It is obvious that the Syrians voted for security, safety and stability, it might not be vote for the Baath party but a vote against the opposition and anarchy, the government would have gotten a lot of traction if it had international monitors that would have legitimized these election, Syria needs international support to stop the mayhem that is engulfing her, i am not sure that the elections as they were conducted will do that.

Seriously, who give a sh.. about this election apart from the local tycoons and other opportunist.
I say if they imagine only one second that these elections will stop the revolution, they are highly desilusional.
The revolution is going on, no matter the dirty regime trick and their few supporter.
The main headlines today are the attack in damas, and maybe the liquidation of assaf shawkat, time will tell

This election is an insult to intelligence and dignity.

We all know that in last 40 years parliament has been a circus for clowns. Two thirds of the members come direct or indirectly from Baath Party and associated organizations. The rest, 80-90 members, are supossed to be independent. But it is perfectly known that 8 out 10 come for stealing and getting economic and personal proffit. The rest 10 to 15 members, who may be really pro democracy and freedoms, are afraid of their lives or their families lives. So at the end you can rarely find someone who dares says even a word against the status quo.

It happened the same way with the parliament that was ¨representing¨ the syrian people the day Hafez Al Assad died.
Only 5 or 6 deputies dared to oppose the election. Some two years later all of them were in jail. And some of them have not been released until one or two years ago.

They think we are stupid and will follow them like sheep in the desert.

I am surprised that we still have people here who believe and expect us to believe that the PA “elections” were fair and clean. To start with,albaath et al ran almost unopposed in most districts,some districts had more refugees and displaced people than actual voters, ,and for the most part,the opposition boycotted this theatrical process.
I realize that albaath still has support and that the regime has not run out of ammunition yet but what the regime did is confirm suspicions that it has no intention to share power or allow dissent,it tells you a lot when somebody like Qadri Jamil asked for new elections and called the whole process unacceptable. Frankly speaking, this regime is a liability and an embarrassment to most Syrians ,especially minorities,and the more it stays the harder it will be to unite Syrians under one flag.

It looks like there was gunfire in Damascus proper last night,regime media denied it but a number of people outside the usual anti regime circle confirmed the shooting.
It is a matter of speculation to say whether high ranking officials were killed ,but there might be one or two ,not six,who were injured or killed.
Two of the “dead” just called:
“Hassan Turkmani and Mohammad Shaar were just on phone call with #Syria statetv asking for apology from any channels claiming they were dead”
It is a mistake to conclude that assassination of Asef or a similar figure will end the regime,but if the FSA or armed rebels in general managed to reach any one of the six,this will take the uprising to another level.

Ghufran,

No democracy especially in Syria will be perfect from the first time, the Baath party and their allies won because the opposition boycott the elections and that is their faults to call for a new election every time we do not like the result is the main reason for our weak democracy we always blame others for our shortcoming , any way the parliament can be resolved and have a new election when safety and security are restored.

if you remember In Iraq withe boycott of the first election, the results were one sided and took another election for everybody to participate .Syria will be the same it needs many elections to break the feeling of some that they should not lose elections.

Syria working on new ways to defeat terror bombers.

Iran helps Syria identify likely bombers

IRAN has supplied face-recognition technology to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to help it identify and hunt down potential suicide bombers.

The development came as another suicide bomb exploded in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zour yesterday, killing nine people. The device, which injured dozens, was planted in a car park near the local intelligence headquarters, leaving a 2.5m crater.

According to western intelligence sources, cameras linked to a database have been installed in the central squares of Damascus, in one of the capital’s main railway stations and at the entrances to the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees. Other cameras were installed at sites in Aleppo, the country’s biggest city.

“Damascus and Aleppo are crucial for the regime’s survival,” said a Western defence source.
(…)more
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/iran-helps-syria-identify-likely-bombers/story-fnb64oi6-1226361618086

Norman

If the Syrian government had postponed the elections, it would have been accused of lying and not fulfilling its promises. Smartly, it opted to conduct them.

The elections are certainly imperfect because the opposition boycotted them and because the security is not yet restored across the country.
The fact they happened despite all that without major incidents, is what counts.

7. jna said:

“Syria working on new ways to defeat terror bombers. Iran helps Syria identify likely bombers”

Why would the government need that if , according to the “antis”, its the government itself who is putting the bombs?

