Sunday, 30 December 2012

Turkey: Syrian refugees choosing to work risk exploitation


 'If Syrians without work permits were to take an employer to court, the judge would likely report them for working illegally.'

Jamal Maarouf first to shoot down a Syrian regime fighter plane

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 'Two years after the eruption of the revolution, lots of lives were lost, and the revolution has taken a sectarian aspect that the rebel refuses to accept.

 Jamal Maarouf reassured Syrians that Alawites have not recorded any killing incident.

 “We have not killed Alawites. Al-Fawaa village in the province of Idlib, is a Shiite village, and yet, we have never raided this village or killed their children.” '

Revolution’s resources remain major problem

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 'Jabhat al-Nusra has helped on the ground in ways Washington has not: The group cooperates closely with the Free Syrian Army; it has achieved military successes and has delivered critical civilian aid. Second, the U.S. designation failed to distinguish between Jabhat al-Nusra’s core of hard-line ideologues and Syrians who join because Jabhat al-Nusra has money, weapons and proven military successes.'

Thursday, 27 December 2012

Russian military presence in Syria poses challenge to US-led intervention


 One might think it would also be a challenge to those who claim that a possible US promise of intervention is more significant than honest-to-goodness actual Russian intervention.

 Maybe that ship has sailed. As might some Russian ones soon.


Foundation of the Dera’a section of the Revolutionary Left Current

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 'The experience of the creation of a rank and file organizational structure which is the foundation of our current’s Dera’a section - an experience appropriate to be generalized to all the governorates of the Syria - is in practice the realization of an attempt to build a political party from the base to the summit, in contrast to the form that predominated during the construction of the traditional parties.'

Searching for refuge in a land where there are no safe places


 'Syria has become the land of topless minarets and headless little girls. It seems in every video there is always something missing, something broken, something that can never be mended.

 Our country is a landscape of urban and rural rape by the Assad dynasty. They leave the land, like the Mongols did before them, covered in smoke, rubble, and blood.

 The regime redefines barbarianism for the new millennium - cynically cloaking the country in false modernity for decades, funneling international resources for personal gain and glory, then bombing the country to pieces.'

Saturday, 22 December 2012

Syrian Women Decry Exclusion by Islamist Opposition


 'Only three of the 60 leading members of the new Syria National Coalition, which was established in November in Qatar, are women. That ratio overlooks the female momentum behind the opposition fighters and blatantly ignores their active participation in the Syrian conflict for the past 21 months.'

Friday, 21 December 2012

Syrian footballer raises revolution flag in official match


 'War-torn Syria enjoyed some rare soccer success by beating Iraq 1-0 in Kuwait on Thursday to claim the trophy. “I give this win and this worthy title to the Syrian people. I thank God that we succeeded in bringing happiness to the sad people.” '

Syrian Television Journalist Announces Defection


 "All my gratitude to the people of Idlib, especially the village of Haas, the battalions of al-Qadissia and the revolutionary heroes there. I was sure that they were not terrorists as the regime claimed. They are the best and most noble people. May God grant them victory."

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic

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 I am actually trying to look at the UN panel report on Syria, which from today's press reports seems to draw a false equivalence between the violence of the government and opposition, and to locate the problem as one of lack of stability, and proclaiming an inevitably long civil war, typical ways in which the UN serve to protect governments from their people.

 This sounds horrific:"There are fewer accounts of Government forces engaging in ground
actions. Rather they continue shelling areas under anti-Government armed group
control, endangering civilians who remain in these areas. Interviewees stated that
joint pro-Government forces are conducting house-to-house searches in neighbourhoods used by the opposition such as Daraya in Damascus countryside and Mashari’a al-Arbaeen in Hama city." This is why hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled Syria, not because they are caught in crossfire, but because their government is shelling them. And where possible, there is a reign of terror.



 But then rather than blame the government for the evolution of the conflict, we get this, "The risk of the Syrian conflict devolving from peaceful protests seeking political reform to a confrontation between ethnic and religious groups has been ever present. As battles between Government forces and anti-Government armed groups approach the end of their second year, the conflict has become overtly sectarian in nature." And then point to a report of shelling coming from "Alawite villages" (awareness of sectarian geography not being proof of its encouragement), one case of government troops being captured and the Alawites among them being executed, and one car bomb in an Alawite district (are the UN panel sectarian for...) without saying anything about who might have been targeted, are not comparable with the government's actions.

