Day 53 of the Syrian Uprising; over Six Killed; Fewer Demonstrators; Clinton Says Reform Still Possible
Posted by Joshua on Friday, May 6th, 2011
Death tolls for this Friday have been hard to quantify, according to the Guardian. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least six people had been shot dead after security forces opened fire in Homs and Hama. The National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria put the toll at 16 people nationwide.
Secretary of State Clinton said that reform was still possible in Syria. She seems to be giving Assad more time.
The death toll since the beginning of the uprising seven weeks ago is high at about 550 but still remains almost half of the death toll in Bahrain as a percent of citizens. In Egypt, over 800 were killed, which is about half of Syria’s toll given that Egypt’s population is over three times that of Syria’s. In Tunisia 219 protesters were killed during the uprising. Tunisia’s population is less than half of Syria’s at 10 million. In Yemen, about 125 people have now been killed. In Libya, The civilian death toll from the war is already estimated in the thousands, while streams of desperate refugees keep pouring into Tunisia, Egypt and Europe.
Syrian state television said an army officer and four policemen were shot dead by a “criminal gang” in Homs.
About 80 of Syria’s deaths are soldiers, security, and police according to Syrian government sources. Many more have been arrested as the government tries to track down the leadership networks and activists who have been organizing demonstrations. One of the main activists in Deraa, who was reporting by satellite phone throughout the confrontations was recently killed.
The opposition claim that Syrian security forces are responsible for shooting teh 80 dead soldiers. They claim that cracks are developing in military loyalty and soldiers are being executed for refusing to shoot on protesters. I have yet to see a reliable report of this.
One journalist writes: “I can’t stand these contradicting sources. As a journalist, it is a HUGE HEADACHE!!! Am jubilant right now because the paper decided to drop the article on Syria today. Didn’t know what to write!!! Press agencies talk about tanks around Damascus and elsewhere, friends from there see no trace of them. Thank God I don’t have to write!!!
Red Cross/Red Crescent report from Daraa
Today as a true eye witness and a Red Crescent FACT team (field assessment and coordination Team) we did an assessment Visit to Daraa city situation and brought some aid items and baby food with us, we also came up with the needs which we are working on for-filling ASAP.
some highlights from the report :
No mass destruction was noticed, water and electricity is available to almost all of Daraa, some shortage in food but not life threatening, army is distributing bread and essential materials to places since most of the shops are closed, shortage in some medicines because the pharmacies among with the shops are closed, water not reaching high floors since no electricity in some places to power the personal pumps, their maybe people whom are afraid to visit the national hospital so SARC will provide mobile clinic for those people in old part of Daraa city ASAP.
An opposition member reports: Day 53 of the Syrian Revolution; Friday of defiance.
Today’s protests in: Ankhel, Jasem, Sanamein, Zabadani, Daraiya, Harasta, Kisweh, Nawa, Al Tal, Barzah, Damascus (Meydan, Saliheiya, sit Zaynab, Hajar Aswad), Homs, Hama, Tal Kalakh, Baniyas, Jableh, Lattakiya, Al Bab, Idlib, Me’arit Nu’man, Salamiyah, Qamishly, Ain Al Arab, Hasakeh, Jisr Al Shoghoor….. (Despite the suffocating repression with live bullets and the threat of shabiey7a thugs..etc..)
Interesting tweets from Ben Wedeman (CNN legendary correspondent in Cairo):
“Good Egyptian source just back from Washington says israel is syrian regime’s most ardent advocate with congress, Obama administration.” Amid Syria’s turmoil, Israel sees Assad as the lesser evil
A regime supporter writes:
Aside from Homs, the total of people who demonstrated in Syria today was less than 5000. In Damascus there were about 500 protesters in the Islamist stronghold of Maydan.
In Banias, Al-Jazeera claimed that there were 10,000, but in the images they showed it was obvious that the protesters were less than a thousand people.
About 500 Kurds demonstrated in the northeast. The Kurdish demonstrations are the only demonstrations that can be called civil and I am glad that they all ended peacefully. The Kurdish demonstrations were the only demonstrations that had clear political demands and they were not motivated by sectarian or even ethnic motives as it appears from their slogans and the quality of people who participated.
In Aleppo as usual there were many failed attempts to start demonstrations. None of them gathered more than a 100 people.
Angry Arab writes: Al-Jazeera “clearly wants to have a day of rage and protests in Syria: so they keep airing the same phone video footage. They tell viewers that there were massive demonstrations, and then you count like 40 or 50 in the protests.
Khaddam: ‘I expect the Syrian army to topple Assad!’ Friday Lunch Club
From NZ in Comment Section (5 May 2011)
For those who are talking in sectarian terms and saying that Christians are not interested in regime change are wrong.
Every one wishes a free Syria without bloodshed. The way this regime dealt with the latest unrest will no doubt have an organized opposition. They can not be given the benefit of doubt, no more. Their actions spoke volume. The autocratic management style of this regime will end up uglier than any other. Change is imminent. With millions, with or without tanks, they dug out there ending. They are exposed nationally and internationally. Game over.
From John Khouri in Comment Section (5 May 2011)
N.Z – I’m a Christian living in Homs and have relatives living in Aleppo And Damascus and Deir el Zor. I find it absolutely outrageous that people like yourself say that Christians want regime change. Stop speaking on behalf of the Christians of Syria. Come to Syria and see what is happening on the ground. My cousin’s wife in Daraa has packed up and moved in with us in Homs. The Christians in Daraa have had their churches firebombed for not participating in the anti-government demonstrations. Their priest has been threatened with his life. Wake up to ourselves. In Homs, all church ceremonies have been kept indoors due to the fact that thugs from Khaldieh and Bab el Omr keep entering the Hamadieh Christian area and screaming sectarian slogans throughout the night. 99.9% of Christians support the current Syrian government. All these so called freedom demonstrations have been hijacked by Islamists and Salafi’s. Stop being in denial and stop trying to promote these freedom demonstrations, which is completely opposite from the reality on the ground.
How the Syrian Government Refuses to do Public Relations
The United Group, which has been contracted by the Syria Government to help spread their message is not a PR company according to one friend who knows people there. It is a small (in regional standards) media and publishing company. The Syrian government is for some reason allergic to professional PR. The Syria Trust (associated with Assma) was the only entity to hire PR to promote their work. Now the Trust seems to be on hold and the PR guy in NYC, who was helping on the now postponed April 4-6 Historical Culture event, contacted Syria to see if the want help now. The answer was a predictable NO.
Construction and design of several worthy projects meant to boost tourism and promote Syrian culture are on hold such as Masar Al Thaqafi Al Suri and a planned modern arts Museum. Many big Gulf companies are pulling out or putting their work on hold because of the uprising and because their partners are none other than Rami and Maher associates.
Syria’s political crisis puts it on edge of economic precipice
Phil Sands
Last Updated: May 6, 2011
DAMASCUS //At a staff meeting this week, employees at a small but successful private company in Damascus were told they would be working without pay this month, a sign of gathering economic storm clouds, as Syria struggles with a grave political crisis.
According to one of the workers, managers announced pay would be halted for most staff members immediately, with employees asked to stay on effectively as volunteers in order to keep the firm ticking over. Crucially, no timetable was set for when payment of salaries would be resumed.
“They said they didn’t know when things would be back to normal, and that it would depend on what happened on Friday,” he said, on condition of anonymity. He also asked the company not be named because it has made no public announcement of the decision.
“If things are quiet on Friday, maybe it will be OK,” the employee said. “But if it’s another one like we had last week, then I’ll probably lose my job entirely. I expect that to happen.”
The Syrian authorities have been insisting all is well, projecting an air of confidence and normality, and trying to allay any sense of panic that the country might be teetering on the brink of an economic precipice, after more than six weeks of political unrest that has shaken the nation……
Hizbollah’s Most Serious Challenge
By Randa Slim Tuesday, May 3, 2011 – in Foreign Policy
The popular uprisings in Syria represent the most serious challenge to Hezbollah since the 2006 war with Israel. A regime change in Syria would threaten a major arms supply route to Hezbollah; deny the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas axis its Arab linchpin; weaken Hezbollah’s deterrence capacities vis-à-vis Israel; and deny the Hezbollah leaders and their families a safe haven when they feel threatened by Israel, as was the case in 2006. This poses a unique challenge to Hezbollah, which had comfortably sided with the revolts in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain. When Hezbollah’s Iranian mentor Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour was dismissed from his official post last April because of his sympathies with the Iranian opposition, Hezbollah was silent despite a heated debate inside the party ranks. The uprisings in Syria pose a challenge similar to the one they faced with the 2009 repression of the Green Movement in Iran.
How does Hezbollah really view the prospect of regime change in Damascus? In a recent round of interviews I conducted with Hezbollah officials in Beirut, all those I spoke to agreed that a regime change in Syria would not occur easily or peacefully. So far, Hezbollah officials believe that Bashar al Assad will survive. They believe that unlike Hosni Mubarak or Zein Ben Ali, Assad still enjoys a wide base of support especially in major cities like Damascus and Aleppo. As a senior Hezbollah official pointed out, “Alawites and Christians will not abandon Bashar.” The Assad regime and its wide base of support, they said, will fight back. Should Bashar al Assad fail to rein in the protests quickly, they fear a protracted civil war that would engulf Syria, spill over into Lebanon, especially in the north, and destabilize other countries in the region, including Turkey. Above all, even more than the loss of military and financial supply lines, these Hezbollah leaders fear a mortal blow to the “Resistance Axis” which has been central to their place in the Middle East.
While Syrian President Bashar al Assad was initially taken back by the protests, he and his close associates quickly closed ranks and opted for brute force to deal with future protests. Hezbollah’s reading of the Assad speech made on April 16 is that while responding to the people’s demands by offering a series of reform measures mainly focused on the lifting of the emergency law, Assad also made it clear that further protests will be met with an iron fist. Hezbollah officials to whom I spoke viewed the internal opposition as old, disorganized and decimated by years spent in Syrian jails. If regime change were to happen soon, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood is the only organized political force in the country and would likely emerge as the main power broker in the country.
Hezbollah officials now believe that negotiations between the regime and the protest movement can no longer be expected to occur. They further argue that the critical factor in other Arab revolutions was the neutral role played by the army. In the case of Syria, they believe that the army still sides with the regime. It has yet to show signs of dissension, especially at the top levels. When questioned about the possibility of an internal coup d’etat led by an Alawite army official, these Hezbollah officials discounted this scenario – as one of them put it, chiefly for lack of an acceptable alternative to Bashar al Assad. They also pointed out that both Alawites and Christians fear the consequences to themselves of a Sunni take-over. A protracted civil war in Syria would eventually lead to a break-up of Syria into a number of mini-states divided among the country’s three major religious and ethnic groups: Alawites, Sunnis, and Kurds…. (an important article. Read the entire thing.)