Oh yes, it must be another smart ploy from the government…

Wikipedia already included the possible death of Assef Shawkat in the ASSEF SHAWKAT entry:

(… Possible death

While rumors of Assef Shawkat’s death had persisted before[6], the first official announcement from the rebels came on 20 May, 2012.

During the very early morning of 20 May, the Free Syrian Army launched widespread attacks against the Syrian government in Central Damascus. The Kafer Souseh, Mezzeh, Maiki, and Ruk al Adn neighborhoods erupted with intense gunfire. Security forces began closing off Ummayid square and Absereen square, and blocked off Central Damascus’s Al Shami hospital.

The Free Syrian Army’s Damascus council announced that one of their operatives from the FSA’s Al Sahabeh batallion had successfully poisoned all eight members of Bashar Assad’s Crisis Cell, a group of top military officials who currently run the Syrian army’s daily operations. Members of the Crisis cell include Assef Shawkat. The Free Syrian Army’s Damascus council said they believed at least six out of the eight to have been killed. Mohammed Shaar, the interior minister, apparently denied the assassinations by telephone call to State TV, calling it “categorically baseless”. He also denied the gunfire in Damascus which was confirmed by all witnesses…..)

Bronco,

I think you misunderstood me, I was always for the elections to be held at their time and the people who boycott the elections are the losers,

I beginning to find common paranoid effects on people who begin to believe Syria has entered a new phase of democracy and freedoms by the grace of King Assad II of Syria.

Lebanon warning pushes travellers to change plans

Travel advisory by UAE, Bahrain and Qatar seen as an economic catastrophe for Lebanon
By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
Published: 15:08 May 20, 2012

http://gulfnews.com/news/region/lebanon/lebanon-warning-pushes-travellers-to-change-plans-1.1025292

Manama: The warning from Al Mustaqbal, the Beirut-based newspaper, is ominously clear: The call by Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE to their citizens to avoid visiting or staying in Lebanon amounts to an economic catastrophe for the country.

“The warning as summer approaches is in fact an indication to all Arabs, even those whose countries have not told them to stay away yet,” the daily printed on its front page. “This is a real catastrophe to all Lebanese whose living standards have plummeted and who now have only one lung that allows them to breathe, thanks to the remaining Arab investments.”

The opposition daily put the blame on the policy followed by the government on the crisis in Syria.
more..

Dear Alex,

From previous post

– You and many other Syrians love Qashoosh (or Omar Offendum) … other Syrians prefer Fairuz and Doraid Lahham (his 60′s and 70′s work only).

I was not aware Fairuz and Duraid Laham are exclusive to the pro-regimers, this comes as news to me for I still listen to Fairuz and watch Laham plays/shows often.

– Your army is the “free Syria army”, their army is still the regular Syrian army.

No, my Army is the army that swore allegiance to not only protect our borders but to protect its citizens. In general I have a rather mistrustful outlook with anyone with a gun promising me my freedom. As I see it a gun will never gain me my freedom, but it sure as hell will help me protect it.

– Your slogans includes “freedom” .. their slogan includes “resistance”

What resistance? In the past 14 months all we saw is that this supposed “resistance” leader is more willing to kill and bombard Syrian Cities and Syrian people than to liberate our occupied land or has he mistaken the coordinates for Tel Aviv and Haifa for Homs and Idlib? And since when wanting to dismantle this criminal regime translate to bowing down to Israeli aggressions, is it not obvious enough that most in the opposition are not willing to bow down to anyone? I think the opposition actually has more experience in its young 14 month history in resisting than the sorry excuse we have seen from the regime for the past 40 years.

If you don’t want to talk to them, then you want to defeat them, just like the Lebanese tried for 13 years to defeat each other.

What happened in Lebanon is not happening in Syria (at least not yet) most Syrians I talk to don’t want to see their country go down the sectarian divide/hate that the Lebanese went through and are still suffering from. The plight of the minorities is an important one in our country and they must be preserved and protected but not at the expense of the majority for if we did that it will only fuel more hatred and mistrusts and whatever preservation and protection that might have been there will be long gone, and that will only push us down the Lebanon scenario.

But lets be honest here the one minority in Syria that will most likely pay the heaviest price is not any of the Christian denominations or Alawi sect, it will be the Elite Sunni’s of Aleppo and Damascus, for not only did they enable the regime they legitimized it by not only doing business with it, but actually marrying into it. The ‘privileges” granted to them by the ruling family was and is intoxicating, not to mention the millions they made at the expense of the general Syrian public.

