Lost Pleasure and Other Ramblings (by SYRIAN HAMSTER)

I was told in argument on SC that it is no longer pleasurable to read my posts. As if I care,… this is not a competition for the most pleasant piece of literature. It is a battle forced on Syrians by a regime being defended, hyped, and constantly propped up by a bunch of people with primitive fears trying to hide innate sectarianism, believe of entitlement, and a maddening cocktail of inferiority-insecurity-superiority complexes.

How dare those trying to play both sides claim that the people of Syria want to burn their country?  None of the revolutionaries, the FSA, or even Jihadists who may have entered the line here and there is flying Migs aircraft, driving tanks, and positioning mid-range artillery guns to prepare areas for the hordes of Assad barbarians by bombarding Syria’s cities one after another. It is the criminal regime, empowered by the cowardice of the shifty “against the regime but not with the revolution”, by the subhuman ethics of its defenders, by a primitive fear-based cult, and a group of anti-something fools, who never managed to join the 21st century and still reach orgasm imagining yet one more totalitarian system’s victory against forces of progress and civility. Zakraria Tamer is right, it is a regime empowered by Ignorance, arrogance, audacity, pettiness, stupidity and foolishness. It is the Assad hyenas who keep saying Assad or we burn the country, and have been burning the country, and some people have the audacity to blame those whose homes and cities are being burned, those whose families are being murdered, and those whose brothers and sisters are being killed under torture for the catastrophe befalling the country, so that these cowards can feel superior to the masses and rest comfortable with a malformed conscious grown out of their elitism.

Anyone who points the finger at the citizen who takes up arm to defend his neighborhood from the hyena packs instead of pointing the finger at the head hyena is a participant in the murder, an enabler of the sub-human regime, and is a part of the problem.

The most common theme in the writing of this class of cowards is their disingenuous declaration of sadness for the people of the country being massacred because “some people” want the toppling of the regime at all costs. Now it is us who are being rigid, and not the bastards of Damascus and their packs of hyenas hell-bent on burning the country and their enablers in Syria and elsewhere who propagate false stories, perform intellectual prostitution through shady articles accusing everyone of being on the pay of someone, whilst they refuse to declare the names of their financial and academic backers.  So let us look at some of the fatal logical flaws in their set of arguments. Take the above argument, for example. It is mostly directed at SNC. Here are some of the statements

SNC is causing the mayhem by tricking people into fighting the regime for their own political agenda (aiming to deny the people on the street the legitimacy of free will to fight back… they are tricked)….

and

SNC is incompetent, it has no legitimacy, nor the backing of Syrians, its members are greedy,…. And so on. .

Does anyone see the contradiction of the two statements, most of the time present within a single regime-propagandist (or indirect apologist) paragraph. I will not try to pontificate like the foolish assad, so you pick it yourself.

However, there is an important undertone of the first statement, not only as an attempt to deny the popular character of the revolution,  but also as a disgusting cowardly attempt to normalize the regime’s criminal violence, by implicitly accepting such non-human violence as the only possible, expected, must live with response. This also takes a more sinister form by blaming Qatar, KSA, Israel, US, and others for the follies of the stupid Syrians, who brought on themselves the wrath of this regime, rather deservingly because they have collaborated, directly or indirectly with the west. How deceitful and sinister.  These are the same people who instead of accusing the Assad hyena gangs of burning the country, look at those striving for dignity and freedom and blame them for destroying the country.  Sadly, these same bunch of ethically and morally challenged characters would drive themselves and others into fits of indignation if anyone suggested that hizbullah had any responsibility in instigating the murderous Israeli campaign against Lebanon or Gaza. I believe that they are somehow angry that Israel was successful in neutralizing Hizbullah and Hamas, at least militarily after a significantly shorter period of murderous bombardment and with less damage and lives lost than the damage their regime has wrought and lives lost to protect their cult master, while on the other hand, their beloved fool still can’t do the same in Syria. It is also the same people who are now advertising the regime as the best protection Israel has against the “islamist” monster, but fail to reconcile with their own rhetoric, when cornered by the persistent, no prisoner taken style of someone like AIG. I refused Israel’s defenders logic then, and I refuse Assad’s apologists logic now.  

What they miss, really miss, is that toppling this regime is no longer a political quest, it is now a human and civilization necessity. And Syrians are paying the price to join civilization and civility again. There is no question in my mind that when speaking of regime apologists, cover and overt,  their humanity did not fail them, the failed and continue to fail humanity with every word they utter.

I happen to believe that the demise of the Syrian Regime and its bosom body in Iran would be the first condition for stability in this region.  Sustainable peace will come after stability…. Any fool knows that. And if these liars try to accuse me of being an Israel friendly, all I have to do is to remind them that in their narrow sectarian mindset, it was them who tried to sell the regime to Israel as its guarantor starting with Rami Makhlouf and not ending with the characters on SC.

I am not bitter, … I am repulsed and disgusted.

Who are SNC:

I also encounter so much hype from both sides about SNC members and how they spend their time in five stars hotels. For many members of SNC, especially the younger, ground active members, this could not be further from the truth. A few have lost their jobs because of the demand of their work. Others barely have enough to survive and they are living in far worst conditions than those using the broadest of brushes to paint SNC in bad picture. As a political organization, SNC’s record is mixed, with more negative than positive. But please do not belittle the sacrifices of many of its members, who could have continued t o live comfortable lives, with reasonably paying professional jobs, but chose otherwise for the sake of Free Syria.

On Asef, Ikhtiar, and the rest of the Gang

I Don’t believe in hell and heaven, so my word is Good riddance.

On the West

Unlike the regime, who is has surrendered Syrian Sovereignty to Iran and Russia at the pleasure of a few Russian agents pretending to be journalists, researches, and commentators, the revolution is beholden to no one.  We will bring down the regime, punish those who ordered and committed atrocities and crimes against humanity (even if they defect from this point on), and build a new Syria. Syrians may not have many friends willing to fight on their behalf, but they will have plenty of friend as they embark on rebuilding their country.  Mark my words. We just have to think in long terms and recognize that it is not easy to deprogram an adult elephant of its thin rope. It may take the next generation for freely roaming elephants.

Someone Else’s FB Rambling

I leave you with a FB status written a while a go by one of my friends, It is written in Arabic and it is far more concise than my writing above.

القتل فرضه النظام وليس المجلس الوطني أو الجيش السوري الحر رغم مساويء كل منهما
توصيف وضع المعارضه الان واتهام أطرافها الرئيسة بالسعي نحو السلطه وبأنها شهود زور على حرق البلد وبان من وقف مع الثورة من المثقفين يريد التغيير فقط للتغيير يخدم دعاية النظام وشبيحته الذين يتهمون الثورة بأنها وراء خراب البلد محاولين التغطيه على الشعار المقيت “الاسد أو نحرق البلد” …
كفاكم تباكيا واستخفافا بعقولنا ولو كان ذلك عن حسن نيه … لاتريدون الانضمام الى الثورة لخوفكم من الطاغية .. أنتم أحرار.. ولكن لا تلعبوا دور الغربان في وقت حرج كهذا … نحن لا نحتاج تعففكم عن الدماء … فأنتم طاهرون ومثاليون … أما نحن الرعاع فقد فرض علينا الدم …

لا يا سادتي … لستم انسانيون أكثر منا .. ولستم حضاريون أكثر
تذكروا أن من فرض الدم هو النظام الذي لازلتم تتخوفون من فوضى زواله …

Translation:

Murder and death were forced by the regime and not by the SNC or the FSA despite of their deficiencies. Over-analyzing the state of the opposition, and accusing its various components of running after power and of being false witnesses to the burning of the country and accusing intellectuals who side with the revolution of being after change for mere change only serves the regime’s propaganda and its thugs who are accusing the revolution of being behind the destruction of the country in their attempt to cover for the contemptible slogan “Assad or we Burn the Country” .

Stop decrying and stop your disregard and insult on our intelligence, even if you mean well. If you don’t want to join the revolution for fear of the tyrant, then don’t, you are Free. But don’t become craws at a critical time like this.  We don’t need your prudery of blood for you are the pure idealists. As for us, the mob, blood was forced upon us.

No sirs,   you are not more humane than us, nor are you more civilized.  And remember, blood was forced on us by the regime, whose demise you are so afraid of .

175 Comments

  1. Terrific to see you back, Hamster —
    Here is an interview with Ayman AdelNour of All4Syria, who once worked with Batta when it seemed (years ago) that reform was possible — in French again

    Ayman Abdel Nour : “Le régime est prêt à ravager Damas pour sauver sa tête”

    LE MONDE | 25.07.2012 à 14h47 • Mis à jour le 26.07.2012 à 10h14

    Par Propos recueillis par Benjamin Barthe

    Ancien membre du parti Baas syrien, âgé de 47 ans, Ayman Abdel Nour est l’un de ces réformateurs dont s’entoura Bachar Al-Assad, à son arrivée au pouvoir, en 2000. Fondateur en 2003 du site d’information All4Syria, qui a ébréché le monopole du pouvoir sur les médias, ce chrétien syriaque voulait croire que le nouveau président saurait changer le régime de l’intérieur. Il n’a pas tardé pas à déchanter. L’accès à son site, bouffée de pluralisme dans un pays étouffé par la police politique, a été fermé dès 2004.

    Le jeune technocrate s’est éloigné du pouvoir pour prendre la direction d’un projet d’aide européen en Syrie. Mais sa liberté de parole et le fait que son site est resté accessible depuis l’étranger, a suscité des agacements en haut lieu. Contraint à l’exil en 2007, Ayman Abdel Nour vit aujourd’hui entre Dubaï et Montréal, d’où il pilote All4Syria, qui se veut une source d’information indépendante sur la révolution syrienne.

    L’opposant syrien, Ayman Abdel Nour, fondateur du site d’information All4Syria.

    L’Armée syrienne libre prétend que les jours de Bachar Al-Assad sont désormais comptés. Partagez-vous son optimisme ?

    Je suis optimiste, mais je ne perds pas de vue le soutien indéfectible de Moscou à Damas. Même si le régime s’effondre, les Russes pourraient l’aider à se replier sur la côte, autour de Tartous et Lattaquié, dans cette zone de peuplement alaouite [une secte dissidente du chiisme, dont est issu le clan au pouvoir] où il pourrait créer un mini-Etat.

    Quelle est la situation à Damas, où le régime semble avoir repris le dessus sur les rebelles ?

    Les destructions qu’il a causées, dans les quartiers de Midan ou de Mezzeh, où il par exemple rasé des parcs sous prétexte que les rebelles s’y dissimulaient, ont écœuré la population. La fameuse majorité silencieuse, que la propagande du régime avait enfermée dans la peur de la révolution, est en train d’ouvrir les yeux. Elle a compris que le régime est prêt à ravager Damas pour sauver sa tête. J’ai eu récemment des contacts avec certaines des plus grandes familles de la bourgeoisie sunnite, les Shakhashero, Al-Azem, Al-Aïdi ou Sorbaji. Elles ne veulent plus entendre parler de Bachar. Certaines sont parties pour Beyrouth.

    Et la situation à Damas ?

    On observe la même évolution. Prenez le cas d’Olabe, une fameuse usine de textile, qui a été récemment brûlée. Cet acte a vraisemblablement été commis par des employés de l’usine, partisans de la révolution et convaincus que leur patron finance les chabiha [nervis du régime]. Pour cet homme, c’est un tournant. Il réalise que le système qu’il soutenait n’est désormais plus capable de le protéger. A moins d’être fou ou tétanisé par la peur comme les alaouites et certains chrétiens, plus personne ne peut soutenir le régime.

    En dépit des combats, la diplomatie a-t-elle encore une carte à jouer ?

    Je ne veux plus de cette diplomatie peureuse, qui dissimule son impuissance derrière le dos de la Russie. C’est comme cela que l’on risque de se retrouver avec un pays coupé en trois, avec un réduit alaouite, un Etat kurde et un Etat sunnite. L’unité de la Syrie est menacée. Et pas que par Bachar et ses sbires. Les puissances occidentales jouent un rôle néfaste.

    Que devraient-elles faire dans votre esprit ?

    Permettre à l’Armée syrienne libre de se doter d’ armes véritablement performantes. Elle commence à être équipée de lance-roquettes antichars. Mais ce sont des modèles anciens, qui ne sont efficaces que contre les chars les plus vieillots de l’armée syrienne. Nous avons besoin aussi de lance-roquettes sol-air, contre les hélicoptères. Je sais que les Occidentaux craignent que ces armes ne tombent dans de mauvaises mains ou qu’elles n’alimentent des règlements de compte, après la chute du régime. Mais ils ont tort. Il n’y aura pas de vide du pouvoir. Nous seront prêts.

    Vous qui avez bien connu Bachar Al-Assad, dans quel état d’esprit pensez-vous qu’il se trouve ?

    C’est un homme profondément déséquilibré, qui pense que les manifestants sont tous des pantins des Qataris. Il pense qu’il a été choisi par Dieu pour conduire la Syrie. Cette dérive a commencé dans les années 2000, au fur et à mesure que les élites politiques, militaires et religieuses du pays lui tressaient des lauriers. Il finira comme Kadhafi. Un homme choisi par Dieu ne peut pas prendre la fuite.

    Propos recueillis par Benjamin Barthe

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  2. Interesting that you should mention Ayman AbdelNour, Umm Nuwas, because his website has been down for many days, maybe even a couple of weeks. Pity, because there was always interesting stuff on that site.

    I wonder if any one else has been unable to reach the site, or is just me?

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  3. Dear MGB
    The site is accessible now, it has been for the past couple of days but not in the original form. It says (نسخة احتياطيه): It looks ,ore like a raw blog, still with some “interesting” tabloid style information.

    That said, the man has suffered a lot. He is the first of Bashar ‘s (i.e. according to hamster, the buffoon or foolish) friends to defect, and that was even years in the making. Good for him.

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  4. Judge Talal Houshan denounces the crimes of the regime and resigns (he was called upon to investigate the Houla massacre)

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  5. Hamster, the person who called you an angry bitter man on SC is still living in the 1960s and has not yet got over the hangover he suffers from the loss of Saddam and Gaddafi, the Heroes of Palestine.

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  6. Please spread this as much as possible : http://www.brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/how-not-to-handle-unexploded-ordnance.html

    [ Warning to activists in Syria on careless handling of unexploded artillery and mortar shells. ( Many activists carelessly handle these unexploded shells which are actually still very dangerous). Please spread this article on social sites which you know are frequented by LCC actisvist (I cannot read the Arabic script so I cannot do it myself) ]

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  7. From Facebook.– Another point of view of Assad’s Sectarian Plans

    اهمية المناطق الكوردية في تشكيلة الدويلة العلوية
    فارس مشعل تمو :: (عن الأوضاع العربية – الكردية)

    يحتاج الاسد في مشروعه لاقامة دويلته الى عنصرين فقط لضمان استمراريتها وهما، مصادر الثروة السورية، وطريق بحري لبيعها، اي انه يحتاج الى الساحل السوري (اللاذقية وطرطوس) وللمناطق الكوردية (لانها المصدر الوحيد للثروات النفطية) ، حيث يتركز النفط السوري والغاز في المنطقة الشمالية الشرقية في سوريا وهي منطقة القامشلي في حقول رميلان، كما ان الثروة الزراعية السورية ايضا تتركز في المناطق الكوردية (القمح والقطن)، وايضا تعتبر جبال عفرين مركز الثروات المعدنية ومنبع زيت الزيتون.

    بالاضافة الى اهمية الشمال السوري (المناطق الكوردية) كطريق بري مكمل للهلال الشيعي الايراني من خلال الاراضي العراقية، بحيث تشمل حدود دويلته العلوية الشمال السوري بالاضافة الى الساحل السوري، لتامين خط بري للبترول الايراني العراقي مرورا بمعبر على نهر دجلة في منطقة عين ديوار التابعة لمنطقة المالكية(ديريك) ليمتد عبر الشمال الى الساحل السوري من خلال انابيب حقول رميلان النفطية الى موانئ اللاذقية وطرطوس. يخطئ من يظن بان الاسد يسقط بسقوط حلب ودمشق، بل بسقوط اللاذقية والقامشلي، فان تحصينات المناطق الكوردية عسكريا وسياسيا وعاطفيا لمنع سقوطها كتحصينات الساحل ( اللاذقية وطرطوس) مع فارق نوعي في الشحن والاستثمار العاطفي، الطائفي والقومي، في الساحل يستثمر في العاطفة العلوية من خلال ممارسة القتل العام باسمها في باقي انحاء سوريا لدفعها للتقوقع في حصن طائفي خوفا من مجازر سنية بحقهم اذا سقط الاسد، يترافق ذلك مع تصريحات وكلاء للنظام الداعين الى الجهاد السني ضد الاسد العلوي والمحرضين على قتل العلويين وتصفيتهم انتقاما لمجازر الاسد، بينما في حقيقة الامر هم موظفون في اجهزة المخابرات الاسدية في الداخل والخارج، يقومون بمهمة نوعية لارهاب ابناء الطائفة العلوية من التغير.

    بينما على الساحة الكوردية استعان الاسد ببعض حلفائه القدامى من احزاب الممانعة والمقاومة الكوردية، لاستثمار العاطفة القومية، وجهز الى جانبهم مجموعات مسلحة تضم مجرمين كورد واصحاب سوابق في السرقة وتجارة المخدرات والسلاح وعلى علاقة وثيقة بالاجهزة الامنية بالاضافة الى عملاء ومخبري هذه الاجهزة في الوسط الاجتماعي، واستهلاكهم بالقيام بمهام الاجهزة الامنية بالانابة من خلال تكليفهم بالملاحقات واعتقال النشطاء وقمع مظاهرات الشباب الكورد المنتمين الى الثورة السورية بحجة سلفيتها واخوانيتها، وهي ذات المصطلحات التي يطلقها نظام الاسد على ثورة الشباب السوري، بالاضافة الى التصفية الجسدية لرموز الواقعية السياسية من القادة الكورد بتهمة خيانة القومية حيث لاتختلف احزاب الممانعة الكوردية عن مثيلاتها من احزاب الممانعة العربية في التكوين، واستلاب العقل، وممارسة ثنائية الاستبداد(القومي والخائن، الوطني والعميل)، وبطبيعة هذه الثنائية اما ان تكون منتمي الى الحزب الواحد، واسير ابدية القائد الاوحد، او تكون خائن وعميل، لان القضية القومية والشعب يتم اختزالهم بشخص القائد والحزب.