Untangling Dictators’ Webs
By Brendan Greeley and Nicole Gaouette, BW Magazine
The State Dept. is funding tools to help online activists abroad
Antigovernment protesters in Syria have a hard time reaching the outside world, since the government selectively blocks cell-phone coverage in protest areas, and most use a slow dial-up Internet connection. Some of them rely on a contact overseas. The Syrian, who has seen the inside of prisons before and asked that his name not be printed, receives video files from activists in Daraa. The Syrian helps format the videos and posts them to YouTube. He’s exactly the kind of person the State Dept. would like to help right now: a pro-reform dissident, enabling others to get their story out through the Internet. But the Syrian is skeptical.
As the Administration struggles to keep up with the pace of change in the Arab world, the State Dept. is set to announce $28 million in grants for tools and training to help activists like the Syrian and his compatriots interact and organize online. The grants are a way to combat “repression 2.0,” as Michael Posner, the Assistant Secretary of State for the agency’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, puts it. Autocrats and their intelligence operatives are increasingly turning to social media and sophisticated technologies to track and infiltrate dissident groups. Before the fall of dictator Ben Ali, for instance, Tunisian authorities uploaded phony Facebook and Gmail login pages with the aim of stealing the passwords of activists. In the past, U.S. officials thought that if dissidents could simply get to Facebook, Twitter, and other unrestricted sites on the open Web, they could organize themselves. Posner now says that training activists to avoid traps and giving them the tools to stay safe in digital environments is “perhaps the most critical part” of countering online repression.
According to Posner, State has already held training sessions for 5,000 digital activists around the world, including one in February in Beirut that brought together participants from Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria. The sessions, quietly run by local organizations, teach participants which websites and technologies are most vulnerable to government monitoring—and which government-seeded rumors about technology are false. Daniel B. Baer, the deputy assistant secretary in the democracy bureau, says that in one country, the government spread rumors that police took screenshots of every computer every five minutes. Baer says State pays for travel to a safe place for the training and describes the program as “an underground railroad of trust.”
The agency has already awarded about $22 million in Internet freedom grants and plans to raise the total to $50 million by the summer. The current round of grants will largely be dedicated to building the kind of digital tools activists need. To keep up with both activists and governments, the State Dept. will have to start acting more like a venture capitalist, says Posner, doling out seed money to developers.
Katrin Verclas runs MobileActive.org, a New York-based nonprofit. MobileActive has received State funding to build a “panic button” that allows activists, if arrested or pursued, to send a text message to a group of contacts in a way that doesn’t show up on the phone’s call log. The app also erases potentially incriminating data. MobileActive developed the tool to run on Java-enabled phones, such as BlackBerrys and the low-end Nokia phones that overseas activists are more likely to own. The group has made the code freely available and hopes to develop a community to sustain it. An Android version is in the works. “It’s like having a baby,” says Verclas, “you need to keep feeding it.”
Not everyone is eager to take State’s money, particularly when it’s for on-the-ground training. The Syrian, for one, doubts that the money always makes it to the right people. He’s seen foreign aid go to groups with no domestic credibility and seen other groups quietly take U.S. funding and then denounce America. Several other Internet activists reached by phone last week expressed similar sentiments. Hisham Almiraat, a Moroccan blogger based in France who asked to be identified by his pen name, traveled to a conference in Budapest in 2010 that was funded in part by the State Dept. He faced criticism online for attending. “Your credibility, your online reputation, becomes fundamental to your work,” he says. “We cannot afford to be seen as agents.”
The latest Middle Eastern anxiety — America spreading its influence over the Middle East through the Muslim Brotherhood. The new strategy of the US: Using the MB Sunni ‘newlook’ to counter the Iran Shia influence in the region.
La Syrie reste au cœur des spéculations
Par Scarlett HADDAD | 06/05/2011, L’Orient-Le Jour
…..Certains analystes estiment à cet égard que la nouvelle stratégie de l’administration américaine reposerait justement sur l’utilisation des Frères musulmans dans l’ensemble du monde arabe pour combattre l’Iran et ses alliés. Ces analystes ajoutent que maintenant qu’ils se sont débarrassés d’Oussama Ben Laden, les Américains peuvent de nouveau miser sur le courant islamiste pour juguler l’influence iranienne au Moyen-Orient. Ils auraient confié la mission de rendre les Frères musulmans « fréquentables » au parti au pouvoir en Turquie qui représente un islam moderne jugé tout à fait acceptable par l’administration américaine. Cette dernière devait toutefois auparavant frapper un grand coup pour justifier le recours à ces organisations longtemps considérées comme terroristes et non fiables. Ce fut la mort de Ben Laden, considéré comme l’ennemi public numéro 1 des Américains et de la communauté internationale en général.
Les États-Unis ont pendant des années justifié leur appui au régime de Hosni Moubarak en Égypte par le fait que la seule relève possible est formée des Frères musulmans. Ces derniers s’apprêtent aujourd’hui à se lancer dans la prochaine bataille électorale en réclamant la moitié des sièges au Parlement, après avoir formé un parti officiellement laïc, comme l’exige la Constitution du pays. En parallèle, les Frères musulmans de Syrie, qui se sont choisi un nouveau leader, Riyad Chakfa, ont le champ libre à partir d’Istanbul. Championne de l’islam à visage acceptable pour les Américains, la Turquie serait ainsi visiblement appelée à remplacer l’Égypte comme leader des pays musulmans proaméricains dans la région. En même temps, les États-Unis ont rapidement réussi à démanteler ce qui était considéré comme l’axe fort de la région et qui était formé de la Turquie, de la Syrie, de l’Iran et du Qatar. Le Qatar s’est ainsi aligné sur la politique turque qui, elle, ne dissimule pas ses critiques à l’égard du régime syrien…..
Katherine Marsh on the Gay Girl in Damascus blogger that SC highlighted last week.
Hariri Tribunal prosecutor amends indictment – Jpost
Tunisia’s ousted leader charged over shooting deaths…. An arrest warrant has been issued for Tunisia’s former interior minister, Rafik Belhaj Kacem, on charges of murder,
Egyptian Head of Security Tried
In a packed courtroom, a Cairo judge sentenced the former security henchman to seven years for corruption and five years for money laundering, and fined him 15m Egyptian pounds ($2.5m). But Adly still faces the much graver charge of giving the order to kill civilians during the 18-day uprising, as well as misusing public funds. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. “This is just an appetiser,” wrote Khaled Tawfeek on a Facebook page commemorating an activist who died in police custody. “Let’s hold our breath [for] when he falls for killing protesters.”
Adly has been held along with roughly 30 senior members of the old regime, including the deposed prime minister and Mr Mubarak’s two sons, following the uprising. Most face corruption charges, but some will face allegations related to the handling of the protests. Adly will next appear in court on 21 May to face trial for the deaths of protesters.
Mr Mubarak, 82, has also been detained on similar charges and the country’s justice minister has warned that the former president, who is convalescing in hospital after a heart attack, could face the death penalty if convicted.
One of Egypt’s most publicly reviled officials, Adly was the public face behind the feared security services, which tortured its citizens with impunity. Fury at police brutality was one of the primary reasons for the uprising, with the Police Day holiday on 25 January chosen as the first day of the protests.
More than 800 people were killed during the nearly three weeks of protests, many of them shot in the head and upper body, which has been used as evidence by some that security forces aimed to kill.
Food Prices
ROME — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Friday that global shortages of food and spiraling prices threaten widespread destabilization and is urging immediate action to forestall a repeat of the 2007 and 2008 crisis that led to riots in dozens of countries around the developing world.
Clinton told a meeting of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization that urgent steps are needed to hold down costs and boost agricultural production as food prices continue to rise.
Although the situation is not yet as dire as it was four years ago, she said the consequences of inaction would be “grave.”
“We must act now, effectively and cooperatively, to blunt the negative impact of rising food prices and protect people and communities,” she said at the FAO’s headquarters in Rome.
The U.N. estimates that 44 million people have been pushed into poverty since last June because of rising food prices,
Comments (91)
Observer said:
I just received information that is unverified that the security forces have burned alive wounded demonstrators and that the level and ferocity of the repression is reaching a crescendo.
I have no way of verifying the accounts and no way of determining what is going on.
It is very telling that after the use of force massively in Deraa people continue to defy the regime.
May 6th, 2011, 6:06 pm
Solitarius said:
Yes Observer I heard that as well. I heard that Maher al Assad was directly involved in the grilling process while Asef Shawkat was extremely upset because he had to wear the flowery apron and do the marinating.
May 6th, 2011, 6:23 pm
Nour said:
Observer,
This is nonsense and you know it. I understand your burning desire to see a “Sunni” Islamist government in Syria, but this shameless propaganda is beyond ludicrous.
As for Deraa, weren’t you all speaking of massacres and mass destruction in Deraa, in addition to a complete siege and the embargo of all food and medicine? Well we saw that these were all lies and fabrications. The “revolutionists” have lied about just about everything.
May 6th, 2011, 6:36 pm
Louai said:
i called my family today they live in Homs AL-Nuzha where no demonstrations what so ever take place there ,every thing was alright till around 4pm when a heavy fire could be heard when the fire stopped ,two bodies were taken by the Police .
no one knows for sure what was the story but what i know for sure that in our neighborhood there is no demonstrations what so ever and it never has been (its a Christian dominant population) and the Police were chasing those two who fired back on them in AL-Nuzha just beneath my family house
the Police then rang all the doors bells and requested from the people to lock their doors and make sure their roof tops are secured they also told them it will be electricity cuts for sometimes
till now there are no mobile phone service however the landlines are working
May 6th, 2011, 7:21 pm
Revlon said:
#4 Dear Louai, 3ikrima Al Nuzha is largley a 3alawi neighbourhjood.
May 6th, 2011, 8:48 pm
edward said:
To all the morally bankrupt pro-regime trolls who insist on spreading their lies and hatred on these pages, I just want to say your game is up. Increasingly everyone is becoming aware of the murderous brutal regime that you support for your own narrow and sectarian interests, and no one believes a word of your lies anymore. You are as isolated as your leaders, and soon to be trashed and dumped on the pile heap of humanity’s dejected dictators, butchers and other assorted trash.
