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Friday, October 19, 2012

We condemn Israel. So why the silence on Syria?

Jonathan Freedland wrote a very important opinion piece in the Guardian today. It echos my frustration with the so-called "left" and liberal communities in the US:

When Israelis kill Arabs there is outrage. But Assad's brutal campaign has cost 30,000 lives and there've been no protests

We know the government hopes to do nothing, but what about the rest of us? Exactly one year after the death of Muammar Gaddafi, the chances of another round of Libya-style western military intervention, this time for Syria, hover close to zero. Even the hawkish Mitt Romney promises no such thing. Few politicians speak even of non-military options â?? of which there are many â?? let alone taking up arms.

They say nothing because there is no pressure on them to say anything. Here and abroad, there is virtual silence, save for the desperate pleas of a few Syrian expats and yesterday's cry for humanitarian help from the Turkish foreign minister. We know the facts, and we know what Bashar al-Assad has done since demonstrators took to the streets to protest against his rule 19 months ago. He and his forces have pursued a campaign of the most chilling brutality, using fighter planes to bomb civilian neighbourhoods, capturing, starving and torturing children as young as six, according to Save the Children, and racking up an estimated death toll of 30,000 victims.

People know all this but stay mute. Not that they should be demanding immediate military action. After Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, people are justifiably both weary and wary, with many regarding action in Syria as a practical impossibility. I understand that. But what I can't comprehend is the lack of public pressure on those doing the actual killing â?? starting with the Assad regime. Instead, public opinion seems utterly disengaged, unbothered by the slaughter under way in Aleppo, Homs and Damascus.

There are no mass demonstrations outside the Syrian embassy in London. The story is rarely on the front page or on the TV bulletins. Even when there is a shocking atrocity, such as the Daraya massacre of up to 400 people in August, it makes only a fleeting impact. There is no Disaster Emergency Committee appeal. At the Labour party conference, there were fringe meetings on every possible subject, from teenage spending habits to domestic pets. But there was not a single session focused solely on Syria â?? and this in the party that calls itself internationalist.

It's not as if this is par for the course, that we never get exercised by the loss of innocent life in the Middle East. We do. Nearly four years ago Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, designed to halt Hamas rocket fire from Gaza. It resulted in some 1,400 Palestinian deaths. For nearly a month that story was never off the front page, and it often led the TV news, here and around the world. There were large and loud public demonstrations. The DEC set up a fund and sought to air a televised appeal, famously refused by the BBC.

There is no such clamour now. The Stop the War Coalition is not summoning thousands to central London to demand an end to the fighting, as it did then. On the contrary, its statements are content simply to oppose western intervention â?? of which there is next to no prospect â?? while politely refusing to condemn Assad's war on his own people. Caryl Churchill has not written a new play, Seven Syrian Children, exploring the curious mindset of the Alawite people that makes them capable of such horrors, the way she rushed to the stage to probe the Jewish psyche in 2009. The slaughter in Syria has similarly failed to move the poet Tom Paulin to pick up his pen. Apparently, these Syrian deaths are not worthy of artistic note. The contrast has struck Robert Fisk, no defender of Israel. He puts it baldly: "[T]he message that goes out is simple: we demand justice and the right to life for Arabs if they are butchered by the west and its Israeli allies, but not when they are being butchered by their fellow Arabs."

Plenty resist that explanation. Some say the lethargy of both the public and anti-war left is due to the fact that Syria is now locked in a civil conflict, making it hard to tell good guys from bad guys. Yet NGOs were swamped with cash donations during the Kosovo crisis: the public did not write that off as a mere internal Balkan problem. Besides, though it's a civil war now, with both sides armed, for several months it was much more straightforward: peaceful demonstrators killed in cold blood. Yet few rallied to the Syrian people's cause then either.

Others wonder if Gaza in 2008-9 stirred greater outrage because it was such an intense episode, unfolding in a matter of weeks, while Syria has been a drip-drip horror story played out over nearly two years. But this hardly stacks up. Awful to speak in such terms, but the killing rate has been more, not less, intense in Syria: witness that massacre of 400 in a single day.

Anxious for answers, I called Lindsey German of Stop the War, who told me the organisation was not active on Syria because that "isn't Stop the War's job". Its focus is on what "Britain and the US are doing". Why, then, was it so vocal on Gaza? Because the west "was very much in support of the Israelis, so it was very different". (In fact, Britain did not support Operation Cast Lead but called for a ceasefire.) She adds that the Palestinian question "has its own dynamic, which isn't true of any other country".

The trouble is, such thinking surely leads to a very parochial form of internationalism â?? turning a blind eye to all those areas of the globe where one's own government is not involved. And that's if such a rule were applied consistently â?? which it is not. More...

From EAWorldView we have this report today:

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 44 Dead in Airstrike on Ma'arat al-Numan
Friday, October 19, 2012 at 9:28 | James Miller

