74 percent. Whereas the population of Shias is 16 percent. Hafiz Asad was a Shia. He also knew that Sunnis could protest at any time.
Therefore, after the coup, Hafiz Assad started crushing Sunnis. From the very beginning, he was accused of giving favor to Shias in everything from Constitution to jobs, army and other policies. But due to his strong hold on the army, his power remained intact. Hafiz al-Assad died in 2000 after ruling Syria for nearly 30 years. After him, his son Bashir al-Assad sat on the throne of Syria as President. For the next 10 years, Bashar al-Assad also continued to suppress every protest due to his father’s policies and tactics. Father and son together had eliminated the opposition.
At that time two things happen simultaneously. From 2006 to 2010, there was a drought in Syria due to less rainfall. People start dying of hunger. They feel that if there had been no dictatorship, perhaps their life would have been better. For the first time, suppressed anger begins to erupt in the hearts of people against Bashar. Coincidentally, at this very time a movement had also started in Arabia. This movement, known as Arab Spring, started in those countries where there was dictatorship for a long time. Within no time, people took to the streets in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. Its result was shocking for the world.
A 14 year old kid wrote on the wall… Now it’s your turn doctor!
What happened was that Ben Ali, who was in power in Tunisia for 23 years, had to flee the country. Colonel Gaddafi was killed by the people in Libya. Hosni Mubarak, who was Egypt’s dictator for 30 years, also had to flee the country. Now since all this was happening around Syria. Therefore, for the first time, Bashar al-Assad also realized this danger. He felt that people should not revolt in Syria also. Assad was scared. At the same time, he ordered his army to keep a close watch on the entire Syria. Whoever raises voice against the government should be crushed. Till then Syria was peaceful.
By the end of 2010, Assad felt that everything was fine, but then a 14-year-old child did something that forced Bashar al-Assad to flee Syria after 13 years. Yes, a 14 year old child destroyed an entire government of 54 years. On February 26, 2011, in Daraa, northern Syria, a 14-year-old boy, Muawiya Siyasane, writes a line on the wall of his school, “Now it’s your turn, doctor…” Since Bashar al-Assad was also called a doctor by his close friends, so Whoever read this line in Dara city understood its meaning.
Syria’s dictatorial government brutalized the child like this
In fact, after the end of many dictators of Arab countries, this line clearly meant that now it is the turn of Bashar al-Assad government. As soon as Dara’s people read this line on the wall, everyone got scared. Muawiya’s father hid his own son. But Dara’s security chief got information about this line written on the wall. The very next day i.e. on 27 February 2011, a total of 15 children from the school were abducted by Assad’s forces. Muawiya was also among them. After this, there is no end to the atrocities that were inflicted on these children. His nails were scratched. They were soaked in water and given currents.
Those children were hung upside down. The people of Dara started a peaceful demonstration demanding the release of these children. But the children were not spared. On the contrary, Assad’s army openly told the parents of the children to forget their children. Have other children and if you can’t, then leave your women with us. The lines written on the walls about atrocities on children had spread from Daraa to different cities of Syria. Since the children were small, everyone sympathized. What happened next? Within no time, protests started all over Syria. Which grew big very soon.
People came out on the streets to protest after the atrocities on children
Bashar al-Assad then realized for the first time that it was necessary to stop this protest. Finally, after 45 days, in April 2011, all the children were released. But this is where the story changes. When the children come out, the stories of atrocities committed against them also come to the fore. Instead of stopping, the movement now intensifies. After the release of the children, on the very next Friday i.e. on 22 April 2011, after the prayers in a mosque in Daraa, sloganeering against Assad started openly. After this the force reaches the spot. Bullets are fired. Two people are killed. From here the matter becomes more heated.
People come out on the streets with the funeral processions of both the people. Then violence happens. This time, to crush this movement, the Assad government unleashes tanks on the streets to crush its own people. Bullets are fired from helicopters in the sky. This was the first time that dozens of people were killed simultaneously in Syria. The story of Dara had now become the story of every city in Syria. Now violence starts in every city. The people of Syria were facing the bullets of Assad’s army with sticks and stones. The number of dead bodies was increasing every day. Now the situation became such that rebellion started in Assad’s army also.
This is how the clan of rebels grew, the Syrian army supported them
Many soldiers left the government and joined the common people. Taking such soldiers of Assad with them, the people of Syria decided to form their own army to counter the army. Finally, on 29 July 2011, the foundation of the Free Syrian Army was laid. In this, thousands of different small groups came together which were against Assad. Syria’s neighboring Sunni countries also started helping the Free Syrian Army. This was the same period when Baghdadi also decided to wash his hands in the flowing Ganga. Baghdadi’s ISI also reaches Syria from Iraq to help the Free Syrian Army.
Till now ISI i.e. Islamic Star of Iraq has now become ISIS i.e. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. There is also a large Kurdish population in Syria. Especially in North East Syria. On the lines of the Free Syrian Army, now the Kurds have also opened a front against the Assad government. Actually the demand of the Kurds was for a separate country, Kurdistan. That is, now the situation was such that four fronts were open simultaneously inside Syria. One from Assad’s government. One of Baghdadi’s ISI. Of the Free Syrian Army and of the Kurdish forces. Now Syria was literally burning in the fire of civil war.
This is how the coup took place, the President was forced to flee the country
Soon, even outside countries start jumping into the Syrian arena for their own benefits. Many Arab countries directly come forward to help the Free Syrian Army. The reason was that he wanted to support Sunnis in Syria. Seeing this, Iran also jumps. But not to support Assad’s opponents but to save the Assad government, because Iran is the largest country of Shias. On the other hand, Russia wanted a friend in this area. Putin saw a friend in Assad, so Russia also came forward as Assad’s shield. Now wherever Russia is, America had to come against it.
America also jumped against the Assad government in Syria. Overall, Syria had now become an arena. Still somehow Assad was saving his government. But the fight against the Syrian army was still going on, then what happened was that Assad was relying on Iran and Putin. The story of those two countries had also changed a bit. The entire attention of Putin’s Russia was towards the war in Ukraine. Here, for the last 6 months, Iran has also been entangled with Israel over Hezbollah. At such a time, both Putin and Iran expressed their compulsion to help Assad. Then what, Asad had realized his fate.
11 days ago, rebellion again gained momentum in Syria. Syrian soldiers started fleeing leaving every post. In just these 11 days, Assad lost the Syrian capital Damascus and 5 big cities including Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Daraa from where this revolution had started. On December 8, after ruling Syria for 20 years, Bashar al-Assad quietly boards a plane from Damascus and quietly lands in Moscow. Putin still kept his friendship. Has given shelter to Assad in his house. In Syria, which has a population of about 2 crores, more than 5 lakh people lost their lives in the last 13 years.
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