BEIJING, July 9 (UPI) -- The political transition in Syria, similar to that in Yemen and Libya, is causing net societal losses for Arabs, the Chinese Communist Party's newspaper says.
"This situation is not unique to Syria," the People's Daily said in a commentary piece posted on its Web site. "Political transition in Arab states such as Yemen and Libya, where the transfer of power is determined by military force, is usually accompanied by enormous turmoil and tribulations."
"After a cost-benefit analysis of the Arab Spring, certain media outlets found that instead of truly improving the lives of the Arab people, the wave of uprisings for 'freedom' resulted in immeasurable losses to the Arab world, including heavy casualties, economic losses and humanitarian crisis," the official Communist newspaper said.
"The Arab people have strong tribal consciousness and adopt a 'concentric-circle model' of political identity," it said, adding Arabs are most loyal to their families, followed by their tribes, tribal unions and finally countries.
However, such sectarianism and tribalism can easily lead to family politics and crony capitalism, the Daily warned.
The newspaper also said people in power are mostly hostile to and distrustful of other tribes and religious sects, and show no mercy in suppressing the revolts by other tribes or religious sects.
"On the one hand, the disorderly political transition in Syria, Yemen, Libya and other Arab states, and the heavy price they paid for it, fully show the interdependence of stability and reform. Without social or political stability, even the best blueprint for reform would be just a piece of scrap paper," the Daily said.
"On the other hand, long-term stability can only be achieved through reform and development."
