The return of warmth between Tunisia and the Syrian regime .. Welcome and condemnation

Amal al-Hilali - Tunisia

The arrival of the first direct flight from Damascus to Tunisia after a seven-year break was not the only indication, according to observers, of the imminent return of diplomatic relations between Tunisia and Syria and the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador in 2012.

Observers believe that the decision to open Tunisia's embassy in Syria is a matter of time in the light of public statements by the Tunisian foreign minister and advisers in the presidency of the Republic about the existence of genuine diplomatic efforts by Tunisia to restore Damascus's seat in the Arab League two months before the Arab summit.

A source from the Tunisian Foreign Ministry explained the presence of an Arab consensus and Tunisian diplomatic efforts to recover Syria's frozen seat since December 2011 in the League of Arab States, and push strongly towards the settlement of the Syrian file.

"We also have an open embassy in Damascus since 2014 represented by a chargé d'affaires. We also welcome the reopening of the Syrian embassy in Tunisia, but the decision remains in the hands of the authorities in Damascus whenever they want," the source, who declined to be named, told Al Jazeera.net.

Former President Moncef Marzouki announced in a statement issued by the Presidency on February 4, 2012 on the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador in Tunisia, and the withdrawal of any recognition of the regime in Damascus, calling on President Bashar al-Assad to step down from power.

On the return of air traffic between Tunisia and Damascus, the same source considered that the decision to resume flights between the two countries after a break years ago can not be taken without a legal license and accepted by a political decision from the highest pyramid in the state.

"This is a message from the Tunisian state to the friendly and brotherly Syrian people that Tunisia is keen on the security and stability of Syria and its return to the Arab natural disaster."

First trip
The Syrian airline "Al-Sham Airlines" landed last Thursday at the Habib Bourguiba airport in Monastir province (east) carrying 150 passengers on the first direct flight in seven years between Damascus and Tunisia.

Activists from civil society through social networks stressed that the trip was the result of a "citizen initiative" within the framework of "popular diplomacy", which was sought by Tunisian and Syrian parties to pave the way for the return of relations between the two peoples.

Many see the dramatic shift in the Arab political attitude towards the Syrian regime, which has become evident with the UAE and Bahrain announcing the opening of their embassies in Damascus. It may be easy for the Tunisian President Baiji Kayed al-Sibsi to regain the diplomatic initiative and restore ties officially with Syria.

The leader of Tunisia's appeal, Abdelaziz al-Qatti, told Al-Jazeera Net that the Tunisian president will soon have the honor of returning Syria to the Arab League and inviting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to participate in its activities.

He pointed out that "the restoration of Tunisian-Syrian relations to what it was before the revolution has become a central issue and reform of the mistake committed during the rule of former President Moncef Marzouki as a result of submission of fraternal agendas without the appreciation of the higher interest of Tunisia."

"Today, we in the Tunisian Appeal Party officially call on the President of the Republic to restore official diplomatic relations with Syria publicly and to call on Assad to attend the Arab summit next March in coordination with the Arab League."

The leader of the Tunis Appeal confirmed that he had met in 2017 Assad as part of a Tunisian parliamentary delegation that traveled to Damascus in order to pressure the Tunisian government and activate relations between the two countries.

Arthan for Saudi Arabia
For his part, Ziad al-Hani described the position of the Tunisian president on the restoration of full relations with the Syrian regime through the opening of the Syrian embassy in Tunis and the Embassy of Tunisia in Damascus with shame.

"Regrettably, the official position and the sovereign decision of the Tunisian state are controlled by foreign parties, mainly Saudi Arabia ."

Hani called on the Tunisian state to officially apologize to the Syrian side after the expulsion of its former ambassador before taking any decision to return relations.

Divergence of views
The reactions of the social networking activists in Tunisia on the return of Tunisian relations with the Syrian regime varied between welcome and opposition.

"Frankly, the terrible amount of love that President al-Assad has for President Bashar al-Assad is very strange," wrote lawyer Ahmed bin Hamdan.

Media journalist Alaa Zatar described the history of the Arab region as betrayal and bias in favor of rulers at the expense of peoples.

"The disturbing thing is that they will make Tunisia, which is hosting the next Arab summit, with all that symbolizes it as the cradle of the Arab Spring, a space that will be recorded in history within the memory book of multiple betrayals."

Political activist Lamine Bouazizi wrote an angry column in which he attacked some activists who took pictures of Bashar during the first flight from Damascus to Tunis.

"The blood of the people of Syria, martyr in all your necks, despicable tyrants, the blood of the people of Syria overthrew all the narratives of Arab nationalism and Islamism (Wahhabism and Zionism) and Islamism."

An insult to the people
For his part, the leader of the Renaissance movement Mohamed Bensalm calls for the political parties in Tunisia to re-normalize diplomatic relations with the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the opening of the Syrian embassy.

He added in a statement to Al Jazeera Net that "the feet of the head of barrels exploding the land of Tunisia revolution is an insult to the Tunisian people and revolution and a betrayal of the blood of martyrs who paid their lives in order to rid the people of tyrants and tyrants and enjoy freedom and dignity."

"The Syrian people have the right to enjoy democracy and freedom and to rid themselves of the criminal regime of their father by peaceful means, just as the revolution began before it was corrupted by internal and external parties that allowed its survival to be legitimate despite the horrific massacres it committed," he said.

He pointed out that the rush of some Arab regimes, which do not believe in democracy and foremost the UAE to normalize relations with the Syrian regime, stems from the fear and horror that the Arab revolutions are bathed in their crowns.

Need to slow down
Badrouh saw the political activist Tariq al-Kahlawi that it is better for the foreign and the presidency to slow down before making any decision to return relations with the Syrian regime until the announcement of an official agreement between all factions of the Syrian government and opposition to get out of the crisis.

He stressed in his speech to the island Net that the decision of the Tunisian President to restore diplomatic relations with the Syrian side is not linked to his will, but the will of foreign parties allied with him.

"During the four years of his rule, al-Sibsi did not try to restore relations with the Syrian regime, so when he decides now after the UAE opens its embassy in Damascus and after Saudi Arabia announces its contribution to the reconstruction of Syria, it means that it is not in his hand."

Al-Kahlawi pointed out that what counts for the former president Marzouki in severing relations with the Syrian regime stems from an independent sovereign decision without bowing to external dictates, in contrast to the official Tunisian position today on the return of relations.