And to all who claimed that hardly anybody protested on Friday, take a look at the link below that has a collection of the videos of the protests and judge for yourself. Despite the the brutal repression, arrests and cold blooded murder on the streets, people still came out in the tens of thousands to call for the fall of the regime.
http://syrialeaks.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/may-6-friday-of-defiance/
May 6th, 2011, 8:57 pm
why-discuss said:
Al Jazeera english TV is jubilant tonight, they report 27 death and the “demonstrations are escalating across Syria, calling for Bashar to step down”. I guess they have a hearing problem.
Later Hatem Manna on Al Jazeera program admits that the number of demonstrators inside Syria is dwindling and that unless it increases, there is no chance the balance will change. He was immediately cut.
I guess Al Jazeera is very mad at Syria because of the story of Dorothy Parvaz, the al Jazeera journalist held by the Syrian authorities when she tried to sneak in using her Iranian passport, possibly posing as a tourist. I don’t see any other reason why Qatar is so adamant to spread false information that are immediately picked by other newspapers.
They want the head of Bashar. I have not seen that level of disinformation since the WMD of Saddam, it’s sick.
May 6th, 2011, 9:08 pm
why-discuss said:
Edward
‘You are as isolated as your leaders, and soon to be trashed and dumped on the pile heap of humanity’s dejected dictators, butchers and other assorted trash.’
I prefer to be thrown at sea….
May 6th, 2011, 9:13 pm
Nour said:
The only ones being exposed for their lies and total moral bankruptcy are those supporters of the “revolutionists” who find nothing wrong in killing policemen and soldiers and desecrating their corpses, who engage in sectarian agitation of the most vulgar kind, and who have peddled and disseminated one lie after the other. We were told by these “revolutionists” that Deraa was being destroyed and was completely cut off and its people being killed and starved. We saw afterward that it was all a shameless lie by debased propagandist who care nothing for their country or their people but merely have a grudge to satisfy at whatever cost.
May 6th, 2011, 9:43 pm
Louai said:
dear Revlon ,
its true for 3ikrima but not for Nuzha ,(i lived there all my life ) but maybe you are referring to the area by the Nuzha junction so you are right ,any how the reason i mentioned what sects my neighbourhood is to highlight the situation there , this two people killed were not apart of protesters group or something like that ,they came to Nuzha from other areas(mrajeha) and exchanged fire with the Police according to what people said
to edward i don’t understand why you are angry that much ?i find the only reason you get that angry is either you are disappointment with the death toll for today or the little number of people went to the street . or for some personal reasons maybe .
the point is there is too much anger and frustrations in your comment even threat i wonder how the site moderator posted your comment .maybe he is asleep !
lets keep our comments civilized please ,thank you
May 6th, 2011, 9:45 pm
Australian's for Syria said:
One of our members has received a report from his sister living in Jableh:
“At about 1am 3 separate armed militias have attacked government buildings, military personnel and the security forces around Jable & Banias. It sounds like it is a fierce gun battle.”
A about an hour later the sister reports that it appears the military has the upper hand.
Does any one have any further news? Or relatives in the area to shed more light on what is happening?
May 6th, 2011, 9:47 pm
why-discuss said:
For all the anti-regime, Bashar has a very easy way out: accept the conditions of the US, drop Iran and Hezbollah, make peace with Israel and live happily ever after.
Then do you think anyone will care about Deraa or unhappy small cities?
If he was what you accuse him to be, he would do that now and get cheers and money from the international community.
May 6th, 2011, 9:53 pm
Joseph said:
Most Christians are against Al Assad.
Do not believe the few who think Christians are supporting the regime.
J.A.
May 6th, 2011, 10:04 pm
Australians for Syria said:
One of our members has received a report from his sister in Jableh:
“At about 1am three separate armed militias attacked government buildings and security personnel in Jableh. She can hear heavy fighting and it sounds like a fierce gun battle”.
About an hour later she reported that it seemed like the military had the upper hand as it was calming down.
Has anyone heard anything from the area? Any more information will be appreciated.
May 6th, 2011, 10:04 pm
NAJIB said:
OBSERVER,
you are lying.
i have received information that you are actually an outsourced hand of a Social Media Marketing services company based in the Philippines. i.e, you do this for living.
but i have no way of verifying that. 🙂
May 6th, 2011, 10:08 pm
NK said:
One more video from Homs (Attasi) style
from HOMS with LOVE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cThx-FPm_nc
Edward
Thanks for the link, looks like indeed there were fewer demonstrations today!
May 6th, 2011, 10:08 pm
Jad said:
Friday was a success for the regime, on many counts:
-less casualties
-less protesters
-Red cross report
-Clinton/ American administration hidden support
Hopefully the coming weeks will be calmer so a dialogue can be started with all sides that can take Syria to safety.
May 6th, 2011, 10:36 pm
NAJIB said:
JOSEPH,
did you do a survey?
Most Christians i know, are against the Salafi insurgents and their foreign financiers.
May 6th, 2011, 10:46 pm
majedkhaldoon said:
It was the seventh weeks of massive demonstrations inspite of severe oppression by the regime, and lies by syrian media and by the regime supporters who actually are not ashamed of what they they say, even that it is obvious they are lying.no one believes them,and they are wasting their time.
Now there is very good possibility that someone from the Alawi sect,or from the people around Bashar, will stage a coup.my original estimate is middle of june,they, the regime people, are living in fear,severe fear,they are unable to sleep, they are getting very nervous,frustrated, this is a period they think and do something that is extraordinary,their frustrations will lead them to committ the wrong thing.for sure Assad time is getting close,and Maher will be history very soon.
The regime is not smart, they have a chance to correct things,they blew it, they know only that they have to use oppression and violence,instead they could open up to the people,respond honestly to the people demand,and every syrian would have supported Bashar, but no, they insisted on using the violent way,they are not smart.
The investigating committe is due in Syria next week,facts then will be known and this will expose who is telling the truth,demonstrations will continue and will get more and will spread in every city.
May 6th, 2011, 10:52 pm
jad said:
سوريا: أمام تحدياتها
حجارة درعا بخير… لكن نفوس أهلها ليست كذلك
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/11616
“قبل أكثر من أربعين يوماً، اشتعلت شرارة الاحتجاجات السورية من ردعا. المدينة التي باتت من أشهر مدن العرب خلال الأسابيع الماضية، شهدت أمس جولة نظّمتها السلطات السورية لعدد من الإعلاميّين، ليسجّلوا بداية انسحاب الجيش السوري من المدينة”
“بعيد انتصاف النهار، دبّت الحركة قليلاً في شوارع درعا. بعض المحال التجارية فتحت أبوابها. نسبتها لا تزيد على 5 في المئة، حدّاً أقصى، في المدينة التي تمثّل المركز الإداري والتجاري لمحافظة يعيش فيها أكثر من مليون سوري. معظم ما فُتِحَت أبوابه من المحال يبيع مواد غذائية. على جوانب الطرقات، يجلس الدرعاويون. بعضهم يدخل منزله عندما يرى «الغرباء»، فيما يُكمِل البعض الآخر ما خرج لأجله. في إحدى ساحات المدينة، عاد الناس إلى الجلوس على المقاعد العامة. سيدة منقّبة مع أبنائها، وأخرى تقول إنها لم تكن تجرؤ على الخروج «لأن القناصين كانوا منتشرين على الأسطح قبل دخول الجيش».
بعض الشوارع الرئيسية ضجّت بالسيارات التي لا تزال تتوقف عند شارات السير حيث وُجِدت. شُرطة المرور منتشرة بلا سلاح، لتنظيم السير حيث كاد يزدحم، وخاصة أمام الأفران ومحطّات الوقود.
أحد أصحاب المحال يصرخ غاضباً ليمنع تصوير محله المفتوح: «إذا أردتم القول إني فتحت محلي، فعليكم أن تسجلوا كلامي: لم ننم منذ عشرة أيام». يقترب منه ضابط أمن. يعرّف عن نفسه، فتتبدل لهجة الرجل الذي يطلب من ابنه إحضار الماء البارد للضابط، قبل أن يردد كلام التأييد للرئيس السوري. على بعد شارعين من المحل المفتوح، محل آخر تجمّع أمامه نحو عشرة شبان. أمام الكاميرا، يبدأ شاب ثلاثيني بالكلام: يقول بلهجته التي هي أقرب إلى لهجة الأردنيين: «ما حدا قرّب صوبنا، وما في شي صار عنّا». يسمعه رجل في بداية الأربعينيات. يصرخ بوجهه: «احكِ الحقيقة، ليش خايف؟». يجيبه الآخر: «لست خائفاً، أنا أقول الحقيقة. هنا في المحطة لم يحصل شيء. المشاكل حدثت في البلد». يصرخ الرجل الغاضب بأعلى صوته: «سأحكي ولو ذبحوني. لن أسكت بعد اليوم. اقتحَموا منزلي. هذا إرهاب. كنت أعيش في الخارج، وأريد نقل أمي المريضة إلى حرستا». يبتعد مردداً: «لن أسكت…».
قرب المحل، نسأل شاباً عن عدد القتلى الذين سقطوا في درعا: «والله ما بعرف. في ناس قالوا عشرين، وفي ناس قالوا تسعين». لكن ألم تشيّعوهم؟ يجيب: «أنا لم أشارك في التظاهرات». يقترب منا رجل في منتصف العقد الخامس من عمره. يقول إن عدد القتلى بالمئات. نسأله عن أماكن دفنهم، فيجيب: لا أعرف. أين بيوت العزاء: هل نجرؤ على ذلك؟ وماذا عن المسلّحين الذين يقول الجيش إنه قبض عليهم؟ يجيب: «هذا كذب. لقد أطلقوا النار بعضهم على بعض».
على بعد شارعين منه، يقول شاب عشريني إنه شارك في التظاهرات. وبعد حديث طويل مع الإعلاميين، بعيداً عن أعين الأمن، يقول إن ثمة مسلحين في المدينة، قبل أن يستدرك: «لكن، هل وجود أربعة أو خمسة مسلحين يبرر تدمير المدينة؟».
نسأل أحد ضباط الجيش عن عدد القتلى المدنيين، فيحيل السائل على المحافظ. «أنا أخبركم عن عدد الشهداء العسكريين. سقط لنا 24 شهيداً من الجيش، و12 من الشرطة. أما الجرحى، ففاق عددهم الـ177، معظمهم برصاص القنص». نسأل المحافظ عن عدد القتلى المدنيين، فلا يجيب.