2227 GMT: Syria. The videos from Deir Ez Zor are terrible. While we cannot share them here, we have published a few in a separate video gallery (viewer discretion advised). It's dark, so impossible to count the bodies, but there may be dozens of videos like the ones we have posted - it's entirely possible that there are 75 bodies, or more, in Deir Ez Zor.
2208 GMT: Syria. Today's death toll could be staggering. According to the latest tally by the Local Coordination Committees, more than 230 people have died so far today:
69 martyrs in Damascus and its suburbs most of them were in Hamorya and Saqba massacres along with 9 martyrs were field executed in Yarmouk refugees camp and 4 were field executed in Qadam. 53 maryrs in Idlib most of them in Maarrat Alnoman massacre, 35 in Aleppo including 6 were found in Jam’eyat Alzahra, 24 in Homs, 18 in Daraa including 7 were field executed in Ma’raba and 4 were field executed in Inkhel, 14 in Deir Ezzor, 8 in Hama, 6 in Qunaitra and 3 martyrs in Raqqa.
LCC could also count 134 points at which the regime army randomly shelled civilians including 22 points [that] were bombarded by war planes. Regime forces also dropped explosive drums at 6 points which are Hamorya, Saqba, Shefoniya and Douma in Damascus suburbs, Maarrat Alnoman in Idlib and Western suburbs of Aleppo.
FSA documented 36 points of clashes with regime army and... 13 operations [conducted by the FSA] and... [the] capture many forces of regime army.
Even this number is already out of date. Several more casualties are reported by the LCC since this total, and a horrific story is emerging from Deir Ez Zor that more than 75 people have been found, executed by regime forces and dumped in a mass grave.
Now, a note on the casualty figures produced by the LCC:
The Local Coordination Committees (LCC) is an activist network operating both inside and outside of Syria. They claim to use stringent verification processes to ensure that a member of the LCC can vouch for any information posted either on their Facebook page or their website. The LCC also populates a database of those killed in the Syrian conflict, which can be seen at the website for the Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria.
The LCC's casualty figures are a mix of insurgents and civilians, and never include regime casualties. Syrian State Media has stopped reporting regime casualty figures.
While we cannot confirm these reports, the LCC has proven to be highly reliable in the past.
An activist puts things in perspective:
247 human beings were slain at the hands of the Syrian regime today. 8 of them in #Lebanon. #Syria
— Nuff Silence (@NuffSilence) October 19, 2012
And another activist expresses frustration of the media's coverage of this conflict:
Why is suffering of #Deir-Ezzor hardly covered, practically ignored? LCCs say 75 bodies were found there today. #Syria
— Rime Allaf (@rallaf) October 19, 2012
2200 GMT: Bahrain. EA's John Horne reports:
Multiple reports from Bahrain indicate a tense and repressive situation in Al-Eker village, where a policeman died last night. Security forces have reportedly blocked all access to the village. Opposition society AlWefaq issued an urgent statement claiming that a "status of emergency was unofficially imposed by the regime forces" in Al-Eker
Around three hours ago, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights members Zainab AlKhawaja and Said Yousif Almuhafda tried to enter the village but were blocked at a checkpoint. Zainab described the village as "now completely surrounded by riot police". Security forces told her that "nobody is allowed in or out of Al-Eker village". She was also told by locals that "riot police have broken into more than 25 houses".
Zainab also spoke with a 15 year old boy whose leg was injured after " riot police threw stun grenades" into his house
Between the screaming of the women and children crying, they grabbed his brother and started asking him where their cousin is. When he said he did not know, the masked men attacked him and started beating him severely. When the boy asked the masked men to stop beating his brother, they threw a stun grande at him, injuring his leg. The police then attacked the women, spraying their faces with chemical spray.
There is also violence being reported in other villages in the country. Several shotgun injuries have been reported in Karranah.
Seems the injured protester taken by riot police from Karranah is in critical condition, his family fear for his life #bahrain
— angry arabiya (@angryarabiya) October 19, 2012
2008 GMT: Lebanon. And now the denials - Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi has condemned the bombing, as has Hezbollah:
Hezbollah also called on Lebanese to stand united and urged an investigation into the Friday explosion. The Syrian government has also issued a statement condemning the terrorist attack as a 'cowardly' move.
1946 GMT: Lebanon/Syria. Walid Jumblatt, a prominent leader of the Lebanese Druze and the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, speaks to Al Jazeera English. He points the finger directly at Syrian President Bashar al Assad as being solely responsible for the death of Wissam al Hassan. Jumblatt stops short, however, of directly blaming Hezbollah. Instead, Jumblatt requested the quieting of sectarian tension and the focus on the real problem - the Syrian regime:
1920 GMT: Lebanon. Only yesterday Saad Hariri accused Hezbollah of committing crimes in Syria.
“The Lebanese -- Shiites, Sunnis and Christians -- know very well, even from the mouths of senior Hezbollah officials, the nature of [the party’s] involvement in what it alleged to be ‘a jihadi duty’ alongside the machine of killings, repression, crackdown and subjugation facing the Syrian people,” a statement released by Hariri's media office.
“There is no longer anything that can help to cover up this clear crime committed by Hezbollah first against Lebanon before Syria, especially it is fully aware that the days of its ally in Damascus are numbered.”
1825 GMT: Lebanon. Saad Heriri has pointed his finger firmly at Syria's President for the assassination by car bombing of security official Wissam al-Hassan:
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday of being behind the huge car bomb which killed senior Lebanese intelligence official Wissam al-Hassan in central Beirut.
Asked by Future Television who was responsible for the killing, Hariri replied: “Bashar Hafez al-Assad,” giving the full name of the Syrian president. Hariri’s father, Rafik al-Hariri, was killed seven years ago in a bombing which his supporters blamed on Damascus and Hezbollah, according to Reuters.
Saad Harir on Al Arabiya now accusing Assad of killing Wissam al-Hassan. He was speaking on the phone from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
— Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) October 19, 2012
Meanwhile, one of Lebanon's most prominent leaders of the Druze community, and head of the Progressive Socialist Party, has also accused Assad of the crime:
Walid Jumblatt very clear in his view that #Assad ordered killing of Wissam Hassan #Lebanon Hardly a shock
— Chris Doyle (@Doylech) October 19, 2012
1800 GMT: Lebanon. And now it begins - Saad Harari is speaking out against the assassination:
Saad Hariri: I promise the #Lebanese people that I will not let go of Wissam Al Hassan’s Assassination. #Lebanon #Syria
— K'@?ee? L?i"'?@? (@KareemLailah) October 19, 2012
1731 GMT: Lebanon. More clashes are already being reported in the wake of the news of the death of Wissam al Hassan:
Reuters: Sunni Muslims take to the streets & burn tyres across Lebanon following killing of head of police intelligence in Beirut bombing
— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) October 19, 2012
@jmiller_ea Hi: a friend in Beirut who drove drove past sassasine 10 min after the blast reports total chaos. Normally short trip took 1 hr!
— sean foley (@foleyse) October 19, 2012
1721 GMT: Lebanon. David Kenner suggests that what has happened today in Beirut, the death of a very important intelligence officer in a car bombing, could be the start of a real horror story in the Middle East:
In Lebanon, each security branch is a fiefdom of a different political party. Hassan wasn't just a non-partisan official, but widely recognized as the central ally of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's Future Movement, the country's most important Sunni party. As FP contributor Elias Muhanna writes, Hassan had "long been the target of...ire" from Lebanon's pro-Assad political alliance. Hassan had been riding high: His branch had just arrested Michel Samaha, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's staunchest allies in Beirut, on charges of plotting attacks against Christian areas on orders of the Syrian regime.
For Hariri and his anti-Assad allies, then, this looks like payback: They struck a blow against one of Assad's men, so the Syrian regime took revenge by killing the man who orchestrated the arrest. The backlash is already brewing: Lebanese press outlets have reported scattered clashes and blocked roads in areas of Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli that are typically flashpoints for violence.
Kenner ends by echoing our own fears: "The entire effort to keep Lebanon out of Syria's war could come crashing down."
1708 GMT: Jordan. It's looking more and more like what has happened in Amman was a simple ceiling collapse, and not an "explosion" as initially reported by the Associated Press. Clearly, however, tensions are high everywhere:
#Amman #citymall ceiling collapses in citymall #scary twitter.com/leensoudi/stat…
— Leen Soudi (@leensoudi) October 19, 2012

1700 GMT: Lebanon. This may be the event that triggers a series of major events across the Middle East. Lebanon has already been internally torn between whether to support Assad or not, with Hezbollah taking Assad's side and many in the Lebanese government, most especially General Wissam al Hassad, were pushing against Assad. This may be a catalyst for intense violence - then again, with the situation so confusing, it's still possible that quick leadership on the part of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hasan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, could disarm this conflict.
One problem - fighting has already started.
So, there has been some minor fighting in Tripoli (Lebanon) between Sunnis and Alawites and Sunni protests and tire burnings in Beirut.
— Dan Murphy (@bungdan) October 19, 2012

And now all the morons come out of the woodwork --> fighting reported between Jabal Mohsen and Baba al-Tabbaneh #Lebanon
— Patrick Galey (@patrickgaley) October 19, 2012

Roads also cut in Zahle, near the Bekaa Valley & Akkar, north #Lebanon. Extra troops deployed in mixed-sectarian areas of #Beirut
— Martin Chulov (@martinchulov) October 19, 2012

If #Lebanon is to weather this storm, it will take Nasrallah-esque performance from Hariri to calm Sunni street. May be beyond his control.
— Elias Muhanna (@QifaNabki) October 19, 2012

1650 GMT: Jordan. BREAKING news:
AP: Jordanian police say a large explosion has hit a shopping centre in capital city Amman
— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) October 19, 2012

Image from Amman where a mall ceiling collapsed, AP reported police saying its a large explosion bit.ly/TjzsZP
— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) October 19, 2012

AP says otherwise. What gives, then? RT @_aha: PEOPLE. THERE IS NO EXPLOSION IN #AMMAN, JORDAN. DO NOT SPREAD RUMOURS.
— Andy Carvin (@acarvin) October 19, 2012

