Diplomacy in the age of Facebook
Today's demonstrations outside the U.S. and French Embassies in Damascus may have been prompted by anger over the respective ambassadors' trips to a city that is a center of anti-government unrest. But they've been ticked up by social media.
In simultaneous but uncoordinated visits to the Syrian city of Hama last week, American Ambassador Robert Ford and French ambassador Eric Chevallier gave tacit support to forces opposed to President Bashar Assad.
Ford - the first U.S. Ambassador to Syria in six years - was named by President Obama in a recess appointment last January, in an effort to re-engage with Damascus. (Republicans in Congress tried to block Ford's nomination, objecting to efforts to bring Syria back to the Middle East negotiating table.)
The U.S. efforts at diplomacy are coinciding with the recent rise in violence in Syria, where (according to activists) government security forces have killed at least 1,400 civilians nationwide. The government says "armed groups" of agitators are responsible for most civilian deaths and for the deaths of 500 police officers and soldiers.
Last month the State Department was criticized for allowing Ford to travel on a Syrian government-sponsored trip to the abandoned town of Jisr al-Shughour, ostensibly to see evidence of the regime's ruthlessness against its own citizens - something unlikely to be witnessed on a government-sponsored trip.
Complete coverage: Anger in the Arab World
To get a better view of the unrest (media coverage in Syria is extremely limited), last Thursday Ford traveled to Hama, a city besieged by Syrian forces intent on quelling anti-government dissent. Ford was greeted by cheers and flowers.
The visit was a message from the Obama administration to Assad: Speed up reform.
The Syrian government sent a message of their own, accusing Ford of meeting with "saboteurs" and inciting them to violence, in an attempt to "deepen discord and sedition among the Syrian people" - claims a State Department spokesperson called "absolute rubbish."
"Frankly, what we would say back to the Syrian Government is they really need to focus their attention on what their citizens have to say rather than on spending their time picking at Ambassador Ford," spokesperson Victoria Nuland said Friday.
Over the weekend pro-government demonstrators angered by Ford's trip hurled rocks, threw tomatoes and eggs, and waved shoes at the Embassy. One protester held a sign addressed to Ford saying, "Your bad behavior causes our reaction" and advising him to leave "for your safety."
On Sunday, Ford posted a message (in English and Arabic) on the U.S. Embassy's Facebook page. Using language that was sharp and, perhaps, undiplomatic, he addressed those who protested his visit to Hama:
"As I have said before, we respect the right of all Syrians - and people in all countries - to express their opinions freely and in a climate of mutual respect. We wish the Syrian government would do the same - and stop beating and shooting peaceful demonstrators. I have not seen the police assault a 'mnhebak' [pro-Assad] demonstration yet. I am glad - I want all Syrians to enjoy the right to demonstrate peacefully. On July 9 a 'mnhebak' group threw rocks at our embassy, causing some damage. They resorted to violence, unlike the people in Hama, who have stayed peaceful. Go look at the Ba'ath or police headquarters in Hama - no damage that I saw.
"Other protesters threw eggs and tomatoes at our embassy. If they cared about their fellow Syrians the protesters would stop throwing this food at us and donate it to those Syrians who don't have enough to eat. And how ironic that the Syrian Government lets an anti-U.S. demonstration proceed freely while their security thugs beat down olive branch-carrying peaceful protesters elsewhere.
"The people in Hama have been demonstrating peacefully for weeks. Yes, there is a general strike, but what caused it? The government security measures that killed protesters in Hama. In addition, the government began arresting people at night and without any kind of judicial warrant. Assad had promised in his last speech that there would be no more arrests without judicial process. Families in Hama told me of repeated cases where this was not the reality. And I saw no signs of armed gangs anywhere - not at any of the civilian street barricades we passed.
"Hama and the Syrian crisis is not about the U.S. at all. This is a crisis the Syrian people are in the process of solving. It is a crisis about dignity, human rights, and the rule of law. We regret the loss of life of all Syrians killed, civilians and security members both, and hope that the Syrian people will be able to find their way out of this crisis soon. Respect for basic human rights is a key element of the solution."
If the ambassador's intention was to promote dialogue, he did on Facebook, with about 800 comments added to his statement - some supportive, some not.
But his statement did not assuage his critics, or neuter the Syrian media's attempt to brand him a seditionist. On Monday, hundreds of Assad loyalists attacked the U.S. Embassy compound, scaling a wall and erecting a Syrian flag. Rocks were hurled, windows were broken. The demonstration was short, but pictures of the incursion soon appeared - on Facebook - stirring more anti-U.S. sentiment.
Officials said Ford's residence - not on the Embassy grounds - was also attacked. There was damage but no injuries were reported.
The U.S. said it would formally protest the lack of protection at the Embassy by the Syrian government, and will seek compensation for damages.
Meanwhile, CBS News' George Baghdadi was told that demonstrators plan to be back at the Embassy daily.
As a tool of 21st century activism, social media sites like Facebook have already proven themselves - in Tunisia, Egypt, Iran. As a tool of 21st century diplomacy, Facebook still has a ways to go, if this is what happens when you try to "friend" a regime and its backers.