أمام مبنى الإذاعة المحترق، يمرّ رجل خمسيني. يؤكد أنه رأى عشرات المسلحين يُحرقون المبنى. يضيف: كنا نتظاهر سلمياً، لكن بعض الأشخاص أطلقوا النار على رجال الأمن الذين ردوا بالمثل، فسقط القتلى والجرحى. يرفض التقاط صور له قائلاً: «إذا عرفوا ما أقول فسيقتلونني ليلاً». من هم؟ يجيب: «المسلحون الملثمون».
أمام أحد الأفران، تنفي سيدة أتت برفقة ابنها وابنتها لشراء الخبز أن تكون المدينة قد عانت من حصار غذائي. وعندما اقترب منا رجل أمن، توقفت عن الكلام. لكن ابنتها أشارت غاضبة: جايين لهون؟ روحوا شوفوا بالبلد شو صار. حجارة درعا بخير، لكن نفوس أهلها ليست كذلك.”
May 6th, 2011, 11:02 pm
anton said:
first i would like to introduce my self as a Syrian born, after hearing , seeing all these propaganda from the anti-SYRIA on this blog and else where, I have made up my mind and sided with the Syrian government, they are doing the right things and the way the president handling the unrest is superb …. way to go Mr. the president… all of us behind you
God bless Syria and Syrian
May 6th, 2011, 11:07 pm
Louai said:
i like JOSEPH and Edward and every one chooses Christian name to say that Christian are with ‘the revolution’!
first i do understand the need to have Christian in the side of ‘the revolution’ but come on its not enough just to say so you need to have a quick look to the map to know from where the demonstrations start (it helps also to have a loog to the calender and the time also )
most Christians for obvious reasons would support a secular government and very very liberal one ,if they were to support an uprising it would be to the liberal side of it which proved far not to exist or to have very limited influence on ‘the revolution’
i hate to speak in a sectarian language but isn’t it obvious to every one that this ‘revolution’ is a pure Saudi wish to have Sunni regime in Syria or its only me?
i am not saying that every one in the streets is getting paid from Saudi but what i mean is the motive behind going to the street is not the love of the country as much the hate of the secular regime
we all hate the corruption in the government and in the system but that is not the case right now ,what makes this ‘revolution’ so unpopular in my opinion is three main reasons
1- the sectarian motive
2- the zero strategic agenda of the opposition and the lack of any vision for the future
3- people wanted reform and the reform is taking place so the wise Syrian prefer to give a chance
the opposition is so bankrupt right now and i expect them to use massive use of force to cause many casualties as this the only food they can offer to the hungry media right now .
May 6th, 2011, 11:14 pm
Amir in Tel Aviv said:
What America really wants:
A weakened Assad in power. An Assad who now desperately needs legitimacy. An Assad who learned the tough way, the true face of his (only two) friends in this world. An Assad that will be much more easy to manipulate and to control. An Assad who now will be dependent on America and the west, because of their generosity for letting him stay in power.
The loser: the Syrian people.
.
May 6th, 2011, 11:22 pm
NAJIB said:
LOUAI ,
you are right , the opposition is totally bankrupt amongst the vast majority of Syrians. the opposition is there to justify sanctions.
The Saudis are obsessed with “Shiite Iran” and its rising influence in the region.
Many Syrian Sunnis are more interested in promoting their own more spiritual and tolerant flavor of Islam in the region , rather than becoming puppets of the fanatic Wahabis and their Bedouin religiosity.
i think Assad has done well in giving them the means to do so.
May 7th, 2011, 12:15 am
Aldendeshe said:
No Amir, the Syrian people been biggest loosers for 50 years, just look at the videos, see how they look, how they chant and how they live. This is by own doing, they wanted revolution and got what they deserve on March 8, 1961. Today loosers are in fact the idiots who are dying to weaken President Assad and Syria, bring it under Zionist-Western colonial subservience and compliance.
May 7th, 2011, 12:15 am
Louai said:
Amir in Tel Aviv
although what you said is absolutely true regarding what the American want and even Israel however the outcome will be surely the exact opposite ,
reason is: the Syrian will be more immune and what had happened revealed how much the vast majority of Syrian and specialy Sunni’s Syrian are liberal and very tolerant .and as NAJIB put it (Many Syrian Sunnis are more interested in promoting their own more spiritual and tolerant flavor of Islam in the region , rather than becoming puppets of the fanatic Wahhabi and their Bedouin religiosity)
there are some very important changes took place that the opposition try to undermine but its significant ,we will have multi parties we will move forward for democracy we will have finally a national opposition that work for the good of the country not manipulate the power .that will improve the resistance and truly will immune us against all these conspiracies if they were to happen again
all sects in Syria trust each other much more now than before ,after president Bashar and the country will overcome this plot the president will become even more popular and Syria will never be the same again .
May 7th, 2011, 12:58 am
Revlon said:
17. Dear Jad, your conclusion is insensitive and hypocritical.
It is a shame that you consider the death of 30 civilians and the mourning of hundreds of their relatives a success story.
May I remind you that Killing one soul is like killing all of the people (Ingeel and Quran)
You describe what you claim “US hidden support to the regime” a succes, but you have embarked on describing same gestures to the revolution as evidence of a conspiracy.
You hope that the next few weeks would be calmer, so the dialogue can start!
What dialogue are you talking about?
The way the regime sees it: They have already responded to all of the demands,
– The emergency laws have been lifted,
– All of the other demands are being carefuly taken care of by the regime. They are the best qualified in the business. They have done it for 40 years!
The way the People see it: No one shall negotiate or shake hands with criminals and their supporters.
Jr, his family members, his extended family members, all of those who have participated in the killing and torture of Syrian people over thae last 40 years will have a day of reckonning; The day they will be brought to justice.
Tomorrow is not far, for those who yearn for it!
May 7th, 2011, 2:24 am
Revlon said:
Homs city and its country side are sealed by the military. Tanks are being used. Gun fire is being heard in the streets.
9 minutes ago
The army has rolled into the city of Baniyas.
50 minutes ago
شام : حمص : عاجل : حتى هذه اللحظة لا زال منع التجول في حمص سارياً والدبابات تملأ منطقة دير بعلبة والبياضة وباب عمرو و باب السباع و أغلب مناطق حمص وتقوم بقطع الطرقات وإطلاق النار لا يزال مستمرا في حي عشيرة وهناك إطلاق متقطع في أغلب مناطق حمص والدخول و الخروج من المدينة ممنوع تماماً ولا أحد في الشوارع سوى قوات الأمن والجيش وكل من ينزل إلى الشارع ينبه فورا بالعودة وإلاّ سيطلق عليه النار …
::::: والله لن تركع حمص ولا بانياس ولا درعا ولا جبلة ولا دوما ولا اللاذقية ولا الدير ولا القامشلي ولا الأحرار أبداً ولا كل اهل سوريا إلاّ لله الواحد الجبار :
May 7th, 2011, 2:34 am
Mawal95 said:
I’m told here was an “electric”, exciting, enjoyable, atmosphere during the Tahir Square demonstrations in Cairo. You don’t see that often in Syrian demonstrations. But in the following video from a demonstration yesterday, the crowd must be enjoying themselves participating, because the chant has got nice melody and rhythm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P2yFpV7LXI
The opposition should try to improve the quality of the demonstration experience by having higher quality chants. But a bigger challenge for the opposition is that the content of their message is very poor. As already said by Louai in comment above, the opposition only has the negative message of getting Bashar to leave; and it lacks a vision for the future after that. The message “hurriae, hurriae, hurriae” is lousy because hurriae is truly undefined.
May 7th, 2011, 2:38 am
democracynow said:
My God…is it not possible for the regime supporters to not also support its killings and repressions?
is it not possible for you to not regurgitate the SANA press releases?
ya akhi, remain a supporter or an apologist or whatever the hell you want to be for the regime, maybe you have valid reasons for not wanting the regime to fall come what might: but please, show some respect to the intellect of everyone who’s not entranced by the Syrian state propaganda. Show some respect to the 600 Syrians killed so far. Your positions are only making the discourse more polarized.
May 7th, 2011, 2:44 am
democracynow said:
A regime supporter says:
“Aside from Homs, the total of people who demonstrated in Syria today was less than 5000.”
Alright.
Here’s Jasem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BygTF5ZNAv4
Al Sanamein:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9kvWa3Ixh4
Da’el:
http://youtu.be/EsJgwA1DNjg
Mi’aret Nu’man:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDObnUIjzNg
Idlib:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOFX-KJcmFM
More Idlib
http://youtu.be/qBX3DQ3uCZo
…and that is only to name some.
May 7th, 2011, 3:10 am
Souri333 (formerly Souri) said:
So Revlon is Homsi. It is strange how much the Homsis are boiling with sectarianism. They are unbelievable.
I think they hated the former governor, who was not Alawi, although he was commonly accused of being Alawi because he was too bad to be Sunni. Homsi genealogists still maintain that his family is originally Alawi from Iskenderoun. He is a secret Alawi posing as a Sunni.
So it appears that the Homsis are now taking all that anger out on the Alawi community. The Alawi community is already hated because of reasons I mentioned before (they don’t fast and pray and their women don’t dress Islamic). This essential hatred combined with the anger at the Sunni governor who is accused of being secret Alawi gave rise to the Homsi Salafi revolution.
May 7th, 2011, 3:19 am
Revlon said:
Dr 3ammar Al Qurabi: What is going on in Dar3a amounts to crimes against humanity.
Here are excerpts from his interview on Al Jazeera, from Cairo:
– Dar3a is still under siege.
– Tanks rolled over parking cars in the streets.
– Military search groups were vile
– They indiscriminately destroyed and trashed property including dishes, windows, TV’s and furniture
– They forced men to strip naked in front of their wives and children, and then they poured Gasoline and threatened to put them on fire.
– Mothers of incommunicados, do not know how to find out about their sons.
– There are stories of burying wounded civilians alive
– There are stories of executing people while in detention
– Journalists nd human rights groups are not allowed to come in to verify stories.
Dr Al Qurabi is representative of the National Human Rights Organisation
May 7th, 2011, 3:24 am
Louai said:
DEMOCRACYNOW are you serous?
you criticized us ‘to regurgitate the SANA press releases’whilst you regurgitate AlJazeera press releases by adopting the 600 death toll? for SANA its 200 a 100 of them Policemen and solders . god bless all the Syrian souls
then you add the youtube links to prove that they were not more than 5000 today ? is that a mass demonstrations in your opinion? in a wedding you would find more people in this small towns.
