NZ troops in Syria bad for reputation

Dunedin-born academic Leon Goldsmith has first-hand experience of Syria's descent into violence. Now, after surviving a run-in with the Assad regime's security intelligence services, he warns New Zealand should not get sucked into the conflict. Chris Morris reports.

It was in the Syrian city of Latakia, in the middle of a violent anti-government protest, that Dunedin man Leon Goldsmith was grabbed by intelligence agents.

He had been exploring the city while conducting PhD fieldwork, studying the country's Alawite religious group, when he was caught in the crossfire during the early stages of Syria's uprising.

It was March 2011, and Dr Goldsmith was edging closer to the protest, accompanied by a Syrian friend who ''wanted to take a closer look'', when chaos erupted.

The pair turned a corner, heard gunfire and saw a crowd of protesters running down the street towards them.

Trying not to panic, Dr Goldsmith turned back, only for a Syrian intelligence officer to reach out of the crowd and grab him by the shoulder from behind.

It was the start of a frightening 24 hours for Dr Goldsmith, as agents first questioned him on the street, then argued among themselves about whether to take him back to their branch for questioning.

When Dr Goldsmith's Syrian friend tried to intervene in the argument, he was lifted off the ground by the scruff of his neck as the agents sought to silence him.

Eventually, Dr Goldsmith's passport and camera were confiscated by the agents, who ordered him to return to his hotel and remain there until further notice.

Back at the hotel Dr Goldsmith was told the Syrian police - suspicious of his dealings with ordinary Syrians - had also come looking for him the previous night, while he was out.

''The intelligence knew everything about my movements. They had been watching me the whole time.''

Stranded without a passport, Dr Goldsmith could do nothing but wait, feeling ''completely helpless and trapped'' at the hotel while the agents ''checked me out''.

''Because of my research I knew what the regime [was] capable of in terms of interrogation and torture in the 'dungeons' of intelligence branches.''

While he waited, he called his wife, Sarah, in Dunedin, who contacted University of Otago and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff.

Dr Goldsmith also began hiding research material inside the lining of his suitcase, but ''thought better of it''.

''If they were going to find something, they would.''

It was a frightening wait for Dr Goldsmith, who said President Bashar al-Assad's intelligence services were on ''high alert'' as they sought to crush the anti-government protest movement in its infancy.

''They didn't beat me, but they were menacing in the way they communicated ... it's the feeling of fear they can instil which is incredible.

''I had no idea what the outcome might be. I was worried that if they found out I was doing political research that they would arrest me and charge me with something.

''I didn't think too much about it at the time, because it was quite frightening and there was just nothing I could do.''

Eventually, the hotel's owner, after hours on the phone, managed to ''cut a deal'' with the agents and secure the return of his passport.

Dr Goldsmith met the agents at a rendezvous point, retrieved his passport, and was advised to leave immediately for Turkey.

''So that's what I did, and I haven't been back.''

Fast-forward to the present day and Dr Goldsmith (39) is once again in the Middle East, after completing his PhD in Dunedin and working at Otago and Massey universities.

Last September, he accepted a role as an assistant professor teaching politics at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman, where he lives with his wife and two young children.

His hurried departure from Syria might have meant he avoided the country's descent into civil war, and the rise of Islamic State, but he retains strong views about both.

Some of his views have featured in international publications including the British Journal of Middle East Studies and the New York-based Foreign Affairs.

And, speaking to the Otago Daily Times from Oman, he warned against any decision by New Zealand to commit military forces to the fight against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Western intervention on the ground, while unlikely at this stage, could inflame the conflict and promote extremism, he said.

New Zealand involvement in it could also put New Zealanders in the region at risk, and Prime Minister John Key's warning of copycat beheadings inside New Zealand was also a ''dangerous approach'', he believed.

''Escalation of fear and paranoia among the NZ public about 'terrorists among us' can, of course, only be counterproductive.''

Any decision by New Zealand to join the fight would have minimal impact on the outcome but could damage the country's ''excellent'' reputation in the region for a fair and independent foreign policy, he said.

Instead, New Zealand should use its reputation - built on peacekeeping efforts from Sinai to Bougainville - to promote political dialogue and solutions among Syrian moderates.

And Dr Goldsmith should know - he said New Zealand's reputation among ordinary Syrians helped open doors during his research trips.

His first trip, in 2009, saw him travelling across western Syria over four weeks, stopping in the capital, Damascus, Homs and Aleppo - all later scenes of heavy fighting - as well as Latakia, the Alawite heartland.

He returned to Syria in March 2011, intending to remain three weeks, and witnessed the early protests that eventually grew into uprising and civil war.

The conflict, pitting the Alawite-dominated Assad regime against the Free Syrian Army and disparate rebel groups, has so far claimed an estimated 191,000 lives.

The grim picture is a far cry from the Syria experienced by Dr Goldsmith, who learnt ''a reasonable amount'' of Arabic before his trips and was greeted with kindness wherever he went.

He kept a low profile to avoid Syrian authorities but was often showered with fruit, coffee and other gifts, and welcomed into the homes of ordinary Syrians, while travelling the country by bus.

However, he also saw a country divided by religion, with the Alawites dominant while Sunni Arabs, despite making up 65% of the population, remained ''marginalised'' by the Assad regime.

Alawites, including Mr Assad, comprised 13% of the population, but formed the ''backbone'' of the country's military and intelligence units.

Dr Goldsmith also saw first-hand the contrast between Syria's controlling, affluent urban elite and those in outlying and rural areas, who struggled under decades of political and economic repression.

The mix was ''always going to be unsustainable'', and it was during Dr Goldsmith's 2011 trip that the sparks of an uprising began to ignite.

During a visit to Damascus, he saw anti-regime protesters confronting lines of black leather-coated intelligence agents outside the Ummayad mosque, on a day which ended in violence.

While nothing like that which was to follow, the ''rumblings'' for change were fuelled by Arab Spring events in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, and the vocal support of the United States and European Union for political reform.

Many Syrians wanted change, but they were also wary of the potential costs of ''challenging a regime which did not tolerate any kind of dissent''.

In Latakia, the night before being accosted by the agents, Dr Goldsmith listened from his hotel room as pro-regime supporters roamed the streets, shouting and firing weapons into the air.

Two days later, after the protests, the streets were full of people with bandaged wounds, who had ''clearly'' been beaten, and there was a definite mood for change.

''It was a bizarre atmosphere that day; something had permanently changed and there was no return to the status quo.''

Dr Goldsmith left the country soon after, but said the descent into civil war was always likely once the regime was confident it could act with impunity.

He had hoped Alawites would abandon the regime, but revolutionaries had been dealt with ''swiftly and ruthlessly'' by the regime.

Stories of sectarian killings and rebel extremism were also spread by the regime to foster support for the stability it offered, he said.

That created a ''climate of fear'' that only fuelled extremism and the rise of Islamic State, which regime opponents claimed had been fostered by Mr Assad ''to build the narrative of extremism or status quo''.

There were glimmers of hope in recent days, amid anti-Assad protests in Alawite areas and calls by the Free Syrian Army for Alawites to ally against the regime.

Dr Goldsmith said he would like to return one day, but had no plans to go back soon, as the country's war of attrition was likely to drag on.

He remained ''very fond'' of the Syrian people and his friends there, although he was not sure what had become of them.

Some had tried to flee, while life went on as normal for others, ''but it is hard to keep in touch with them''.

''I very much hope that they are all safe and well.''

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

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