 In the next section on Minorities there is a worrying report about the abduction of Christian pilgrims, but then we get reports like this one, which I think turned out to be a government attack. So we get a message of chaos everywhere, rather than one of government created divisions, and largely government violence, overwhelmingly that directed against civilians."On 29 October, a car bomb exploded outside a bakery in Jaramana, a predominantly Christian and Druze neighbourhood in Damascus."

 If the procedures of these councils cannot be ascertained, suggesting that they don't conform to due process, and the resulting killings are summary executions, seems unreasonable. I don't think executing ordinary soldiers, even those that have killed, is right, but that's not the point here. "Investigations indicate that in some instances captured enemy fighters are brought before a Sharia council (al-Lajana al-Shariah) prior to their execution. Neither the substantive nor procedural framework of these councils could be ascertained, with one interviewee positing that, “only those with blood on their hands” are executed. It is a war crime to sentence or execute a person who has been captured, has surrendered, is injured or is otherwise hors de combat, without due process."



 I should have put the numbers on these. As I understand it, when the government loses control of an area, it reacts with indiscriminate shelling (partly recorded in preceding paragraphs of this report). What exactly are the FSA to do to protect civilians, and why is it not the government to blame?43. "The evidence collected indicates that anti-Government armed groups consistently fail to distinguish themselves from the civilian population."

 The legitimate aspiration of the Syrian people is to overthrow the government and pick a new one of their own, unencumbered with the spectre of the old régime, not to have the UN keep it on life support and poison the transition. If Russia finally realises Assad's number is up, there is a real danger of some such deal being stitched up. Conclusion 47. "The war of attrition that is being fought in Syria has brought immeasurable destruction and human suffering to the civilian population. As the conflict drags on, the parties have become ever more violent and unpredictable, which has led to their conduct increasingly being in breach of international law. The sole way to bring about an immediate cessation of the violence is through a negotiated political settlement which meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people."

Drogheda man killed fighting regime in Syria

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 "The sooner Bashar is removed from power the sooner this bloodshed will stop."

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

Putin’s Arms Dealers Are Selling More Weapons to More Dirtbags Than Ever


 'The problem is that a lot of these weapons are going to presidents and potentates that are not so friendly with the United States.'

 I think a problem is that some of those who object to Russia's massive arms sales don't see a problem when Western powers prop up governments friendly to them with ordnance.

Aleppo residents, battered by war, struggle to survive


 “We left everything to get our dignity. This is the price we have to pay, and it is a cheap price to get our freedom from the tyrant.”

Politics improves Syria vs Jordan football match


 They think the Syrian revolution is over.

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Syrian rebels cut off Bashar al-Assad’s escape route


 'Sheikh Khaled Kamal was the first religious leader in Latakia city to speak out against the regime when anti-government demonstrations began in the city last year. Now he is based in the rebel held mountain areas, working to keep the revolution from descending into sectarian chaos:

 "I am sure there will be massacres of Alawites and bad revenge killings when we reach Latakia. The Syrian regime made us enemies over the past two years. I and the other Sheikhs are trying to stop this. But we are not sure that we will succeed." '

Monday, 17 December 2012

War is raging in Aleppo but in a classroom 40km away, there are grounds for hope

Aleppo

 'Under the Assads, Kurds were forbidden from learning their own language at school, or even from speaking it in the military. The result is a generation of Syrian Kurds, many now in late middle age, who can't write their own language. "Nobody taught us the grammar," Hamar said regretfully. He added: "Before, the Kurds never had any rights. But this revolution began over the rights of citizens." '

How long can the regime keep its grip?

A family living near Homs mourns a loved one killed in the bombing

 'As the Coalition of the Syrian Left argues, the popular demands for work, a living wage, education, health care, farming assistance, the right to protest, protection from security forces and so on may sound simple, but are actually the basis of the revolution--and accomplishing them will require changing the entire socio-economic structure of Syria, not just changing some figures at the top or the shape of state authority.

 These demands may not be accompanied by working class self-activity at the present time. But Syrians are not facing a "normal" situation. They are facing a militarized conflict against a dictatorship that has crushed working class organizations and cloaks itself in leftist rhetoric to protect its profits and accumulation of wealth.'

Irish Syrian fighters pass on lessons of revolution

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 From August. 

 'He frames his reasons for coming to Syria in philosophical terms. “I see my life as being about three things: searching for the truth; defending the weak against injustice and the oppressors; and helping to build peace in the world. The battle here in Syria combines all three.” '

Head of public relations at Syria’s general intelligence defects


 ' “In this crucial stage of the Syrian revolution, I Alaa Addine al-Sabbagh, the director of public relations divisions at the Syrian general intelligence, and this is my ID; I declare my defection from the Assad criminal regime and joining the great Syrian revolution,” Sabbagh said in the video.

