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Consulter/Télécharger Sommaire | septembre 2016 Éditorial 4 | Le casse-tête syrien › Valérie Toranian Dossier | L’Occident face à la Syrie 8 | Henry Laurens. « Les jeux d’ingérence et d’interaction existent en Syrie depuis deux cents ans » › Valérie Toranian et Aurélie Julia 20 | Le chemin de Damas de la France en Orient › François d’Orcival 30 | Renaud Girard. « La France doit sortir de son aveuglement néoconservateur au plus vite » › Jean-Loup Bonnamy 43 | Palmyre entre deux mondes › Maurice Sartre 54 | Le clan Assad à l’épreuve du feu › Isabelle Hausser 61 | Les ressorts de l’intervention russe en Syrie › Thomas Gomart 69 | L’Arabie saoudite et le financement des djihadistes › Richard Labévière 76 | Minorités syriennes › Richard Millet 85 | La peur › Bassma Kodmani 93 | Yassin al-Haj Saleh. « Il faut traduire Bachar al-Assad en justice » › Valérie Toranian et Aurélie Julia 107 | Lettre à Ala’ › Samar Yazbek 2 SEPTEMBRE 2016 113 | Gérard Chaliand. « Aucune puissance ne souhaite un Kurdistan indépendant » › Valérie Toranian 129 | Rojava : une révolution communaliste au Kurdistan syrien ? › Bruno Deniel-Laurent 136 | À la rencontre des femmes combattantes au Kurdistan › Juliette Minces Études, reportages, réflexions 146 | L’argent fait-il le bonheur ? › Annick Steta 153 | Éclat et éclipse du génie › Michel Delon Littérature 160 | Dernière rencontre. Maurice G. Dantec. « La vraie littérature est dangereuse » › Samuel Estier 175 | « La littérature est aussi une réparation » › Karine Tuil 181 | Sous le soleil de Bernanos › Stéphane Guégan Critiques 186 | LIVRES – Roland Recht. Alerte sur le patrimoine › Robert Kopp 188 | EXPOSITIONS – Les incertitudes géométriques › Bertrand Raison 191 | DISQUES – Les chemins buissonniers du baroque › Jean-Luc Macia Notes de lecture SEPTEMBRE 2016 3 Éditorial Le casse-tête syrien ous les chemins mènent-ils toujours à Damas ? Quelques heures après la tuerie de Nice qui a frappé la France le jour de sa fête nationale, François Hollande déclarait : « Rien ne nous fera céder dans notre volonté de lutter contre le terrorisme et nous allons encore renforcer nos actions en TSyrie comme en Irak. Nous continuerons à frapper ceux qui justement nous attaquent sur notre propre sol, dans leurs repères ». Depuis que les islamistes ont pris pour cible notre pays de « mécréants », notre mode de vie et nos libertés, la question syrienne n’est pas seulement au centre des préoccupations. Elle est plus que jamais une clé de compréhension de cette guerre de l’islamisme contre l’Occident. L’État islamique est la principale force d’opposition à Bachar al- Assad depuis 2013 et la fin du printemps syrien dont les rêves de démocratie se sont brisés faute de préparation... et de troupes. L’or- ganisation islamiste entraîne et forme les candidats français au dji- had qu’elle renvoie semer la mort chez nous. Même lorsqu’elle ne les entraîne pas, ses porte-paroles préconisent désormais, à travers leurs organes de presse et leurs vidéos, un mode opératoire de « djihad individuel » où chaque aspirant à la guerre sainte peut improviser un attentat avec des pierres, des couteaux, des véhicules lancés contre la foule… Le camion tueur de la promenade de Nice en est l’exemple par- fait et terrifiant : une radicalisation express en quelques jours et un 4 SEPTEMBRE 2016 simple permis de conduire suffisent à faire couler le sang, avec un grand nombre de victimes. À l’heure où nous écrivons ces lignes, le président François Hol- lande a réaffirmé l’engagement de la France dans la coalition anti- Daesh en Syrie. Cette coalition est-elle efficace ? Pourra-t-elle à terme ramener la paix ? À défaut d’éradiquer les terroristes, est-elle capable de diminuer la menace qui pèse sur notre pays ? Après avoir longtemps tenu un rôle majeur au Proche et au Moyen- Orient, la France peine depuis quelques années à retrouver sa place et son influence. Notre pays a pourtant une longue histoire avec la Syrie. À l’origine, avec les Anglais, de l’accord Sykes-Picot, première ébauche de la parti- tion actuelle de la région en 1916, la France fut puissance mandataire en Syrie jusqu’en 1946, et avait, jusqu’à récemment, une diplomatie active, capable de saisir toutes les nuances géopolitiques, ethniques, confessionnelles de ce pays complexe. Désormais à la remorque des États-Unis, dans le « camp » de l’Ara- bie saoudite et du Qatar qui financent nombre d’autres groupes isla- mistes tout aussi dangereux que Daesh, la France cherche à défendre une troisième voie : ni Bachar ni Daesh. Cette position est-elle tenable ? Peut-on courir le risque que la Syrie soit un jour contrôlée (en par- tie ou totalement) par des djihadistes ? Que les minorités chrétiennes yézidies, kurdes ou chiites soient exterminées ou forcées à l’exil et que toute une civilisation, qui avait réussi à maintenir un fragile équi- libre entre des communautés millénaires, sombre d’un coup ? Pour les membres de l’opposition démocratique syrienne en exil, la chute du dictateur syrien constitue le