May 7th, 2011, 3:28 am
annie said:
Why did Turkey close its borders to stop the flow of Syrian refugees into the country ? Why would they be fleeing ? They also run to Lebanon.
May 7th, 2011, 3:46 am
jad said:
#26
You are trying to show that you have morals, I’m sorry to tell you that from your comments I don’t think that you have lots of moral to respect, but regardless I’ll answer:
-the success I wrote was ‘less casualties’, at the time I wrote my comment the number of casualties was 15, 10 military men and 5 civilians, which is low compared to 100 couple weeks ago so less blood for me means saving lives, but for you the more blood and more dead young Syrians is the success.
-May I remind you that even if an Alawi Syrian lost his life we must respect his soul, so try not to be so bluntly hypocrite before giving anybody a lecture.
-Calling for the west to come and intervene in Syria and probably occupy it is not comparable to a word of logic by the american administration.
-I’m talking about a dialog that can spare lives instead of wasting them, a dialog than can take us to safety instead of your trip to hell. That is the dialog I’m talking about, so when you start believe in words as way of communication not revenge, destruction and violence you become a human, otherwise, you are nothing but a blood thirsty creature.
May 7th, 2011, 4:09 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
It is incredible how pro-regime trolls are repeting the same lies. Sure, they have been educated in Syria with tha same lies over and over. Si finally they have believed and even they have the need to spread it. THEY ARE LIKE A SECT TALKING ABOUT THE TRUTH.
The more the people take the streets the more they deny the truth. It´s fantastic. Cannot believe it is happening.
http://syrialeaks.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/may-6-friday-of-defiance/
I repeat the messageof EDWARD that could be a good treatment:
To all the morally bankrupt pro-regime trolls who insist on spreading their lies and hatred on these pages, I just want to say your game is up. Increasingly everyone is becoming aware of the murderous brutal regime that you support for your own narrow and sectarian interests, and no one believes a word of your lies anymore. You are as isolated as your leaders, and soon to be trashed and dumped on the pile heap of humanity’s dejected dictators, butchers and other assorted trash.
And to all who claimed that hardly anybody protested on Friday, take a look at the link below that has a collection of the videos of the protests and judge for yourself. Despite the the brutal repression, arrests and cold blooded murder on the streets, people still came out in the tens of thousands to call for the fall of the regime.
http://syrialeaks.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/may-6-friday-of-defiance/
May 7th, 2011, 4:40 am
Solitarius said:
I don’t know if this is old news or not, but here is a good article in Al-Akhbar Lebanese newspaper about some first accounts out of Daraa
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/11616
درعا المحطة. اللوحة الحجرية الضخمة التي تحمل صورة الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد ووالده قرب ملعب كرة القدم لا تزال على حالها، كما على جدران المقار الرسمية في هذه المنطقة.
—
ا آثار لمعارك أو حرائق في هذه المنطقة. في مبنى المحافظة، يُكثر المحافظ الجديد من الحديث عن «أمن شعبنا الذي حاولت العصابات الإرهابية العبث به. كانوا يفرضون الخوّات على الناس الذين طالبونا بتدخل الجيش».
—
المسجد العمري بحجارته السوداء أصغر مما بدا في الصور القليلة التي انتشرت منذ بدء احتجاجات المدينة الحورانية. «لم يمسسه أحد بسوء»، يقول ضابط من الجيش مبتسماً. لا أثر لرصاص على المسجد. «أخرجْنا المعتصمين فيه من دون سفك دماء»، يقول الضابط مضيفاً: «بعد محاصرتهم، نادينا عليهم بمكبرات الصوت فخرجوا. أصلاً، لم يكن فيه مسلحون، استخدموه مشفى ميدانياً». في محيط المسجد، كُتِبَت عبارات التأييد للرئيس السوري. تبدو وليدة اليومين الماضيين. إحداها وصلت إلى أحد الجدران الخارجية للمسجد: «سوريا الأسد» خطّها أحدهم باللون الأحمر.
ضابط آخر يشير إلى خزان المياه الكبير الذي يرتفع فوق منازل البلدة القديمة قائلاً: «هذا هو الخزان الذي ادعى الشهود العيان أننا دمرناه. هل تضرر؟». لا ينتظر جوابنا. يكتفي بالابتسام.
—
لست خائفاً، أنا أقول الحقيقة. هنا في المحطة لم يحصل شيء. المشاكل حدثت في البلد». يصرخ الرجل الغاضب بأعلى صوته: «سأحكي ولو ذبحوني. لن أسكت بعد اليوم. اقتحَموا منزلي. هذا إرهاب. كنت أعيش في الخارج، وأريد نقل أمي المريضة إلى حرستا». يبتعد مردداً: «لن أسكت…
—
قترب منا رجل في منتصف العقد الخامس من عمره. يقول إن عدد القتلى بالمئات. نسأله عن أماكن دفنهم، فيجيب: لا أعرف. أين بيوت العزاء: هل نجرؤ على ذلك؟ وماذا عن المسلّحين الذين يقول الجيش إنه قبض عليهم؟ يجيب: «هذا كذب. لقد أطلقوا النار بعضهم على بعض».
But it’s also very likely that the army did not allow the journalists to see everything and all the areas if some were much more damaged than others.. who knows what really happened
May 7th, 2011, 4:51 am
jad said:
The unfortunate killing incidents happened in areas where violence took place, except in Mayadeen where no clear reason justify the security killing of 3-4 men and injuring 20 there.
Other than that and until this time I didn’t read about casualties reported anywhere else where protests where peaceful, all videos prove that:
5 in Homs, some people attacked the military killing 10 where the military retaliate.
6 in Hama, where protesters attacked the police there leaving 25 police men injured, and after that some people attacked public and private buildings as well as burning 2 buses and 3 cars.
May 7th, 2011, 4:58 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
Congratulations JAD,
You have improved vey much. You pals JUST killed 3-4 persons here, 5 there and some 6 in the other place. Bravo, wonderfull numbers. Total ONLY 23 persons died. You improved very much. How many in prison by now? Any news about tortures? Nothing to declare?
May 7th, 2011, 5:05 am
SANDRO LOEWE said:
JAD,
Of course, not metioned above, all killed are thugs and criminals, that were in an illegal demonstration, doing illegal activities and acting violently. All security forces (even snippers) were acting under the law (of emergency?) and legally. Walking above prisoners and torture would be legal too in your Disneyland Paradise?
May 7th, 2011, 5:10 am
Souri333 (formerly Souri) said:
The problem with the Arabs is that they know little about the Syrian people. Sunni Arab media has been throwing loads of sectarian bombs on Syria believing that this will turn the Sunni population against Assad. Reuters’ Khaled Oweis is a perfect example of those sectarianist inciters, look at his reports:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/07/us-syria-idUSLDE73N02P20110507
Ass*oles like Khaled Oweis believe that loading your reports with sectarian incitement will make Assad weaker. The reality is the total opposite. People in Syria (especially in Aleppo) are very sensitive to any Sunni-Alawi confrontation. Aleppo was the first city in Syria to rise against the Baath—it rose as early as July 1963, and it rose again several times until 1982. The cliché of “Alawi regime vs. Sunni population” is very overused to the people in Aleppo. It does not stir their emotions anymore (actually it has an opposite effect). All Sunnis in Syria are this way except for the Wahhabis, who are a little minority. Stupid jackasses like Khaled Oweis do not know these facts.
The Syrian Wahhabis themselves know that sectarian language is repulsive to the Syrians. This is why they are trying hard to not use any sectarian slogans publicly, but it really does not work because all people know who they are and what they want.
May 7th, 2011, 5:28 am
Souri333 (formerly Souri) said:
The killings in the eastern region are very bad news for the regime. People in the eastern half of Syria are crazy and killings there may start a violent uprising. I don’t think the regime is that stupid to shoot at people in that region. There must be some conspiracy that caused the deaths.
May 7th, 2011, 5:33 am
Jad said:
الله يرحمون و يرحمنا، عمرون خالص، قضاء و قدر، اذا عندك اعتراض روح لعند رب العالمين و اشتكي أنا ما دخلني بينك وبينو. بعدين، نصيحة حاج تنط و ما تحط ما حلوة واحد منظّر متل جنابك يجدبا لهلدرجة، اتئال شي شوي، مشان ايمتك بس.
ومرة تانية لا تحكي معي ساندرو باشا.
May 7th, 2011, 5:33 am
Revlon said:
Photo of Martyr, Dr Mo7ammad Al Rifa3i
Homs, May 6th
30 minutes ago
Al Fati7a upon his soul. May God bless his family with solace and empower them with patience.
صورة للدكتور محمد الرفاعي شهيد جمعةصورة للدكتور محمد الرفاعي شهيد جمعة التحدي في حمص
رحمه الله كان مثالا للخلق الرفي…ع و محبوبا من الجميع
أصدقاؤه في حمص و سوريا و خارج سوريا بكوا كثيرا
اللهم تقبله و اقبله و أقر أعيننا بنصرك
http://www.facebook.com/Syrian.Revolution#!/photo.php?fbid=10150607218605727&set=a.10150607218545727.683232.420796315726&type=1&theater
May 7th, 2011, 6:22 am
Souri333 (formerly Souri) said:
BTW Dr. Landis described me above as a “regime supporter.” I am not a regime supporter, I am against the uprising (like most Syrians) but I am not a regime supporter. I may be Assad supporter, but not regime supporter.
May 7th, 2011, 7:10 am
Revlon said:
“The Syrian regime who repeatedly protested the Israeli siege on Gaza, are practicing it now on their own people”
سوريا: يجب رفع الحصار عن درعا
حملة الاعتقالات تتواصل في جميع أنحاء البلاد
مايو/أيار 6, 2011
http://www.hrw.org/ar/news/2011/05/06
Here are excerpts:
وقالت سارة ليا ويتسن: “حتى لو كان الجيش السوري ‘ يتصيّد الإرهابيين’ حقا، فإن ذلك ليس سببا لمنع سكان البلدة من الخروج من البلدة وحرمان السيدة المُسنّة من أخذ أدويتها”. وتابعت: “كانت سوريا قد احتجت مرارا على حصار إسرائيل لقطاع غزة، لكنها تفعل الشيء نفسه مع سُكّان درعا”.