Reports of explosion in #Amman, but pic looks like ceiling collapse. RT @doniaaqelCeiling just fell apart at City Mall twitter.com/Doniaaqel/stat…
— Richard Hall (@_RichardHall) October 19, 2012

1645 GMT: Lebanon. Who was Brigadier-General Wissam al-Hassan, killed in today's blast? Blogger and academic Elias Muhanna, who was written extensively on al-Hassan, offers this overview:
Wissam al-Hassan was one of the most important security figures in Lebanon. He headed up the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces (i.e. the Lebanese police), and was recently responsible for arresting Michel Samaha, a former minister with close ties to Syria, for allegedly conspiring to have explosives blown up all around Lebanon in a bid to create havoc. The move was seen as hugely destabilizing in Lebanon — because Wissam al-Hassan is very close to the March 14th coalition while Samaha had long been regarded as “untouchable” because of his connections to Damascus — and yet none of Samaha’s Lebanese allies demanded his release.
Wissam al-Hassan also has a very interesting role in the investigation of the Hariri assassination.
See Muhanna's original post for links to significant pieces by him relevant to al-Hassan.
1609 GMT: Lebanon. More details on the significance of the reported death of Wissam al Hassan:
Wissam al-Hassan, killed in today's #Beirut bombing, was the most important anti-Syrian security official in #Lebanon.
— Martin Chulov (@martinchulov) October 19, 2012

Death of Wissam al-Hassan the most dangerous event in #Lebanon since assassination of Rafiq Hariri in 2005
— Martin Chulov (@martinchulov) October 19, 2012

Wissam al-Hassan is/was perhaps the main Saudi/Hariri ally in Lebanese govt. Killing him could be a game-changer in Lebanon. Yikes.
— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) October 19, 2012

Wissam al-Hassan had seemed ascendant after orchestrating arrest of pro-Assad figure Michel Samaha. This looks like Syrian regime's response
— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) October 19, 2012
Whoever was responsible, this could easily ignite tensions between Lebanon and Syria.
1604 GMT: Lebanon. Back from a phone conference to find some major news. Wissam al-Hassan, a top Lebanese security official, was killed in today's bombing in Beirut. John Horne reports:
As the dust settles and the scale of the bombing - and its targets - become known, the finger pointing begins.
Two Lebanese MP's have already accused the Assad regime. Kataeb bloc MP Nadim Gemayel, who represents Ashrafieh, the area where the bombing took place, said, "The Syrian regime is not [detached] from such kind of explosions, which is political par excellence". He added, in an interview with LBC Television which is politically affiliated with the March 14 Alliance, "“the Syrian regime is collapsing and is trying to move its crisis to Lebanon.
Similarly, speaking to Saudi owned AlArabiya, Future bloc MP Nohad Mashnouq said, "The explosion is a message sent from the Syrian regime to terrorize the Lebanese people."
1442 GMT: Turkey/Egypt EA's John Horne reports:
The New York Times reports on an emerging alliance between Egypt and Turkey, following the ousting of the former's previous dictator and the escalting crisis in Syria:
Egypt and Turkey are considering plans to lift visa restrictions and recently completed joint naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. Turkey has offered a host of measures to bolster Egypt’s economy, including a $2 billion aid package. There is even talk of Turkey’s helping Egypt to restore its Ottoman-era buildings. A wider-ranging partnership is expected to be announced in the coming weeks when the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party shares an Islamist pedigree with Egypt’s leadership, goes to Cairo
(...)

The collapse in relations with Syria may have prompted Turkey to speed up its alliance with Egypt, but the partnership is also rooted in the Islamist politics of the leaders of the two countries and their respective movements: Mr. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, or A.K.P., and the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt’s president, Mohamed Morsi. This connection offers chances for a new Sunni Islamic bloc, even as each country offers a different understanding of how Islam and democracy can coexist.

1439 GMT: Kuwait. EA's John Horne reports:
Kuwait's ruling family issued a statement yesterday calling for obedience to the Emir.
The statement was published on state news agency KUNA and opens with a verse from the Quaran:
O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. (Surat Annisa, verse 59)
It continues:
The Council would like to reaffirm that any affair relating to the ruling family is not subject to publication in any form whether audio, visual or written.
His Highness the Crown Prince, in his capacity as President of the Council, would like also to assert His Highness the Emir's right to be obeyed.
The Council would like to reaffirm that any affair relating to the ruling family is not subject to publication in any form whether audio, visual or written.
This statement followed the arrest yesterday of two former MPs, Bader al-Dahum and Falah al-Sawwagh, accused of criticising the Emir during a large opposition rally on Monday. A third opposition politician was also brougth in for questioning. The rally was held days after the Emir dissolved parliament, increasing political tensions in the country.
Opposition politician Musallam al-Barrak, who appealed directly to the Emir in a speech at Monday's protest to not take Kuwait "into the abyss of autocracy", has so far not been arrested. He is reported as saying at the rally:
We will not allow you, your highness, to take Kuwait into the abyss of autocracy," he warned. "We no longer fear your prisons and your riot batons.
If your highness decides to change the election law by emiri decree, then you alone are responsible for complicating matters and you alone are responsible for resolving it.
A reader of academic As'ad AbuKhali's blog "The Angry Arab" sent the followingobservation about the significance of al-Barrak's comments:
The way this Kuwaiti opposition MP has broken the taboo of addressing the emir directly has set a precedent that will be difficult to reverse and is likely to be raising eyebrows in Gulf states. Twitter was going crazy with it. Historic indeed. Don't be deceived by the speaker though. He's a populist and will say anything to get the crowd roaring. But this really is unprecedented and is worth a watch.
1438 GMT: Egypt. According to the Associated Press, "several thousand" protesters are demonstrating in Cairo "to demand the president and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters ensure the country's constitution represents all factions of society". The protesters are en route to Tahrir Square, the scene of violent clashes last friday between critics and supporters of President Morsi.
1423 GMT: Syria. Meanwhile, it's been another terribly bloody day in Syria. According to the Local Coordination Committees, 86 people have already been killed across the country:
29 martyrs were reported in Damacus and its suburbs; 14 in Idlib, including 7 in Maarshorein; 10 in Raqqa including 7 field-executed; 9 in Deir Ezzor; 8 in Hama; 6 in Homs; 6 in Daraa; and 4 in Aleppo.
See our note on the LCC and their published casualty figures.
Dozens of videos from Damascus and its suburbs show the wounded, treated in field hospitals, and the dead, prepared for funeral by their families.
1415 GMT: Lebanon. According to Lebanese NNA, at least 8 people have been killed and at least 78 have been wounded.
And the death toll could rise far higher:
Straight terrorism RT @fchahine21 Car bomb in Achrafieh was strategically placed in an area that 90% full of residential buildings. #Lebanon
— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) October 19, 2012
1411 GMT: Turkey/Syria. EA's John Horne reports:
Turkey's Foreign Minister has called on major Western powers to take immedite action in Syria to avoid a humanitarian "disaster". Speaking to the Guardian, Ahmet Davutoglu said:
How long can this situation continue? I mean in Bosnia, now we have Ban Ki-moon [the UN secretary general] apologising 20 years after. Who will apologise for Syria in 20 years' time? How can we stay idle?"
We [Turkey] are doing all we can to help these people, using all diplomatic capacity to stop this bloodshed. But there should be a much more concerted effort by the international community. The best way we can see now is direct humanitarian intervention.
We want the international community to find a solution to resolve this issue inside Syria. All means can be discussed. But there must be proper humanitarian access. We have 145,000 refugees in Turkey but there are millions of people, two million people inside Syria who are IDPs [internally displaced people]. Those that are lucky can come to Turkey. They are the lucky ones.
So there has to be humanitarian access, a humanitarian mission inside Syria, and the international community must be ready to protect it. This is the question, whether it is a buffer zone or humanitarian access – how these people are to be protected inside Syria. We are calling for an international humanitarian mission to go into Syria and be protected to stop the refugee flow.
The international community must make a decision. Humanitarian access must be guaranteed by any means that is acceptable. These people are human beings. The winter is approaching. How will they survive the winter?
We're not bomb experts, but we've seen carbombs before, and to our untrained eye, the way the explosion has ripped apart that car suggests that this was a car bomb. So does this unconfirmed report:
Back from the car bomb site. Devastation in residential area. Found the bonnet of a car on the roof of an 8-storey building #beirut
— Joe (@joedyke) October 19, 2012
1350 GMT: Syria. It's destined to be buried in today's headlines, but there are large Friday protests across Syria today. The Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre reports:
Today's protests have been called "America, are you not satisfied with our blood?", reflecting the frustration and anger of many Syrians that the US government does not support the revolution and is not doing as much as it could to stop Assad's slaughter. Despite the airstrikes, shelling and fighting protests are taking place in many places, as usual. The video shows Kafaranbel in Idlib province where the regular airstrikes haven't stopped them coming up with some good signs as always.

