Russia’s grotesque intervention in Syria
One of the most fascinating and deplorable subplots of the Syrian war (which entered its 12th year last month) has been the proclivity of the anti-imperialist left to justify Russia’s intervention in the war on the side of Bashar al-Assad and to excuse the myriad war crimes that Moscow engaged in or abetted, such as bombing hospitals and civilians, carrying out starvation sieges or protecting a regime that deployed chemical weapons on its own people.
The central tenet of the argument is a sovereigntist one — that the Syrian state invited and endorsed Russia’s intervention. But the part that the argument glosses over (besides the gross human rights violations) is that Russia itself acts as an imperial power in Syria, one whose relationship with its client is governed largely by the same rules as those that determined the relationship between empires and vassal states.
This has of course always been evident in the deliberate indignities that Russia subjected its protectorate to over the years, such as marketing its battle-tested weapons systems for potential client states that were used to kill Syrians all over the country, or whenever Vladimir Putin visited Syria to inspect his military holdings. One iconic video shows Putin walking alongside Assad before a military officer grabs the latter’s arm to hold him back so Russia’s autocrat can greet assembled military personnel. [Continue reading…]
More than $1.5bn (£1.2bn) worth of personal property including cars, olive groves, shops, houses, electronics and jewellery has been seized by the Syrian government from citizens accused of joining anti-government protests, according to a rights group.
The Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP) estimates that almost 40% of those detained after the Syrian uprising of 2011 were subject to property seizures.
It alleges the Syrian regime has attempted to circumvent international sanctions through this revenue, while ensuring that former detainees in exile have nothing to return to as the country struggles to rebuild. [Continue reading…]