 “As my revolutionary brothers know, I was serving the revolution through my work. Today, everyone has to declare affiliation to the revolution of the Syrian people,” he added.

 “The Syrian revolution is open to everyone before the regime collapses completely. The regime today is clinically dead. Long Live Syria, free.” '

Sunday, 16 December 2012

Assad may fall within month


 'Farah Al Atasi said she has “confirmed” information that Assad had gone into hiding as the rebels advance towards the capital Damascus.

 Atasi, who heads the Washington-based Arab American Centre for Translation and Research, said the rebels had achieved substantial military gains over the past weeks and are on the verge of realizing their goals of toppling Assad.'


Saturday, 15 December 2012

A Bread Shortage Is the First Big Test of a Transitional Council in Aleppo



 “We cannot hold elections while people are hungry; we have to solve that problem first,” he said in an interview in this southern Turkish city, where many leaders of Aleppo’s civil society have sought refuge. “People are angry, frustrated and depressed. They can understand how countries like France and Britain and the United States might hold back on the issue of weapons, but not on the issue of bread and diesel.”

Syrian Protesters Slam U.S. Blacklisting of al-Nusra as Fighting Rocks Capital, North

W460

 'Protesters in the Eastern Ghouta region, just outside Damascus and which has come under regular air raids by the regime army, held up a sign reading: "Thank you to all the 'terrorists' in Syria who are fighting Assad."

 "We are all Al-Nusra Front," it said, in reference to the jihadist group blacklisted by Washington on Tuesday.

 Lines of children and men linked arms and carried the three-starred flag of the revolution as they called for downfall of the regime in the street as shopkeepers looked on.'

Syrian endgame: threat of military intervention grows


 'Anyone who cares about human rights in the region should see their main aim as stopping western imperialism on its march again.'

 Lindsey German is still talking rubbish even as Assad is on the verge of succumbing to Syrian revolutionary forces. Anyone on the left should see their main aim as welcoming that. Thank God she left the SWP when she did.

A near-to-death experience


 'There was never a time when journalists were such a target like they are now in Syria.
While working, we had to bear in mind that staying in one place for more than an hour made us sitting ducks for the Syrian regime. It was necessary for journalists to move in groups of two or more to remain as safe as possible.

 But no matter how many dangers they are subjected to, it remains their sole duty to cover the story at hand, because not giving this tragedy the media coverage it deserves is bound to increase its repercussions.'

Friday, 14 December 2012

Don't Forget Maher Arar's Rendition to Syria


 'President Obama has just announced that the U.S. government has decided to formally recognize the rebel group that is trying to oust Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad from power.
The rebel group, however, seems not to be overly impressed with the president’s announcement. According to the New York Times, Andrew J. Tabler, a senior fellow and Syrian expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, stated, “But it’s happening in the context of resentment among the Syrian opposition, especially armed elements, of the White House’s lack of assistance during the Syrian people’s hour of need. This is especially true among armed groups.”

 When the brutal Assad dictatorship was in total control of the country and wasn’t threatened by a revolution, the U.S. government obviously had no reservations about working with it to torture people for the U.S. government.'

Thursday, 13 December 2012

Syria: The Horror Of Homs, A City At War


 2012 Rory Peck Awards: Courage in journalism
 12 December 2012
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 'The winner of the news award, with Horror in Homs, was the French photojournalist Mani. His street fighting and sniper alley elements are stunning, but he wanted a different emphasis.
“I liked the way it was edited because they [C4 News] haven’t shown only the bang-bang. The story was really about the civilians suffering cruel suppression,” he said. “On my first visit, Homs was already the hot bed of the uprising and the regime was unable to crush them easily. When I went back (in January/February) the situation was dire – more militias, more sectarian violence, more snipers, but the Free Syrian Army was taking control on the ground.” '

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

“Red Line” or Empty Threat? How the Left Gasses Itself on #Syria




 I've argued with Pham Binh a couple of times, but this is spot on.

 'The U.S. does not want to step in militarily to facilitate “regime change” in Syria. It has had plenty of opportunity to do so from the standpoint of pretexts and declined for 20 months in a row... from the standpoint of the U.S.-Israeli alliance, there are no good options or outcomes as a result of the Syrian revolution. Why? Because the revolution is not only popular and democratic but also stridently pro-Palestinian.'