Binnish, Idlib:

Many suburbs of Damascus are reporting larger-than-normal protests, in response to, and threatened by, the increasingly violent bombing and shelling campaigns against these areas:
#Damascus: anti government protest in #Jobar district in solidarity with the Eastern Ghouta areas and FSA 19-10youtube.com/watch?v=s2k3yk…#Syria
— Zilal (@zilal1) October 19, 2012

Even in Darayya, a town that has been heavily hit by several waves of massacres, executions, and shelling, large protests have been held today.
See our separate feature, Syria 1st-Hand: Darayya --- 6 Weeks After the Mass Killings (Sands).
#Daraya, #Damascus suburb: anti government protest this afternoon calling for the toppling of regime 19-10-2012youtube.com/watch?v=SsRFhJ…#Syria
— Zilal (@zilal1) October 19, 2012

1340 GMT: Bahrain. EA's John Horne reports:
Human Rights First has issued a statement following the news from the Ministry of Interior that a policeman has been killed and another seriously injured (see 0935GMT entry). Brian Dooley from the organisation said:
News that a policeman has been killed and another seriously wounded will only deepen the human rights crisis in Bahrain.
These attacks increase the polarization in an already deeply divided society and are likely to set back prospects for peaceful reform.
1334 GMT: Lebanon. The Guardian notes that the death toll is now somewhere between 4 and 8, but could rise further. They also clarify the location of the blast in Beirut:
As far as possible political targets are concerned, MTV station said the blast took place between the headquarters of the March 14 (anti-Assad) coalition and the Kataeb (Christian Maronite) party. Ashrafiyeh is a largely Christian district.
On the other hand, El-Nashra website said the explosion ripped through a building housing a branch of BEMO – a Syrian bank.
They also note that there is a dispute as to whether this is a car bomb or, as AJE's rula Amin is testifying, the bomb blast looks like it occurred inside a building.
1307 GMT: Lebanon. Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, and someone who witnessed the explosion, report live from Beirut:

1255 GMT: Lebanon. According to a journalist in Beirut speaking to Al Jazeera English, the neighborhood is a mix of commercial and residential buildings, and the explosion hit at the time when schools were getting out - the peak time for movement on the streets. If this is a car bomb, it was designed to inflict maximum civilian casualties.
This is monstrous. Local TV showing images of body parts, blood pools, wounded children #Beirut
— Patrick Galey (@patrickgaley) October 19, 2012

1250 GMT: Lebanon. The Guardian notes report that the explosion took place near a Syrian bank, though it's not clear that the bank was a target. They also share this picture, which further suggests this was a car bomb. State media has also reported that it was the result of two car bombs. Again, all this news is unconfirmed as the explosion happened just about half an hour ago.
Looks like it was a car bomb, although that's not confirmed twitter.com/DiAyDi/status/… #Beirut (via @patrickgaley)
— Kaio Leonardo (@KaioLeonardo) October 19, 2012

1242 GMT: Lebanon. Jess Hill, from the Global Mail, reports:
Poss context: March 14 students & activists have been campaigning for several weeks for the Syrian ambassador to be evicted from Lebanon.
— Jess Hill (@jessradio) October 19, 2012

Judging by the photos, it looks like the explosion at #Sassine Sq in Achrafieh was huge. twitter.com/YorgoElBittar/… (via @patrickgaley) #Beirut
— Jess Hill (@jessradio) October 19, 2012

1234 GMT: Lebanon. A security source has told Reuters that "at least two people were killed and 15 wounded" following the bomb that exploded in Ashrafieh, the predominately Christian area of east Beirut. A witness on the scene told Reuters that they had seen at least one dead body.
EA's Scott Lucas adds this conflict to this breaking news:
Ashrafieh is the mainly Christian area in east Beirut - If this had happened three years ago --- indeed, it did happen repeatedly --- first suspect would be Syrian regime.
1230 GMT: Lebanon. Reuters reports that an "explosion rocked central Beirut during rush hour on Friday". Details are still emerging.
#Beirut: pic of smoke following Ashrafieh explosion: Via @svhoorn: twitter.com/svhoorn/status… @akhbar
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 19, 2012

March14 is anti #Syria-regime group in #Lebanon. RT @naharnet Ashrafiyeh blast near HQ of March 14 General Secretariat. naharnet.com
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 19, 2012

Ashrafieh explosion is next 2 my former university. I am hearing there are victims, unclear how many. My thoughts with my friends/ teachers.
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 19, 2012

Lebanese media reporting that explosion in Ashrafieh #Beirut is result of a car bomb. #Lebanon (@akhbar)
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) October 19, 2012

James Miller takes over today's live coverage. Thanks to John Horne and Scott Lucas for getting us started.
1046 GMT: Syria. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reportedly rejected a Turkish proposal for a transitional government led by Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa.
According to Al-Anbaa newspaper, Ahmadinejad told journalists in Kuwait, " “This means we are imposing a foreign solution on the Syrians. The solution must be Syrian rather than imposed from outside and the Syrian people should decide through elections."
Ahmadinejad reportedly met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdog(an for 40 minutes earlier this week on the sidelines of a summit in Azerbaijan. The meeting occurred amid reports of a renewed attempt at an Egypt-Turkey-Iran "contact group" over the Syrian crisis.
1012 GMT: Syria. Insurgents claim that regime warplanes have again dropped cluster bombs in today's attacks on Ma'aret al-Numan.
Fighters showed an AFP correspondent debris from one cluster bomb and dozens of other bomblets that failed to explode on impact.
Electronic journalists and activists have been posting footage of the bombs this month. On Sunday, Human Rights Watch issued a statement accusing the Syrian air force of using the cluster bombs in populated areas.
The Syrian military has said it does not possess such weapons.
1005 GMT: Syria. The Joint Command for military and revolutionary councils, has said it is ready for a ceasefire during the Eid al-Adha holiday, as called for by United Nations-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, but only if several conditions are met:
0950 GMT: Tunisia. A co-ordinator of the opposition Call of Tunisia party has died in the southern town of Tataouine amid clashes between his supporters and those of the Government.
A Call of Tunisia official said Lotfi Naguedh died after he was beaten by pro-Government demonstrators who attacked his office.
Ministry of Interior spokesperson Khaled Tarrouche said Naguedh had died of a heart attack.
Ennahdha, the strongest party in the ruling coalition, expressed its condolences to Naqadh’s family and called for a judicial inquiry into the incident.
0945 GMT: Syria. Bjørn Holst Jespersen, via The Aviationist, has mapped both verified and "weak" reports of the downing of 10 planes and six helicopters, as well as attacks on airbases, by insurgents. Most of the incidents have been in Aleppo and Idlib Provinces.