préalable à toute résolution de la crise, car Assad est accusé d’entretenir délibérément le chaos pour se présenter en unique recours. Mais refroidies par les résultats désastreux des interventions en Irak et en Libye, les puissances internationales se méfient d’une déstabilisa- tion qui ne profiterait, au final, qu’aux islamistes. L’intervention de la Russie a permis de battre en brèche leur avan- cée. Poutine ne veut pas la disparition de son allié régional historique SEPTEMBRE 2016 5 éditorial au profit d’islamistes sunnites, prêts à alimenter le terrorisme dans son propre pays : il soutient le régime plus que Bachar al-Assad lui- même et il pourrait, sans état d’âme, le sacrifier si une alternative suf- fisamment stable se présentait. L’Iran, leader du monde chiite, veut aussi stopper l’expansion sunnite des islamistes. Téhéran a envoyé ses troupes du Hezbollah combattre aux côtés du régime. Seule force locale en première ligne contre l’État islamique, les Kurdes espèrent tirer les dividendes de leur rôle militaire sur le terrain, une fois la paix revenue. Mais Erdoğan, dont le jeu trouble avec les islamistes n’a jamais cessé depuis 5 ans, bloquera toute initiative d’une région autonome kurde. Le président turc, qui est tout sauf un démocrate, tire un grand profit de la « tentative de coup d’État » du 15 juillet dernier : drapé dans sa nouvelle « légitimité », il attise les braises nationalistes et neu- tralise ses opposants et tous ceux au sein des institutions qui ne lui sont pas favorables. Il tentera certainement de pousser au maximum son avantage contre les Kurdes dans le conflit en Syrie. Le casse-tête syrien se joue sur fond d’agendas locaux et internatio- naux complexes et contradictoires ; ses répercussions nous touchent de plein fouet. Ce numéro spécial en éclaire les dangers et les enjeux. Valérie Toranian 6 dossier L’OCCIDENT FACE À LA SYRIE 8 | Henry Laurens. « Les jeux 76 | Minorités syriennes d’ingérence et d’interaction › Richard Millet existent en Syrie depuis deux cents ans » 85 | La peur › Valérie Toranian › Bassma Kodmani et Aurélie Julia 93 | Yassin al-Haj Saleh. « Il 20 | Le chemin de Damas de la faut traduire Bachar France en Orient al-Assad en justice » › François d’Orcival › Valérie Toranian et Aurélie Julia 30 | Renaud Girard. « La France doit sortir de son 107 | Lettre à Ala’ aveuglement néoconservateur › Samar Yazbek au plus vite » › Jean-Loup Bonnamy 113 | Gérard Chaliand. « Aucune puissance ne souhaite un 43 | Palmyre entre deux mondes Kurdistan indépendant » › Maurice Sartre › Valérie Toranian 54 | Le clan Assad à l’épreuve 129 | Rojava : une révolution du feu communaliste › Isabelle Hausser au Kurdistan syrien ? › Bruno Deniel-Laurent 61 | Les ressorts de l’intervention russe en Syrie 136 | À la rencontre des femmes › Thomas Gomart combattantes au Kurdistan › Juliette Minces 69 | L’Arabie saoudite et le financement des djihadistes › Richard Labévière « LES JEUX D’INGÉRENCE ET D’INTERACTION EXISTENT EN SYRIE DEPUIS DEUX CENTS ANS » › Entretien avec Henry Laurens réalisé par Valérie Toranian et Aurélie Julia Les accords Sykes-Picot, qui définissent les frontières de la Syrie et de l’Irak à la fin de la Première Guerre mondiale, sont-ils responsables de l’instabilité chronique dans la région ? Henry Laurens, historien et professeur au Collège de France, rétablit la vérité. Revue des Deux Mondes – Les accords Sykes-Picot signés en 1916 ont défini les contours actuels du Proche et du Moyen-Orient, notamment la frontière syro-irakienne, que l’organisation État islamique veut supprimer. Quelle est «l’histoire de cet accord ? Henry Laurens L’accord Sykes-Picot est un échange de lettres entre Paul Cambon, ambassadeur de France à Londres, et sir Edward Grey, ministre anglais des Affaires étrangères. Les archives françaises de l’époque l’ont donc noté comme étant l’accord Cambon-Grey. Sir Mark Sykes et François Georges-Picot ont préparé le dossier, ils ont effectué tout le travail diplomatique en étant régulièrement en relation avec leurs auto- rités supérieures ; une fois l’accord signé, ils ont poursuivi des carrières 8 SEPTEMBRE 2016 SEPTEMBRE 2016 l’occident face à la syrie parallèles – Sykes est mort de la grippe espagnole en 1919 ; Picot, lui, a quitté le Moyen-Orient et a été remplacé par Henri Joseph Eugène Gouraud. Si vous voulez comprendre l’historiographie de la région, il faut se pencher sur le cercle de Thomas Edward Lawrence, qu’on appelle l’Arab bureau, le groupe du Caire ; les Anglo- Henry Laurens est historien, Égyptiens ont fait de Sykes-Picot un épou- spécialiste du Moyen-Orient. Il est vantail. Mais ce n’est qu’une étape dans un professeur au Collège de France et enseignant à l’Institut national des processus diplomatique extrêmement long. langues et civilisations orientales On confond Sykes-Picot avec les frontières (Inalco). Dernier ouvrage publié : la issues de la Première Guerre mondiale, fruits Question de Palestine, tome V, 1982- de négociations très complexes entre 1918 2001.
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