    وقد منحهم الاسد ميزة رفع سقف الشعارات القومية البراقة كتشكيل الدولة الكوردية والادارة الذاتية، بشكل مرحلي مؤقت، حتى يتمكنو من كسب الشارع واغراء شباب الثورة الذين تم سحبهم خلف هذه الوعود وتفريغهم من محتواهم الثوري وتجنيدهم لخدمة الاسد بشكل غير مباشر لضبط المناطق الكوردية والحفاظ على بعدها عن التصعيد الثوري ضد الاسد الى ان يتفرغ من معاركه في باقي المحافظات السورية ويلتفت للكورد فيخضعهم لدويلته العلوية، عندها ستغير هذه الاحزاب من استراتيجيتها السياسية لتطالب للكورد السوريين بالحقوق الثقافية في ظل الدولة العلوية باستهتار مفرط بعاطفة الشعب الكوردي، وتلاعب ساذج بمصيرهم في سوريا، والتاريخ خير شاهد على سقف شعارات هذه الاحزاب وتغيراتها المفاجئة بين ليلة وضحاها، في الصباح يطالبون بالفيدرالية والحكم الذاتي وفي المساء يطالبون بالحقوق الثقافية، وبحسبهم فان تغير المبادئ والاهداف يسمى استراتيجية مرحلية، وبيع تاريخ شعب اصيل وفصله عن الحرية وثورتها في سوريا يسمونه مصالح استراتيجية، هكذا يرى القائد الاوحد ؟

    وما تم ترويجه قبل ايام عن تحرير المناطق الكوردية، والتطبيل له اعلاميا، لم يكن سوى تسليم مقرات حزب البعث لبعض هذه الاحزاب مع بقاء علم حزب البعث الى جانب اعلامها مرفوعا في بعض المقرات في عفرين والحفاظ على صور حافظ الاسد داخل المقرات.
    من السذاجة والغباء الاعتقاد والتصديق بان الاسد سيفتح طريق البترول السوري مفروشا بالورد امام هذه الاحزاب المكلفة بمهمة مؤقتة

    بالطبع رافق مراحل تثبيت اقدام الممانعة القومية الكوردية حملة شنها وكلاء النظام من الجانب الاخر الموظفين(كشوفينين عرب) باطلاق تصريحات تنفي الوجود الكوردي وتلغي اي حق من حقوقه القومية والوطنية لاضفاء الشرعية على جماعة الممانعة القومية الكوردية في الدفاع المسلح عن القومية الكوردية المختزلة باحزابهم وشخوصهم،وتصفية من يخالفهم الراي.
    لذا فان على شباب الثورة (الكورد والعرب) الحذر وعدم الانجرار بسذاجة وراء الاعيب الاسد من خلال وكلائه في الداخل والخارج، الطائفيين ، الشوفينين العرب، المتطرفين الكورد، فهؤلاء اخطر ما يهدد الثورة ومسارها ومستقبلها.
    كما علينا التخلي عن السطحية في الوعي والعفوية في فهم التنوع السوري، وادراك حتمية التعايش المشترك القائم على الاحترام الكامل للاخر بكل مايميزه قوميا ودينيا وطائفيا، لا الاضطهاد القومي يجدي نفعا، ولا الابادة العرقية تجدي في عدم الاعتراف بالاخر المتمايز قوميا، ولا وجود لقانون طلاق الشعوب، فلا مناص من التعايش المشترك في الوطن المشترك، والقبول بالاخر المتميز بلونه ولسانه وتاريخه وثقافته، بدون هذا الاحترام لن يكون هناك سوريا موحدة، ولن نرى مستقبل بل سنبقى نراوح في الماضي، ونشتت احلام المستقبل.

    ينقصنى الوعي بحقيقة الاخر، يجب ان يعي الاخ العربي الشريك في الوطن السوري تاريخ الشعب الكوردي، وحقيقة الجزءالكوردستاني الغربي الذي اصبح جزء لايتجزء من الوطن السوري الحديث الذي ساهم الكورد الى جانب باقي المكونات السورية ببناءه وحمايته والدفاع عنه عبر التاريخ الحديث، فلن تكون سوريا لوحة فسيفساء جميلة اذا لم تفتخر بكوردستانها كما تفخر بحورانها ، ولن نتحرر من الاسد اذا لم نفتخر برفع العلم الكوردي تحت لواء العلم الوطني الام السورية، كما نفخر برفع العلم الاشوري والسرياني ايضا، فكلها الوان سورية اصيلة وليس من حق احد حرمان سوريا منها، لا الشوفينين ولا العفلقيين ولا المتطرفين ولا الطائفيين.

    كما يجب ان يعي الشباب الكورد الذين ثاروا لدرعا ولحمص ولكافة المدن السورية، بانهم هم الضمان الحقيقي لتثبيت كافة حقوقنا القومية والوطنية في سوريا المستقبل وليست الوثائق والضمانات الموقعة في اسطنبول والقاهرة واربيل وواشنطن، لان من يحضر هذه المؤتمرات من اصحاب العقول الانهزامية والانسحابية الكوردية لايمثلنا كما ان من يوقع عليها من الطرف الاخر لايمثل السوري العربي وما الضمان ان نراه في المستقبل او ان يدخل سوريا بعد سقوط الاسد لذا لن نجد من ينفذ هذه العهود والمواثيق.
    فالضامن الحقيقي لمستقبل الشعب الكوردي في سوريا الوطن هم شباب قامشلو وعفرين وكوباني وعامودا والدرباسية والحسكة وراس العين وديريك و…..، وعموم شباب سوريا عندما يدركون حقيقة الشعب الكوردي ويعتبرون القضية القومية الكوردية قضية وطنية بامتياز ويسعون للدفاع عنها بالتكافل والتضامن السوري.

    فلنعد الى بداية الثورة السورية المباركة ونؤكد عن سابق وعي وادراك تام على شعار ( واحد واحد واحد الشعب السوري واحد)(عربي كوردي سني علوي واحد) هذا الشعار الوحيد الذي سيسقط الاسد وعصابته ومرتكزات نظامه.
    محامي وناشط ساسي
    عضو في تيار المستقبل الكوردي في سوريا

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  8. Reading about how the FSA recently rescued two foreign journalists from a band of foreign fighters in Idleb, and how one Kurdish FSA commander was declared that he will fight the PKK in exchange for direct Turkish weapons supplies ….

    I was just thinking about the tragedy of our times, that World Powers will give weapons to the FSA to fight Al Qaeda and PKK , but not to defend civilians…

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  9. Reading about how the FSA recently rescued two foreign journalists from a band of foreign fighters in Idleb, and how one Kurdish FSA commander declared that he will fight the PKK in exchange for direct Turkish weapons supplies ….

    I was just thinking about the tragedy of our times, that World Powers will give weapons to the FSA to fight Al Qaeda and PKK , but not to defend civilians…

    Like

  10. Florence Aubenas in Aleppo today (Le Monde subscribers’ edition) — please share it, Annie!

    Alep : “Nous sommes prêts à mourir ici”

    LE MONDE | 30.07.2012 à 12h53

    Par Florence Aubenas (Au nord d’Alep, en Syrie, envoyée spéciale)

    Le ton de la menace, l’effroi qu’elle suscite venant d’un régime sans pitié depuis le début de la révolte en Syrie : c’est peu dire que la ville d’Alep sentait déjà la tragédie avant de sentir la poudre. “Nous vous attendons, nous sommes prêts à mourir ici”, a répondu El Hadji, un commandant rebelle de l’Armée syrienne libre (ASL).

    Des combattants rebelles de l’Armée syrienne libre se préparent, le 27 juillet, dans un quartier d’Alep, à lancer une opération de guérilla contre les troupes fidèles à Damas.

    Cette fois, le “grand combat” pour la deuxième ville du pays est lancé, comme beaucoup d’habitants l’appellent ici.
    Les bombardements ont commencé samedi 28 juillet vers 5 heures du matin, dans le quartier de Tarik Al-Bab, à Alep. Des séries longues et lourdes. Voilà deux jours que le régime de Damas a annoncé une riposte terrible qui doit pulvériser les troupes rebelles, entrées en masse dans la ville.

    Dans une rue déserte, une famille part à pied, sans courir, le père en tête qui porte deux enfants, puis la mère, silhouette toute voilée de noir, y compris une mousseline recouvrant entièrement le visage, des gants pour les mains, mais d’incroyables chaussures vernies, vertes, à talons très haut.

    UNE KALACHNIKOV NONCHALANTE ENTRE LES JAMBES

    Certains ont attendu le dernier moment pour fuir, espérant jusqu’au bout dénicher une voiture qui permettrait d’embarquer le plus précieux : le frigo et le ventilateur.
    Vers 8 heures, les bombardements s’arrêtent. Ils ne sont pas tombés bien loin de l’école où l’ASL a établi un de ses quartiers généraux. C’est la prochaine cible, tout le monde le dit. Devant le seuil, cinq ou six soldats sur des fauteuils en moleskine dépareillés boivent alternativement du thé chaud et des sodas tièdes, une kalachnikov nonchalante entre les jambes.

    Ils pensent que les militaires de Bachar Al-Assad, le président syrien, ne pourront pas grand-chose contre eux: “Nous sommes trop rapides dans nos mouvements”, disent-ils. La veille encore, l’endroit hébergeait un hôpital de campagne, une prison, le bureau des commandants, les dortoirs des hommes. Tout a été évacué.

    Les téléphones des rebelles se mettent à sonner. Ça parle de Jenoubi, un grand type aux yeux verts, beau comme un soldat de cinéma. Il vient de mourir, en ravitaillant ses hommes en munitions. Puis, ça sonne à nouveau. C’est Jaber, cette fois, père de famille qui écoutait le coran à fond dans sa voiture pour monter vers le front, dodelinant en rythme sa grosse tête de garde-champêtre, comme un adolescent avec sa musique préférée. Mort lui aussi.

    “LA RÉVOLUTION, OÙ EST-CE QU’ON APPREND À LA FAIRE ?”

    Dans les rues silencieuses, on n’entend plus qu’un concert strident de portables. C’est Abdelkhader, c’est Karim, c’est Hassan. Il n’est pas 11 heures du matin et ça ressemble déjà à une veillée funèbre. “La révolution, où est-ce qu’on apprend à la faire ?”, demande, stupéfait, un gamin en treillis.

    Près de l’ancien QG, deux points de contrôle sont vides. Plus loin, à un autre, un rebelle s’est endormi en plein combat. Il est étudiant, 22 ans, pas fermé l’œil depuis trois jours. Il n’a pas pensé mettre des sacs de sable pour se protéger, juste un parasol renversé. Sa famille s’est cotisée pour lui acheter une kalachnikov. L’ASL n’accepte que les recrues avec leur arme : elle n’en a pas assez.

    Au checkpoint, un tireur embusqué a touché l’étudiant à la tempe. Il respire encore. Il faut traverser la zone industrielle pour évacuer le jeune homme à l’arrière, rouler à travers une immensité d’usines et d’entrepôts autour d’Alep.
    Dans la capitale économique du pays, tout tournait la veille encore, explique Fayes Hmasho. Il dirige un atelier où 120 ouvriers confectionnent des vêtements de sport sous la marque “Oh, les beaux yeux !”. Selon lui, les ouvriers ont tout abandonné, quand les soldats de l’armée régulière ont provoqué la panique, tirant en l’air et désertant leur base toute proche.

    Depuis dimanche 29 juillet, il est arrivé ce que personne n’aurait imaginé : plus aucun transfert de fonds n’a lieu, les banques d’Alep ont fermé. Une quarantaine de minotiers restent les derniers à tenir bon, permettant d’alimenter la ville en farine, donc en pain.

    LE GOUVERNEMENT CLAME SA VICTOIRE

    Le seul hôpital qui peut recevoir l’étudiant blessé se trouve à Suran, un bourg à une trentaine de kilomètres au nord. Mohammed Said Bakhur a laissé tomber son business avec le Liban pour s’occuper de l’établissement, voilà trois mois. Cela coûterait 8 000 dollars (6 500 euros) par mois de le faire tourner au régime minimum. Mohammed Said Bakhur en est loin : les gens du coin apportent ce qu’ils peuvent, c’est-à-dire de la nourriture et des médicaments périmés.

    Un bénévole regarde l’étudiant blessé : “Ils n’ont aucune expérience. Ils savent utiliser leur corps, pas leur tête.”
    La salle d’attente du centre médical est occupée par des réfugiés d’Alep, dont un jeune type, noueux, qui hausse les épaules quand on lui parle politique. Il ne s’intéresse ni à Bachar Al-Assad, ni à la révolution. Il s’intéresse à son salaire, 12 000 livres syriennes par mois (environ 150 euros), et à la façon de faire vivre une famille de huit personnes avec ça. Il s’angoisse : “Quand est-ce que vous pensez que le travail va reprendre ?” L’homme est ouvrier dans une entreprise de ferronnerie.

    A Alep, le gouvernement clame sa victoire. Le lendemain, les rebelles annoncent qu’ils ont repris le terrain. Pour aller voir, il faudrait une voiture. De l’essence aussi. Pouvoir s’approcher des barrages. Dimanche, l’arrêt des bombardements paraissait la seule nouvelle confirmée dans la guerre médiatique.

    Au centre médical de Suran, on envoie chercher le chirurgien, ou plutôt celui qui en fait office, un dentiste de 28 ans, joli comme un cœur, avec les cheveux coiffés au gel et un pistolet passé à la ceinture de son pantalon moulant, si bien qu’on dirait un accessoire de mode. Il se dépêche. Il court. Quand il arrive, l’étudiant vient de mourir.

    Florence Aubenas (Au nord d’Alep, en Syrie, envoyée spéciale)

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  11. Fuck Screw you Paul Craig Roberts, really really fuckscrew you….

    As Iraq has proved, Arab governments have to be authoritarian if their Sunni and Shia populations are not to be constantly engaged in civil war . Both Bush and Obama claim that Washington brought “freedom and democracy” to Iraq. However, the ongoing violence in Iraq is as intense or more intense than under the American occupation. Here are the reports for the last three days:

    You and other fossil, failed, demoralized and demoralizing, immaterial, and irrelevant elitist lefties (Mr. Tarek Ali is of course now included as he insisted), have been among the worst friends Arabs, especially Palestinians and now Syrians had/have/will ever have. If you want to take a shot at your political adversaries, go use your own shit, not the crap that Arabs don’t deserve democracy. And this crap is posted in no other than counterpunch. What a cesspool of equivocating none-sense the Syrian revolution has exposed you to be. I am happy that the Syrian Revolution first blasted my own blinders, and then exposed the likes of you who insist on gluing the blinders to their irises.

    Someone like you should recognize that the real sustainable solution to the problem of sectarianism isn’t more dictators (so that you can visit them and show that you are counter-current and brave), but real freedom, democracy, civil state, and equality.

    We will build our country, and we will not suspend our dignity or freedom and rights until the demise of Israel, the end of corporate control, of multilateralism, or that of globalization.

    With friends like you…. who needs enemies.

    Like

  12. Oh my, Off The Wall!

    200 000 refugees from Aleppo ,in the past two days, alone, so what? 22 000 dead, so what? 1000s missing, so what? Endless massacres, so what?

    The revolutionaries are Sunni extremists who want to get rid of the Alawites, Shiites, Kurds and all minority groups, that is why we cannot support them. The activists are paid to die. Eventually, the tyrant must go, but not now. His role is essential because he refuses to sign a peace deal with Zionists, refuse to cut his support with resistance parties, refuses to be a base for Imperialists. Syria is the last castle of Arab dignity! Assad must go, we cannot support him, but we cannot support the bigger tyrants,”Imperial powers”.

    Remember, Syria is the last castle of Arab dignity, that is why Syrians must find a negotiable way with the regime, to thwart western intervention, NATO and,…, … This is the logic of Syria’s friend, George Galloway.

    It is more likely to die from a stroke caused by such kind of nonsense, than from an ASSadist gunfire.

    Like

  13. In today’s Financial Times:

    Syria is different through Russian eyes
    By Andrei Nekrasov
    It is normal that news headlines differ from country to country, but the western world might be interested to know that Syria has not been among the main news items in Russia. If there is a report on an event that is all but impossible to ignore, such as the massacre in Tremseh on July 12 it is like this one from news2.ru: “Syrian insurgents have been instructed to kill as many people as possible.”
    The Russian word boyeviki, used to describe the rebel fighters, is less neutral than “insurgents” and is just one step away from bandits or terrorists. It passed from slang into the mass media during the war in Chechnya in the 1990s as a way of branding the Chechen separatist fighters. It is also worth noting in the report cited above the use of the words “instructed to kill”. They are intended to hint clearly that the opposition are acting on the orders of some invisible masters.

    More here, but need to sign up/in:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f2ee8b0-d7e2-11e1-9980-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz22BAGiS8X

    Cont’d.

    The report, which was on prime time TV, featured Anastassia Popova, a young and charismatic reporter. She provided “evidence” of the rebels killing innocent people in Tremseh, while claiming that the majority of those killed by the army were armed fighters and deserters. The reporter also claimed that the UN authorities were hampering her crew because of its country of origin.
    Russia’s government is stubbornly supporting Bashar al-Assad and, true to Soviet-era traditions, it is unashamedly using the media it controls to justify its policy. Vladimir Putin’s control of information is not absolute. The internet has so far been almost completely free. However, the truth is Mr Putin does not need to exert control over public opinion on Syria.
    Most people in Russia see the fighting there as a proxy war between their country and the west. While the humanitarian crisis receives little attention, the diplomacy is the focus of regular and detailed reports. The “struggle for peace” of foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Russia’s UN mission, against “aggressive western powers bent on force”, are what we mostly hear about in reports on Syria.
    The government encourages this proxy war narrative, as it has a vested interest in portraying itself as the defender of a nation’s geopolitical position against the west’s perceived global expansion. While many of Mr Putin’s other policies are increasingly under attack, most Russians share the divisive world view that he projects. Even the independent internet-based media’s “objective” reporting tends to present Mr Assad’s version first and as fully legitimate. That is not a result of any direct pressure from the government.
    When it comes to reporting on domestic political issues, such as the government’s handling of natural disasters or freedom of assembly, the same media outlets are much less patient with the government’s interpretation of events. But with Syria, geopolitics take precedence over objectivity. Many abroad may wonder at Russian stubbornness in the face of the near certainty of Mr Assad’s demise. But this geopolitical nationalism has cultural roots. And Mr Putin of course is himself a product of this culture, not just its manipulator – although to be clear he is a master of that technique too, using it to maintain his power.
    More and more, the Russian people are told that vlast – a word that does not really have an English equivalent, incorporating authority and political power with a hint of brutal force – comes from God. Attacking it, for whatever reason, is both sinful and criminal.
    On the face of it the Pussy Riot case, a political show trial in which three young women are being effectively persecuted for blasphemy, is unconnected to Syria. The trio stands accused of singing an anti-Putin song in a Moscow cathedral. It is another example of the bid to reintroduce autocratic ideology. The trial’s message is simple: an insult to the leader is an insult to God.
    Two weeks ago Abdel Basset Sayda, the head of the Syrian National Council, accurately described his movement as a “revolution” when he came to Moscow to urge officials to stop supporting Syria’s regime. He was, inadvertently, highlighting the very reason for Mr Putin’s support. Mr Sayda may have wanted to inspire Russian leaders with a vision of democracy and justice that invoked the end of the cold war. Instead, those same leaders found themselves imagining how they might end up in Mr Assad’s shoes.
    The writer is a film and TV director

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  14. Dear MGB
    looks like they are taking lessone from Assad’s media

    Here is an account of what is happening in Aleppo. I can not verify accuracy, but the silence of the gong-ho regime supporters, and their confusion in Aleppo (on their own facebook pages created by Mukhabarat and populated by a combination of illiterates and stupid) lend some credibility to this account:

    Sad when these young soldiers and officers are killed by their country folks. Bashar’s most serious crimes also include his crimes against the Syrian Army.

    حلب بحمى الرحمن
    Like This Page · 8 hours ago

    أقســـم بالله العظيم أنه الكلام اللي رح أكتبه هو حقيقي و مافيه أي مبالغة أو مغالطة و رح أكتبه كما شفته أمام عيني و الله على ما أقول شهيد:

    لأهـــالــــي حـــــلـــــب الــمــتــــشــائمــيــــن من الوضع و أنـــه مـــا رح يــمـــشـــي االحـــال
    أنـــا بــدي قــلــكـــن شـــغـــلــة صــــارت مــعـــي…..كنت فيها شـــاهــد على محاولة إقتحــام الجيش لحي صلاح الدين من طرف حي الحمدانية و ذلك لمدة يومين كنت عم راقب و شوف الوضع….وكان بيني و بين المعركة حوالي الــ 50 متر لــ 100 متر بين كر و فر

    اللي صـــار:

    بدأت الحملة العسكرية في تمام الساعة الـ 6:15 من صباح يوم السبت….برتل عسكري ضخم يضم حوالي 12 دبابة و راجمة صواريخ و عربات زيل و مئات الجنود المشـــاة

    اللي صار هو وصل الجيش الأسدي لمدخل صلاح الدين تقريبا ع بعد 500 متر…..بلش الضرب و رش الرصاص و كل شوي أنفجار…….