وقالت سارة ليا ويتسن: “أجهزة الأمن السورية على ما يبدو لا تقف عند حدّ”. وأضافت: “إن احتجاز أخ أو ابن شخص ما كرهينة، هو تصرّف عصابة إجرامية أكثر مِن كونه ممارسة دولة لقوتها المشروعة”.
وقالت سارة ليا ويتسن: “إن السلطات السورية تعتقد أنها يمكن أن تضرب وتقتل كل مَن في طريقها للخروج من الأزمة”. وأضافت: “لكنها مع كل اعتقال غير قانوني، ومع كل واقعة قتل لأحد المتظاهرين، فهي تُعجّل
May 7th, 2011, 8:57 am
Pas Cool said:
Souri333
Is it possible to differentiate betwen being a regime supporter and being a supporter of the head of state in a dictatorship?
I see what you mean by attempting to differentiate between them, as I have spoken to many Syrians who also attempt this distinction. Maybe it’s Assad’s boyish appeal, maybe his wife’s clout, or perhaps a genuine belief that Assad is different from the “others”. But, when it boils down to the political reality on the ground, can you really distinguish between Assad and the regime? Wouldn’t that actually imply some kind of internal stand-off, or wishing a coup where Assad wins the day? Can you tell a prisoner arbitrarily detained that you are not for his imprisonment, that you are actually for the president? Is the president even against arbitrary detention? Perhaps he is but does not carry enough weight amend the law. And if you call the reforms announced recently having amended the law, then perhaps you are for the demonstrations, as were it not for them I can only assume that many of the proposed reforms of late would not have been announced.
So, to sum it all up, you are for a limited amount of demonstrations against the regime as this gave the one you prefer, the Head of State in a dictatorship, enough political clout to reform the system?! Now if only the demonstrations were to stop…
May 7th, 2011, 9:27 am
Nafdik said:
Souri333,
By assad supporter you mean that you will vote for assad in free and open elections?
Or that you support keeping assad with or without elections?
If the latter, then you are a regime supporter.
What is understood by regime is the dictatorship.
May 7th, 2011, 9:29 am
Revlon said:
The ongoing, Jr’s Wa2dulfitnah operation in Dar3a is the edited version of 7ama plight executed by his father in 1982.
Both share a scenario that includes stories of armed traitors / infiltrators as a pretext, followed by siege with cut-off of power, water and food; house searches and humiliation; thousands of arrests; and the killing of civilians by 3alawi forces.
It is Facebook and YouTube, and not Jr’s humane touch that have succeeded in holding back the regime from using artillery bombardment to quickly destroy the city of Dar3a, exterminating its people, and repeating the unedited version of 7ama massacre.
May 7th, 2011, 9:30 am
Mawal95 said:
I just watched a superb music performance at Youtube. I went to the user page of the person who uploaded it in search of more good music, and I found that many of the other videos he (or she) uploaded are pro-Bashar political stuff. I’ve found that many times over the past couple of months: the “cool” people in Syria support the establishment.
May 7th, 2011, 9:41 am
Observer said:
Well again all I said is that there are UNVERIFIED reports of atrocities. Today, the reports speak of children as young as 12 taken to schools and beaten savagely and the use of electrical shocks and nail crushing on older ones.
I am neither affirming nor denying anything.
The fact that demonstrations happened yesterday and today is very telling. The fact that HRW is looking into crimes against humanity is telling.
I have a few questions/observations about the pattern that is happening in city after city:
1. It seems that cutting water and electricity and phone service is the norm. If it is the work of saboteurs then they must have had access to the plants which I find incredibly hard to believe. If it is the work of the security forces it amounts to collective punishment. If it is not then it is complete negligence on the part of the respective authorities.
2. Reformers posted on the facebook page of AlThawra newspaper a set of proposals addressed to the President showing him the way and asking him to shun the hard core elements within his administration who have chosen the route of force. They actually tell him that the country would be grateful and would make it a stronger bastion against Israeli hegemony if he does so.
3. The best way to “show” the world the bias of such and such a satellite news channel is to actually allow all of them to operate: clearly the Aljazeera and BBC and Alarabyia and RT and CNN and Alalam and AlManar and LBC and etc….. would compete with each other and the truth would come out. As long as the news are only from SANA and the mouthpieces of the regime there will be a significant credibility gap.
4. A silent majority is on the sidelines especially in mercantile Damascus and Aleppo and the outcome has come to what Haitham Maleh said: either the regime falls or the Syrian people fall. If we are going to go back to the status quo of the 80’s or 90’s then God help Syria as there will be no future and no hope and no ability to put the millions of people back to work. If the country closes up no foreign investments will pour in and capital flight will continue. Smuggling, graft, corruption, hatred, sectarianism will thrive and grow even if under the surface only to explode again in a few years.
5. Most people want REFORM WITHIN rather than FALL of the regime for they are yearning for stability, economic opportunity, and most importantly bureaucratic freedom and only after that political and constitutional freedom. The regime thinks that any concession would lead to total fall of the regime. Well this will be true for some economically privileged few but the regime will stay and will grow stronger even if reforms are instituted quickly. The regime has to accelerate now not only to move fast but to truly accelerate exactly the opposite of what the President said.
6. I believe that there is no difference at this time between the various brothers they have all fallen very close to the tree and they are very similar to the father in thuggery and ruthlessness. They are also banking on one community only to support them along with all the force needed to do it.
Observations and factual analysis are what we need and none of this emotional Mumbo Jumbo that we read on this blog.
Ehsani please post and save us.
May 7th, 2011, 9:44 am
Revlon said:
One of the biggest funerals for Martyr Soldier Abdulmajeed Ra7moon, in his town of Jirjnaz, Idlib.
He was another victim of military mutiny.
Al Fati7a upon his soul.
May God bless his family with solace and empower them with patience.
الصلاة على الشهيد العسكري عبدالمجيد رحمون
May 7th, 2011, 9:53 am
Revlon said:
Three ladies have fallen martyrs in Baniyas today, courtesy of Jr’s Wa2dulfitnah.
AlFati7a upon their souls,
May God bless their families with solace and empower them with patience.
حركة سوريا شباب من أجل الحرية Youth Syria For Freedom
bbc عاجل || استشهاد 3 نساء بالقرب من مدينة بانياس
..
about a minute ago
May 7th, 2011, 10:02 am
Edward said:
Pathetic how the pro-regime apologists are painting this as a Wahabi conspiracy against our glorious steadfast nation who has always stood up for Arab causes against western and Israeli imperialism. Choosing to ignore such inconvenient facts as the mass popular uprisings taking place across the Arab world (no no we’re not like them, we’re Syrians, we love our president!!!my beebol luv me) or the 40 odd years of rampant corruption, theft, abuse of power and systematic destruction of the infrastructure, police, judiciary, education and military of Syria by the Baath, rendering Syria a barely functioning Banana Republic where a substantial proportion of the well-to-do are above the law(due to paying bribes or connections), while the rest of the population languishes in poverty and servitude, and the Mukhabarat can kidnap, disappear or kill anyone, including judges, ministers and mp’s with total impunity. How about we not mention Syria’s occupation of Lebanon and the terrible abuses committed there by the security forces? or how about we forget Hama in 1982, and the chilling tales of people being buried alive by bulldozers with the rubble and debris of their destroyed houses?
or how about we forget that the C.I.A sent rendered terrorism suspects to be tortured in Syria’s mukhabarat dungeons? or how about we pretend we don’t see daily, government officials driving a 9 million lira Benz past destitute children begging at traffic lights (I drive past one every day on my way to work, today I stopped to talk to her, she told me she and her family live in a gas station after her father died).
For God’s sake people, just have the decency to admit that this regime has dragged our country to the ground and destroyed it. The people are fed up, they’ve had enough, they want it to end, they want a new tomorrow, they want their dignity back. They’ve braved tanks and guns and Mukhabarat and Shabeha thugs because they’ve had enough. Hundreds have given their lives for this cause, how dare you desecrate their memory and belittle their noble struggle? We have a phrase to describe how we feel about people like you and it’s “Tfooh 3alek”
Only an idiot would believe your nonsense of a global Zionist- Hariri-Saudi-Salafist-Aljazeera-Western plot to destroy the harmony and utopia that the Syrian people enjoy under their wise, benevolent and “for-ever” supreme ruler and commander, who God surly must have picked for us from amongst a select few saints, as we’re not supposed to ever question his authority or decisions, otherwise God will strike down upon his with furious anger, manifest in khaki wearing Mukhabarat and Amn (not to be confused with other types of Angles).
May 7th, 2011, 10:15 am
why-discuss said:
Observer
Your observation totally ignore the geopolitical context of the region. Syria is not another planet, it s submitted to all what is happening around: The flip of Egypt toward supporting the resistance and opening up to Iran, Bahrain in a turmoil, North Africa on fire, Iran’s interference, Israel lost in translation,.
All this has much more importance that the Human rights activist lobbies in allowing the international community to take a firm stand about Syria.
Until the region settles and the players are clearly defined, the UE and the US will give lip service to the situation.
I worry that Syria’s situation will remain in limbo: On one side the people who want a change of regime at any costs, blood and foreign intervention, and the ones who prefer the stability offered by the regime, despite its abuses.
Until now the blood has spilled but the regime stands strong and ‘brutal’ to use a term repeated at all occasions by anti-regime promoters. The opposition who knows that a Libyan style help will be a disaster, are clinging on the Human rights activists and the media to stir the international public opinion. Their hope: A official position declaring that Bashar al Assad is a criminal to be sued by the ICC and who does not represent the country anymore. The question the opposition has no answer to: Is ever this happen, who will represent the country? The army? The MB ? Michel Kilo?
Until they have an answer and present to the international community an acceptable alternative ( pro-US, pro-peace with Israel), they can show hundred of gory videos, call for freedom, count the dead, call for inquiries, nothing will happen expect weakening Syria as a whole and set it up for a gloomy future.
May 7th, 2011, 10:15 am
why-discuss said:
Edward
“Only an idiot would believe your nonsense of a global Zionist- Hariri-Saudi-Salafist-Aljazeera-Western plot ”
Only idiots would not.
May 7th, 2011, 10:18 am
Souri333 (formerly Souri) said:
I truly hope that Assad will dismantle the Progressive National Front and allow parties to compete for parliament seats and for the PM office. We don’t need new parties as much as we need political competition.