And I fully understand and grasp the issue that dialogue is our only way out of this, but not with the killers. What has to be done is convince the Army to start acting as Syria’s Army and not Assad’s Army which is what it has been acting as this past year. and in doing so they have been preoccupied suppressing Syrian voices while the true “jihadist” come pouring in from the one boarder that has not been recently mined. Why has the security of the boarder with Iraq not been increased, while the Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian ones have? Do you really think that Al Qaeda came through those countries or the more obvious place Iraq?

And “them” are not “the Assads” … they are not “the regime” .. just like you are more than just “the 3ara3eer” and “the traitors”

If they are not “the Assads” then why do we hear Souria Alassad or Allah Souria 2u Bashar 2u Bass, and the numerous other slogans that proclaim the Assads as Syria?

A division this deep and this extensive does not bode well for any nation, even if we do a Nizar-Qabbani-like post expressing our appreciation of its ancient history.

LOL, I will choose to take it as a compliment, however nothing I write will ever emulate the great Qabbani, but since you brought him up I will end with a verse from his هذي دمشقُ poem :

وكيفَ نكتبُ والأقفالُ في فمنا؟ وكلُّ ثانيـةٍ يأتيـك سـفّاحُ؟
حملت شعري على ظهري فأتعبني ماذا من الشعرِ يبقى حينَ يرتاحُ؟

[ Link added: http://www.shamlife.com/?page=show_det&select_page=9&id=23570%5D

ذكرت مصادر محلية في محافظة إدلب بأن ما وصفته بـ “قائد لواء أحرار الشمال”،  “العقيد المنشق” محمد رزوق قد قتل في مواجهات مع قوات الجيش السوري امس السبت في ريف محافظة إدلب

After the Provisional Syria Parliament: National liberation army considered
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=29694
20/05/2012
London, Asharq Al-Awsat- Abu-Amjad al-Suri, a deputy in the provisional Syrian parliament, stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that discussions are still on-going regarding the idea of “forming a national liberation army” as part of the project to build the state of the second independence.

In the interview on the initiative that was announced recently concerning the formation of the provisional Syrian parliament, Abu-Amjad told Asharq Al-Awsat that, “Many groups in the free army have expressed a wish to be part of the new military establishment as well as in the brigades of the free army. The discussions and consultation s on this subject continue”. He pointed out that “the difficult security conditions have prevented the initiative about forming the provisional parliament from reaching all the blocs on the ground”. The deputy affirmed that the initiative to form the provisional Syrian parliament has reached an advanced stage but it is not yet complete.

More…

Is It Time for Kofi Annan to give up in Syria?

Is it time for Kofi Annan to declare that his bid to resolve the Syrian crisis has failed? A growing number of Western diplomats argue privately that he should. U.S. officials have stated publicly that Annan’s peace plan “is failing,” and the Saudi foreign minister has said confidence in his efforts is “rapidly falling.” Syrian security forces continue to target dissidents, rebel forces remain active, and there have been attacks on convoys carrying U.N. monitors — reinforcing the case that Annan should admit defeat.

The former U.N. Secretary-General has made it clear that he knows his mission is close to failure. But it’s very difficult for him to call the whole thing off. While violence has continued in Syria at what Annan calls “unacceptable” levels, the death-rate has generally been lower than prior to the “ceasefire” he engineered in April. But whoever is attacking the U.N. observers probably wants to foment a full-scale war, and fighting appears not only to be on the rise again but also to be spreading into Lebanon.

If Annan were to quit now — precipitating the withdrawal of U.N. military personnel from Syria — he could risk a further escalation. This presents an ethical dilemma: Is it better for the United Nations to oversee, and arguably provide cover for, the current violence or retreat and open the way for something potentially worse?

Annan, previously pilloried for the U.N.’s failings in cases such as Srebrenica and Rwanda (some of which have been rehearsed by Western hawks who dislike his role in Syria) is deeply sensitive to attacks on his own performance and that of the U.N. In dealing with other conflicts, such as that in Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo, he has argued for patience and persistence in the face of continuing violence. He can hardly turn away from that philosophy now, and is unlikely to admit defeat quickly.

[…]

http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/05/18/is_it_time_for_kofi_annan_to_give_up_in_syria

Syria scours more trade routes in search for grain

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) – Syria is casting a wide net in a frantic bid to secure grain for its population as a sanctions-induced trade finance freeze scuppers big deals and forces the country to meet its needs with smaller deals, sources say.

The European Union, the United States and other Western countries have imposed sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad’s government in response to his bloody crackdown on a revolt that has cost more than 9,000 lives.