    المهم كانت المعركة على الشكل التالي:

    دخل النظام ع حي صلاح الدين من طرف الأوتوستراد كــأنه مفكر حاله بده يمحي صلاح الدين و رش الرصاص متل الكذب …..هههههه و انا عم طلع ع جنود الجيش النظامي و لا طق طق طق واحد ورا واحد يقعوا و بشكل سريع واحد ورا واحد و مشيت 3 دبابات بأتجاه الحي و سلخوها 3 أربيجيهات أنفجروا الـ 3 …..ما تلاقي و لا جنود الجيش متل الجيج عبيركدوا بين حارات الحمدانية بس بدن يتخبوا و يدقوا ع بيوت العالم أفتحووووووووا أفتحواااا …..المهم صااارت المعركة كــل 1000 طلقة من النظام بشكل عشوائي و ما عرفانين وين الجيش الحر متمركز عبرشوا بس ع الهوا من الخوف..عم يقابله من الجيش الحر تمركز مو أكتر من 10 قناصين بأماكن مجهولة و حساسة ..مع كم شخص متواجدين خلف متاريس رملية و بس هنن تمكنوا من دحر كل هل الحملة اللي صرعونا فيهـــا

    بعدها تم تفجير دبابتين بمنطقة بعيدة من طرف أخر…..

    وكــانت الحصيلة من الأخير و الأعداد اللي رح أذكرهــا كنت شاهد عليهــا هي :

    1- فوق الــ 100 قتيل من الجيش النظامي 90% ماتوا قنصا من حوالي الـ 10 أشخاص
    2- تدمير 5 دبابات …كنت شاهد ع تفجيرهن
    3- أستشهاد شخص من الجيش الحر نتيجة قذيفة
    4- أستشهاد مدنيين أثنين
    5- العشرات من الجنود خلعوا بزاتهم العسكرية و هربوا و تم تصفية عسكري واحد
    6- كنت شاهد على حديث بين ضابط من الجيش النظامي و أحد أهالي الحي…وسمعته يقول
    “والله لنلعن أبوه ع أمه لبشار الأسد …. بشرفي أكثر من 75 من الجيش بس بده ينشق أو يهرب بس قريبا إن شاء الله”
    7- حوالي الــ 50 جندي بين جرحى و مصابين دخلو بيت أحد الجيران و سألو صاحب المنزل بالحرف الواحد ” الله يخليك يا عمو بتعرف شي كراج أو محل نهرب منه…” …”والله أنا من 10 أشهر ما شفت أهلي….” …”والله مافي مي نشربه …. وألخ…..
    8- حبس حوالي الــ 40 جندي بحارة ضيقة و مفاوضاتهم مع قناص بالمنطقة للخروج و نتيجة المفاوضات هروب البعض من الجيش و هروب البعض لسياراتهم
    9- عند حلول الظلام هروب معظيم ضباط النظام و بقي بعض العناصر مما أدى لتوغل الجيش الحر بالمنطقة و أغتنام الأسسلحة و أصطياد بعض العناصر بجنح الليل
    10 دخول جيش النظام بعض المنازل مو للسرقة بس و الله العظيم قدام عيني ركضوا ع البرادات منشان يأكلوا جبنة و لبنة أقسم بالله
    11- بس للأسف تمت سرقة 4 سيارات مدنية للعالم….يلا مو مشكلة في ضريبة بدنا ندفعها

    يعني شوي قناصة و كم شخص رامات أربيجيه و كم شخص ع متاريس رمل ….دحروا حملة عسكرية هههههههه لعما مسخرة ….. وجيش مهزوز للغاية و الله العظيم

    والله على ما أقول شهيد و هي الرواية و الله اللي شفته أمــــام عيني و هي شهادتي عمــا حصل

    والله محيي الجيش الحر

    “أبو محمد الحلبي”

    Like

  15. “Sad when these young soldiers and officers are killed by their country folks. Bashar’s most serious crimes also include his crimes against the Syrian Army.”

    Extremely depressing…

    The majority are conscripts, they are as humiliated as any ordinary citizen. They’ve been used and abused at once. The thousands that gave their lives for justice more than anything else will not approve the abuses inflicted on some of the captured. Understandable but never excusable.

    Torturing Syrians for 42 years is ENOUGH! We were are all traumatized by these barbaric acts. Once a prisoner of war, pending on the verdict, justice will be served.

    Without the Free Syrian Army the regime will not have crumbled in my humble opinion, but this same army has to act as an army for all Syrians, has to differentiate itself from the Assadist henchmen.

    Like

  16. Another journalist injured in Syria, Omar Khashram. Mr. Khashram was injured by shrapnel in areas unprotected by his flak jacket. He was taken to Turkey for treatment and is conscious and in stable condition. Thank God.

    Like

  17. @NMSyria

    “The first and foremost revolution is the revolution with one’s inner self. Bringing down Assad is just the tip of the iceberg.”

    Like

  18. OTW,

    Yesterday Bab al Nayrab in Aleppo was liberated by FSA and the entire Berri ckan was liquidated.

    Can you tell us the significance of this ? What do you know about Bab al Neyrab and the Berri clan ?

    And btw, if someone can put the video of the extermination of the Berri clan, it will cheer my heart. Nothing cheers me up more than seeing dead Shabbiha.

    Like

  19. Christian neighborhoods in Damascus now battle sites:

    Les quartiers chrétiens de Damas visés par l’armée syrienne

    Le Monde.fr avec AFP | 01.08.2012 à 09h46 • Mis à jour le 01.08.2012 à 11h15
    Réagir Classer Imprimer Envoyer

    Les troupes de l’armée syrienne à Jubar, près de Damas, mardi 31 juillet.

    Les combats reprennent à Damas

    Des combats entre armée et opposants ont éclaté mercredi 1er août pour la première fois aux abords de deux quartiers chrétiens du centre de Damas, rapporte l’Observatoire syrien des droits de l’homme (OSDH). “Des combats ont éclaté mercredi à l’aube aux abords des quartiers de Bab Touma et Bab Charqi. Les premières informations font état d’un mort parmi les soldats”, indique l’ONG.

    Depuis mardi soir, des tirs nourris et des explosions retentissent dans plusieurs quartiers de la capitale hostiles au régime du président Assad. Selon les comités locaux de coordination, qui animent la contestation sur le terrain, le grand quartier de Tadamoun, dans le sud de la capitale, a été visé par des tirs au mortier tôt mercredi matin.

    Des accrochages limités à Damas avaient repris lundi, notamment à Kafar Soussé, après une attaque rebelle aux lance-roquettes contre un barrage de l’armée. Le front de Damas s’était calmé après que l’armée eut pris le dessus au terme d’une semaine d’affrontements inédits dans la capitale.

    Carte des principaux affrontements du mois de juillet à Damas :

    Damas : carte de situation des affrontements

    Première intervention de Bachar Al-Assad depuis deux semaines

    Le président syrien a félicité mercredi les militaires pour leur lutte contre ce qu’il a qualifié de “bandes terroristes criminelles”. “Le sort passé, présent et futur de notre peuple et de notre nation dépend de cette bataille”, déclare dans un communiqué le président, qui ne s’était pas exprimé publiquement depuis deux semaines.

    Like

  20. Florence Aubenas, still in Aleppo:

    Alep : “Rejoignez-nous, nous ne vous ferons aucun mal”

    LE MONDE | 01.08.2012 à 15h10

    Par Florence Aubenas (Alep, envoyée spéciale)
    A quelques mètres d’un poste de police attaqué par l’Armée syrienne libre, au sud d’Alep, près de Salaheddine, le 31 juillet.

    C’est l’histoire d’un petit soldat syrien qui arrive en courant à un point de contrôle. Il est 7 heures du matin, le 26 juillet, juste devant le grand central téléphonique d’Alep, tellement massif qu’il a dû être importé directement d’Union soviétique dans les années 1970. Le petit soldat commence par un salut réglementaire, tout en faisant claquer un “Mes respects, mon officier”, sous une moustache si mince qu’elle paraît transparente.

    Puis, aussitôt, il expose son cas : il appartient aux troupes du président Bachar Al-Assad, mais son père lui a ordonné de déserter pour rejoindre les rebelles de l’Armée syrienne libre (ASL). Lui ne veut pas. Comment faire pour retrouver son régiment au plus vite ? Au check-point, l’autre militaire penche vers lui sa tête enturbannée d’un chèche rouge : “Tu sais où tu es, mon garçon ? Cette zone est passée sous le contrôle de l’Armée syrienne libre.” Le petit soldat est arrêté et menotté. Il pleure dans la voiture qui le conduit à la prison aménagée en ville par les insurgés.

    Dans quel camp combattre ? Qui tient quelle position ? A qui se fier ? En Syrie, les histoires vraies de déserteurs sont celles qui racontent le mieux la panique et la confusion du pays. Elles sont de plus en plus nombreuses à circuler, mais, à quelques exceptions près, toutes fonctionnent sur la même trame : la fuite continue et massive des troupes du régime vers celles de l’ASL.

    Le phénomène commence à affoler le gouvernement de Damas : “Le régime ne sait plus à qui il peut faire confiance dans son propre camp”, estime Amar Al-Wawi, général des services secrets (moukhabarat) lui-même passé à la rébellion, voilà presque un an, avec cinq de ses officiers. Comme si les choses pourrissaient de l’intérieur.

    Dans une caserne rebelle, vers Mera, à une vingtaine de kilomètres d’Alep, ils sont sept à avoir déserté pour rejoindre l’ASL, sept qui n’ont pas 25 ans, assis sur un matelas, buvant du soda, se chamaillant comme des gamins en dessous d’un long râtelier où sont rangées les kalachnikovs. L’un d’eux, Zine Al-Abidine se souvient du début des révoltes, il y a plus d’un an, alors qu’il était encore soldat au 17e régiment d’Al-Raika.

    Assez vite, dans sa caserne, les téléphones portables ont été supprimés. Puis la télévision interdite, sauf pour les discours du président qui, eux, étaient obligatoires. Toutes permissions ou visites aux familles sont devenues exceptionnelles. A ces soldats coupés de tout, les gradés annoncent que des manifestations se préparent et qu’ils vont devoir affronter des terroristes, venus d’Afghanistan ou de Tchétchénie. “On le croyait, on s’attendait à de gros combats”, explique Zine Al-Abidine. Mais quand son régiment a entouré une ville, “on s’est vite rendu compte que les manifestants étaient des simples gens comme nous et qu’ils n’étaient même pas armés”.

    “PERMISSION DE VOLER”

    Mohamed Al-Assa, lui, faisait partie des forces spéciales à Damas. De son portefeuille, il sort aussi une carte de police à son nom. Elle lui avait été distribuée lorsque, sous l’égide de la Ligue arabe, des observateurs internationaux avaient été déployés en Syrie. “Au cas où ils nous demandaient quelque chose, il fallait la donner et, surtout, ne pas se présenter comme militaire.”

    Il se souvient aussi de la ville de Deraa, juste après une manifestation. Ils étaient un groupe de huit, ils avaient “la permission de voler”. Et ils le faisaient. Même lui ? Mohamed Al-Assa fixe droit devant lui, les yeux ronds comme des billes. Il hésite une seconde. Et lâche : “Oui, moi aussi.” Puis, aussitôt se met râler que, de toute façon, “ce n’était pas juste”. Lors du pillage d’un supermarché, par exemple, il avait fallu couper le butin en deux : la moitié pour les huit hommes et l’autre pour le seul gradé. Le soldat Al-Assa en tremble encore d’indignation.

    Son engagement dans les forces spéciales, Mohamed Al-Assa l’avait vécu comme un honneur, surtout pour quelqu’un du Nord comme lui, cette région loin de la capitale, sans grands réseaux ni influence. Sa famille devait lui verser de l’argent chaque mois, pour qu’il puisse au moins fumer, tant sa solde était faible. Elle le faisait avec le sourire. “En Syrie, on aime l’armée, les armes, le prestige”, dit-il. C’était il y a trois ans à peine. Cela lui paraît des siècles.

    Un autre déserteur raconte qu’à l’intérieur même de la caserne, une séparation s’est creusée entre les soldats à mesure que la situation se durcissait : d’un côté, les musulmans sunnites (majoritaires dans le pays) ; de l’autre, les alaouites, minorité confessionnelle accusée de bénéficier des largesses du régime – qui en est issu – et qui occupe dans l’armée l’essentiel des postes d’officiers. Dans certaines casernes, alaouites et musulmans sunnites ont été logés dans des pièces séparées, ne mangeant plus la même nourriture, sans plus de contact ou presque. “Eux avaient de la viande, des fruits, et nous de la soupe de pomme de terre. L’hiver, ils avaient du chauffage et pas nous”, proteste un autre déserteur.

    “ALORS, IL A FALLU SE METTRE À TUER”

    Les premières défections commencent, sous prétexte d’aller acheter quelques provisions. Toute sortie est alors supprimée. “Des espions se sont mis à suivre les sunnites partout, jusqu’aux toilettes”, reprend Zine Al-Abidine, du 17e régiment. Quelques-uns affirment que des agents des forces de sécurité auraient infiltré certaines unités, pour dénoncer ceux qui renâclent au combat.

    “Alors, il a fallu se mettre à tuer”, dit Ali Abbas, ancien soldat dans l’artillerie à Damas. Il a tiré des roquettes sur un quartier de Damas, celui où habite une de ses tantes. Puis, il a été placé à un point de contrôle à l’ouest de la capitale. Il y reçoit les listes avec les noms d’opposants “présumés” ou ceux de quartiers ciblés, dont toute la population est massivement considérée comme rebelle. “Dans ce cas-là, il fallait arrêter surtout les hommes jeunes. Au début, ils étaient embarqués, on ne savait pas où. Ensuite, j’en ai vu au moins treize tués sur place.”

    Les désertions se font massives. Douze dans la seule chambrée d’Ali Abbas : “Les officiers les accusaient d’être des agents infiltrés d’Al-Qaida ou du Mossad.” Au check-point, les listes des déserteurs sont ajoutées à celles des gens recherchés, estampillées “priorité numéro un”. Dans la ville d’Azzaz, à la mi-juillet, l’un d’eux a été rattrapé et brûlé devant ses camarades.

    Beaucoup de sunnites voudraient s’enfuir, estime Zine Al-Abidine, comme la plupart des déserteurs rencontrés. “Mais, pas les alaouites : eux se battront pour Bachar jusqu’à la mort.” Aucun, en tout cas, n’a rejoint l’ASL, selon ces hommes. “Pourtant, tout le monde est accepté dans l’ASL”, avance un autre. Et, comme surpris de sa propre générosité, il précise : “Même les femmes.” Elles seraient quelques-unes à porter les armes, près d’Homs.

    “REJOINS-NOUS, ON VA GAGNER”

    Ahmed, simple soldat dans l’infanterie, s’est tiré une balle dans le pied pour être conduit à l’hôpital et pouvoir s’en évader. Il a fui tout droit à l’ASL, sans même se poser de question. Où pourrait-il aller ? “C’est le seul endroit où on sera protégé des représailles et notre famille aussi”, explique-t-il. Les déserteurs représenteraient aujourd’hui environ 25 % de l’ASL, d’après nos constatations, même si cette estimation reste à manier avec précaution.

    L’autre jour, dans un faubourg d’Alep, trois tanks de l’armée officielle s’approchent. En face, il y a un soldat insurgé, sans armes antichars mais avec des baskets de contrefaçon Giorgio Armani, qui lance dans un haut-parleur : “Nous avons déjà tué beaucoup d’entre vous. Rejoignez-nous, nous ne vous ferons aucun mal.” Ça tire. Ça court.

    Un peu plus loin, près du quartier général de l’ASL en proie à la panique, le téléphone d’un rebelle se met à sonner. C’est un camarade de régiment, resté du côté de Bachar Al-Assad. Il lui demande : “Tu es à Alep ?” “Oui, et toi ? ” “Moi aussi.” Et le rebelle de répondre, tout en cherchant à se protéger des tirs d’un hélicoptère apparu entre-temps et contre lequel il ne peut rien : “Rejoins-nous, on va gagner.”

    Florence Aubenas (Alep, envoyée spéciale)

    Like

  21. umm nuwâs, merci pour l’article qui est réservé aux abonnés. L’affaire Berri me navre.
    Antoine, here is the video; I hate it.

    As I said before, Antoine, I would not want to live in your Syria.

    Like

  22. Dear OTW, Good to see you commenting here again.

    I agree wholeheartedly with N.Z.and also with Annie; we don’t need revenge acts but open and transparent judicial processes. Captured regime fighters must be treated as POWs under the Geneva Convention. The last thing we want to see is videos of “confessions” a-la-regime, kangaroo courts dealing out death sentences and/or summary executions . I know that emotions are different on the ground but we can only speak out and demand for this to happen.

    Here is a story about the Chinese view of events in Syria:

    http://observers.france24.com/content/20120730-what-chinese-think-about-beijing-veto-syria-china-conflict-human-rights-uprising-damascus-global-times

    Like

  23. Here is a video Antoine is going to love…(I didn’t paste the complete link because I did not want the video to embed here, if you watch it you’ll know why) uploaded in Nov. 2010

    youtube.com/watch?v=DlGqub-tHpo&feature=related

    Why the nazi straight-arm salute at 3:05? And with these kind of special forces you’d think we should have gotten the Golan back long time ago in a matter of hours. Also note the uploader’s comment in Arabic هم النخبة فقط من ديرالزور واللاذقية وطرطوس = They are the “top choice” only from Deir-e-zzor, al-Lathiqiyya and Tartous! One of my nephews told me that there are many “Deiriyye” among the Assadists forces and Shabbiha, especially from reef Deirezzor and they are called Shawi/Shawiyyeen who will fight fiercely for anyone who pays them the most. The old videos of “armed gangs” who murdered regime troops in Maaret-el-Nu3man had guys speaking with a Shawi accent (similar to Iraqi Arabic) telling how they killed their victims. Also in the video of the bearded Syrian man accused of being an Islamist and being tortured, and later murdered by Syrian soldiers, a couple of the soldiers torturing him were speaking with a Shawi accent.

    Like

  24. International Crisis Group
    Executive Summary

    Syria’s Mutating Conflict

    Not all is heading in the wrong direction; some developments have been surprisingly uplifting. But there are more than enough ominous trends, none more alarming than these: a regime seemingly morphing into a formidable militia engaged in a desperate fight for survival; an Alawite community increasingly embattled and persuaded its fate hinges entirely on the regime’s; and an opposition that, despite sometimes heroic efforts to contain them, is threatened by its own forms of radicalisation. Together, this could portend a prolonged, ever more polarised, destructive civil war.

    The regime almost certainly will not change its ways, and so the burden must fall on the opposition to do what – given the immensity of its suffering – must seem an improbable undertaking: seriously address the phenomena of retaliatory violence, sectarian killings and creeping fundamentalism within its ranks; rethink its goal of total regime eradication and instead focus on rehabilitating existing institutions; profoundly reassess relations with the Alawite community; and come up with forward looking proposals on transitional justice, accountability and amnesty.

    Social dynamics have evolved as well, a case of what one might call the good, the bad and the ugly. The good was better than anticipated: a remarkably vibrant, courageous and resilient civil society that has mobilised networks of assistance and kept in check some of the worst forms of violence to which any armed opposition operating in a poisonous environment might have resorted. Intensified regime brutality failed to subdue popular protests; if anything, it gave them a shot in the arm. Surprising none more than itself, Syria’s opposition rediscovered a sense of solidarity, community and national pride.