View Syria: downed aerial vehicles. in a larger map
(Hat-tip to The Guardian)
0940 GMT: Saudi Arabia. The Washington Post has noticed the protests and deaths in the Eastern Province, where demonstrators have been challenging the regime over detentions and rights:
The death toll here --- 14 civilians and two police officers since the beginning of last year --- is small compared with recent rebellions in other Arab countries, especially the civil war in Syria. And, unlike elsewhere, protesters here are not demanding the overthrow of their government.
They want long-denied basic rights: equal access to jobs, religious freedom, the release of political prisoners. But in the richest country in the Middle East, where even peaceful protests have long been banned, the clashes between police and demonstrators have become a big concern for King Abdullah and his ruling family.
See also Saudi Arabia Feature: An Introduction to the Protests, Prisoners, and Deaths in Qatif
0935 GMT: Bahrain. A Bahraini policeman has died of his injuries following a "terrorist bombing" after police confronted a protest on Thursday night, according to the Ministry of Interior.
Another policeman was injured in the clashes in Al-Eker, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of the capital Manama.
The protesters had chanted, "The people want to topple the regime" and "Down, Down [King] Hamad".
0931 GMT: Syria. Hamza Hendawi writes for the Associated Press of a siege by insurgents on the villages of Zahraa and Nubl in Aleppo Province.
Opposition fighters have surrounded the enclaves, with about 35,000 people, since they took control of much of the province in July. They have put roadblocks, checkpoints, and snipers around the villages, forcing the government to send in supplies by helicopter.
The insurgents claim Zahraa and Nubl are harbouring pro-regime shabiha who shelled, killed, and kidnapped people in nearby villages.
0918 GMT: Turkey. Another pipeline explosion in eastern Turkey has halted the flow of Iranian natural gas and wounded 28 soldiers in a passing military vehicle, Turkish government and energy officials said.
The cause of the blast was not clear; however, the insurgent Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on pipelines.
The gas flow from Iran was halted earlier this month after an explosion and resumed a week later.
0909 GMT: Bahrain. According to pro-regime Gulf Daily News, MPs have warned US Ambassador Thomas Krajeski "to keep his nose out of Bahrain's business", calling on the Government to take action over his alleged interference in domestic affairs and meetings with opposition groups.
Parliament voted unanimously for the motion, submitted seven months ago. Last October, the MPs passed a no-confidence vote on his appointment.
"[Krajeski's] comments and meetings are unacceptable for the majority of Bahrain's population because they are backing those who incite division rather than helping solve anything," said MP Hassan Al Dossary.
MP Abdulla Bin Howail added, "We respect the US and have friendly ties with them, but that doesn't mean they can interfere and tell us what to do."
0900 GMT: Yemen. At least 10 soldiers and 11 insurgents have been killed in an assault on a military base in the southern town of Shuqra, according to medical and military sources.
Sources said insurgents first attacked the coastal base with an explosives-laden car, then approached from the sea.
0850 GMT: Egypt. El-Sayed El-Badawi, the head of the Wafd Party and CEO of the Sigma media company, has been sentenced to three years in prison for writing a bad check to the Egyptian Football Association.
0450 GMT: Syria. At least 44 people died on Wednesday in the northwestern town of Ma'arat al-Numan, the target of regime airstrikes since it was claimed by insurgents more than a week ago. At least 23 of the dead are children.
Ma'arat al-Numan is in a vital location on the road between Damascus and Syria's largest city, Aleppo, where the opposition and regime forces have fought for almost three months, and its position near the Turkish border means it could be part of a "buffer zone" for the protection of civilians --- and effectively a safe area for insurgents.
At least 10 bombs were dropped on the town and its eastern outskirts, while insurgents continued to attack the nearby Wadi Deif army base, a key depot for tanks and fuel supplies.
The Local Coordination Committees reported that 230 people were killed by security forces on Thursday, including 69 in Damascus and its suburbs, 53 in Idlib Province, 35 in Aleppo Province, 24 in Homs Province, 18 in Daraa Province, and 14 in Deir Ez Zor Province.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Norodom Sihanouk at his finest & more on Syria

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The legendary father king of Cambodia died on 15 October 2012. He was a towering figure in Cambodia politics.

I don't want to attempt any kind of summation or retrospective of the life of this giant of a man, but I do want to share with you two short video clips of him at his finest.

Until he was overthrown in a Nixon inspired coup in 1968, Prince Norodom Sihanouk had been successful in navigating the political and military white waters surrounding Cambodia during the Vietnam War and largely keeping Cambodia out of it. As the US was trying to bomb North Vietnam "back into the stone age," the C.I.A. was waging a covert war in Laos and the full force of the Pentagon was being unleashed in South Vietnam, Sihanouk walked a tightrope for Cambodia, diplomatically looking the other way where the Ho Chi Minh trail strayed into Cambodian jungles and also not interfering too much with US attempts to go after it.

His removal was followed by frightful consequences for Cambodia. More than 800,000 people were killed by Nixon's "secret" bombing of Cambodia. This assault so thoroughly destroyed the infrastructure of Cambodia, including killing of 75% of the draft animals, that a 1975 US AID report predicted that millions would die of famine after the US pulled out.

The one minute clip below is from my film, Vietnam: American Holocaust. The DVD of the film is available from Linux Beach or Amazon. The clip first features Norodom Sihanouk, as leader of Cambodia talking to US Secretary of State, Dean Rusk about civilians being killed by US troops. I love the way he doesn't back down or allow Rusk to interrupt him.

The second one is a statement to the media just after he has been deposed by a CIA engineered coup. Here we see both his gentleness and his fortitude. Those two clips are seperated by Martin Sheen's narration. From Vietnam: American Holocaust screenplay:

Some officials in our army and many deputies and many members of the government in Phnom Penh, they want to be your allies in order to have your dollars. They don't think about the destiny and the fate of our homeland, they don't mind about it, they are more patriotic for dollars than for Cambodia

Here are a couple of late videos from the Syrian Revolution:

A Syrian air force pilot captured by rebels after his plane was shot down has told Al Jazeera that he did not know he was bombing civilians.

Captain Roni Ibrahim said he and his fellow pilots were isolated from the reality of the conflict.

Ibrahim said he was speaking freely, though Al Jazeera was unable to verify the claim.

Anita McNaught has this exclusive report from the northern town of al-Bab.

While the Assad forces and turning to more and more desperate tactics, the free Syrian Army is becoming better organized and more professional, as example by this video below. What courage these people have. They shall prevail!
Free Syrian Army launches attack on Assad artillery position.

Click here for a list of my other blogs on Syria

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Meet a Syrian who doesn't think both sides are equally bad and is betting her life on it!

First, some thoughts on Rules of Engagement

One of the things being shaped in the Syrian conflict, as with Libya earlier, are rules of engagement for the class struggle. Make no mistake about it, all the regime's sectarian trash talking aside, the civil war in Syria is between the 1% and the 99%. Assad and his cronies, as with the Qaddafi's in Libya, represent a tiny ruling class that exploit the country, its people and its resources for their private benefit.

