The anti-war left's concerns over Syria are understandable, but ill-founded

There may have been outside attempts to hijack the Syria uprising, but evidence suggests this is still a popular revolution

Richard Seymour
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 July 2012

"....The outstanding worry is that sectarian forces will come to the fore, and attack minorities. When Islamists bombed Damascus last year, they issued a sectarian statement against the Alawi minority from which the ruling Ba'ath elite hails. But there is no evidence that such forces are dominant: the sectarian Wahabis are a small minority within the struggle. In reality, the regime, by using Alawite militias to attack unarmed groups, is the major sectarian force. The regime has reportedly paid agents provocateurs to shout sectarian slogans at opposition rallies. It has never respected the rights of minorities, least of all Kurds, who are participating in the revolt.

The evidence is that despite attempts at co-optation, this is still very much a popular revolution, and the initiative lies with the citizens organized in the committees and militias. And their victory would be a defeat for everyone who thinks Arabs are incapable of freeing themselves from oppression."