Hans Rustad Syria og Iran tilhører motstandsfronten, de er mot fred og mot Israel. Hvis EU vil utrette noe for freden, skal landene bry seg mer om israelske bosettinger enn demokrati i Egypt, sa Syrias EU-ambassadør Mohamad Ayman Soussan for en tid tilbake.
Det interessante er parallellene den syriske diplomaten drar. Han går inn for å åpne grensen mellom Gaza og Egypt. Men vil ikke dette føre til våpensmugling, spør journalisten. – Men var det galt å støtte motstandsfronten mot nazismen, spør Soussan. Det sier en del om hva Syria ønsker å bruke den arabiske revolusjonen til. Det sier en del om hva den kan brukes til og hvilke muligheter den gir. Iran kan smugle våpen til Hamas, slik man har smuglet raketter til Hizbollah i Libanon. Med en åpen grense vil det bli svært vanskelig å stanse for myndighetene, hvis de i det hele tatt ville prøve.
«Our European friends have a responsibility here, because Europe is the principal economic partner of Israel. They have all the means at their disposal to make Israel reconsider its position vis-a-vis international law. Europe must assume this responsibility if it ever intends to take its rightful place in the international order,» he explained.
«Where in Europe do you see such a level of brutality against demonstrators? Where do you see roads that can be used only by one kind of people? Israel practices apartheid and the EU assists this everyday through its ongoing relations.»
The ambassador added that outside forces – including Syria, the EU and the US – have no rightful say on Egypt’s new government.
«We have full confidence in the Egyptian people. They sacrificed almost 500 lives for this revolution and I believe the people of Egypt know very well what they must do … democracy cannot be a la carte,» he said. «One has to treat the people of this region as adults, not as children.»
Asked if post-revolutionary Egypt could become hostile toward Israel, he noted that ordinary Egyptians never shared the Mubarak regime’s pro-Israeli line. «The peace with Israel was always cold. There is a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. But this was never a real peace,» he said.
Mr Soussan did not hide his antipathy toward the Israeli authorities. Asked if there is a risk that Egypt could let arms flow to Hamas in Gaza, he countered: «Was support for the European resistance against the Nazis a crime?»
