It’s the end of the Arab Spring – and we’ll all pay for it

The future of the region is still up for grabs. It will be up to those who believe in democracy and progress to seize it, writes Farea Al-Muslimi

The battles have been won by authoritarian regimes and their supporters (Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The carpet rolled out to Bashar al-Assad by the Arab League in Jeddah this week opens a grim new chapter in a darkening world.

Let us not forget that hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions displaced by the Assad regime’s horrific war crimes. Yet here he is, being welcomed with open arms.

Over a decade after the Arab Spring, the promise of bringing new and more accountable political forces into power to sweep away long-serving and corrupt despots appears lost.