The suffering of the world's heaviest 'prisoner'

(Baonghean) - This is an extremely busy time for the United Nations Ambassador to Syria Staffan de Mistura as he constantly runs back and forth between the negotiating delegations of the Government and the Syrian opposition forces in Geneva, Switzerland. That is not to mention the consultations with representatives of several related countries.

Tough Choices

Late one evening in July 2014, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, then 68 years old, was enjoying a peaceful vacation on the island of Capri, off the Mediterranean coast, when he received a call from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon. Over the phone, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon proposed that Mr. Mistura take up the position of UN Special Envoy for Syria. Mr. Ban also frankly told Mr. Staffan de Mistura that his task was “the most difficult in the world” in finding a solution to one of the “bloodiest and most complicated wars in modern world history.”

After taking up the position of UN Special Envoy for Syria in 2014, Mr. Staffan de Mistura quickly arranged a meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al Assad. Photo: AP

The first answer that came to Mr. de Mistura’s mind at that time was “No”! In more than 40 years of working in the diplomatic field, with the highest position achieved in the Italian Government as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, he had to go on missions abroad for 19 years, to the most violent conflict zones in the world. After 19 long years away from home, he promised his wife and two children that he would return to “a normal life”.

In addition to family reasons, the example of his two predecessors, Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, was also enough to convince him to turn down the assignment. Kofi Annan served for six months as the UN Special Envoy for Syria, before being replaced by Lakhdar Brahimi for two years. However, both men were forced to leave the position amid much criticism because they could not bring any progress to stop the bloody fighting in Syria. Mr. Staffan de Mistura was very concerned at that time: after his successes in Afghanistan and Iraq, should he bet his reputation on a job that everyone knew would be more than 90% likely to fail?

That night, Mr. Staffan de Mistura could not sleep with a feeling of guilt. He remembered Mr. Ban Ki-Moon's words: "There are so many dead, so many people have had to leave their homes, people are in a state of panic"... And at 3am that night, he picked up the phone to call Mr. Ban Ki-Moon to give his final answer: He agreed.

Mission Impossible

Fluent in seven languages, Mr. Staffan de Mistura is known as an active and creative diplomat. He has had initiatives that few diplomats would think of, such as convincing a commercial airline to bring food to the people of Kabul in 1989, convincing smugglers to break the siege to bring food and blankets to people trapped in war zones... In particular, he always has deep sympathy for people in war zones and refugees who have to leave their homeland.

Mr. Mistura still hopes to end the gunfire in Syria. Photo: Reuters

With his talent recognized by the world community, Mr. Staffan de Mistura took over the position of United Nations Special Envoy for Syria with the ambition that he could do more than his predecessors, that he could help Syrian refugees return home with peace of mind.

But he soon realized that people called his mission “mission impossible” for a reason. The Syrian war had clearly revealed itself to be a proxy war, where both sides were willing to sacrifice every last man to prove to the world that they were the righteous ones. Like his two predecessors, Mr. De Mistura believed that there was no solution to the conflict in Syria. What mattered was whether the parties had the political will to do so. And unfortunately, neither side was willing to give up their calculations.

Just a few months after taking on the role of UN mediator, Mr. Staffan de Mistura began to receive criticism, that he did not have enough capacity to bring the Syrian Government and the opposition forces to negotiate, that he made a mistake in choosing long-time associates instead of experienced experts in the region, and that he focused on “peace negotiations that went nowhere at the high cost of the lives of Syrian people lost every day”…

Unlike Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi who chose to resign in helplessness, Mr. Staffan de Mistura accepted all criticism with rare calmness, and every day, every hour he still strives to carry out his duties.

Kindling hope

After nearly 3 years as the UN Special Envoy for Syria with countless diplomatic trips, Mr. Staffan de Mistura has organized two rounds of peace negotiations with representatives of the forces fighting in Syria: the first round in April 2016 and the second round is taking place in Geneva. While public opinion has made many pessimistic comments before the round of negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, information continuously sent back shows that the round of negotiations has made certain progress.

This time, he managed to convince representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition to sit in the same room. Of course, there is still a long way to go before the two sides agree to negotiate directly to decide the future and fate of Syria. But at least this is a remarkable step forward that none of his predecessors have taken.

Not only that, if in the early days, Mr. Steffan de Mistura only focused on agreeing with the Government and the opposition on the negotiation method, now the two sides have reached the stage of preparing to discuss the issue of political transition - one of the biggest obstacles in the peace talks between the parties involved.

When appointing Mr. Staffan de Mistura to the position of UN Special Envoy, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the time said that he believed Mr. Mistura would “bring all his knowledge and experience to the extremely difficult negotiations to bring peace to Syria”.

Guns are still ringing in Syria, and the war, which is about to enter its seventh year, has claimed more than 300,000 lives. But Mr. De Mistura once said: “We have to keep coming up with new ideas, even if they are not the most effective ones right away. But the important thing is that they will help us keep the pace and move forward” – and he is doing just that. He is moving forward against all odds, carrying with him the hopes of millions of Syrians for a better future.

Thuy Ngoc