The Progressive National Front has Communist, Syrian Nationalist, and National Socialist parties—all are leftist or ‘progressive’ parties. There are no rightist or conservative parties now in Syria. Such parties used to dominate Syrian political life before the union with Egypt. The major two conservative parties were the People’s Party (headquarter in Aleppo) and the National Party (headquarter in Damascus). These two parties were composed of Sunni and Christian feudal figures (just like the type that still rules Lebanon until now). They are remembered in Syria for their sectarianism and corruption. The MB is another radical conservative party that used to exist until 1982. The MB was a marginal force in the 1950’s, but they grew considerably in power in the 1960’s-1970’s in reaction to the 1963 coup.
The Syrian regime fears any conservative political force because it knows that most Syrians are conservatively oriented (in the regime terms: مجتمع رجعي). The Sunnis in Syria are either Islamist or simply ‘conservative,’ which means that they would prefer to vote for a Sunni businessman or notable figure from their own town rather than to vote for an ideological party like the Baath. If true democratic elections take place in Syria, the Baath will get a very modest share of votes. Most people will vote either for the Islamists or for notable local figures. This will create a political map similar to the Lebanese political map (or the Syrian political map before 1958), that is, a political map dominated by sectarian and regional allegiances rather than political orientation. The society will tear up to its sectarian, ethnic, tribal, and regional identities and the weak national indetity that currently exists will quickly vanish, especially when such radical forces as the Islamists have a significant power in society.
This is a very tricky situation. The regime will be careful to prevent any Islamist or regionalist parties from emerging while it opens up politically, but how will they prevent simple conservative parties from emerging? Such parties can be a disguise for Islamist parties. In Turkey, this was not a problem, but in Syria the regime seems to be unwilling to accept any Islamist party even if it was disguised as a conservative secular party. This may be the reason for why the regime is clinging to the Progressive National Front—they simply do not want to allow any conservative parties. What Assad will do is to change article 8 of the constitution to say that the Progressive National Front rules Syria instated of the Baath. He will also allow new parties to form and join the front, which means that ‘unprogressive’ parties will not be allowed to form. The Alawis still remember with bitterness the conservative parties of the 1940’s-1950’s and they will not allow them to be back.
I personally have no problem with any of that. I am progressive and I don’t think conservative parties can work in such a diverse and backward society as Syria. However, the regime must allow some sort of competition between the parties. A political process without competition will not be tolerated anymore by most Syrians. The regime has to find a formula that allows the parties of the Progressive Front to compete with each other.
May 7th, 2011, 10:29 am
Abughassan said:
People have the right to protest and change their government but they should not be allowed to kill and destroy. No army in the world will allow thugs to fire at its officers and soldiers and stay idle. Claiming that the regime is doing all the killing is a blatant lie and reflects the dishonesty of some bloggers and Facebook fighters. There will be no future for Syria until there is security in the streets. I have listened to some Syrians stating that they prefer an American occupation over this regime,some have even praised the Iraqi model.
I yet have to see a single reputable media source that reports the whole truth and not just half the truth.until Syrians denounce violence from all sides and reject the internationalization of this crisis I see no way out for Syria.
May 7th, 2011, 10:29 am
jad said:
تشييع جثامين 11 شهيداً من الجيش والشرطة استهدفتهم المجموعات الإرهابية المتطرفة بحمص أمس إلى مدنهم وقراهم
07 أيار , 2011
حمص-سانا
شيعت من المشفى العسكري بحمص اليوم جثامين 11 شهيدا من الجيش والشرطة استهدفتهم مجموعات إرهابية متطرفة في مناطق متفرقة من المحافظة أمس إلى مدنهم وقراهم.
وجرت للشهداء مراسم تشييع مهيبة وحملوا على الأكف وعزفت موسيقا الجيش لحني الشهيد والوداع.
والشهداء هم: المقدم أحمد هلال حلاق من محافظة إدلب بلدة ارمناز.
المساعد أول خضر محمود أوغلي من محافظة طرطوس منطقة صافيتا قرية المتراس.
المساعد أول اسماعيل محمود خضور من محافظة حمص قرية خربة التين.
المساعد اول نبراس محمود السلوم من محافظة حمص قرية الفردوس .
الرقيب غدير نايف ربوع من محافظة حمص قرية المظهرية.
العريف ماجد يوسف ديب من محافظة حماة قرية خنيفس.
المجند فواز خليل الابراهيم من محافظة الرقة قرية النهضة.
المساعد أول الشرطي جورج اليان من محافظة حمص بلدة صدد.
الشرطي ثائر جردو من محافظة حمص قرية الغور الغربية.
الشرطي محمد معروف من محافظة حمص قرية الشعيرات.
الشرطي بسام أبو العنز من محافظة حمص قرية الزعفرانية الشرقية.
http://sana.sy/ara/336/2011/05/07/345283.htm
May 7th, 2011, 10:33 am
Observer said:
In Syria at present there are no regional or geostrategic issues on the minds of the protesters. The EU the US Israel and KSA and Iran and others do not want major instability in Syria. On the other hand the people want bureaucratic freedom, economic liberty and opportunity, and an end to the thuggery and graft and corruption.
The protests still to this day with the posting on Facebook is still positing the need for reform within the system rather than its replacement.
This is the last chance, the regime may survive and will rule over an even more rotten and failed state than it had ever been.
This may be what the regime wants. It is only postponing the inevitable.
Autocratic rule is finished. Totalitarian regimes are finished. Participatory governing is inevitable.
Finally, the mention of sects on this blog clearly shows one more time that Syria is NOT a nation but a failed state.
May 7th, 2011, 11:01 am
Edward said:
here are more of Bashar’s “reforms”, 3 women killed in Banyas today:
1- Ahlam Hawayskeh 2- Liela Taha 3- Liela Sahyoneey
اسماء الشهيدات في بانياس اليوم
أحلام حويسكية
ليلى طه
ليلى صهيوني
were they also armed Salafist terrorists??????
and the disturbing close range execution of a protester in Homs yesterday under a hail of automatic fire:
May 7th, 2011, 11:28 am
why-discuss said:
Jad
In a true democracy, you must accept the risk that the people vote for a party that is sectarian even if on the long term it may be a disaster, i.e The national socialist headed by Hitler was democratically elected, as well as the FIS in Algeria.
While religious allegeance are still there, I guess ideologies are out of fashion. Common people in poor country like Syria think first about jobs, money, security whatever ideology the controlling party is following.
The common Syrian has lived under the Baath party umbrella with all the advantages provided by a socialist system and they take it for granted. They are not educated enough politically to see what a ‘conservative’ system will bring and what it will take away from them. So they can be very easily fooled by promises of jobs and could elect a rich businessman just for that, unaware of the consequences.
This is what Bashar meant when he says that Syrians are not ready for a democracy. They are simply not politically educated.
The Baath party brought an valid ideology and security but failed in providing jobs and shattered political awareness, except in foreign policies. I guess many syrians fascinated by the apparent economical success of Lebanon would want to try a similar system.
While the rich will become richer, the poor would start to realize what they lost. Then maybe at next election, it will swing again..
That’s the game of democracy: trial and errors.
It is possible that the present government fearing for a return to the messy political life in the 50’s would try by any means to keep the system a socialist system, but I wonder how can they succeed while raising political awareness. It is a real dilemma
May 7th, 2011, 11:36 am
why-discuss said:
OBSERVER
Do you really think it is enough that hundred of thousands of people protest to have a system changed?
The geopolitical situation of Syria make it that the changes may or may not happen depending on the will of the superpowers who would be affected by these changes.
This is why it is vain to call for an immediate change. Change will come in due time, when the geopolitical situation is clearer. In the meantime either the regime is given a chance to amend (even if many believe it can’t) or if they escalate, the continuous protests may bring the country down. The ball is in the hand of the opposition, but as they are fragmented and carried away by their half successes, I think they will pursue their current line of relentless protests with predictable consequences.
May 7th, 2011, 11:51 am
Akbar Palace said:
“Only an idiot would believe your nonsense of a global Zionist- Hariri-Saudi-Salafist-Aljazeera-Western plot ”
Why Discuss,
You disagreed with Edward when he stated the above comment.
What evidence do you have that there IS a “Zionist- Hariri-Saudi-Salafist-Aljazeera-Western plot”?
Change will come in due time…
Why Discuss,
Perhaps if there were term limits, something would have changed already with 40+ years of Assad rule. Maybe Syrians don’t believe it.
May 7th, 2011, 11:52 am
why-discuss said:
AP
Edward thinks that everybody except him is an idiot.
There are a lot of reputable analysts who admit that there is a truth in the role of the sunni-salafi in the uprising. Just look at the analysis from Scarlett Haddad (in french) in Joshua’s summary.
So Edward, because he can’t prove otherwise is obviously in a state of hysteria. He is calling people names and threatening them. He should learn how to calm down and read more views than his.
I agree that the first reform should be a term limit.
May 7th, 2011, 12:08 pm
AIG said:
Dagan (former head of the Mossad), clearly says that is is better for Israel if Assad falls.
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4065684,00.html
The above is in Hebrew.
May 7th, 2011, 12:14 pm
Norman said:
The solution for the Syrian crises is for the opposition to declare victory and their faith in the president and call for a suspension of the Demonstration for at least 2 to 4 weeks to give time for the president to move forward on reform as the government , the Army and the Baath party will not not give any concessions under pressure , so i see next that the President will declare a multiparty system that will allow competition in political life, i believe that he will need to do that not just to calm the street but also to save the Baath party and make sure that it will have a future in Syria as any violent end to the current regime will destroy any chance for the baath party as it happened in Iraq,
What the president should do is put rules in the new party law to secure the secular nature of the party without micromanaging these parties, two things i see as essentials, the first one is that no religous parties are allowed, Christians, Sunni, Alawat, Druz and others and no ethnic parties like Kurdish, Assyrians Armenians, in short , no parties that are exclusive of any Syrian to join because of ethnic or religous associations,I would like districts with certain number of people who elect one representative from each district from people in that district who belong to any party in the running and have a candidate, the people of each districts are the people who are registered and live there , not live in Damascus and vote in Hassaka because they are Kurds or Assyrian , people have to vote where they live not where they come from, The parliament will be made of all these representative, decentralization is essential and dividing each large city into towns with their own city council, Mayer, police department fire department and let them elect these people who are responsible to their own voters and can be changed by a recall rule or new election at the end of their term, a senate with senators from each county 3 probably will give the same voice for the small county as the large county , and as in the US you need 60% of the senators to make major changes, each county will have a county executive and a municipal council that is elected by the people of the county, not assigned like the old System of the Caliphate by the Calif or the president, and can be changed by the vote or the recall, any candidate should have a residency requirement of at least 2 years to prevent implanting people for elections ,
As you can see that is the system that is in the US and as in the US Syria has many ethnic and religous group and i really believe that a system like the one in the US is the best one for Syria ,
Islamic movement even when they are not allowed to have parties they can still influence election by having an Islamic associations that can support candidates that most fit their believes,as long as they do not get any support financially or morally from out of the country associations or countries,
Anti Discrimination laws in Housing and employment are essential to diverse people so they are not congregating in their tribal or ethnic, religous areas,
It is very important in any political system to be sure that the election are free from outside support and financing , The way Israel does that can be helpful and followed,any outside influence will brig Syria back to be a banana republic as it was in the fifties,
Finally, Syria will go into a turmoil but eventually will settle down and people will be looking for people to elect that will make their lives better, not for their affiliation or religion,
The army will be the safeguard for the secular nature of the state that will ensure the peaceful transition of power after each election ,
I personally not for term limit for the presidency as that is only for the leaders to have their turn to be president , what is important is a free and clean election and if the people are tired of the president they can push him out but if they like him whoever he is they should be able to keep him,
May 7th, 2011, 12:27 pm
why-discuss said:
AIG
Total confusion in Israel.