    For those Syrians who have endured seventeen months of repression at the hands of a ruthless regime, for whom the instinct of revenge, understandably, must be hard to suppress, these must seem callous, inappropriate, perhaps even offensive questions. Yet raising them is a necessity if the transition for which they are struggling is to be worthy of the sacrifices they will have endured getting there.

    http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/egypt-syria-lebanon/syria/128-syrias-mutating-conflict.aspx

    Like

  25. Zaid Benjamin ‏@zaidbenjamin
    #BREAKING: Jabhat al-Nosra, the Syrian version of al-Qaeda, is behind the execution of several members of Al Biri clan in #Aleppo

    Like

  26. I like this clip too much

    I forgot the name of the person who roams the streets in the early morning to announce the beginning of Ramadan. Can you remind me ?

    Like

  27. Thank you Annie, this video is exquisite, brings tears even to the eyes of an atheist!
    The word you are looking for is Msa7rati (Damascus pronunciation 🙂 7 is the the same letter/phoneme found in the word ‘7eetan’ ). BTW, he is not the one announcing the start of Ramadan but waking people up for su7uur, the pre-dawn meal before the start of every day’s fasting.

    I’m going to forward it to everybody I know who speaks Arabic!

    Like

  28. Hamster, OTW,

    Great posts. I’m wondering what will be in the end. Will the new Syrian government ask Asthma to return her candle sticks? Will Dr. Assad return to a career in opthamology?

    Hoping for peace and freedom for everyone.

    Like

  29. Dear Annie
    Every time i start writing something about Aleppo, a new piece of news comes out that makes what I wrote seems irrelevant.

    Since last night, communication with Aleppo seems cut. It is difficult to get news from there, and there are many conflicting reports regarding not only the significance of the summary executions that took place in the City, but also regarding the ramification on the relationship between the tribes and the FSA. Many who have been either silent or shy “regime supporters… regime non supporters, but definitely against the revolution” have been posting vitriolic remarks about the executions and hinting that the tribes are now united against the FSA, even if the regime descends to hell.

    Personally, I have a strong opinion on the matter being against death penalty on principle and an unwilling to compromise on that issue. I will probably try to get a post on that subject in the next few days despite of my overwhelming personal and professional situation, compounded with worries about family in Aleppo. I will try my best, but can’t really promise.

    I wish I can translate fast. There are some gems on Facebook, especially on these issues. It suffices to say that some of those summarily executed in Aleppo already have multiple death penalty sentences (from Syrian Courts) that were never enforced due to the “special relation” between the regime mafia and their extension among some clans, primarily in Aleppo. In fact, the fraudulent amnesties by Assad in the early days of the revolution, aimed primarily to reinforce the ranks of these mafia clans, which became the backbone of oppression in Aleppo and the main reason for the delay in joining the revolution.

    That said, I find that the regime does have genuine supporters in Aleppo. I am not willing to discount them. I believe that these naysayers are dangerous now, will be dangerous in the future, but in no way, am i willing to go hunting them or to support such hunt simply because they are disgusting.

    Many of us in Aleppo, perhaps more than in any other traumatized city in Syria, will have very hard time coming to a grip with the destructive role this regime has done to the ethos of some of our beloved. We are reaching the stage of saying “formerly beloved” and that breaks my heart, and makes me more determined to bring this regime down, and then to eradicate its dirty, inhumane legacy.

    Like


  30. The Womb of Murder , a must read by Amal Hanano.
    It reads like a horror story

    In 1965, I was a medical intern in the National Hospital in Damascus. One day in September, we received an order to empty a room in the pediatric department because a certain VIP baby was being transferred from the maternity ward. My superiors Dr. Suheil Baddoura and Dr. Rashad al-Anbari told us to prepare the room and ourselves for this special patient. The full-term infant who suffered from respiratory distress arrived in the hospital’s sole incubator, the only incubator in Damascus. My colleagues in the maternity ward had been ordered to take out the four premature babies who were already in the incubator to place this baby inside instead. The larger and more-worthy infant was to occupy the incubator alone.

    Like

  31. Dear OTW,

    Could you please post the links to the facebook pages that you’re gleaning your information from? Maybe I can translate some of them on your behalf (well, as much as I can). I am very interested in knowing the source of the info you posted re the outstanding death sentences on the Berri clan members.

    Like

  32. Dear MGB,
    I will send you an email… There are several closed groups, I need to ask before adding new friends to the groups.

    for now here is a piece from today’s crop

    ثمن الحرية

    استقبلني حاجز الجيش النظامي في مدخل حي الميدان بعد أيام القصف وهو يدقق في الهويات ويقارنها باللوائح ورائحة قاتلة تزكم الأنوف ..في كل مكان دمار ..بيوت عربية قديمة زلزلت وعوراتها ظاهرة…المحلات مكسورة الأبواب والأغلاق وجدرانها مهدودة ومحتوياتها منهوبة …وبعضها أصبح أكواماً …سيارات مقلوبة ومهروسة بالدبابات..فوارغ الرصاصات تفترش الأرض كالرمل ..أكوام القمامة والهدم تحتل الصدارة ..

    والأدهى من ذلك الجثث المرمية داخل البيوت وحتى على قارعة الطريق منتفخة مدماة تحدق في الفراغ بمآق مفتوحة ..
    المسجد يشهق في صمت بمئدنته المضروبة بالمدفعية وبنيانه المغربل بالقدائف وشبابيكه المكسورة ترنو إليك بكآبة ..أما كابلات الكهرباء التي سلمت من القصف فقد قطعت بسكين حاقد ..
    غادرت من حيث أتيت لأجد عربة المتسول المعاق في مدخل الحي مهروسة بآلية ثقيلة وجثته مكومة بجوارها والبعض يقول أنه كان عيناً للنظام ..

    يتحدث الناس أنهم يهود لكن اليهود لا يتركون جثث جنودهم مرمية حتى التعفن ..

    على الحاجز وضع الجنود حاوية لمنع السيارات من المرور و للغرابة مكتوب عليها : يلعن روحك ..لعلهم لايعرفون حتى القراءة فحيطان الحارة لاتزال كتاباً مفتوحًا يزخر بالحرية وبرسومات إبداعية مرحة تطالبه بالرحيل ..

    الأهالي عادوا رغم كل شيء يسألون عن بعضهم بلهفة وهم ينظفون بيوتهم وشوارعهم ..ينظر كل واحد فيهم في عيون الآخر بعزيمة ..هؤلاء هم الثوار الحقيقيون وليس الذين ينشقون ليهاجروا إلى بلد غني يؤويهم دون تأشيرة…

    كل ذلك رأيته في المزة ولكن مع رائحة الاحتراق تنام عليها يومياً والنار تلتهم البساتين وشجرها النادر عالمياً شجر الصبار الذي يعتاش عليه الأهالي يحرقه الجنود الشجعان حتى لايختبئ وراءه شبح يرعبهم …هذه هي الفرقة الرابعة وهؤلاء هم جنود الوطن الذين دفعنا لهم 75%من أموالنا يقصفون دمشق بمدافع قاسيون والطائرات بدل توجيهها إلى إسرائيل ..

    إنه يوم الحصاد ..حصاد خمسين عاماً من الصمت المهين …أعدوهم لهذا اليوم وقدمنا خيرة شبابنا قرابين للخطيئة العظمى : السكوت عن الحق وعبادة الطواغيت …على مدى عقود أعدوا وراكموا قطعان الحقد الطائفي والفساد المالي وفرق الموت والخراب اليومي وتركناهم يفعلون …

    كيف سينظر أحدهم في عيون أطفاله إن نجا من القتل أو المحاكمة ليخبره كيف قصف دمشق بعد حمص ودرعا وإدلب وووو…هل سينجو من التاريخ ؟؟؟؟

    أهل دمشق وصلتهم رسالة النظام وهم يجيبون من أقدم عاصمة في التاريخ:
    الحرية صارت أغلى … الحرية صارت أحلى …

    تيار العلم و السلم

    Like

  33. Thanks OTW, I understand, no pressure at all.

    Syria’s top business class are deserting the country and taking their factories out with them:
    http://syrianncb.org/2012/07/31/%D8%B1%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A3%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%8A%D9%81%D9%83%D9%91%D9%83%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%87%D9%85-%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7/

    70% of Syria’s top businessmen have left the country and top industrialists are dismantling their factories and taking them abroad, mainly to re-set up in other Arab countries such as the gulf states.

    وقالت المصادر لوكالة (آكي) الإيطالية للأنباء “رجال الأعمال عموماً قادرون على استقراء الراهن والمستقبل، ومنذ نهاية العام الماضي شعر بعض الصناعيين بخطورة الوضع على استثماراتهم في سورية وقاموا بتفكيك مصانع كبيرة لهم ونقلوها إلى دول خليجية، كما غادر البلاد نحو 70% من كبار رجال المال والأعمال مع أسرهم وتوجّهوا خاصة إلى الإمارات والولايات المتحدة وكندا وأوروبا”. وأفادت بأن “بعض المصانع التي تم تفكيكها تقدّر بعشرات ملايين الدولارات، وهي عموماً مصانع تحويلية وهندسية”.
    The sources told (AKI) Italian news agency “businessmen are generally able to extrapolate the present and future, and since the end of last year, some industrialists felt the seriousness of the situation on their investments in Syria and decided to dismantle large factories and moved them to the Gulf states. About 70% of the country’s Business and Finance elite havealready left with their families and went to the UAE and the United States, Canada and Europe. It was reported that some of the factories that have been dismantled are worth tens of millions of dollars, mainly manufacturing and engineering plants.”

    Like

  34. Dear OTW
    Hard not to plunge in depression but who does it help ? I too am against vengeance and the death penalty but these are extraordinary times which do not bring out the best in us. I have never felt hatred towards anyone that I remember and even now I could not. But I am safely tuck in my armchair and who am I to judge? Yet there are voices from among the revolutionaries who protest against these executions.
    On another topic I am a fan of Amy Goodman but this interview of Charles Glass is really too much for me
    http://www.democracynow.org/2012/8/3/charles_glass_with_annans_exit_influx#transcript
    among other :
    “There is a non-violent, peaceful opposition, led by people like Michelle Kelo, Riad Drar and others who represent a vast spectrum of opinion in Syria, who never wanted the conflict to become violent because they felt that the violence itself would be too destructive for the country, no matter who won. On the other side of the opposition you have the free Syrian army, you have Al Qaeda-supported militias, you have militias, 70 or more, that people don’t know where they come from and who they are, and they are in many cases, beating the regime, in other cases being beaten by the regime.”

    How could the opposition remain non violent when slaughtered by the dozens; he discounts the fact of the desertions who man the FSA. Kilo’s alternative to negotiate with the govt is a non winner no matter how much I respect the man. In WWII was there an option to negotiate with Hitler ?

    Like

  35. Annie,

    “How could the opposition remain non violent when slaughtered by the dozens; he discounts the fact of the desertions who man the FSA. Kilo’s alternative to negotiate with the govt is a non winner no matter how much I respect the man. In WWII was there an option to negotiate with Hitler ?”

    Why is the non-violent movement automatically branded as “wanting to negotiate”? I will never advocate for anyone to carry a weapon that is my choice, but I would never be foolish enough to believe that negotiating with the butcher will ever achieve anything other than more deaths, despair and destruction.

    In my eyes at least the non-violent movements wants to destroy this rotten regime down to the core, but instead of a gun the weapon of choice is their voice. Appeasement did no work back in WWII, Chamberlain and the British government at the time were a lot more scared of Communism than Fascism and were willing to “negotiate” with Hitler. That proved disastrous as you mentioned earlier and the parallels between those events and todays events are eerily close (Fascism Vs Communism) and (Fascism Vs Islamists) and how we should appease the fascists so we can combat the “real” enemy. No, hell no the real enemy are both, and you cant ever settle for one because of fear of the other. Fear can’t ever be a reason not to strive for the better, because when you give in to fear at those times you end up with the likes of Hitler, Bashar and Mussolini.

    Silmiyeh (non-violent) movement might have been drowned in blood by Assad and his dirt temporarily, but make no mistake about it Annie it is still alive and daily it is raising both hands in the air reaching for the sky, screaming for its right. One of the biggest figures of the non-violent movement Nelson Mandela never rejected an armed struggle, but advocated it should be used as a last resort while maintaining the non-violent movement.

    It was the protesters that lead this revolution, and it will be the protesters that will finally end it.

    As the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words, well this one is worth a million:

    دمشق - يبرود      ٣-٨-٢٠١٢

    (Aleppo and Damascus are written on the fingers)

    The entire set that the picture belongs to is a must watch, starts with Salat and AlFajr (pre-Dawn prayers) then iftar that was hosted in a Church in Yabroud and ends with Syrians of all faith manifesting for their destiny.

    Like

  36. OTW,

    An eloquent voice that helped shape my opinion on capital punishment from a young age is Oscar Wilde. His poem the Ballad of Reading Gaol (variant spelling of Jail) is an inspiration, the last stanza chillingly sums up the Barri execution in my opinion:

    In Reading gaol by Reading town
    There is a pit of shame,
    And in it lies a wretched man
    Eaten by teeth of flame,
    In a burning winding-sheet he lies,
    And his grave has got no name.

    And there, till Christ call forth the dead,
    In silence let him lie:
    No need to waste the foolish tear,
    Or heave the windy sigh:
    The man had killed the thing he loved,
    And so he had to die.

    And all men kill the thing they love,
    By all let this be heard,
    Some do it with a bitter look,
    Some with a flattering word,
    The coward does it with a kiss,
    The brave man with a sword!

    http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/classic_books_online/rgaol10.htm

    Like

  37. Dear Son of Damascus “the weapon of choice is their voice” Voices are needed too but the others are not listening. (-Is this the horiya you are asking for , they say, as they beat the selmiya opposition up ? )

    Like

  38. Dear Annie,

    Maybe I should’ve made myself a little more clear.

    I am not against the FSA, or people resorting to arm themselves in the face of the evilly that is thrust upon them. Any soldier that refused an order to kill his fellow countrymen, and instead defected to do his duty of protecting his countrymen is a hero in my eyes.

    What I am saying is that the non-violent movement is perhaps even more important today than it was 16 months ago.

    Seeing pictures of Kafrsousians yesterday protesting after what the Assadi forces did to them is a testament to that, seeing Syrian Christians and Muslims breaking bread over an iftar meal is a testament to that.

    It is these people that demolish the bullsh*t narratives that the opposition is run by a bunch of crazy islamists intent on destroying Syria.

    Their unshakable will, their unbreakable spirit, and their endless humanity is what I choose to identify myself with, and is what I believe will ultimately help Syrians gain their freedom.

    That is my position, and will always remain that way.

    Like

  39. SOD 15:35
    I must strongly disagree with your comment. While your sentiments may sound noble at first sight, I must point out that they lack veracity as well as maturity. I must agree with Annie at 6:43 and strongly for that matter.

    I pray you explain to your colleagues on this board how different are you in your outlook from the current presumably secular regime(s) when you equate so-called Islamists with Communists in your analogy?

    Using your flawed terminology, the ‘Islamists’ struggled against these tyrants long before these upheavals came into being, which you claim to support. They suffered at their hands, were persecuted against and some were exiled for life, and now you brand them as communists i.e. future enemies, yet you may accept them for the time being just to fight for you and then brushed aside when the objective you are seeking is achieved while you refuse to lift a finger, just so your presumed idealism is not tarnished.

    It looks to me that you subscribe to a strict utilitarian ethics. From this pespective you do not look like the lofty idealist who can achieve his goals by the power of his words only, but requires the assistance of those he knows deep in heart are his enemies, or future enemies, as long as they do what he considers is dirty work.

    Is it not time to drop this hypocrisy?

    And since I am curious, suppose the objective is achieved and the so-called ‘Islamists’ imposed their will, are you going to start fighting them in order to brush them aside? For one thing they are your enemies, right? Just like the communists? In other words when will you start lifting a finger and start doing some real worl?

    Like

  40. Dear Just Curious
    Sorry for the delay in releasing your comment. Generally, the first time a comment is made it goes through moderation. No more moderation after the first comment is approved. This is a standard spam prevention practice on all blogs.

    Like

  41. Just Curious
    Some people are advocating a transitional government formed of technocrats in hope to avoid an Islamist’s victory if an election is held.

    Personally I am against that vehemently. I want a real political life, and I want to see islamists fighting in the ballot box same as those other parties that will emerge from whatever form of civil society Syria has (It does, and it is mostly underground civil society) as well as from the ruins of current political parties including some of the most ideologically flawed parties (i,e., totalitarians).

    But I disagree with your description of SOD’s position as being hypocrite. His position is in my opinion a courageous one. I have to run now, but I will explain later.

    Dear Annie
    Heart broken, yes… depressed.. never.

    Like

  42. ON the UNGA
    Charter article 35, constrained by 11 and 12 open the door for resorting to resolution 377.

    Key issue: The continuing repeated absence of unanimity among the 5 permanent members of the UNSC on the same issue, which leads to the UNSC failure.

    Like

  43. Just Curious,

    “when you equate so-called Islamists with Communists in your analogy?”

    I am not equating Islamist to communists whatsoever, but rather pointing out the parallels in the argument being used that we should settle with a fascist sectarian government because we are scared of the Islamists bogey monster. I argued appeasing a monster because you are afraid of another one, is foolish.

    “which you claim to support”

    Actually I do more than just claim to support it, I have put my life, marriage, job on hold while I dedicated myself towards it. The criminal and his thugs have devastated my family, yet I did not shy away crying in a corner, sulking over my losses. I know what I’m suffering from, millions of other Syrians are suffering from as well, and that the butcher thinking he will destroy us is just wishful thinking on his part.

    The Turks tried to ruin my family, then the French, then Sr, and now Jr. All of them are long gone (with one on the way) but my family is still in Damascus, and my family is not the exception but the norm.

    As for the branding of Islamists as enemies.

    I consider the bearded freaks on steroids that destroyed my family’s factory and defecated in the mosque as my enemy, their ugly sectarian hatred is plain and evident for anyone to see. Them belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), makes no difference to me.

    I as well consider the fighters streaming in from Libya and elsewhere a problem no matter how little or how big a problem they actually are. If you don’t it is your shortsightedness not mine. I don’t want Libyans, and Saudis fighting for my country thank you very much, their motives are highly suspect and their methods are despicable.

    I don’t consider pious muslims as Islamists, and I do not consider the FSA to be run by a bunch of crazy 3arourists. Only sectarian fools think that.

    While I choose to identify with the protesters and the non-violent movement I don’t hold the FSA in contempt, to assume otherwise will only make an ass out you not me.

    “asking for assistance of those he knows deep in heart are his enemies, or future enemies, as long as they do what he considers is dirty work.”

    Please provide me with a link where I ask for foreign fighters to fight in Syria or any foreign assistance? Or even with one link where I advocate for people to carry a weapon? If you like I use the same handle at Syria Comment, as well in my twitter account, go fishing through them see if my lofty ideals are filled with hypocrisy and false pretences as you falsely claimed.

    “In other words when will you start lifting a finger and start doing some real worl?”

    Now I am curious, what the hell are you doing that makes you better than I am? Under what false pretences can you arrogantly assume that I am not “doing some real work”, Do you know me, do you know what I am doing?

    Are you Just Curious just another armchair general that prophesizes about people and their intentions, or are you a person busting you chops for something you believe in?

    If I was a betting man, I would wager on the former and not the latter.

    Like

  44. SOD 15:00,

    I looked up the thesaurus for synonyms of analogous and surprisingly ‘parallel’ was one of the synonyms,

    http://thesaurus.com/browse/analogous

    Of course, I knew they are synonymous, but I just brought the link for your reference.

