What price?

In a recent televised interview with Syrian TV, President Bashar Assad admitted that direct military interventions by Russia, Iran and Hizbollah prevented his overthrow and changed the military balance in his favour.

This is more than mere acknowledgment of a well-known fact; it is an admission that shows the wide implications such intervention will have for the country if his regime stays in power.

The active interventions by Moscow, Tehran and Hizbollah to help the Damascus regime survive have not been acts of altruistic Good Samaritans; they will come at a price.

Moscow reportedly secured a 50-year lease for its aerial and naval bases in the west of Syria. Iran and Hizbollah must have also extracted strategic concessions from Damascus, the latter most likely securing a lifeline with Iran, from which it will to receive more military support.

In terms familiar to the region’s people, this means that Syria will become a colony of sorts of the three powers, which means a loss of much of its independence.

This is a huge price for a man to pay to stay in power!

The countries of the region fought long and hard to rid themselves of foreign domination and external influence. Now Syria will likely succumb to all that again.

Since the Syrian regime is projected to stay on, hopefully it will work hard to usher in an era of peace and reconciliation among all its people.

As things stand today, Syria is a destroyed country with half of its population either refugees or displaced within their own country.

Once peace finally takes hold, the regime should work hard to rebuild the country, heal the wounds of the people and declare a policy that is all inclusive and democratic.

The industrious Syrians deserve at least this after six years of death, misery and destruction.