While those sanctions are not aimed at food, they have complicated trade, hampering grain deals.

[…]

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/syria-scours-more-trade-routes-in-search-for-grain/

Talking about the regime “reforms” I wonder where exactly does this stand in the so called reforms.

CITIZEN JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR AL-JAZEERA INTERVIEW

Reporters Without Borders is shocked to learn of the death sentence passed today on the citizen journalist Mohammed Abdelmawla al-Hariri for “high treason and contacts with foreign parties”. He was arrested on 16 April just after giving an interview to the television station Al-Jazeera about the situation in his hometown of Deraa.

“Such a verdict is unacceptable and out of all proportion to Mohamed al-Hariri’s so-called crime of giving an interview to Al-Jazeera,” the press freedom organization said.

[…]

http://en.rsf.org/syria-citizen-journalist-sentenced-to-18-05-2012,42641.html

17 SOD

If the AL league under Qatari pressures had to cancel the AL observers, I have doubt that the UN will bow to some ‘growing numbers of western diplomats talking privately’ when the USA just affirmed at the G8 meeting that they are fully supporting the Annan peace plan and did not reiterate the early call for Bashar al Assad to ‘step aside’. They called instead for a peaceful transition.

Annan’s plan has been rejected by the same ‘diplomats’ the same day it started. I wonder if their number has ‘grown’ since.

#19 SOD

A spy is a spy, even if he is journalist.

#18 SOD

If some Syrians die of hunger, now we know who is to blame

Any comment that calls out for “swift justice” and assassinations will be trashed immediately.

SC Moderator

SC Moderator,

I am trying to post a comment and attempted 3 times, but still it is not appearing on the list.

Elections?

Syria has been ruled by one family’s brutal dictatorshipfor 40 some years yet has never had shortage of elections. This election is no different!

I can just hear what a typical Damascenewould say about the election: Batta should يبلّها ويشرب ميتها
He is fooling none except himself and his wife.

Branco,

Perhaps you are correct in that regards, whoever if the Americans change their tune that can change fairly quick. I am sure nobody here can deny the amount of influence the US carries at the UNSC, just ask our neighbour to the south how important they are…

[Link Added with Video: http://www.skynewsarabia.com/web/video/21899%5D

قتل الشيخ اللبناني أحمد عبد الواحد الناشط في مجال إغاثة اللاجئين السوريين مع أحد مرافقيه عندما أطلق رجال بالجيش النار على موكبه عند نقطة تفتيش في منطقة عكار شمالي لبنان.
As things start to heat up ,Lebanon will be dragged into this ugly conflict,the regime has a sizable support in Lebanon ,and that support will be utilized to strengthen the regime’s position ahead of any upcoming political settlement .

Irritated,

A spy is a spy, even if he is journalist.

Is the simple act talking to a News Channel turn someone into a spy? I guess you do not believe in the freedom of press but would much rather be dictated to what the “actual” news is.

If some Syrians die of hunger, now we know who is to blame

Yes we do, for if it was not for Bashar and his criminal regime spending all their money on procuring weapons to kill Syrians with, and if they did not attack the very farmers and villagers that helped feed Syrians we would not be here.

27. Son of Damascus

Yes, in Syria if you are not a pro-Assad ¨Democracy¨ lover you turn automatically to be a spy and a zionist. You can be punished or not. But the clear thing is that if you do not love Assad and you are not punished you should thank Assad and his thugs.

This is the first thing life teaches you in Assad´s Syria. Even if you are a pro-Assad you are under permanent investigation by security services who at any time could discover you are a spy or a zionist, if, for example you challenge Rami Makhlouf enterprises or you try compete with some big fish in power.

To Syria Comment:

Please don’t post from al-Akhbar without including a disclaimer that it is part of the pro-Dictartor/NasrIllat Wilayat al-Faqih media!

Reporting on the “results” of the Syrian elections as if they were honest and mean anything, is negligently unsophisticated!!!!!!!!!! You know better!

No love, No respect for Dictator-lovers/apologists!

Syria is NOT Qom, nor Najaf, nor Nasr-Illat’s Dahiyah al-Janoubia, nor the Houthi district!

Free Syria, Free Palestine, Bahrain is ARAB Forever!

Hizbistan and its its leader, NasrIllat, killed the Lebanese Sheik Ahmad abd al-Wahid. They may walk in his funeral, in the same way they walked in Rafiq al-Hariri’s funeral after killing him!