    So I am not going to bother with the rest of your reply as you’re obviously a player on words, and not just a strict subscriber to utilitarian ethics. I do not believe that someone who admires poetry so much needs a thesaurus for such simple words as analogy and parallel.

    So I lost interest with the rest of your word play, as I am also not interested in your life story nor in sharing mine. As I said I was Just Curious.

    Like

  45. The whole think might escape me, but Just Curious is terribly aggressive and insulting .
    SOD gave him a good and eloquent retort.
    Pursuing the discussion is a distraction and a loss of time.

    Like

  46. Just Curious,

    “needs a thesaurus for such simple words as analogy and parallel.”

    I suggest you re-read what I wrote and relax on the hyperbolic rhetoric a little bit. I never denied that I argued the parallels but rather denied that I argued communism is Islamism.

    I am not equating Islamist to communists whatsoever, but rather pointing out the parallels…

    Equate: e-quate verb consider (one thing) to be the same or equivalent to another

    Synonyms to Equate: Identify, compare, liken, associate, relate, link.

    The rest of your bullshit is not worth my time nor my energy, for you seem to be lacking in the basics of comprehension, perhaps hooked on phonics can be of help to you.

    http://www.hookedonphonics.com

    Like

  47. Sorry OTW, you can trash my last comment if you like.

    I should’ve hit refresh and read Annie’s comment before I posted…

    Like

  48. S.O.D,

    Why do you always enter into lenghty arguments with Menhebaks ?

    Do you have a lot of time ? ( I am asking you seriously).

    Like

  49. I am very disturbed as to how a fair and balanced man like Michel Kilo advocates a future State role for Manaf Tlass. I agree with KIlo and others that we should not fall for the deceptive trap of going on a witch-hunt against Manaf ( and other ex-regimists of his ilk), but I cannot understand why Mr. Kilo is so anxious to secure a place for Manaf.

    Like

  50. So Riyad Hijab has defected, after several of Farouk Sharaa’s brothers and cousins working in Political Intelligence fled to Jordan last night.

    I think genuine and passionate supporters of the Revolution must evolve a strategy on what position to take about these known corrupt ex-regime elements.

    We can’t be too cosy with them, but we should not fall for the deceptive regime trap of going on a witch-hunt against them, with the ulterior motive for distracting attention from the crimes of this regime which are now being committed on an hourly basis.

    I expect your thoughts about this, OTW.

    Like

  51. Yes Antoine
    Any defection pushes the day of the end of this regime faster, and more importantly, helps in reducing the bloodshed. I welcome all defections. But I also hope that people don’t try to show off and attempt to leak news of defection before the official/officer is secure to issue their own statement. Such rumors may result in arresting and perhaps even liquidation of the said official/officer before they fully succeed.

    I welcome all defection even at this stage. In fact acceleration in defection is natural and expected and I will not play the “I joined before you” game with those who defect now. And this would in my opinion be both pragmatic and ethical.

    Needless to say, I have not and will not jump on the band wagon of who should be in the transitional government. This is not the time for that. I don’t think it matters who… what matters is their tasks.

    Like

  52. ” I will not play the “I joined before you” game with those who defect now. ”

    ____________________________________________________________________

    OTW, people who were one of the first ones to defect and set up the FSA last year, who were part of the armed resistance in Homs since last year, are obviously much more “morally superior” than these rats jumping off a sinking ship.

    Anyway, Assad’s scorched earth policy is bound to piss off more of the Sunnis close to him. There is a point up to which a person can collaborate, seeing one’s hometown being wiped off the earth is probably too much even for extremely corrupt and opportunistic individuals like Mr. Hijab and Brig. Tlass.

    Lets not forget how Assad Senior had arrested and executed more than 200 Hamawi Army and Air Force officers in January 1982, just a month before the Hama massacre.

    Like

  53. OTW,

    You did not tell me more about Bab el Nayrab. What do you know about the neighborhood ?

    Do you think Maysaloon quarter will be sympathetic to the FSA cause ?

    Like

  54. Please, Antoine don’t call defectors rats. They are terribly needed. Not all of us are instant heroes. The defections are the best weapon the Revolution has right now. No blood shed and the throne is shaking and Batta will fall off the coconut tree.

    Like

  55. Antoine
    It is the decision of the FSA, ranks file and officers to accept or not anyone in their ranks. Similarly, it is an individual decision to accept or not someone as potential leaders, this is why the ballot box exists.

    I am not very familiar with Bab Alneyrab, I have been in that neighborhood only few times, but do have friends from that area. It is an area where many local clans live and most of its residents are good hard working people.

    Again, I emphasize, moral superiority is not the issue here. The issue is that any defection robs the regime of one more soldier. Just now a whole group of policemen joined the FSA, would you call them rats while they are fighting against the regime.

    Like

  56. Antoine and OTW,

    Kilo is supporting a character like Tlass in my opinion is because of his military background. He understands that when the current junta that lay a false claim to Syria are brought to justice (real justice hopefully, for the families of the victims deserve the truth) the people with the big guns need a military leader to follow and Riad Al-Asa’ad does not qualify in the eyes of many people in the army.

    Now I don’t believe Manaf is the right choice personally, as much as Saudi/Turks want to groom him I don’t think he hold as much sway as he claims within the armed forces. The Tlasses were more important socially than militaristically, the tale of the beast if you will.

    I believe this is a case of realpolitik position by Kilo rather than a personal position.

    If I would explore that line of thinking more my personal choice would be an Alawi General, now which one and whether this General is accepted by both sides exists I have no clue.

    Antoine,

    I comment as often or as little as I wish and to whomever I wish. Does that answer your question?

    Like

  57. SOD, I was just saying that from reading your comments, it seems you have a lot of time. This issue interests me, because since last year I have been so engrossed with the Revolution that I have been forced to steal time from my professional and private life, and both have suffered as a result. But I just cannot help it, I have to spend 5 hours a day on the Net for the Revolution, and the next 5 hours thinking and brooding about it. This Revolution is the best thing to happen in my lifetime, as I have been hating this regime since 8 March 1963. I hate everything the Baath Party and the Assad family stands for..

    Like

  58. Btw I am very saddened and bitter as to how the World has been so miserly when it comes to financial contribution for Syrian refugees. It saddens me to see how Turks, Jordanians and Iraqis are treating the refugees as a burden. USA till now has refused to even respond to calls for financial aid from Turkey and Jordan. KSA has contributed only 3 Million USD, 3 mil only, can u believe that ? Where is the World ?

    Like

  59. SOD and OTW, I think it is a fallacy to think of any “transition in Syria” involving political figures from the Ancien Regime – this includes all Cabinet ministers, MPs, Governors and senior office-holders of the Baath Party. Rather, we should concentrate on mid-level bureaucrats and technocrats in the Civil Service and Diplomatic Corps. I think these sort of people should be considered, who served the regime only in a professional career capacity, not a political capacity. Hint : Look at new PM of Egypt, Hisham Kandil as an example. Someone who has solid credentials in Public Service but who is not a part of the elite. And someone who looks, speaks, eats, worships’ and dresses like the common people, I should add. Its time to give State elitism a decent burial. Thats whats this Revolution is all about.

    Like

  60. What is “Saeed Jalili” preaching in my hometown Damascus?

    His babbling and ramblings added fuel to fire, in fact, as I was reading his venomous words, vowing that Iran would help its ally confront “attempts at blatant foreign interference” I couldn’t stop humming the words from a revolutionary song ياأيراني كلبك ودع ساقط ساقط يابشار

    This head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council went on “Iran will not allow the axis of resistance, of which it considers Syria to be an essential part, to be broken in any way,”
    Really? Is Iran less foreign than America, Russia, Israel?

    “What is happening in Syria is not an internal issue but a conflict between the axis of resistance on the one hand, and the regional and global enemies of this axis on the other,” he added.

    As the two spewed, thousands of frightened Syrian refugees flee their cities for safety, as a fighter jet carried out airstrikes on the eastern districts of Aleppo. He added, “The Syrian people are hostile to any plan supported by the Zionists and the US”. اللعبة صارت عالمكشوف ياايراني
    ونحن مانحتاج النيتو نحن نجيبو من نص بيتو وياريتو يفهم ياريتو شو معنى كلمة ثوار
    ساقط ساقط ياجزار
    ساقط ساقط يابشار باذن الواحد القهار

    http://www.facebook.com/mare3.karama

    Like

  61. At least, 257 Syrians were killed Tuesday by the “axis of resistance”. One will assume that this is the golden moment for “regional and global enemies of this axis” to act! Nope..

    From early on اللعبة صارت عالمكشوف,

    Like

  62. Ominous signs in Aleppo. The regime gangs can still receive reinforcement while the FSA fighters inside the city have no access. How come….

    There are many within the ranks of the revolution who believe now that Aleppo was ignited by FSA to force the city into the type of confrontation that is now raging. They argue that Aleppo was in fact a source of support for other cities and that forcing it into the ongoing fight was a miscalculation. Some are rather resentful. Did anyone else feel that during conversations? and how would one answer these well meaning, distraught people who have given so much.

    I also want to place our thoughts with all of our friends not only from Aleppo but from every city, village, and hamlet in Syria who are touched directly by the brutality of this murderous regime.

    Like

  63. Our thoughts and our hearts and our wishes are with the extraordinary Syrian heroes and also our qalaq. So far, no one has died in the bombings from among my friends. But feed back I do not get. It is always : all is well.

    Like

  64. Syria rebel fighters vow to shun torture, abuse

    The code says the rebel army will use weapons “to overthrow the criminal regime that has been imposed upon us,” but at the same time, it pledges to “refrain from any behavior or practice that would undermine the principles of our revolution: the principles of freedom, citizenship, and dignity.

    “I will respect human rights in accordance with our legal principles, our tolerant religious principles, and the international laws governing human rights — the very human rights for which we struggle today and which we intend to implement in the future Syria,” the code said.

    The code says the rebel army will use weapons “to overthrow the criminal regime that has been imposed upon us,” but at the same time, it pledges to “refrain from any behavior or practice that would undermine the principles of our revolution: the principles of freedom, citizenship, and dignity.

    “I will respect human rights in accordance with our legal principles, our tolerant religious principles, and the international laws governing human rights — the very human rights for which we struggle today and which we intend to implement in the future Syria,” the code said.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/08/world/meast/syria-fighter-code/index.html

    Like

  65. P.M. Erdogan visit to Mynyamar is intended to highlight the plight of the Burmese Muslims, after the recent genocide. The United Nations listed Rohingya Muslims as “One of the World Most PERSECUTED Minorities”. What did the “custodian of the two holy mosques” did so far? hmm..Busy suppressing Shiite minorities in his Kingdom…

    قَالَ “سلجوق أونال” المتحدث الرسمي باسم وزارة الخارجيَّة التركيَّة، إن زيارة رئيس الوزراء التركي رجب طيب أردوغان وزوجته، ووزير الخارجيّة أحمد داود أوغلو إلى ميانمار (بورما) تهدف إلى لفت انتباه العالم إلى المأساة الإنسانيَّة التي يعيشها مسلمو الروهينجا في إقليم أراكان والذين صنفتهم الأمم المتحدة من أكثر الأقليات اضطهادًا في العالم.

    وأضاف أونال في تصريحات له نشرتها صحيفة “حيرت” التركيّة أن بلاده تتابع التطورات في ميانمار وما يتعرض له المسلمون من مجازر على يد البوذيين عن قرب، مشيرًا إلى أن داود أوغلو قد ناقش مسبقًا مع أكمل الدين إحسان أوغلو الأمين العام لمنظمة التعاون الإسلامي ما يحدث في إقليم أراكان وما يمكن فعله من أجل إيقاف العنف هناك.
    وأشار المتحدث باسم وزارة الخارجيّة التركيَّة إلى أن السفير التركي في ميانمار وبصحبته بعثة دبلوماسيَّة قاموا بزيارة مخيمات مسلمي إقليم أركان مسبقًا لتفقد أحوال المسلمين هناك.

    Like

  66. Dear Ibn-Dimashq,

    Interesting blog, and interesting dates too; I like it. The internet is huge but also a rather small world. If my hunches are correct, the blog you mentioned belongs to someone who used to comment at SC often but went below the radar soon after the start of the revolution. Look for rhyming names and other clues such as background, etc; I think you’ll see the pattern. Otherwise I can send you the info by email via OTW who I suppose has your email and will kindly forward it to you.

    I miss Sheila’s comments and contributions, especially now with Halab being the center of the AsMaa’s criminal attention.

    Like

  67. Dear mgb,

    Hmmm now you have me wondering… I used to follow the blog until it stopped updating, it is funny how things I disagreed with back then fully agree with now. I must say 2arfan was ahead of his time.

    Please do forward your hunch to me.

    Like

  68. Does anyone here know about karfan and the site SyriaExposed?

    http://syriaexposed.blogspot.ca

    He was quite a sensation some years back and true, ahead of his time becoz he rose quite a bit of scepticism. One day I met someone I suspected of being Kafran, he was a reporter but I forgot his name. He kind of hinted….but i might be my imagination

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  69. I was moved by this comment from Amjad, one can only imagine the horror that this young citizen turned activist has lived for ten days in Baba Amr. A brilliant young guy. I can add with certainty, from reading his comment, he is very angry, how can he not? The horror that he had witnessed committed by some of his countrymen towards the people in his own neighbourhood -friends and family is beyond gruesome, the imagery will haunt him for a very long time as it will all of us. I can also say with certainty that Amjad, is very honest and a righteous man. I have nothing but admiration for those like Amjad whom have every right to be very angry, yet, choose not to hate, nor take revenge.. but remain steadfast to bring those responsible to justice and spread awareness..”Finally after ten days I managed to get out. I wouldnt wish the experience on anyone.” We can only learn, we have no choice but to move forward. It is easy to hate..
    Interesting back and forth between Amjad and Mjabali who more or less paint the revolutionaries/activists as Salafis, MB and brings Ibn Taymiyah in every discussion, almost an obsession! Amjad who saw hell, lived it, not centuries ago, but in the 21st century.. Seems that all Syrians have paid dearly for the past 42 years because of a scholar called Ibn Taymiyah… ma khalasna? Are we not even? Is it really about Taymiyah or Salafis,.? What is happening is not because of the former rubbishes but because the young and the poor are saying ENOUGH, we had it! The country and her people are going to hell, and we are still stuck in the 7ht century. We have to know the past, learn it BUT move forward…
    =====================================================================
    1018. Amjad said:

    “Faced with death or torture no one really knows how one would react.”

    For once I agree with you (end of the world soon to follow). In February, my neighborhood was in the way of the Syria army’s march into Baba Amr. I spent ten days trapped in my home. I don’t care who anyone thinks they are, NOTHING prepares you for the indiscriminate and murderous mayhem of an artillery barrage. I learned to hate the whistling sound that preceded every explosion.

    On that first day, if Bashar had appeared infront of me, and told me to sign a paper surrendering the revolution and acknowledging him and his as perpetual rulers of Syria, I’d have gladly done so, just to stop the shells.

    Human beings being what we are, eventually you get used to anything. One learns to automatically discount whistling sound that appears to be farther away, and tense up when the sound seems to get closer. Finally after ten days I managed to get out. I wouldnt wish the experience on anyone.

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  70. Umm Nuwas, that demonstration is in a Kurdish neighborhood who do not have any FSA in their midst. Nor are their demos attacked by the regime.

    The regime long ago because of its innate ethnocentric and sectarian thinking and its conspiratorial bent of mind, decided that it must save the worst of its murderous arsenal on neighborhoods/villages with certain demographic features ( based on class, ethnicity, and religion).

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  71. Can someone please translate what is being said in the video ? I can only understand a few things like Reef Sham, Ghouta, Baba Amr, Hama, Halab, etc. ( My Arabic is very defficient)

    Please translate all that is being said, including all the exchanges between the interviewer and the prisoners.

    This seems to be interesting for some reason.

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  72. It is entertaining — and politically or financially profitable for some — to speculate wildly about terrible days ahead in Syria. It is much more useful to focus on realities, the most important of which is that tens of millions of talented Syrians are eager to get on with their lives as free and equal citizens in a normal and sovereign country. I believe that will happen soon, and I will dance with joy for them when it does.

    http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=53844

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  73. Paul Woodward at War in Context quotes Reuters on the regime’s recent transportation of chemical weapons: An Israeli official said however the movements reflected an attempt by President Bashar al-Assad to make “arrangements to ensure the weapons do not fall into irresponsible hands”.

    “That would support the thinking that this matter has been managed responsibly so far.”

    Woodward then comments: So, while the word from Damascus is that “terrorists” armed with “Israeli-made machine guns” conducted the massacre in Tremseh yesterday, the word from Tel Aviv is that Syria’s chemical weapons are nothing to worry about so long as they remain in the responsible hands of the government.

    There might be a certain amount of truth in that statement. Still, it’s not exactly the rhetoric one might expect from a representative of an alliance that is supposedly gunning for Assad’s downfall. On the contrary, it reflects the fact that Israel would be much happier to see Assad remain in power.

    http://qunfuz.com/2012/07/16/blanket-thinkers/#comments

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  74. Looks like the extent to which the regime is prepared to go knows no boundaries…..using its criminal mafia proxies in Lebanon, they planned to assassinate the Maronite Patriarch, Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, during his official visit to Sunni majority province of Akkar. A clear attempt to re-ignite a full-scale sectarian war in Lebanon. Thankfully, the ISF and the Judiciary still retained enough independence and professionalism to nip this in the bud and not go along with the regime plan like Lebanese institutions have been accustomed to for the last 22 years.

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  75. A message from Dr. Azmi Bshara, to the “Blanket Thinkers”, “Revolutionists” and “Opposition Members” all at once.

    – إذا افترضنا أنَّ الإفقار وقمع الحريات هو ظاهرة مرافقة وجانبية في خدمة هدفٍ سامٍ مثل الدفاع عن الوطن، فإنَّ مثل هذا يمتد لفترات قصيرة مثل زمن الحروب. هذا الهدف لا يبرّر أن يكون الإفقار من نصيب الشعب، والإثراء من نصيب الحكام. كما لا يبرّر نظاما ممنهجا وممأسسا لاستباحة كرامة المواطنين وحرياتهم وحقوقهم، ولا تعدّيهم المستمر على ثمار عمل غالبيّة الشعب، وباختصار إنه لا يبرّر الفساد والاستبداد. وإذا استُخدِم هدفٌ باستغلال إيمان الشعب به لتبرير مثل هذه السياسات، فإن الهدف يتحول إلى وسيلة تسمى الديماغوغيا الخطابيّة والأيديولوجية التبريريّة. والهدف الحقيقي في هذه الحالة الحقيقي هو تثبيت نظام الاستبداد والفساد وليس الهدف السامي المدّعى الذي تحوّل الى وسيلة. ولا يمنع هذا من وجود أهدافٍ ساميةٍ فعلًا وقضايا عادلة وشرعيّة، ولكنّها تستخدم لمنح شرعيّة لنظام غير شرعي. ومن هنا فإن النضال ضد الاستبداد يهدف للتحرر منه أولا، ولكن يجب أن يتجنّب المسَّ بالقضايا الشرعيّة العادلة، بل حتى أن يدافع عنها ضد استخدام النظام لها. ويشمل ذلك رفض الهيمنة الأميركية على المنطقة ورفض تفصيل السياسات الغربية تجاه العرب بموجب المصلحة الإسرائيلية، ويشمل ذلك أيضًا عدالة قضية فلسطين وحق (بل وواجب) المقاومة ضد الاحتلال.