With the dawning of 2011, these countries, as was the case for the majority countries in North Africa and the Middle East, saw the rise of popular movements to complete the democratic transition that began a half century ago but had been put on hold by the establishment by their ruling classes of a variety of semi-feudal regimes in which a king or "president-for-life" held dictatorial powers.

In all of these countries, the popular uprisings were met with police violence that cost lives. In two of these countries, Libya and Syria, these popular movements were met by military violence. In both of these countries the popular movements took to armed self-defense that progressed to revolutionary war.

In the case of the Libyan conflict, the world was appalled that Qaddafi would use tanks to shell cities and war planes to bomb protests. Under the slogan of "Responsibility to Protect", the UN united, even Russia and China were on board, in saying NO to this type military violence against a civilian opposition. NATO created a "no-fly zone plus" that deprived Qaddafi of his air force and his heavy weapons. This effectively leveled the playing field for the people and they won. Because the world didn't allow Qaddafi to do what it is allowing Assad to do, they were able to put down the Qaddafi regime and even elect a new government, while their brothers and sisters in Syria continue to be slaughtered in ever growing numbers.

Much of the left in the US and around the world had fantasies about Brother Qaddafi so they saw the Arab Spring in Libya as an imperialist plot. They were thick in the "anti-interventionist" camp that wanted Qaddafi to be left alone to do to Libyans what Assad is doing to Syrians. They were so busy making fun of what they saw as just another hypocritical use of "Responsibility to Protect" that they seemed to over look the fact the the concept, that there are definite limits to which a government will be allowed to go in suppressing its own population before the world community will intervene, has a definite and important value to people everywhere.

This might also be called world community "rules of engagement." Action was authorized against Qaddafi because he was found to have violated them. But it seems that these "rules of engagement" have shifted frightfully far to the right in a very short time because Assad now does everyday what Qaddafi was only preparing to do. Nobody is yet taking serious measures to make him stop and even Democracy Now ignores the hundreds of Syrians slaughtered every day by the Syrian state repression machinery.

President Obama tells Assad that the use of "a whole bunch of chemical weapons" is his new red line. The world will not stop him from dropping cluster bombs on civilians or shelling his own cities. He continues to do this and much of the "left" cheers him on; Witness the pro-Assad flags at last weekend's anti-war protests.

That is because they lack an independent analysis of the situation and are so use to reacting to whatever the imperialists do that when the imperialists saw it in their interest, for a variety of exceptional reasons, to support the Libyan revolution, they opposed it. Now, in the case of Syria, they follow the same model and because the imperialists want to sound like they would like to help the people, they rush to oppose an intervention when the imperialists, now returning to normal form, are holding back and secretly hoping that the tyrant can maintain his position.

Frightful new "Rules of Engagement" are now being established with the complicity of much of the "left." It may be that the level of state violence that is now being tolerated in Syria may one day be applied to the protesters in Greece or Spain or anywhere else the authorities conclude sterner measures must be taken.

Many peoples may long rue the day it was said that "a whole bunch of chemical weapons" was the new red-line in a government's war against a popular uprising.

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If the Assad regime has nothing else, it has a first rate propaganda machine, and so now it can be heard from pro-Assad mouthpieces on every mountain and even in the swamps how Assad is fighting foreign jhadist terrorists mercenariness being armed and financed by imperialists and oil sheiks. This is a 1% lie. The vast majority of the Free Syrian fighters are ex-SAA soldiers and Syrian activists that have taken up arms. Meet one of the newest members.

From The North Star:

First Female Allawite Officer Defects

Translation by the Syrian Freedom team:
I am colonel Zbeyda Al miki of the Syrian army from the sold “Golan”. I declare my defection from the traitorous Assad army.

As I am the first woman officer of the Allawi sect to defect, this is my message:

People of my country, people of my sect, the conflict in Syria is between the oppressor and the oppressed, between the people and the regime, which means that the conflict isn’t between sects and minorities.

But the regime is making the conflict sectarian to destroy the revolution.

Brothers in arms, fight for the victory of the people’s revolution, and provide the revolution with a national soul and the feeling of belonging to the nation, not to a sect, with the values of nationalism, not sectarianism.

Teach the people that the counties geography is not the geography of sects, and that belonging to the nation is to refuse all others attachments that interfere with national unity.

Teach and learn that sectarianism is a destructive, a defeat for the country, to pride and freedom, and is a victory for escalation and humiliating regime.

You should know that the Syrian revolution is for dignity, pride, equality, and citizenship. That is the national plan, as opposed to that of the criminal, sectarian regime.

Don’t be hit men for the regime. Remember Allah saying: the one who kills one person, is like one who kills all people, and the one who saves a life is like one who saves all lives.

Finally, I would like to thank all who helped me to defect from this criminal regime. I would like to thank my brothers in arms in the Free Syrian Army, Jund Allah battalion, with the coordination of the military council of Damascus and its outskirts. This is my identification.

MORE BREAKING NEWS: Seven Alawite military officers defect to Jordan, the first mass defection of Alawite officers from the regime since the Syrian uprising began!

I was certainly proven wrong in my speculation that Bashar al-Assad had been killed or was seriously injured in the July 18th Damascus explosion. After he went public again, I was won over to Stephine Lamy's alternate theory that Assad was laying low and staying out of site so that blame for the emmense violence would fall on the Syrian state and not him personally. She wrote me in a DKos message:

Assad comms strategy is very effective, he has managed to stay out of the limelight, thus deflecting any form of concentration of hate only on himself. Remember how angry people became after Saleh or Ghaddafi televised speeches?

By not showing himself, he is, in fact, hiding behind the whole regime - which in the long run is even more dangerous, as all Alawites will come to be seen as "evil".

The Damascus explosion that killed four of his top commanders was the first strike at the heart of his state repression machinery. His ability to stay out of sight and out of mind for a full month after that, while his violent repression of the opposition escalated, was, at the time, a sign of this strength at the time.

By the same logic, this accelerating need to show himself in public and even visit his front-line troops is a sign of his weakness. So is his more rampant use of violence against civilians, from his home demolitions in the face of Damascus's coming winter, to his non-stop shelling of Homs and his aerial assault on Aleppo.

Beneath what looks much like the "stalemate" we saw in Libya, slowly but surely he is losing this war and the Free Syrian Army is winning.

They are gaining more and more defectors from a wider strata of the Syrian Army, like the woman above or the men below:
Assad Army Unit Defects in Latakia - Joins Freedom Fighters

Many of those that remain in Assad's army have no will to fight and surrender easily when sent into battle, as with this group here:

100s of Assad soldiers captured in Kherbet Al Jouz, Idlib

As a result, and contrary to Assad's bluster, the Free Syrian Army is growing, developing as a better fighting force, organizing itself into larger and more effective fighting units and winning military successes. Here Reuters reports on the capture of an air defense base east of Aleppo and here SADA reports on how they are learning to govern liberated areas.

This is very good news because it is so important that they win because it Bashar al-Assad's violence succeeds in suppressing this popular rebellion, his victory will seek bloody repetitions around the world as ruling class after ruling class seeks to hang on to power like Assad is doing.