An afternoon with a Syrian bombmaker


 'He believes he doesn't have a choice but to make bombs. Foreign countries aren't helping the rebels enough to overtake the heavily armed forces that President Bashar al-Assad commands. 

 The rebels need all the help they can get.

 Those men across the country, he says, have abandoned their regular lives teaching or selling clothes or being lawyers to come together and fight to get rid of that man. It's been nearly two years. They've lost their lives and families. At least 40,000 Syrians have died. Someone with his skills should do what he can.

 Sheik Omar shouts out the window to his kids playing in the yard.

 “Bring your father more sugar, please!” '

Highlights from the interview with Syrian rebel leader Moaz al-Khatib


 Ward: If the regime falls tomorrow, will you be able to control all these different groups operating inside Syria?

 Khatib: This indeed is a question that needs to be asked. I expect that there would be a good control on the ground because of the presence of hundreds of civil groups operating inside Syria. They don't like to appear in the media; they are working for the good of our country ... diligently but discretely ... and they are organizing themselves for when that day comes. They are already securing bread distribution, traffic control ... they are preoccupied with setting up judicial committees ... security committees. The Syrian people has taken big steps in the establishment the 'day after' committees. I could not say that this is covering every single part of Syria, but it is widely developing. That of course in addition to bigger institutions that will try to give more support to such groups on the ground.

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Syria crisis: Defiance and resolve in war-torn Damascus


 Jeremy Bowen contradicts himself. It may be over soon, the 'long civil war' a memory of régime apologetics.

 'But however calm official Damascus wants to be about what is happening, the fact is that the war being waged in the capital is a sign that the regime faces a severe challenge...
Syria has two choices. The first, and least likely, is a political deal between all the warring parties. It is hard to see, as things stand, how that can happen.

 If it cannot, then Syria faces a long civil war. That prospect is full of danger, not just for the Syrian people, but for the whole Middle East.'

Monday, 10 December 2012

Syria crisis: a beseiged Damascus remains loyal to Assad


 "Syria crisis: a beseiged Damascus remains loyal to Assad"

 The Daily Telegraph can't spell 'besieged'.

 "By Ruth Sherlock in Beirut"

 I'm dying for a chance to say, 'No shit, Sherlock.' Actually her point about the sectarian support for Assad does explain why he has survived as long as he has, though the limited privileges granted to some Alawites (and non-existent to Christians) explain why support, especially active support, has melted away in a way it didn't in apartheid South Africa.

 "One of the reasons that President Bashar al-Assad has not been toppled like the Arab Spring dictators of Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen is that he has a strong base of support. Rebels have found to their cost that some of the suburbs are doggedly loyal to Mr Assad, and refuse to allow the anti-government forces to pass through."

 The rest of her piece is Assad supporters repeating, "I see no ships", and this, which I think is a more plausible belief,

 "The régime seems very strong and held together, but it is a paper tiger," said a spokesman for the Revolution Leadership Council.

Google trends: The moment Syria’s ‘revolution’ became a ‘civil war’


 That a lot of people are invested in seeing Syria as a civil war that needs stopping rather than a revolution that needs supporting might suggest one reason for the shift.

Sham II: New fighting machine of Syria rebels


 'From a distance it looks rather like a big rusty metal box but closer inspection reveals the latest achievement of Syrian rebels: a home-made armoured vehicle waiting to be deployed.

 Sham II, named after ancient Syria, is built from the chassis of a car and touted by rebels as "100 percent made in Syria." '

Sunday, 9 December 2012

McManus: A call to arms for Syria's rebels


 'It's not about them; it's about us — and the influence we'll have when they win.

 The question of U.S. military aid for the insurgency will be front and center as soon as the current round of diplomacy sputters out. Unless the rebels win first, in which case the United States will find itself playing catch-up, seeking influence with a new government that thinks Washington gave too little help in its hour of greatest need.'

Syrian Rebels Tied to Al Qaeda Play Key Role in War



 'Thamir al-Sadi, an Iraqi from Diyala who joined the regular Free Syrian Army, said that would change, predicting infighting after Mr. Assad’s fall.

 “After the fall of Bashar there will be so many battles between these groups,” he said. “All the groups will unite against al-Nusra. They are like a snake that is spreading its poison.”

 So what he's actually predicting is unity rather than infighting. In the same way one can look at much of the evidence in this report and draw other conclusions.