    2- لا يوجد شعب في العالم يمكنه أن يفهم أن عليه تحمّل التعذيب والاعتقال التعسفي والفساد المالي وكم الأفواه لجيل بعد جيل من أجل أيّ هدفٍ كان. ولا يمكن لأحد أن يطلب من شعبٍ أن يقبل بالاستبداد والفساد لأجلٍ غير مسمى، ومن دون أي أفقٍ للتغيير، وذلك فقط لإرضاء مشاعر بعض المعلّقين الذين يعتبرون معاناة الشعب قضيّة جانبيّة قياسًا بالقضايا الكبرى، لا سيّما وأنَّ التجربة أثبتت عدم حصول أي تقدم في القضايا الكبرى ذاتها.

    3- لا يمكن الادعاء بتفهّم أوضاع شعب وعدالة مطالبه، ثم الطّلب من هذا الشعب أن يمتنع عن فعل شيئ، وأن ينتظر أن يقوم الحكام بالإصلاح، لا سيّما حين يرفض الحكام القيام بأي إصلاح جوهري. ليس البشر هواة تعرّض للقصف وللقتل، ولكن لا يمكن أن نطلب من الناس أن يستمروا بالتظاهر سلميًّا والتعرّض للرصاص دون أن يدافعوا عن أنفسهم في الوقت الذي ليس لدى من يناشدهم أي سلطة لإقناع النظام أن يتوقف عن إطلاق النار والقتل. ومن لا يستطيع أن يُلزم النظام بالتعامل سلميًّا مع المظاهرات السلميّة يجد نفسه يطالب الشعب بتحمل التعرض للقتل أو التوقف عن النضال دون تحقيق أي مطالب. وما هو أسوأ هو اتهام الشعب بالتآمر، أو بالخضوع لمؤامرة حين يخرج مطالبا بحقوقه. يحتاج الإنسان إلى كم من الغرور والانغلاق لاتهام شعب بهذا. ولا أتحدث هنا عن الأقلام (وغالبا أنصاف الأقلام) المأجورة بل من يكتب هذا الكلام مقتنعا به.
    4- لن يغفر التاريخ للنظام إطلاق النار على المظاهرات السلمية بشكل مثابر ،ومن دون توقّف، أي كتعبير عن سياسة منهجية لوأد الثورة السلمية. لقد كان أكثر ما يخيف النظام المظاهرات السلمية الشعبية الواسعة المطالبة بإسقاطه، وقد اندفع للقضاء عليها بالقوة.
    5- لا بدّ لمن يخرج للنضال ويتعرض للقتل والقصف والتهجير وتتعرض أملاكه للنهب، أن يطالب الأقربين والأبعدين بمساعدته ودعمه. ومن الطبيعي أن يقبل الدعم المقدم له. ولا يجوز لمن يتركه في هذه الحالة أن يلومه أيضًا على تلقي الدعم وأن يلقي عليه المحاضرات بشأن هويّة الداعمين، في حين لا يستطيع هو أن يقنع النظام الحاكم بأي تحوّلٍ سلميٍّ للديمقراطية أو أي نقل تدريجي سلميٍّ للسلطة، بحيث يوفر عليه القتل، والحاجة إلى الدعم والداعمين.
    6- ليس ما يجري هو ذنب تطلع الناس للحرية والكرامة، ولا ذنب الشباب الذين حملوا السلاح ضد قمع مسلح همجي لا يعرف حدودًا أو خطوطًا حمراء. المسؤولية كلها يتحملهاالنظام وحده. فهو الذي رفض الإصلاح الذي طالب به الشعب في الأشهر الأولى واعتبره مؤامرة، ورفض المبادرات العربيّة المتتالية لنقل تدريجيٍّ للسلطة. والتي بدأت بمبادرة في شهر آب 2011 التي طرحت حكومة وحدة وطنيّة ودستور جديد وانتخابات رئاسية في 2014 ( وهو أمر يبدو خياليا الآن)، ومبادرة أخرى في شهر يناير 2012 تطرح نقل السلطة لنائب الرئيس وحكومة وحدة وطنية ودستور جديد. وفي كليهما لم يتم المس على الإطلاق بالجيش، ولا بعقيدة الجيش القتاليّة أو غيرها.
    6- إن واجب القيادة السياسيّة للثّورة الانتباه لطبيعة القوى الداعمة لها وشروطها السياسيّة وأهدافها ومرادها. بحيث تحافظ على هوية البلد وسيادته وقضاياه، بحيث لا يتحول الدعم إلى اختراقات مخابراتيّة أو سياسيّة. هذا هو واجب القيادة الوطنيّة للثّورة، سواء كانت سياسية أو عسكرية، وهو أيضا واجب القوى المدنيّة المشاركة في المعارضة السياسيّة. زفوق كل هذا فإن من واجب المثقفين الوطنيين الذين لا يتملقون ولا يبحثون عن شعبية أن لا يتعبوا من التحذير من هذه المخاطر والتنبيه لها.
    7- ومع ذلك وعلى الرغم مما قيل أعلاه يمكن تفهم الارتباك الذي يقع فيه بعض الإخوة الوطنيين، أو الغصّة التي يستشعرها الإنسان إزاء ما يجري في سورية. وأنا لا أقصد تلك الغصة التي نشعر بها جميعا بسبب النكبة الحقيقيّة التي تمر فيها مناطق كاملة من هذا البلد العربي وأهله الأحباء بسبب خيار النظام “الشمشوني”، فهذه غصةٌ نشعر بها جميعًا، وإنما أتحدث عن الارتباك السياسي. فحين ينظر المرء إلى القوى الفاعلة في الثّورة السوريّة يجد من بين الدول التي تدعم الثّورة حاليًا، أو تزعم أنها تدعم الثّورة على الأقل، دولًا غير ديمقراطية عارضت الثّورات العربيّة كافة، ووقفت ضدها. وهي بالتأكيد تدّعي دعم الثّورة السوريّة لأهداف أخرى لا علاقة لها بأهداف الثّورة، مثل سياسات النظام الخارجيّة ودعمه للمقاومة اللبنانيّة والفلسطينيّة وموقع سوريّة الاستراتيجي. كما يسهل تشخيص استخدام الطائفيّة في تجييش التضامن مع الثّورة السوريّة عند قوى عربية لم تتضامن مع الثورات أخرى في مصر وتونس واليمن. والطائفيّة في المشرق العربيّ ليست بغيضة ومتخلّفة فقط كحالها في كل مكان، بل هي خطيرة وقاتلة للمجتمعات والكيانات أيضا. يمكن تفهم ارتباك المراقب بهذا الشأن. ولكن حتى المرتبك يجب أن يعرف أنَّ هذا الارتباك لا يمكن أن يكون سياسة تتبناها الثّورة السوريّة، أو يتبنّاها الشعب السوري بشكل عام. فالشعب السوري ليس مراقبا. ومَنْ يتعرّض للقصف والدمار بالمقاييس غير المسبوقة في الثّورات العربيّة، ومن عرف أنّه إذا تراجع إلى الخلف لن يحكمه الأمن فقط بل سيحكمه حزب جديد من الرعاع وحثالات المجتمع يسمى ب”الشبيحة”، لا يمكنه أن يرتبك أو أن يسمح لنفسه بالارتباك تجاه تشخيص الخصم وقضية قبول الدعم. ومشكلته ليست هوية الداعمين بل قلة الدعم وبراغماتية الداعمين وحساباتهم.
    8- يبقى من واجب المثقف الوطني الديمقراطي أن لا يتعب من التوضيح والتحذير من الطائفيّة، وأن يؤكد باستمرار على مقومات الديمقراطيّة والمواطنة والعدالة الاجتماعية، وعدم جواز استبدال استبداد بآخر، وعن ودور سوريّة العربي والإقليمي، وقضية فلسطين وغير ذلك. ولكن يجب أن يفعل ذلك من منطلق الانحياز للشعب السوري ولثورته ضدَّ الاستبداد. وإذا فعل ذلك من منطلق الوقوف إلى جانب النظام السوري فلن يسمعه أحد، وسوف يفقد مصداقيته، وستكون النتيجة الوحيدة التي يحققها هي إلحاق الضرر بهذه القضايا التي يتحدث باسمها.
    9. بالنسبة للشعب السوري في المرحلة الراهنة لا توجد قضية في الدنيا أعدل من الدفاع عن حياة أبنائه وأعراضهم، ولا توجد قضية أهم من إسقاط النظام وضمان مستقبل سوريا في ظل حكم ديمقراطي يستحقه هذا الشعب.

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  76. Antoine | August 11, 2012 at 11:53

    Those guys were caught by the FSA. They’re from those areas you mentioned. The interviewer or interrogetor asked each one of them where they were from and if the people in those areas were revolting. They all said yes. They were being admonished by the interviewer for helping the shabihas instead of defecting. At the end, he tells them ur more like iranians than Syrians.

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  77. Salamat 7ee6anis,

    It seems like you people are so depressed and frustrated that you stopped writing (except for 3 or 4 of you). You seem more depressed than Syrians living inside. Cheer up !!! This was what it was going to take to get rid of this criminal regime. Yes, the situation is sad, but nobody’s complaining inside Syria. Only those who were and still are with the regime are the ones complaining. I’ve said it before and I will say it again I was never proud as a Syrian until the revolution started. I know people who have been shot, displaced , and some who are wanted by the criminal so called security agencies. None of them are complaining. I supported and am still supporting this revolution no matter what I might face. Now that I settled my family outside the country, I can’t wait to go back which will be in a few days. So cheeeeeeeer up, the happy ending is near. I will not miss the down fall of the regime for anything in the world. 🙂

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  78. A member of the Beastly family is legless. A rumour, maybe..what is certain is their conscienceless! They are determined to burn Syria and Syrians than simply LEAVE..

    24 immediate members of my family have just been turned into refugees because of ASSad. I am only one of 28 million Syrians suffering needlessly. Tragedies.. not only for the victims, but what about the shattered hopes and dreams?

    Refugees at every bordering country.. homeless citizens fleeing the Slaughterer’s wrath..orphans wondering the streets of a burned country..death and destruction everywhere..

    What crime did we commit to deserve this kind of punishment?

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  79. Salamat مندس
    How nice to hear from you! With a cheerful tone as well..tell us more, we are so eager to hear from an eyewitness, we missed your comments and welcome back..

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  80. Dear 7ee6anis,
    This is great project by a successful group of Syrians who are eager to help build bridges and support Syrian students who are eager to continue their education abroad.
    Jusoor, Syrians Forward Together

    Donate to Support the IIT Students
    Invest in Our Future: Announcing IIT’s first 28 Syrian Scholarship Recipients

    We are delighted to inform you that Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) has announced that 28 students from Syria are recipients of IIT Undergraduate Scholarships for study at the university beginning Fall 2012. Collectively and individually this group represents a remarkable set of achievements and lofty aspirations, indeed IIT selected students based purely on a student’s individual merit, who they believed would comfortably excel in terms of their academic, professional and career aspirations on IIT’s campus.
    Please take a few minutes to read more about the students who have been awarded the merit scholarships here:

    http://www.jusoor-sy.org/programs/invest-in-our-future-announcing-iits-first-28-syrian-scholarship-recipients/

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  81. The Al-Za’tari refugee camp in Jordan is nothing short of a concentration camp.

    Syrian refugees try to tear down Jordan camp fence in bid to flee harsh conditions. More than 3,300 refugees in the desert camp have expressed dissatisfaction with its harsh conditions, including extreme heat and cold and constant dust-laden winds.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-refugees-try-to-tear-down-jordan-camp-fence-in-bid-to-flee-harsh-conditions/2012/08/13/e03d9332-e54e-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_story.html

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  82. Jordan is treating Syrian refugees like common criminals, UAE and Kuwait are refusing visas and deporting Syrian activists en-masse, and Brotherly Egypt is still allowing Russian, Iranian, Chinese and Assadist ships carrying weapons to cross the Suez Canal.

    Meanwhile the sadistic Algerian generals and sectarian Iraqi regime are still providing Arab cover to the Assads at the UN.

    Fear God O Arabs.

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  83. Antoine,

    The video you asked to be translated is basically and interrogation of captured regime soldiers done in Daraa camp by someone who sounds Hourani, (it seems they are just conscripts from all over the country). He asks them to give their names and where they’re from. The one who says he’s from BabaAmr is then criticized “and you say it with pride, do you?” “But I was captured by the Regular Army and forced to fight with them”, he replied. “How come you didn’t defect, though we have raided police stations and check points many times and had chances to defect?” “I tried but…”
    Then the interrogator goes on and asks each of them where he is from and if there is fighting and killing in his home town and how come he didn’t do anything about it or defect. “Shame on you you call yourselves Syrian while the butchering and tashbeeh goes on! You’r more like Iranian shabbiha than Syrians! What can we say, here we have BabaAmr, Halab, Hama, Dimashq all of you are our brothers and you kill and butcher us…shame, shame and tfou (spit) on such people for not protecting Syrian honor (reference to rapes, obviously).

    This video and others that are listed at the end of it are very disturbing. I am sure you heard the slapping and shouting going on in the background and the terrible state of that man from BabaAmr and the fear in the eyes of all of the men. The other videos also show captured Iraqi (Moqtada Al-Sadr men, we’re told) who had been tortured and one ominously tells that the man will meet his punishment.

    Dear OTW, would consider going back to having just the youtube video likns instead of embeding?

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  84. MGB,

    Actually I did find the interrogator’s accent strange, especially the way he was saying “Hama”. Daraawi/Hourani accent is similar to Jordanian accent do you think ? I mean do you think this accent will stand out in a typical Shami crowd ?

    Btw why do you find physical abuse against regime soldiers and shabbiha to be disturbing ?

    Like

  85. Another thing which disturbs me regarding neighboring countries’ Syruian refugee policy is the way they are discriminating among the Syrian refugees.

    Turkey for example has a more favorable policy regarding the Turkman refugees from Lattakia and Halab. I have been hearing that Turkmen FSA Brigades in Reef Latakia and Reef Halab are getting some weapons supplies secretly by sympathetic Turkish intelligence officers, while regular FSA brigades are denied this privilege.

    Jordan also, where a few Syrian tribes and clans, mainly from Daraa, are given exclusive right to live with their relatives and clansmen in al-Ramtha and Mafraq near the Border, while Palestinian refugees from Syria are denied access to Jordan altogether.

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  86. MUndas,

    Why do you think those soldiers did not defect earlier ?

    Antoine,
    As you may have understood from mgb’s translation, those soldiers did not defect. They were caught while they were still with the regime. In a way, I sympathize with them. It is not easy to defect. Everyone of us should feel lucky we were not put in their position. I have come across relatives of killed soldiers by the mukhabarat because they refused to shoot at protesters. I have met someone recently whose relative was killed along with seven other soldiers because they refused or were not cooperating and shooting at civilians. The kid called his mother one time crying while his mother was begging him not to shoot at anyone. The kid told his mom “mama, my superior مقدم already threatened me”. A few days later, he was shot dead along with his friends, and his family was begging to get his dead body back.
    My answer to your question is, if they defect where do they go? I believe defections will get easier from this point on because the whole country is in an upheaval. 
    We all understand the effects of a totalitarian, criminal regime on a society and its members. Everyone is politicized now. Everyone has chosen sides by now. A broader way of phrasing your question is “how could someone defend or support this criminal regime after what’s happened?” who in the history of mankind bombed his own cities? And i think that the scum of the scum are those living outside the country and defending the regime. It takes a Phd to answer these questions. 

    To answer your other question “Btw why do you find physical abuse against regime soldiers and shabbiha to be disturbing” 

    As someone who lived outside Syria longer than I have lived inside, I say it is much easier for those living outside to rationalize events. It is also good to have voices calling for human rights etc… But as someone currently living in Syria, I’m more radicalized than I ever thought I would ever be. As an example, I, and everyone I know, were thrilled to hear the bombing of the Syrian Ikhbaria TV station. I am a firm believer in the freedom of the press. That channel was anything but a mukhabarat branch. I would’ve felt bad if they ever allowed free press in Syria. I didn’t mind seeing the execution of the Berri gang in Aleppo. Realistically, these things will happen. But compared to what the criminal regime has done, it was nothing. We have lived the regime’s atrocities for the past year and half. Again, I don’t mind the voices calling for human rights. But who can rationalize with victims, the widows, the orphans, and the displaced?. We live this misery every single moment in Syria. I say that because when I travel outside Syria, I get distracted and get my mind off the misery even if it’s for a few hours a day.

    On a positive note, I will say again that I had never been more proud as a Syrian than I have been since the start of the revolution. As hard as it tried, the criminal regime was not able to destroy every Syrian. There’s a huge segment of the society that is caring and supporting the distressed. You will not believe how Syrians are looking out for each other. That’s what sustained the revolution. I believe the revolution has passed its mid point, so the happy ending is near.

    I am sooooo proud to be Syrian. When this is over I’m going to buy the new Syrian flag and hang it outside my home. I never owned a flag before.

    Like

  87. The treatment of the Syrian refugees by neighboring countries is appalling. It has improved somewhat recently. But up to about three weeks ago, seeing some families being turned back, especially those from restive areas, makes you cry. it seems like Jordan wants to get paid, Lebanon is not an independent  country, and neither is Iraq.
    I get annoyed when I see people criticize Turkey. Turkey has done more for the revolution than any other country in the world. They hosted the opposition and refugees. Some people want Turkey to fight our war, thus displaying ignorance about democracies. Unlike ASSad and his likes, in a democacy, you have to convince the 50% that didn’t vote for you why it’s in their national interest to wage a war.

    Like

  88. Syria, under the leadership of the two ASSes can be described as a perpetual horror story in the 80s, and for the past 17 months. Endless tragedies and loss of lives with no end, at least, in the foreseeable future. While the regime in Damascus is escalating its bombardment with long range artillery, as well intensifying its air strikes on civilians, one cannot but keep questioning the world’s reaction…

    Like

  89. Syria is shrinking under our watchful eyes!

    What’s as alarming, is the sizable segment of our Syrian society who are still trying hard to legitimize the mass murders of their hero. The traitorous regime, ASS & Co., audaciously pulled back most of its forces from the north-eastern border with Turkey, while Syrian Kurds have filled in the vacuum and Kurdish flags fly all over the town of Qamishli.

    Is it not alarming, that after all the atrocities, the so called civilized world did not make an explicit call for their ASS to quit?

    Is Turkey the intended target? Oh, but No, Syria is tooooo complicated.

    Sadly, rather than looking at the big picture, we are busy with tit for tat.

    Like

  90. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspends Syria!!!!! Wowwwww

    How will that help Syrians, where can they exchange this suspension with tangible benefits on the ground.

    The kings and princes are no less traitors than the one in Syria, constantly feeling their back heads… people are dying, while they are suspending one of their own, pathetic..

    Like

  91. Mundas,

    It is very appalling that the UN and all the rich contries of the World are not paying for the Syrian refugees. I think especially the OIC should do its part, especially since its Ramadan. The World has lots of money to burn.

    Jordan and Turkey have been crying out loud for money for the refugees but it is outrageous that USA has its door shut.

    I mean what are a few hundred billion Dollars for the rich countries of the World ? Nothing..

    Like

  92. Attention all Revolution supporters,

    Please make public the names, addresses and all personal details of any Syrian Arab Air Force Pilot if you have such information.

    You can make available such information public in any public space.

    OBSERVER,

    You have mentioned that you have received a list of Syrian Arab AirForce pilots and their personal details. I will request you to publish that list on SyriaComment.

    From now on, if any Revolution supporter comes across personal details of Air Force employees, such information will have to be made public.

    There is already a campaign to locate the families of Air Force pilots who are living in rebel-controlled areas. It will be very useful if we can locate and arest familes of Syrian Arab Air Force officers.