FSA captures an airbase in Taaneh, east of #Aleppo: youtu.be/rd1HK1X2a90 #Syria #FSA #Assad
— Khatib4FreeSyria (@machkhatib) October 12, 2012

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Two statements about Syria

Newest insulting line in virtually every article: "There are no good guys or bad guys in #Syria now." Or "We can't tell them apart." #BS
— Amal Hanano (@AmalHanano) October 11, 2012

I am reprinting these two statements about the situation in Syria in the hopes that they will bring a modicum of clarity to the debate in the US left about the Syrian Revolution. I first saw them on Jews sans frontieres, An Anti-Zionist blog. They were originally translated by the Free Haifa blog:

28 movements, parties and activists issue common declaration supporting the Syrian people and calling for the release of political prisoners in the Arab Homeland
From the Arab Gulf to Syria, the Nile Valley and the Arab Maghreb – The People Unite in Solidarity!

At the time that the Arab states turn toward legal, political and economic reforms, pushed by the popular anger against the legal and economic situation that was afflicted on our Arab countries during the past periods by autocratic and repressive regimes, which acted to weaken the Arab peoples, keep them in ignorance and kill all their creative energies in an orderly and systematic way, we find that some states didn’t stop practicing some violations against the Arab activists in their different countries, in spite of the arrival (to the government) of some of the political parties that suffered a lot from the authoritative practices.

This happens while there is still Arab refusal to adopt a decisive stand against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad and his armed gangs, which commit daily massacres against the Syrian people and against the youth, who come out every day in peaceful demonstrations against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.

In Morocco nearly 80 activists from the youth groups, and at their foremost activists from “The 20th of February Movement”, are still held in detention. In Jordan the authorities arrested nearly 18 activists from “The Jordanian Popular Movement” and referred them to the State Security Court, which is a military unconstitutional court. All the activists in Jordan and Morocco are detained for their political views and their demands for reform programs.

In Cairo the Egyptian authorities still use some illegitimate practices against the Egyptian activists who demand some economic reforms and putting an end to the use of military courts against civilians, including demonstrators (Khaled Mekdad, Ahmad Al-Dakroury and Ahmad Manna) and children (Islam Harby and Mohammad Ihab) and the release of the revolution’s officers, which are detained on the order of the former Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi.

In Bahrain the authorities did not stop practicing continuous violations that are incompatible with human rights principles. The military’s influence still costs the lives of civilians. The last case was the killing of a demonstrator, aged 17, in his village South West of the Bahraini capital Manama. He was shot by the security forces and died as a consequence. The security forces also arrested dozens and keep them in detention without bringing them to trial. Dozens of prisoners of conscience and people detained for their political views are still languishing in Bahraini prisons, including Human Rights and political activists, which were arrested because of their demands for political, constitutional and legal reforms.

In Algeria many Human Rights, trade unionist and political activists are subject to detention and judicial harassment.

In Sudan the number of detainees held by the authorities exceeded 1700. The situation was aggravated by the detention of more than 15 Sudanese women. Some of them were released and others are still held under detention in Sudan’s prisons.

We, the undersigned groups, declare our full solidarity with the Syrian people, their right to self determination and their demand for Bashar Al-Assad giving up power. We affirm our support for the initiatives of peaceful struggle in Syria.

We also demand from the authorities in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan and Bahrain to respect Human Rights and the freedom of opinion and expression, to act quickly for the immediate release of all the detained activists and to put an end to all the extraordinary actions taken against them. We also call for the implementation of all the legitimate demands raised by those activists, including legitimate economic, legal and constitutional reforms.
Signatories:
6 April Youth Movement – Egypt
The Constitution Party – Egypt
The Egyptian Current Party – Egypt
No to Military Trials – Egypt
The Jordanian Youth Movement – Jordan
I Deserve A Civil Trial – IDACT – Jordan
Girifna Movement – Sudan
The 20th of February Movement – Morocco
ATTAC Morocco association against capitalist globalization
Association of Moroccan Workers in France – France
Independent Youth Movement for Change – Algeria
Syrian Peaceful Movement Group – Syria
“One People One Destiny” Campaign – Syria
Syrian Week – Syria
Demonstration Team – Syria
“Waw Al-Wasel” Group – Syria
The Syrian Democratic Forum – Syria
Youth Against the Settlements – Palestine
Palestinians with the Syrian Revolution – Palestine
Youth and Students sector in The Democratic Progressive Forum Association – Bahrain
Youth Bureau in The Patriotic Democratic Action Association (Wa’ad) – Bahrain
Libya Youth Movement – Libya
The Libyan Association for Humanitarian Relief – Libya
Arab National Figures
Human Rights activist – Khaled Ali – former candidate for the presidency – Egypt
Engineer Ahmad Maher – member of the Constituent Assembly for the Constitution
MP Ziyad Al-Alimi –member of the former People’s Assembly – Egypt
Khalaf Ali Al-Khalaf – Syrian writer
Rabab Al-Bouti – Syria
Ahmad Lanki – member of the Libyan National Congress
Mohammad Al-Aouni – head of “freedoms of media and change” organization – Morocco

Original English translation from the Free Haifa Blog.

Original Arabic link

The Chaos of the Armed Movement and the Organisation of the Syrian Revolution

from Yassari, Edition 11, by the Left Coalition in Syria – Mid-September 2012

The introduction of arms to the Syrian revolution, after months of peaceful struggle, did not come out of the blue, nor was it simply an emotional reaction. There were some parties who, from the beginning, called for arming the revolution and advocated violence. However, it was surely the increasing violence used by the authorities that made peaceful youth, who completely believed in a peaceful movement, change their minds, especially when the regime involved the Syrian army in a war against citizens at the end of July 2011, and when they adopted increasing tactics of killing and humiliating the people in Syria from August 2011.

There is no point, therefore, regretting the move from peaceful demonstrations, or fearing this significant step now. There is not even any point discussing it now. We have moved from the phase that the revolution started with, the peaceful spontaneous demonstrating of ordinary people, to the revolution of all methods, with demonstrating and fighting taking place together. Since we have reached this phase, it is important now to study the problems, as the revolution is now in need of planning, by learning from previous lessons and organising all elements.

Sensitive issues need to be addressed here. First, how to organise the armed struggle (connecting groups and finding clear strategies of how to develop this struggle). Secondly, how to coordinate between the armed movement and the popular movement, especially since the armed struggle has stolen all the attention and popular demonstrations have become marginal. Third, we need to think of how to organise and control the free areas, which are not under the control of the authorities anymore.

The armed people in Syria are actually separate groups who all call themselves “Free Army” (this is dangerous because it is a vague phrase which anyone could use) - some of them defected from the Syrian army (these are the main foundation), some are sectarian, and the rest, the majority, are ordinary people, with no experience in working with wars and weapons, and therefore they only undertake defence, and when they attack instead, lots of mistakes take place. They have made mistakes, but they haven’t learnt from them. The main mistake has been basing themselves inside residential neighborhoods, and staying there until the regime forces attack and destroy them, which has had a very negative effect on the popular movement there and almost stopped it in some areas. “Liberating” areas without considering the strength of the regime’s forces means aggravating the struggle instead of developing it. What is important now is to focus on attacking the sensitive centres, the army on their way to control cities, and the locations where rockets and cannons are based.

Most of these fighters are the same young people who took part in the demonstrations at the beginning of the revolution. They are fighting today without sufficient training, and with light weapons which they obtain from military warehouses or purchasing from weapons dealers at high rates. They won’t obtain any better weapons to win this war because those providing them with weapons don’t want the war to end. Thus, these groups are not able to turn into an army, and they will not be able to compete with the regime’s forces. They shouldn’t locate themselves at the centre of residential areas for a long time. Warfare at the street level requires replacing the policy of being at the centre with a dynamic policy, moving all the time, and the sudden attack of security and army centres, instead of waiting for them to attack first.