 “One rebel battalion, the Ahrar, or Free Men, asked on its Facebook page why the United States did not blacklist Mr. Assad’s “terrorist” militias.” '

Hichem Karoui: Pawns on Syrian chessboard

 A passed pawn you push, is worth two in the bush - Bill Hartston.

 'Some observers speculate that Russia might be already preparing the post-Assad period, as the fall of the regime is now estimated to occur within weeks, not months. It is also believed that the Russians assess the ability of Assad to survive the war as null.'

Saturday, 8 December 2012

The Revolting Syrian

The phot above is in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus that was once known as the center of peaceful protests in Syria, but is now known as the site of the single worst massacre of the Syrian Revolution when on Aug 25th, more than 1,000 men, women and children were killed by Assad’s forces. 
Today many parts of the city have been blasted into oblivion. Constant rocket and shell fire from Assad’s nearby airbase is constant. The raids are unending. It’s unbelievable that these people actually came out to protest. The building they are protesting on was once an elementary school until Assad bombed it.

 'The photo above is in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus that was once known as the center of peaceful protests in Syria, but is now known as the site of the single worst massacre of the Syrian Revolution when on Aug 25th, more than 1,000 men, women and children were killed by Assad’s forces.

 Today many parts of the city have been blasted into oblivion. Constant rocket and shell fire from Assad’s nearby airbase is constant. The raids are unending. It’s unbelievable that these people actually came out to protest. The building they are protesting on was once an elementary school until Assad bombed it.'

In Syria, marriage as defiance

Mohammad Jumbaz and Ayat Al-Qassab got married in Syria despite the violence around them.

 'Speaking via Skype, the couple seems to have little interest in chatting about romance or the frivolities of weddings. Instead, both are enthralled with their love for revolution and an ancient country that appears lost to war and strife.'

Friday, 7 December 2012

Syrians Fighting Block By Block


 'Arwa Damon meets Alkhal, who used to sell thread. Now he runs logistics for Syrian rebels."When this is over, the guns will be handed over." '

Little credible evidence



 Alex Thomson: "Yes, by all accounts Syria has nerve and chemical agents. But possession does not mean threat of use. Israel is not credibly threatening to use nuclear weapons against Iran, despite possessing them.

 Equally, as yet there simply is little credible evidence Syria is threatening to use chemical or nerve agents against its own people."

Syrians call for protests against any UN peacekeepers


 The translation is a bit off, but in Zabadani, rural Damascus are saying that the UN peacekeepers will only keep Bashar safe.

 The idea that the Syrian revolution is a foreign intervention has passed its sell by date, but many concepts outlast their explanatory value.

 'The Free Syrian Army is advancing at high speed towards the capital. If blue helmets are deployed, that would enable the regime to stay in power.'

The Most Heartwarming Cluster Bomb Video You Will Ever See


 'I don't have much to add to this video, just it's nice to see people in Syria making the most of a bad situation.'


A Field Guide to the Current Middle East Mess


 'The huge stockpiles of Syrian WMD -- some of which have already been pedaled to Hezbollah.'

 "Peddled" if money was exchanged, "pedaled" if they were transported by bicycle. If any of this is more accurate than the English usage.

Syrian activists skeptical on chemical weapons


 ' "I don't think the régime will use chemical weapons – it's just a media game for the purpose of prolonging the revolution, so the Syrian people become more divided and the regime has more time," said Walat Ahmae, a member of the Syrian National Council based in Antakya.

 "We have known that there are chemical weapons from the start, so this isn't a new or more worrying threat." '

The Syrian children desperate for normality

Syrian children flash victory signs

 "We will get our freedom and stand up again."

Thursday, 6 December 2012

Six pointers to Assad's fall


 'Each day's news brings more reasons to believe the Assad regime's fall cannot be far away. Viewed individually these signs may not in themselves spell doom for the regime but collectively they do.'

Taking up the fight


 He does note at the end the shooting of prisoners who admit involvement in massacres, and the hanging or burning of Hezbollah soldiers in Syria.

 "There are Alawites and Christians who fight with the FSA. We invite them to pray with us but many do not. Some even drink. Everyone can practice their religion the way they like. What matters to us is the struggle against Assad."

The U.S. Is Offering Too Little Too Late on Syria

Rime Allaf

 Rime Allaf:

 'The U.S. has demonstrated that it is consistent, albeit with a questionable rationale, when it comes to letting Syrians fight it out among themselves before deciding to swoop in, perhaps, when the country is at a breaking point.'

Wednesday, 5 December 2012