    Like

  93. Guardian reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Azaz

    2h 9m ago
    Reporter describes the scene in Azaz

    Guardian reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, speaking on the phone from Azaz near the Turkish border, describes the scene following yesterday’s airstrike by Syrian government forces.

    Between 3.15 and 3.30 two bombs hit the town – one in the middle of a cluster of houses, leaving a circle which is just a big empty space. Around it are collapsed buildings and others that are half-collapsed.

    When I arrived, there was a heavy stench of death and they were pulling a body out, but it was only the head. They kept digging. Kids were lifting big boulders and finding bits of flesh and bones.

    One of the houses was the home of Fadhel Danoun. Twenty-five of his family were killed. One daughter, Umma Ahmad, survived.

    It was a poor section of town. Sixty-four houses have collapsed or fallen apart. People are still retrieving blankets, carpets and plastic shoes. A hundred metres away there are homes with parsley and mint still growing in their gardens.

    Another guy, Ahmad al-Aboud, who is 57, was standing on piles of concrete that were his home. He said he didn’t hear a plane. There was a big explosion like an earthquake.

    He said: “We’re all poor workers’ families. We don’t even have a gun in this area.”

    The injured have been taken to Turkey. People say they don’t blame the Syrian regime so much as the Saudis, Qataris, Turks and Americans for failing to help them.

    A Syrian man reacts after seeing the body of his relative buried in rubble after an air strike destroyed houses in the town of Azaz. A Syrian man reacts after seeing the body of his relative buried in rubble after an air strike destroyed in Azaz yesterday. Photograph: Khalil Hamra/AP

    Updated 1h 55m ago

    Like

  94. Antoine and Mundas,

    “why do you find physical abuse against regime soldiers and shabbiha …disturbing ?”

    Because the revolutionaries (FSA et al) are supposed to be the good guys, and the good guys don’t just do what their oppressors have been doing to them, just because they can.

    The Syrian people have been demanding justice, dignity, the rule of law, and due process. Is torturing prisoners just and dignified; is that how the rule of law due process work? Has anyone conducted a proper investigation to find out if the captives were participating in the attacks against their fellow country folk willingly and gladly or under coercion and the threat of being shot in the back? What could I or you or any beni-Adam do if one were a conscript or even an opposition fighter or sympathizer who was caught by the regime thugs and told to fight with them, that I’m being watched and any wrong moves and I’d get a bullet in the back of the head?

    As to bombing regime propaganda outlets, I think it is imperative that the FSA, SNC and all other resistance groups issue a loud and clear warning to every person that works in such establishments (make it by direct broadcast and using the specific organization’s name) that their names have been collected and their conduct, words and actions, is being closely watched and that once the regime has fallen they will have to account for what they have done and face the consequences their actions and words. Remember what happened to Nazi collaborators in France?

    And if there are people who are hell-bent on carrying out suicide missions wouldn’t the Russian ships carrying arms and munitions to the regime be a much more suitable target?
    – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
    RE foreign aid to refugees, the Australian govt. as well as the French and Canadian (I think the US too, no?) are doing/giving something, maybe not as much as we’d like, but BTN, I say:

    http://www.ausaid.gov.au/HotTopics/Pages/Display.aspx?QID=752
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/08/11/baird-syria-refugee.html
    http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/14534598/syria-refugees-fear-long-stay-as-french-aid-reaches-jordan/

    Like

  95. Interview with Florence Aubenas (Le Monde édition abonnés)

    Florence Aubenas : “Les rebelles syriens n’ont aucun doute : ils vont gagner”

    Le Monde.fr | 16.08.2012 à 22h02 • Mis à jour le 17.08.2012 à 07h29

    Par Le Monde.fr
    Réagir Classer Imprimer Envoyer

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    Florence Aubenas.

    Pendant plusieurs semaines, la reportrice du Monde Florence Aubenas était en Syrie pour couvrir le conflit. Elle a répondu aux questions des internautes lors d’un chat organisé le jeudi 16 août.

    Est-ce que vous vous sentiez menacée en tant que femme lorsque vous suiviez des combattants en Syrie?

    Florence Aubenas : Pas du tout. En général, être une femme sur les lieux de combat m’a plutôt semblé un avantage, jusqu’ici en tout cas : cela évite les surenchères ou les défis que ce type de situations suscitent parfois. Les gens font tout pour vous aider : lorsque des hélicoptères se sont mis à tirer à Alep, les premiers jours, les habitants se bousculaient tous pour m’inviter à me mettre à l’abri chez eux.

    Ça vous fait quoi d’être une journaliste “embedded” dans la rébellion ? Vous pensez faire votre travail honnêtement ?

    Florence Aubenas : Ce n’est pas un choix d’être “seulement” aux côtés de la rébellion : c’est une obligation dans le cas de figure syrien. Les journalistes n’ont actuellement pas de visa officiel (à l’exception de quelques-uns) : il nous faut donc entrer dans le pays clandestinement et continuer à y vivre et à y travailler de la même manière. Pas d’hôtel, pas de location de voiture, aucun des circuits habituels. Le seul réseau par lequel nous pouvons passer est celui des Syriens engagés, c’est-à-dire des opposants au régime, militaires ou pas.

    Comptez-vous rejoindre l’armée régulière si vous en avez la possibilité ?

    Florence Aubenas : “Rejoindre” n’est pas le mot que j’utiliserais. Mais, oui, j’aimerais aussi couvrir ce conflit de l’autre côté, si j’en avais la possibilité.

    Quel est l’état d’esprit de la population à Alep ? Est-ce qu’on parle d’une “ville fantôme” ou plutôt d’une ville qui vit malgré l’horreur des combats ?

    Florence Aubenas : A Alep, je ne suis allée que dans les quartiers qui étaient sous le contrôle des forces rebelles. La raison en est simple : je n’avais pas de visa officiel et se faire arrêter par les militaires du régime aurait été extrêmement dangereux.

    Dans les secteurs de la ville que j’ai vus, les gens ont commencé à fuir aux premiers jours du conflit. C’était vraiment une ville fantôme. Personne dans les rues, tous les magasins fermés, pas une voiture : un vrai décor de cinéma. Les gens ont commencé à y revenir petit à petit. Les combats n’avaient pas ralenti, mais chacun avait fini par s’y “habituer”. Les marchés ont repris, les habitants ne se mettaient même plus à l’abri quand un avion apparaissait dans le ciel. Cette accoutumance à la violence est une des choses les plus terribles dans les conflits.

    Martine : Quelle est la situation alimentaire à Alep ? Et la situation des quartiers de la ville qui ne sont pas tenus par les “rebelles” ? Les soins médicaux sont-ils encore possibles?

    Florence Aubenas : A Alep, capitale économique du pays, les seules entreprises que la guerre n’a pas arrêtées sont celles qui fabriquent la farine et le pain ! Pour l’instant, la situation alimentaire ne pose pas de problème. Le Croissant-Rouge fait des distributions dans certaines villes, mais toutes n’en ont pas besoin ; il y a énormément de solidarité, à la fois pour la nourriture et pour l’hébergement.

    Les soins médicaux sont plus compliqués : en fait, la Turquie (à quarante minutes d’Alep), qui soutient les rebelles, a ouvert ses hôpitaux aux blessés syriens. Cela dit, beaucoup de gens continuent de mourir, faute de soins. Dans les quartiers toujours tenus par le régime, la situation est bien plus calme : par définition, ils sont à l’abri des bombardements et des chars.

    Ressent-on encore la révolte populaire à Alep ou n’est-ce plus qu’une guerre civile ?

    Florence Aubenas : Il y a un mot qui fait hurler tous les opposants au régime, celui de “guerre civile”. Pour eux, c’est une “révolution”, au sens où ils veulent renverser le régime. La manière dont ils définissent eux-mêmes le sens de leur combat est une lutte contre les injustices du régime.

    Cette dimension de liberté et de dignité reste très forte dans un pays où il est interdit de regarder une autre chaîne que les télévisions officielles, même chez soi. Maintenant, la guerre a sa propre dynamique ; elle amène les gens à se radicaliser, alors qu’ils ne se sentaient pas spécialement impliqués au début.

    L’influence de djihadistes “salafistes” étrangers fait l’objet d’une controverse intense entre le pouvoir régulier et les rebelles. Avez-vous des éléments sur cette question ?

    Florence Aubenas : Oui, c’est l’argument principal du régime contre les rebelles. Dans la région du Nord où j’ai passé un mois, je n’en ai pas rencontré. Il serait impossible pour des combattants étrangers d’y passer inaperçus : la rébellion recrute par famille, par village. Tout le monde se connaît, loge au même endroit.

    J’ai longuement interrogé des commandants sur l’existence de camps d’entraînement ou de soldats venus d’ailleurs. Eux non plus n’en connaissaient pas. Autre élément : la manière dont les rebelles se battent montrent la pauvreté de leur moyens, en armes et même en nourriture. Il n’y a même pas une kalachnikov par personne. Je pense que si Al-Qaida les épaulait, ils auraient moins de difficultés face à l’armée de Bachar Al-Assad. Cela dit, il faut rester modeste : la situation peut être différente dans d’autres parties du pays.

    Croyez-vous à une explosion de la Syrie en différents États ethniques ou religieux ?

    Florence Aubenas : C’est l’une des grandes théories sur l’après-Bachar : tous les alaouites vont se réfugier dans la zone côtière, où ils sont majoritaires, et créer une sorte d’Etat indépendant, laissant le reste du pays aux sunnites. Certains soutiennent même que cette solution, façon ex-Yougoslavie, est le plan secret du président. Je reste assez sceptique : beaucoup de Syriens de tous bords restent très attachés à leur pays. Il y a un sentiment national très fort.

    Les rebelles croient-ils en leur chance de victoire ?

    Florence Aubenas : Ils n’ont aucun doute : ils vont gagner. Cette conviction dans la victoire est même leur arme principale.

    Khadija H. : Quelles sont les attentes des “rebelles” vis-à-vis de la communauté internationale?

    Florence Aubenas : Cette question revient toujours dès qu’on interviewe les rebelles : “Pourquoi personne ne nous aide ?” Elle s’adresse à la fois aux pays arabes et aux pays occidentaux. En même temps, ils restent assez philosophes. Certains répètent : on se bat seuls et on gagnera seuls.

    Victor RF : Un rapport affirme que des crimes de guerre ont été commis par l’ASL. Que pouvez-vous nous dire sur cela ? Comment sont traités les prisonniers ?

    Florence Aubenas : J’ai vu, personnellement, des soldats de l’armée rebelle exécuter au moins un sniper qu’ils avaient capturé pendant un combat de rue à Alep. C’est un crime de guerre. Il y en a certainement eu d’autres. La diffculté est de dire : est-ce que ce sont des exceptions ou est-ce une méthode systématique ? Du côté des gradés, on affirme que les soldats ont l’ordre de ne pas s’y livrer, mais je pense que des enquêtes devront avoir lieu.

    Quant aux prisonniers, certains ont été maltraités, pas de doute non plus. Je les ai vus, visiblement battus et maltraités pour certains. Human Rights Watch est en train de boucler un rapport là-dessus. L’armée rebelle a promis d’y participer. On attend la suite, il faut être très vigilant.

    Victor RF : Les versions de l’ASL et de l’armée officielle sont parfois contradictoires. La guerre se joue t-elle également sur le plan de la communication ?

    Florence Aubenas : Bien sûr ! Le même jour, les deux armées ont parfois annoncé en même temps qu’elles maîtrisaient le même quartier. La guerre s’est doublée d’une bataille de communication. Je pense qu’aujourd’hui, c’est inéluctable. Une des premières mesures de l’armée libre, en entrant dans Alep, a été de nommer un “responsable de la presse”. C’était assez cocasse, car nous étions trois journalistes dans la ville à ce moment-là, aucune ligne de téléphone ne passait et le responsable en question n’était jamais joignable.

    Nono : Y a-t-il des alaouites parmi les rebelles?

    Florence Aubenas : Alep et toute la zone nord, où j’étais, constituent une région sunnite presque à cent pour cent. Il y a quelques Kurdes et quelques chrétiens, mais pas de communautés alaouites. Il n’y en avait donc pas dans les troupes rebelles que j’ai vues. En revanche, dans les villes de Homs, de Hama, de Damas, qui sont mixtes, quelques alaouites se sont enrôlés. Ils restent très minoritaires. La dimension de révolte des sunnites contre les alaouites, considérés comme favorisés par le régime, est très forte dans ce conflit.

    Existe-t-il une haine entre les communautés alaouite et sunnite en Syrie ?

    Florence Aubenas : Je crois que cette haine existe dans certaines zones mixtes, où les gens se sont retrouvés confrontés les uns aux autres. Je pense à Homs ou à Damas, où des voisins qui s’appréciaient ont pu s’enrôler, les uns, dans les milices pro-Bachar, les autres, côté rebelles. Dans les zones majoritaires, sunnites ou alaouites, cela se pose moins durement, on y parle davantage d’injustice que de haine. On n’y entend pas les gens prononcer des mots terribles ou même des menaces d’extermination les uns contre les autres, comme cela a pu être le cas au Rwanda ou en ex-Yougoslavie. Si le conflit s’éternise, le risque existerait que la haine gagne peu à peu tout le pays. Ce serait terrible.

    Léon Z : Y a-t-il des femmes, des enfants, des adolescents parmi les combattants rebelles ?

    Florence Aubenas : J’ai vu des adolescents de 16 ou 17 ans, mais ni femme ni enfant. Dans les grandes villes, les femmes ont participé aux manifestations, aux côtés des hommes ou dans des cortèges séparés. Cela ne se fait pas dans les campagnes. Beaucoup s’occupent de soins médicaux à domicile, font la cuisine pour les compagnies.

    Une victoire du régime est-elle envisageable ? On a l’impression que le régime a des ressources illimitées et a l’avantage par rapport aux opposants.

    Florence Aubenas : C’est vrai que le régime syrien a des alliés de poids, la Chine, la Russie, l’Iran, ce qui implique un armement important, une armée nombreuse, des finances. Cela dit, le poids des désertions, militaires et civiles, montre un régime littéralement pourri de l’intérieur. Près de trente pour cent de l’armée rebelle est composée de déserteurs de l’armée officielle.

    Ces éléments donnent aussi un thermomètre sur l’état réel des institutions et leurs capacités à garder l’avantage. On a parfois l’impression qu’en dehors d’un cercle de fidèles, de moins en moins de gens y croient, y compris à l’intérieur. Je pense que cela contre-balance les faibles ressources des rebelles.

    Le Monde.fr

    Like

  96. MGB,

    As long as the regime kills and tortures, the FSA have to do the same, otherwise they will be beaten into submission.

    This is a regime which belives in violence as a solution, I mean overwhelming violence such as sending jet planes to flatten entire towns.

    How will you fight a MiG-23s that can kill 500 people in a matter of minutes ?

    By kidnapping and killing Air Force pilots of course, totally neutralizing the Air Force by a lack of skilled personell.

    Like

  97. 275. ANNIE said:

    “Antoine !

    What is the matter with you ? This call to snitching and may be you will hit a pilot (or his family) who might not have killed a single civilian or revolutionary for that matter ?

    You are bringing us down to the level of the system.

    What is your nationality ? I am becoming suspicious”

    ________________________________________________________________

    By nationality I’m Canadian. Though I strongly identify with the City-State of HAMA in Syria.

    What about you ?

    Like

  98. Sorry to bother you, OTW, but there is something strange happening here and I wonder if the others are experiencing the same: first, all embedded youtube videos are appearing in my browsers (ie, opera and chrome) as a black rectangle. Second, Antoine is replying to a comment by Annie (apparently about his comment above at Antoine | August 16, 2012 at 10:02), but he uses a number (275). However, her original comment does not appear anywhere, so how could he have seen it and replied to it?! And how come there is a number to the comment? As far as I know comments do not have numbers here, no? Hope my computer hasent been infected by something 😦

    Like

  99. mgb,

    Re: Black Boxes (I am assuming you are a PC user?)

    It could be two things:

    1- Flash Disabled: Tools -> Add-ons -> Plugins look for shockwave/Adobe Flash and check to see if it is enabled.

    2- Need to upgrade flash, or Flash got corrupted. Just download the latest one and it should be fine.
    http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/

    Hope that helps.

    Like

  100. Syria’s mentally retarded might consider resigning! To where? WAllah, WAllah ya Assad, even in hell you will not be spared..you’ve been on the loose for far too long causing death and havoc all around Syria and neighbouring countries. As the world has lost its conscience, we Syrians have lost our fear and on the way to regain our country.

    Like

  101. At least 20 journalists have been killed in Syria, the latest victim, Mika Yamamoto, who worked for the independent Japan Press news agency, was killed Monday during a gun battle in Aleppo. Bless her soul.

    Like

  102. Someone on Twitter was trying to find an explanation of Ass latest appearance. The Butcher has broken a record for the shortest Eid prayers, 11 minutes in total. He looked petrified and shaky.

    He was relieved to come upon a verse in the Qur’an that describes the likes of our dictator. I find his search and the Quranic verse noteworthy. The link:

    http://instagram.com/p/OoaIh4k2bE/

    Like

  103. Please start a campaign to stop Turkey from enforcing quotas for refugees. I am very very worried at Davutolu’s announcement that Turkey is “unable” to take in more than 100,000 refugees and that “welcoming the refugees in Syrian territory might be a good idea” WHO ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ??

    In 1948 Syrians took in 500,000 Palestinians , in 2003 Syrians took in 1 million Iraqi refugees. Turkey is 5 times the size of Syria in terms of land area and population, and 10 times larger in terms of economy, WHO ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING MR. MINISTER that Turkey can’t take in more than 100,000 refugees – refugees who if they stay behind in Syria face a very very high probabality of death.

    Guys please start campaigning about this issue now on and SNC should take the lead – closing the door on Syrian refigees faces should be a red line.

    There are currently 70,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey and 30,000 more will reach within the next week going by current statistics from ildeb and Halab.

    Guys please lobby the Turkish Government NEVER to close the border on refugees faces. This might be good for AKP electorally, but Syrians will never forget who their friends were and who their enemies.

    OTW I expect you to inform your SNC contacts about this urgent issue. there should be absolutely no closing of borders for Syrian refugees, neither by Turkey nor by Jordan.

    Like

  104. Dawutoglu said clearly that Turkey will not take in more than 100,000 refigees and that it is a good idea to create a “safe zone/NFZ” within Northern Syria. While I applaud Mr. Davutoglu for taking this bold and admirable decision, both he and everyone knows that Turkey at this moment is unable to create such safe zopnes single-handedly. Clinton already told Turkey to take a hike as it is impossible that any big power will act unilaterally outside UNSC – and UNSC is hand-tied by Putin-China.

    So will Turkey shut the border on Syrians’ faces, the same way Hosni Mubarak did to Gaza in 2007 ?

    Also read my post above and please recognize the urgency of the situation.

    I have not posted this on SC becuase I do not want to give the roving bands of Menhebakijis there another chance to rejoice at the sufferings of Syrias who dared to protest against their Godly Ruler.

    Like

  105. “GENOCIDE” in Syria, they dare to call it “conflict” in Syria…

    Torture in hospitals! A damning report not for ASSad, of course, but for the Big ASSes claiming to be civilized, they are partners in crimes for allowing this genocide to continue for so long.. pretending to be unable to do anything.

    How much longer will Obama be forced to stay silent, how much longer will the rest of the Arab world, including those Sheiks who say they are Muslims, turn a blind eye on the Genocide and influx of refugees to neighbouring countries?

    Like

  106. The Arab World has let Syrians down big time, I am honestly especially astonished by the attitude of Egypt and Morsi, especially now that it has been known that Walid Muallem andWael al-Halqi will attend the NAM summit in Tehran, Mosri should absolutely refuse to be part of a gathering where Syrian officials are present.

