Syrian regime a sitting duck

Today's excerpted editorials and commentaries in Arabic-language newspapers touch on the worsening situation in Syria and also on conflicts in the Red Sea, on the post-Saleh phase in Yemen and on an Egyptian court stripping a Copt of his citizenship.

The Syrian regime has become a sitting duck

Did it occur to the Syrian regime, back at the apex of its might, before the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri, that a day would come when it would find itself internationally pursued and internally besieged as it is now? Columnist Abdelrahman al Rashed asked that question in an article for the London-based Asharq al Awsat.

Calamities have been conspiring against the Assad regime from all possible sides. The most serious was the recent decision by the UN Security Council to question the legitimacy of the regime in light of the atrocities it has committed against its own people.

"The Syrian regime has become a sitting duck. Even if it is saved from the Security Council's sanctions by an expected Russian veto, it might not be as fortunate with the report of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon regarding the Hariri assassination."

And should Damascus succeed in getting away with all of the above, it would still have to face the ever-growing Syrian revolution that is becoming the biggest of its kind in modern Arab history and has proved immune to all efforts at suppression.

"The ruling regime in Syria has yet to realise that it is stricken with a cancerous illness that will continue to spread despite all its violent efforts at suppression. It must reconcile with the people. This is the last antidote."

Many dangers lurk in the Red Sea

The recent escalating movement of naval fleets and submarines towards the Red Sea heralds the beginning of an open confrontation in this vital region that is already overwhelmed with tension, observed the Emiratidaily Al Bayan in its editorial.

The arrival of Iranian newcomers is sure to irritate the states that have long been monopolising this important maritime passage. The area will soon become the stage for espionage manoeuvres coupled with power showdowns that could lead to undesirable repercussions.

In fact, during the past two years the Red Sea and Eden Bay have become a showcase for military prowess and a staging area for naval military equipment from the world over. The enemy consists of mere pirates on decaying boats, which signals that much bigger interests are at stake.

The Red Sea includes not only the political units directly connected to it, but also other units that connect to it indirectly. This makes the Red Sea vaster, encompassing the political map of the whole world.

In light of the power race that is taking shape, it is feared that Yemen risks becoming another Somalia.

The expected power vacuum in Yemen would entice many to take a stronghold early on and use it as a platform for confrontation. Yemen must be on the alert for such an eventuality.

Yemen has entered a post-Saleh phase

The situation in Yemen is as complicated as ever after the country's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was wounded and flown to a hospital in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, observed the London-based newspaper Al Quds al Arabi in its editorial.

The Yemeni army is launching heavy-handed attacks on the pro-al Qa'eda Islamist hardliners based in the southern city of Zinjibar, while protesters have taken control of most of the south-western city of Taiz after evicting government officials.

"If there is anything clear amid this whole confusion, it is that the chances for the Yemeni president to reassume power are significantly slimmer. The protesters are definitely not backing down and they are determined to see the beginning of a new democratic era."

Given that the stated position of the Arab Gulf countries and the United States favours political change in the country, one may be justified in arguing that Yemen has already entered the post-Saleh era.

There is no doubt that US and Saudi diplomats are currently exchanging intensive communications to find a way to secure a peaceful transition of power, persuade the protesters to go home and kick-start the rebuilding of institutions.

For the Yemeni president, this exit scenario is actually not bad; it's not an escape à la Ben Ali, nor is it a trial à la Mubarak.

The Copt who lost Egyptian nationality

In a "historic" in absentia ruling, an Egyptian court recently revoked Egyptian nationality from the Copt activist Maurice Sadeq, the president of the national Copts' association in the United States, reported Tariq Suweidan, a columnist with the Qatari newspaper Al Watan.

The court found Mr Sadeq guilty of high treason and insulting Islam and the military. He is also said to have called for the "occupation of Egypt" as the only way to protect the Egyptian Copts.

"When I say the ruling was 'historic', I don't say it out of spite or gloating regarding Maurice Sadeq. I say it because I've been watching his rabble-rousing activities for the past several years," the columnist wrote.

The court presented a document, supposed to have been addressed by Mr Sadeq to the US president, Barack Obama, in which he used insulting language about Egypt's Al Azhar University, Sunni Islam's foremost centre of learning.

In his rabid attempt to defend the Copts, Mr Sadeq has hurt many Egyptians, including his fellows in faith.

He deserved not to be an Egyptian citizen anymore.

* Digest compiled by The Translation Desk