Soon, justice will visit al-Dahiyah al-Janoubia!

Free Syria, Free Palestine, Bahrain is Arab forever!

#25 SOD

“Is the simple act talking to a News Channel turn someone into a spy? I guess you do not believe in the freedom of press but would much rather be dictated to what the “actual” news is.

How do you know that this is the only charge? Do you have access to the full accusation? The media is presenting that way to make it the most dramatic possible. If that was the only accusation, most opposition leaders presently in Syria will not only be jailed by condemned to death.
This case is much more complex that it appears and like in most case of spying trials worlwide, details are not released for security reasons.

#25 SOD

The USA is aware that the situation is Syria is spilling into Lebanon and may soon threatened Israel’s borders.
Already Islamists are in the Sinai, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon. If the Syrian army loose control of the country security some Islamists will find it easy to move to the Israel borders.

The USA would want to avoid an explosive situation where Israel will be caught between Islamists in Egypt under an anti-Israel regime, a weak Jordan, Gaza, Syria in chaos and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

They know that they have to protect Israel even it may mean accepting that Bashar al Assad will stay in power at the condition he plays the police with the islamists.

Irritated,

Honestly I was not aware that Reporters Without Borders are into the dramatics as you said, as far as I know they are an organization setup to help protect journalist and enable freedom of press.

Would you care to provide an example of their “dramatics” that I am not aware of?

Branco,

You are correct about the awareness of the US and according to the most recent WashPost article they seem to have set up some scenarios to deal with such a problem.

For obvious reasons I would never actually want such a scenario to materialize and would hope that a real political solution can be achieved without having lost land to Al Qaeda led Militants that are crossing unfettered from the Iraqi border.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-allies-accelerating-plans-to-seize-chemical-arsenal-as-syrian-crisis-worsens/2012/05/19/gIQAl9yKbU_story_1.html

[…]

The process evolved into a series of bilateral discussions that grew to include Britain, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to two Middle Eastern security officials who have participated.

“We drew on the lessons from Libya,” the second Middle Eastern official said. “Some of the countries involved have overlapping air defenses, so on a practical level there has to be coordination.”

The contingency planning for securing Syrian chemical weapons relies on early warning from U.S. spy agencies who have been closely monitoring Assad’s stockpiles for more than a year. Syria possesses one of the world’s largest arsenals of chemical munitions, including tons of nerve gases such as VX and sarin, as well as artillery shells and missile warheads for delivering them.

The weapons are kept in bunkers under heavy guard in at least five sites around the country, weapons experts say. While the stockpiles appear secure at the moment, they could be plundered or simply abandoned if Syria troops are beaten back by increasingly well-armed rebels or by al-Qaeda-allied militants who have been streaming into the country from Iraq in recent weeks, intelligence officials say.

[…]

#33 SOD

The media refers to Reporters without Borders as a way to dramatize the case and make it appear to the readers as the case of an “innocent journalist” just doing his job, unjustly accused of spying.

By the way the convict is not a registered journalist and the charges against him have not been published. In most spying cases worldwide involving threat to national security, details of the charges are never published.

Syria has not seen an real election since the late 50s of last century. There was only a “selection” of Daddy Assad for his sunny boy.

لاعلامي شريف شحادة يعري الجزيرة على الهواء مباشرة بخصوص خبر الاغتيالات

Qatar’s ruler: Arab Spring a loss for Israel
20/05/2012
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=29688
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Qatar’s ruler says Israel is more isolated by the Arab Spring and will face increasing pressures over issues such as its presumed nuclear arsenal.

Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani urged Israel’s leaders to view the Middle East uprisings as an opportunity for serious peace talks with Palestinians.

The fall of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak last year wiped away Israel’s main Arab ally, and Qatar’s emir predicts the region’s new governments will press Israel harder over its policies, including a widely suspected nuclear arms program.

Israel has never confirmed or denied whether it has atomic weapons.

Qatar’s emir spoke Sunday at the opening of the Doha Forum, an international political affairs conference.

let’s not forget this earlier blog posting:

The Candidates for Parliamentary Elections in Syria have been published – They reveal that Bashar al-Assad’s supposed reforms are the ruse that most thought they would be. The candidates from Latakia are sprinkled liberally with the names of well known crooks and Baathists of the region as well as their sons. There does not seem to be any potential reform going on in Latakia. The Baath may have been disestablished, but its members insist that they will win the upcoming elections to parliament.