May 7th, 2011, 12:35 pm
Sophia said:
“The backdrop is how far the Western countries have gone with the mandate gave them in Libya, with absentions from Russia and China. Now other countries, including other abstainers but even some members which voted in favor of Resolution 1973 on Libya, are dubious about even beginning a similar process on Syria.”
http://www.innercitypress.com/sc7syria050611.html
May 7th, 2011, 12:42 pm
why-discuss said:
Norman
A sign of hope, Al Jazeera today 7 may:
“Syrian opposition figures called on president Bashar al-Assad to embrace democracy and hold elections within six months, saying he could transform the country and become a source of pride.
Addressing Assad, The Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page said “The solution is simple: Stop shooting at demonstrators, allow peaceful demonstrations, remove all your photos and those of your father, release all political prisoners, allow political pluralism and free elections in six months.”
The page, a motor of anti-regime protests, said “you will be the pride of contemporary Syria if you can transform Syria from a dictatorship into a democracy. Syrians would be grateful for that, and it is possible to do”. This is the first time that anyone in the opposition has offered such detailed proposals in seven weeks of protests in which hundreds have been killed in a violent crackdown.”
May 7th, 2011, 12:43 pm
why-discuss said:
Sophia
The Libyan situation is a total failure of France, UK and Italy foreign policy.
The Libyan tribes are treating the rebels as traitors… Misurata is still under the fire, rebels beg for money.. no hope in the near future,
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/05/20115744221892886.html
May 7th, 2011, 12:47 pm
jad said:
WD,#68
I’m sure that some on this site will call them ‘regime mouthpiece’ and ‘president’s lover’ for stating that 🙂
May 7th, 2011, 1:06 pm
محمود said:
بعد المستفيض من الجدال تبين ان هده الطريقة في تقوض استقرار الدول و اشعال نار الفتن باسم الثورات مناسبة للاستخدام في أمريكا متعددة الاعراق و المداهب و اسرائيل متعددة القوميات و الدهنيات و مناسبة جدا أيضا للاستخدام في أوروبا المريضة !
May 7th, 2011, 1:13 pm
Shami said:
Why,aoun keep repeating what he is told from hezbollah ,he became more khomainist than them ,Scartet Haddad is pro Aoun and is not objective at all.
Hezbollah biggest enemy are the Sunnis ,because they know that whatever is the regime in post Asad Syria ,secular or not ,they will be weakened in Syria.Post Syria ,will fight iranian theocracy influence ,but will remain anti Israel.
Extremist salafism is a marginal movement they are not more than 1% in Syria.
But when Hezbollah people speak on Salafis ,their targer are all the Sunnis who are opposed to Shia extremists.
As for the christians in Syria ,under Asad regime,their percentage went down from 12% in 1970 to less than 5% today.
Most of christians i know are anti Asad,only the islamophobic christians support his regime ,less for their love for him but because of their hatred on anything related to Islam.
Lately some of them joined this forum.
May 7th, 2011, 1:13 pm
Shami said:
Why,aoun keeps repeating what he is told from hezbollah ,he became more khomainist than them ,Scartet Haddad is pro Aoun and is not objective at all.
Hezbollah biggest enemy are the Sunnis ,because they know that whatever is the regime in post Asad Syria ,secular or not ,they will be weakened in Lebanon.Post Syria ,will fight iranian theocracy influence ,but will remain anti Israel.
Extremist salafism is a marginal movement they are not more than 1% in Syria.
But when Hezbollah people speak on Salafis ,their targer are all the Sunnis who are opposed to Shia extremists.
As for the christians in Syria ,under Asad regime,their percentage went down from 12% in 1970 to less than 5% today.
Most of christians i know are anti Asad,only the islamophobic christians support his regime ,less for their love for him but because of their hatred on anything related to Islam.
Lately some of them joined this forum.
May 7th, 2011, 1:15 pm
why-discuss said:
Shami and the anti-Assad passionarias
What percentage of the opposition is represented by “The Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook”
Is there another opposition hub on internet or elsewhere?
“their “hatred” on anything related to Islam”
I would change that term to “distrust”.
May 7th, 2011, 1:21 pm
Souri333 (formerly Souri) said:
What Shami wrote in #75 is exactly the Wahhabi point of view. Thanks for bringing it to this blog because it is important and it is the point of view of the demonstrators.
May 7th, 2011, 1:35 pm
jad said:
New TV
مقدمة نشرة 07 05 2011
May 7th, 2011, 1:39 pm
Sophia said:
#75 Shami
“Extremist salafism is a marginal movement they are not more than 1% in Syria.
But when Hezbollah people speak on Salafis ,their targer are all the Sunnis who are opposed to Shia extremists.”
Don’t you see any contradiction in what you write? suppose that salafis are 1% (which they’re not), can you tell me what is the target of Salafis? And why are they extremists? You cannot be an extremist without an agenda, right?
May 7th, 2011, 1:45 pm
Norman said:
Shami,
I do not know why you do not get the fact that the Christians in Syria, do not like or hate the Alawat, I thought they are Muslims, President, Sunni, Jews, druz, They just want to have the same rights and obligations that every citizen has, So far the Alawat and the Baath party are the only ones who are guaranteeing that to them, Islam was never the problem and that is why Christians stayed in Syria christian after Islam came they changed their religion after the Crusade came and they are fleeing now after the eighties and American came, they are smart enough to see what is coming
May 7th, 2011, 1:50 pm
jad said:
Blind witness – شاهد عميان
http://soundcloud.com/murdereyez/blind-witness
May 7th, 2011, 1:52 pm
Shami said:
SOPHIA,not all the salafis are extremists but for aoun and hezballah anybody who is against asad is a salafi extremist and wahhabi,it appears clearly in their media and in your comments .They are scared from the future ,we are considered,we as syrian people as a threat according to their logic ,such syndrom is common among the isolated minorities.We can do nothing with such people ,they will still cultivate this culture of fear of treachery.
Norman,again,i never said that the anti Asad christians are anti alawites.
Souri333,it’s your relatives who are religious extremists,clean your house.
In the Arab world ,Extremism will always remain a marginal phenomenon and islamism is a dying ideology.
Syria and Egypt ,will resume their renaissance stopped by the authoritarian regimes in the 50’s.
May 7th, 2011, 2:21 pm
Norman said:
WD,
The opposition did not call yet for some time to see the reform, they called to continue the protest. until they call for calm and a chance for the president to move forward, their plan is not genuine,
May 7th, 2011, 3:37 pm
why-discuss said:
Norman
I agree. They ask Bashar to do something now and they offer nothing in return.
So it is just bluff. By this game of words, I think they now bear the responsibility of the continuation of the bloodshed.
May 7th, 2011, 5:03 pm
annie said:
I hope Edward does not mind my reproducing his very convincing and moving argument on my blog. When you watch Syrian TV you might indeed think this is all about Syria being assaulted by a bunch of terrorists. It is difficult to have a clear picture from outside the country.
May 7th, 2011, 5:37 pm
Chris W said:
I read some of your ‘blog, Annie. It was quite informative. Thanks.
May 7th, 2011, 6:49 pm
edward said:
#86 go right ahead Annie, I’d be honored 🙂
Can I just suggest to all those smart asses who are manipulating percentage of population protesting vs silent majority yadda yadda bla bla, and claiming everyone loves Bashar and only a handful of rotten Salafists are spoiling the party for everyone, a novel new idea you can try … How about *shock *gasp *horror we hold free and fair elections in Syria! and because Bashar is so loved and admired by his people (as you claim at every conceivable opportunity) he should have no problem gaining a landslide victory. There you go, problem solved, Salafists can sod off back to Saudi, and protesters can go back to their day jobs giving pedicures or washing lamp posts or whatever the plebs are doing these days.
And if you mention the 99.9 or 97.6 or whatever silly figure Bashar got in the previous “referendums” Ima slap you across the face with a limp piece of Basterma.
Fact: Bashar and his regime are a minority ruling a majority, they have at best the support of a third of the population only. Do not go around claiming that Syrians like Bashar or his regime, that’s a load of nonsense.
May 8th, 2011, 10:29 am
CwazyWabbit said:
@Anni:
Since when the public Media in Arab countries was speaking for the “People” and not the “Benefit of some bureaucratic”
It’s obvious that the Media in Syria is biased to the Syrian government and whoever is working from behind the curtains, not to mention so-called “private” media that makes me *sick*
May 8th, 2011, 10:45 am
Anne said:
From the archives of The Syria Comment, July 25TH 2007:
https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=326
May 9th, 2011, 11:36 pm
stevieb said:
One only has to watch CNN for half-an-hour to come to the realization, based on the constant attempt at linkage between Assad’s ‘oppression’ of his own people and Iranian ‘hegemony’, that this is a Zionist operation. The timing; the history of Zionist infiltration and destabilization of Syria; the history of neoconservative machinations in America towards the destabilizing of the entire ME for the benefit of Israel; further, but not finally, the orations of the POTUS for Assad to ‘step down, to further the democratic process’; I’m not an expert on the Syrian people, but I won’t accept that they can’t see what’s happening around them and know what the problem is. The Arab spring is about shaking off Zionst supported dictators…
Those who try to rubbish Zionist involvement in these dynamics have obviously learned nothing from the last decade…
August 12th, 2011, 11:03 am
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