This requires an advanced military strategy against a regime using all its military abilities. It needs coordination between groups and organisation of their activities. It also requires forming a structure to being together these groups, with rules and laws to control their activities and their relations with the public, as well as their actions towards the ‘shabiha’ forces and the army officers who are fighting against their people, or even those who are in the Syrian army, but have not been involved in killing.

We must fear not pushing aside the extremist religious groups, in order to save the revolution from their foolish military or sectarian mistakes. We must not fear any conflict with them now, because it is much better to get rid of them than to wait until they become stronger later. It is one of the Free Syrian Army’s duties to protect ‘minorities’ now, who support the Syrian regime or are silent, to protect them from crimes which these extremist groups could commit against them. Some of these groups were formed to commit such crimes against ‘minorities’, who are part of the Syrian people, even if they are silent, hesitating, or only a small part of them is taking their part helping the Syrian revolution, because they fear the Syrian regime, or because they are not happy with the statements of some people in the Syrian opposition, or even fear the Gulf’s media and those behind it. It is very dangerous to allow some parties to play the sectarian game under the umbrella of the revolution. This only causes more fears for these people, and makes them even more convinced that the regime is the least scary option. What we need now is the exact opposite, we need to show them that the revolution is owned by all the people (including themselves), and we need to protect the public institutions in Syria, and the security of the people, since the situation here could allow gangs to control areas because the police is not able to protect people there.

The military strategy we need must support the people and their activities. We must recognise the popular movement, since it is the most powerful tool in this revolution. The revolution will not win without the popular movement, which causes more trouble to the regime than the weapons the revolutionaries have. The might of the revolutionary armed movement is dependent on the popular movement, and should not destroy this movement by moving to the centre of the residential areas in which the popular movement is based. This will eventually cause the destruction of these areas, since it is impossible to defend them, leading to the migration of the demonstrating people from these areas, becoming a burden in need of help rather than the main element in the revolution.

The strategy requires re-organising coordinating committees everywhere by learning from the experience they have gained during the revolution, so they can motivate the public movement. They should study the situation to organise when and how to demonstrate and what slogans reflect the revolution’s goals and the demands of the people involved. They also need to draw the main policies, to avoid counting on the international community and focus on the movement inside the country instead.

We should prepare to control the areas where the regime has no authority anymore (we are not saying these areas became librated, as mentioned above). We need to fulfill our duties by supplying the people with their daily supplies and to set up an alternative authority, to provide security.

To achieve that, we need to find true leadership from local committees and the armed groups together, as well as other community bodies which could organise the relations between parties, draw up the general policies and represent the revolution by working on achieving its goals.

In conclusion, the goals and policies of the revolution should be made clear now, after all the complications the revolution has been experiencing. It is very important to organise our work for the revolution, and to prepare to form an alternative authority with the collapse of the regime day by day. The regime may be making a last attempt, but it will fail as previous ones failed too. Therefore, there is no point being spontaneous anymore, and there is no space for confusion anymore. We need to forget about a purely military solution, and realise that the idea of ‘liberating cities’ doesn’t work. We are not Libya, and will not be. We must commit to our popular movement, supported by an armed movement to paralyse the forces of the regime and upset their military logistics.

We have progressed very well so far. The regime is no longer the strong side, and therefore we must organise ourselves to use this advantage and move the revolution forward.

Yassari, Edition 11, by the Left Coalition in Syria – Mid-September 2012

Monday, October 8, 2012

Syria Today: New videos from the revolutionary war

The term stalemate is heard a lot these days in descriptions of the military situation in Syria today, just as it was for months on end in Libya, until the rapid takeover of Tripoli and the final collapse of the Qaddafi regime revealed the real movement that was taking place while the pundits were calling it a stalemate.

If one looks beyond the MSM, UN and NGO reports, it is easy to see that what is happening in Syria is not a stalemate. The FSA has not only managed to hang on in Aleppo in spite of the Assad regime's use of massive and indiscriminate violence in its months long attempts to dislodge it. Fighting continues in Damascus and all across Syria with the FSA making slow but steady progress. They can do this, and continue to grow, in spite of the losses inflicted on them by the Assad regime because they enjoy wide support among the Syrian people and defectors from Assad's army continue to swell their ranks.

The Assad regime continues its genocidal policy of slaughtering anyone who opposes it regardless of whether they have take up arms against the regime or not. This has pushed the death toll in this 20 month conflict past 37 thousand by some counts. Most of these are civilians killed by Assad's forces.

Only the defeat of the Assad regime by the Free Syrian Army has the possibility of ending the violence in Syria. Assad's violence against his opposition among the Syrian people proceeded their armed self-defense and it will not end if they lay down their arms. It will only increase if the resistance to Assad should collapse. In that case, Syria will most likely live a reign of terror unlike anything seen so far.

This video posted today on YouTube shows what happens when soldiers from Assad's army meet soldiers from the Free Syrian Army. They surrender. This is why Assad must rely on long range weapons, his Syrian soldier are proving to be very unreliable when tasked with killing other Syrians.

The LA Times introduces us to a FSA fighter today:

In Syria, a rebellion calls for revolutionary measures
Law student Hanadi, 19, is eager to see action on the front lines. Her ticket? A marriage of convenience to a militia commander fighting to oust Bashar Assad.

DAMASCUS, Syria — The crack of a sniper rifle and the boom of exploding shells seemed to take turns as Hanadi slipped out of the apartment and onto the dark street.

Seconds later, a shell landed nearby and Hanadi groaned, worried that the Syrian army would storm the neighborhood that night — before she got her camera back from the repairman, leaving her unable to record the fighting.

Walking down the street, carefully planting her feet, she glanced left and right through open doors, concerned that her husband might see her.

At the corner, a few young Free Syrian Army fighters manning a checkpoint recognized her immediately.

"Abu al-Majid is inside," one of them said, referring to her husband and pointing in the direction she had just come from.

"What do I want with Abu al-Majid?" she replied. They warned her about a government sniper ahead, but she continued walking through the intersection.

When antigovernment protests first began in Dara in March 2011, the then-high school senior didn't join, believing that President Bashar Assad was blameless. That changed in June though, when Assad called the opposition "germs."

"From that point I joined the opposition," she said. "They came out asking for freedom, so I came out also asking for freedom."

The following school year, as a first-year law student at the University of Damascus, Hanadi, who asked that her last name not be used so as to protect her family, would skip classes to attend protests.

As the armed uprising that had devastated much of the rest of Syria finally made its way into Damascus in late July, she traded her placard for a syringe as a volunteer nurse at an opposition-run field hospital. Soon she put down the needle and picked up a camera to join a rebel militia and record clashes at government checkpoints and outposts.

Now, as the violence and bloodshed only grow, Hanadi, 19, has traded up once again: replacing her camera with a Kalashnikov.

Weeks ago, rebels clashed with government security forces in several south Damascus neighborhoods. As government forces bombarded the neighborhoods with airstrikes, the opposition fighters fled from district to district and eventually withdrew to the suburbs as their ammunition ran low.

Hanadi's rebel militia was one of the last to leave, from the district of Asali, and she left for the suburbs unwillingly.

"The worst thing for me is the tactical withdrawal," she said a few days afterward. "I swear the next time we attack I will be the first one in and the last one to leave until my last bullet."

Being at the front line was what she came for, she said.

After all, the Kalashnikov was her promised dowry. More...

Also today Syrian Freedom Tumblr posted a series of videos in which a Free Syrian Army battalion takes an air defense base in East Goula:

The banner of Islam - a battalion of Saif al-Islam - the first few minutes of the start of the storming operation air defense battalion in East Gouta in 4 parts.