    Should we remind Dr. Morsi that were he Syrian and not Egyptian, he will have been dead by now or rotting in prisons for daring to read the works of Sayyid Qutb.

    Also lets not forget that in the persistent refusal of NATO to consider a No-Fly Zone, the main reason they give is that the Arab League is against it, lets not forget how Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia and a number of other progressive Arab countries have repeatedly refused calls for a No-Fly-Zone and refused to stand beside Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

    Like

  107. Come on, whats wrong with the people on this blog, why so few commentators ? The only reason I keep away from 7ee6an is the utter lack of conversation due to the paucity of commentators.

    MGB, Hamster, OTW, where are you all ?

    Like

  108. “دمشق هي العاصمة الوحيدة في العالم التي لا تقبل القسمة على اثنين”

    انها دمشق

    ( كما يوصفها الشاعر والاديب العراقي مظفر النواب )

    شقيقة بغداد اللدودة، ومصيدة بيروت، حسد القاهرة، وحلم عمّان، ضمير مكة،
    غيرة قرطبة، مقلة القدس، مغناج المدن وعكاز تاريخ لخليفة هرم.‏‏‏‏‏

    إنها دمشق امرأة بسبعة مستحيلات، وخمسة أسماء وعشرة ألقاب، مثوى ألف ولي
    ومدرسة عشرين نبي، وفكرة خمسة عشر إله خرافي لحضارات شنقت نفسها على
    أبوابها.

    إنها دمشق الأقدم والأيتم، ملتقى الحلم ونهايته، بداية الفتح وقوافله،
    شرود القصيدة ومصيدة الشعراء.‏‏‏‏‏

    من على شرفتها أطلّ هشام ليغازل غيمة أموية عابرة،”أنى تهطلي خيرك لي ”
    بعد أن فرغ من إرواء غوطتها بالدم، ومنها طار صقر قريش حالماً، ليدفن تحت
    بلاطة في جبال البرينيه.‏‏‏‏‏

    إنها دمشق التي تحملت الجميع، متقاعسين وحالمين، صغار كسبة وثوريين، عابرين
    ومقيمين، مدمني عضها مقلمي أظفارها وخائبين وملوثين، طهرانين
    وشهوانيين….

    رَضَّعت حتى جفَّ بردى، فسارعت بدمها بشجرها وظلالها، ولما نفقت الغوطة،
    أسلمت قاسيونها (شامتها الأثيرة) يلعقونه يتسلقونه، يطلون منه على جسدها،
    ويدعون كل السفلة ليأخذوا حصتهم من براءتها، حتى باتت هذه مهنة من يحبها
    ومن لا يقوى على ذلك لكنها دمشق تعود فتية كلما شُرِقَ نقي عظامها.‏‏‏‏‏

    إنها دمشق أيها العرب العاربة والمستعربة قِبلة سياحكم، ومحط مطيكم، تمنح
    لقب الشيخ لكل من لبس صندلا واعتمر دشداشة ولا تعترف إلا بشيخها محي
    الدين بن عربي‏‏‏ ،هو من لم تتسع له الأرض، حضنته دمشق تحت ثديها وألبسته
    حياً من أحيائها فغنى لها ” كل ما لا يؤنث لا يعول عليه”

    ‏‏‏‏‏
    إنها دمشق لا تعبأ باثنين، الجلادين والضحايا، تؤرشفهم وتعيدهم بعد لأي
    على شكل منمنمات تزين بها جدرانها أو أخباراً في صفحات كتبها، فيتململ
    ابن عساكر قليلا يغسل يديه ويتوضأ لوجه الله ويشرع بتغطيس الريشة في
    المحبرة، لا ليكتب بل ليمرر الحبر على حروف دمشق المنجمة في كتابها
    دمشق التي تتقن كل اللغات ولا أحد يفهم عليها إلا الله جل شأنه وملائكة عرشه.‏‏‏‏‏

    دمرَّ هولاكو بغداد وصار مسلماً في دمشق، حرر صلاح الدين القدس وطاب
    موتاً في دمشق، قدم لها الحسين إبن علي ويوحنا المعمدان وجعفر البرمكي
    رؤوسهم كي ترضى دمشق، وما بين قبر زينب وقبر يزيد خمس فراسخ ودفلى على
    طريقة دمشق.

    ‏‏
    إنها دمشق لا تحب أحداً، ولا تعبأ بكارهيها، متغاوية ووقحة تركت عشاقها
    خارجاً بقسوة نادرة كي لا ينسفح الكثير من دمهم، وتتفرغ للغرباء الذين
    ظنوا أنفسهم أسيادها ليستفيقوا فجأة وإذ بهم عالقين تحت أظافرها.‏‏‏‏‏

    لديها من الغبار ما يكفي لتقص أثر من سرقها فتحيله متذرذراً على جسدها.‏‏‏‏‏
    لديها من العشاق ما يكفي حبر العالم.‏‏‏‏‏ من الأزرق ما يكفي لتغرق
    القارات الخمس .

    لديها من المآذن ما يكفي ليتنفس ملحديها عبق الملائكة، ومن المداخن
    ما يكفي “لتشحير” وجه الكون.‏‏‏‏‏

    ولديها من الوقت ما يكفي لترتب قبلة مع مُذنَّب عابر، ومن الشهوة ما يدعو
    نحل الكون لرحيقها.‏‏‏‏‏

    لديها من الصبر ما يكفي لتنتشي بهزة أرضية، ومن الأحذية و”الشحاحيط ”
    المعلقة في سوق الحميدية ما يكفي للاحتفال بخمسين دكتاتور.‏‏‏‏‏

    لديها من الحبال ما يكفي لنشر الغسيل الوسخ للعالم أجمع، ومن الشرفات ما
    يكفي سكان آسيا ليحتسوا قهوتها ويدخنوا سجائرهم على مهل.‏‏‏‏‏

    لديها من القبل ما يكفي كل حرمان المجذومين، ومن الصراخ ما يكفي ضحايا
    نكازاكي وهيروشيما‏‏‏‏‏

    لديها من النهايات ما يكفي ثمانين ألف رواية، ومن الأجنة ما يكفي لتشغيل
    الحروب القادمة.

    لديها شعراء بعدد شرطة السير، وقصائد بعدد مخالفات التموين، ونساء بكل
    ألوان الطيف وما فوق وتحت البنفسجي والأحمر.‏‏‏‏‏
    لا فضول لدمشق، لا تريد أن تعرف ولا أن تسرع الخطى، ثابتة على هيئة لغز،
    الكل يلهثُ يرمحُ يسبحُ، وهي تنتظرهم هناك إلى حيث سيصلون.‏‏‏‏‏

    دمشق هي العاصمة الوحيدة في العالم التي لا تقبل القسمة على اثنين في
    أرقى أحيائها تسمع وجع “الطبالة”، وفي ظلمة “حجرها الأسود” يتسلق كشاشي
    الحمام كتف قاسيون ليصطادوا حمامة شاردة من “المهاجرين”.‏‏‏‏‏

    دمشق لا تُقسم إلى محورين، فليست كبيروت غربية وشرقية، ولا كما القاهرة
    أهلي وزملكاوي ولا كما باريس ديغول وفيشي ولا هي مثل لندن شرق وغرب
    نهر التايمز ولا كمدن الخليج العربي مواطنين ووافدين ولن تكون كعمّان
    فدائيين وأردنيين، ولا كبغداد منطقة خضراء وأخرى بلون الدم ….‏‏‏‏‏

    دمشق مكان واحد فإذا طرقت باب توما ستنفتح نافذة لك من باب الجابية وإذا
    أقفل باب مصلى فلديك مفاتيح باب السريجة‏‏‏‏‏ وإن أضعت طريق الجامع الأموي ،
    ستدلك عليه ” كنيسة السيدة ”

    لا تتعب نفسك مع دمشق ولا تحتار فهي تسخر من كل من يدعي أنه يحميها
    ومن يهدد بترويضها، فتود أن تعانقها أو تهرب منها، تلتقط لها صورة أو
    تحمضها كلها، تود أن تدخلها فاتحاً أم سائحاً، مدافعا أو ضحية، ماحياً أو
    متذكراً كل شيء دفعة واحدة.‏‏‏‏‏

    فتخرج سيجارة حمرا طويلة تشعلها بخمسة أعواد كبريت ماركة” الفرس”، وتقول
    جملة واحدة للجميع (إنها دمشق )

    Like

  109. What will remain from Syria? Everything Syrian, is the answer.
    The price is already hefty, why because of ASSadism…is the author lamenting ASS rule or what?

    ماذا يبقى من سورية؟
    غسان شربل
    الخميس ٢٣ أغسطس ٢٠١٢

    ماذا يبقى من سورية حين يتكرس شغور مقعدها في الجامعة العربية ويعتاد العرب على غيابها؟ وحين تعلق عضويتها في منظمة المؤتمر الاسلامي ولا تنجح مشاركة الرئيس محمود احمدي نجاد في تجنيبها هذا القرار؟ وحين تحاصرها الجمعية العامة للامم المتحدة بـ 133 صوتاً وتطالبها ببدء انتقال سياسي للخروج من محنتها؟

    ماذا يبقى من سورية حين يغادرها خالد مشعل يائساً من قدرته على اقناع سلطاتها بأن الحل سياسي وليس امنياً وان ما يجري ثورة وليس ارتكابات عصابات مسلحة؟ وحين يخسر محور الممانعة الضلع السني الوحيد الذي كان يوصله الى قلب غزة وقلب النزاع الفلسطيني – الاسرائيلي؟.

    ماذا يبقى من سورية حين يجرؤ جهاز امني لبناني على اعتقال الوزير السابق ميشال سماحة بعد ضبطه متلبساً بنقل عبوات ناسفة؟ وحين تتداول وسائل الاعلام اللبنانية معلومات عن ان سماحة تسلم البضاعة من ارفع مسؤول امني سوري؟ وحين يعلن الرئيس ميشال سليمان انه ينتظر اتصالاً من نظيره السوري؟ وحين يضطر العماد ميشال عون الى الصمت المعجون بالندم لأن سماحة كان منسق علاقته مع دمشق وجذور مار مارون وتحالف الاقليات؟

    ماذا يبقى من سورية حين تنهال دبابات الجيش على احياء في دمشق التي كانت اكثر عواصم المنطقة امناً واستقراراً؟ وحين تلتهم المدافع ما تبقى من جدران متفحمة في حمص؟ وحين تنقض الطائرات لتدمي حلب او لتشطب قرية من هنا واخرى من هناك؟

    ماذا يبقى من سورية حين يتكدس ابناؤها لاجئين في مخيمات في الاردن؟ وينتظرون الحصص الغذائية في خيام في تركيا؟ او يقيمون في شمال لبنان وبقاعه وعاصمته موزعين بين الحزن والخوف لأسباب كثيرة؟

    ماذا يبقى من سورية حين يقال ان الازمة الانسانية فيها هي من بين الاسوأ في العالم؟ وان مليونين ونصف مليون شخص بحاجة الى مساعدة انسانية عاجلة؟ وان مليوناً و200 الف اجبروا على ترك منازلهم؟ وان اعمال القتل المروعة صارت مشهداً يومياً وعادياً؟ وان العثور على جثث بلا رؤوس لم يعد حدثاً او خبراً؟

    ماذا يبقى من سورية حين يسارع البعثيون الى الفرار من الارياف هرباً من هجمات العمال والفلاحين الذين كانوا يدعون تمثيلهم والتحدث باسمهم؟ وحين ينشق آلاف الضباط والجنود ويغسلون ايديهم من جيشهم على شاشات الفضائيات؟ وحين يرتكب «الشبيحة» ما تخجل العيون من مشاهدته؟

    ماذا يبقى من سورية حين تصطاد متفجرة كبار حراس الهيكل في معقلهم؟ وحين يوافق بعثي منضبط على تولي حقيبة رئاسة الوزراء ليبدأ على الفور ترتيب رحلة انشقاقه؟ وحين ينشغل العالم باستطلاع حقيقة من قتل ومن انشق ومن يستعد للقفز من السفينة؟

    وماذا يبقى من سورية حين يصبح مستقبلها مرهوناً بقرار فلاديمير بوتين والمرشد الايراني والسيد حسن نصرالله وتفهم رئيس الوزراء العراقي بعد ان كانت لهؤلاء حليفاً ثميناً وورقة رابحة او عمقاً استراتيجيا؟ وحين تفتح خريطة سورية هنا وهناك ويجري الحديث عن خرائط صغيرة وجزر مذهبية واستحالة العودة الى ما كان؟ وحين يستبيح حدودها مقاتلون جوالون يشكل وجودهم على ارضها مشكلة جدية للمعارضة ومأساة مقبلة للبلد؟

    لم يعد سراً أن سورية التي نعرفها انتهت. سورية الأمن المفرط والاستقرار الصارم. سورية اللاعب الذي يحرك اوراقه خارج حدوده. سورية التي تمتلك حق النقض في الموضوعين الفلسطيني واللبناني. سورية المؤثرة في استقرار العراق والاردن وتركيا. ذهبت تلك الصورة. أغلب الظن أن سورية ستغرق في حرب أهلية بلا رحمة. وأن نسيجها الوطني سيزداد تمزقاً. وأنها حين تخرج من موسم القتل الطويل ستخرج مدماة وضعيفة ضائعة بين الصراع القاتل بين السوريين والتنافس الاقليمي والدولي الشديد على رسم مستقبل الملعب السوري. سيرزح اللاعب السوري طويلاً تحت جروحه.

    كأننا في وداع سورية التي نعرف. ومن عادة سورية ان تترك بصماتها على ملامح الاقليم سواء كانت قوية أم مريضة.

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  110. Only an ASS does not have the courage to babble directly with his people. Qaddafi to the last minute kept babbling with Libyan.

    Like

  111. ASS: “we are cleansing the country”… What does this mean? “we welcome defections” Why?

    Like

  112. Mc Cain addresses GOP convention, he mentioned Syria! Wow… Iran, Hizbullah and Russia as backers of Ass…he forget to mention ASS best ally, Israel. A fake democracy that keeps on barking about Iran nuclear power, Hizbullah a “terror” organization, Muslim Brotherhood and the Arab Spring taking the Arab world backward, ASSad, a representative of an alliance of evil..

    It is a fact that “Israel would be much happier to see Assad remain in power”,

    But wait, what about Assad chemical weapons? “nothing to worry about so long as they remain in the responsible hands of the government”… Also, “Israeli security depended on the Syrian regime’s security”.

    Since the big Ass became minister of defence, Syria’s foreign policy was designed and executed by Zionist agents.

    Today Ass showed no concerns to the hundred of thousands of Syrian refugees? Is this a surprise? What about the 17 million expatriates. Is this a national leader who is concerned about his people anymore than Qaddafi or Saddam? He is more concerned with his steadfast alliance till death do them apart!

    Like

  113. مقاومٌ بالثرثرة …ممانعٌ بالثرثرة قصيدة للشاعر أحمد مطر مهداة إلى المقاوم بشار

    ——————————————————————————–

    قصيدة للشاعر أحمد مطر مهداة إلى المقاوم الممانع بشار الأسد

    له لسانُ مُدَّعٍ..
    يصولُ في شوارعِ الشَّامِ كسيفِ عنترة
    يكادُ يلتَّفُ على الجولانِ والقنيطرة
    مقاومٌ لم يرفعِ السِّلاحَ
    لمْ يرسل إلى جولانهِ دبابةً أو طائرةْ
    لم يطلقِ النّار على العدوِ
    لكنْ حينما تكلَّمَ الشّعبُ
    صحا من نومهِ
    و صاحَ في رجالهِ..
    مؤامرة !
    مؤامرة !
    و أعلنَ الحربَ على الشَّعبِ
    و كانَ ردُّهُ على الكلامِ..
    مَجزرةْ
    مقاومٌ يفهمُ في الطبِّ كما يفهمُ في السّياسةْ
    استقال مِن عيادةِ العيونِ
    كي يعملَ في ” عيادةِ الرئاسة ”
    فشرَّحَ الشّعبَ..
    و باعَ لحمهُ وعظمهُ
    و قدَّمَ اعتذارهُ لشعبهِ ببالغِ الكياسةْ
    عذراً لكمْ..
    يا أيَّها الشَّعبُ
    الذي جعلتُ من عظامهِ مداسا
    عذراً لكم..
    يا أيَّها الشَّعبُ
    الذي سرقتهُ في نوبةِ الحراسةْ
    عذراً لكم..
    يا أيَّها الشَّعبُ الذي طعنتهُ في ظهرهِ
    في نوبةِ الحراسةْ
    عذراً..
    فإنْ كنتُ أنا ” الدكتورَ ” في الدِّراسةْ
    فإنني القصَّابُ و السَّفاحُ..
    و القاتلُ بالوراثةْ !
    دكتورنا ” الفهمانْ ”
    يستعملُ السّاطورَ في جراحةِ اللسانْ
    مَنْ قالَ : ” لا ” مِنْ شعبهِ
    في غفلةٍ عنْ أعينِ الزَّمانْ
    يرحمهُ الرحمنْ
    بلادهُ سجنٌ..
    و كلُّ شعبهِ إما سجينٌ عندهُ
    أو أنَّهُ سجَّانْ
    بلادهُ مقبرةٌ..
    أشجارها لا تلبسُ الأخضرَ
    لكنْ تلبسُ السَّوادَ و الأكفانْ
    حزناً على الإنسانْ
    أحاكمٌ لدولةٍ..
    مَنْ يطلقُ النَّارَ على الشَّعبِ الذي يحكمهُ
    أمْ أنَّهُ قرصانْ ؟
    لا تبكِ يا سوريّةْ
    لا تعلني الحدادَ
    فوقَ جسدِ الضحيَّة
    لا تلثمي الجرحَ
    و لا تنتزعي الشّظيّةْ
    القطرةُ الأولى مِنَ الدَّمِ الذي نزفتهِ
    ستحسمُ القضيّةْ
    قفي على رجليكِ يا ميسونَ..
    يا بنتَ بني أميّةْ
    قفي كسنديانةٍ..
    في وجهِ كلِّ طلقةٍ و كلِّ بندقية
    قفي كأي وردةٍ حزينةٍ..
    تطلعُ فوقَ شرفةٍ شاميّةْ
    و أعلني الصرَّخةَ في وجوههمْ
    حريّة
    و أعلني الصَّرخةَ في وجوههمْ
    حريّةْ

    Like

  114. Another Syrian star, whereabouts unknown! Because of blue eyed Ass.

    Orwa Nyrabia, a Syrian filmmaker and festival organizer who disappeared last week en route to Egypt. Nyrabia is believed to have been detained by Syrian security services as he prepared to board a flight from Damascus to Cairo.

    Nyrabia belongs to the emerging generation of Syrian filmmakers passionate about world cinema and passionate about freedom… Nyrabia and his wife formed the first production company in Syria independent of the government and founded Dox Box, a festival that brought international documentaries to Syria…often served as a jury member in film festivals in Europe and the Middle East. This year, he also organized a Dox Box Global Day to bring Syrian films to international audiences, showcasing insider views of continuing violence and government repression in Syria….its aim was to show the world “how poverty, oppression and isolation do not prevent humans from being spectacularly brave, stubborn and dignified.”…was collaborating with documentary director Omar Amiralay, an activist involved in the Damascus Spring, when Amiralay died in 2011.

    Nyrabia’s wife, Diana El-Jeiroudi, issued a statement last week saying she had had no contact with him and had heard from the airline that he did not board the plane.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/08/30/syrian-filmmaker.html

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  115. A private school in Damascus, where Anisa’s grandchildren- bushra the widowed and maher the invisible- attend.. Only 1/5 of the overall number of children re-registered. These children had voluntarily left with their parents, these children are the sons and daughters of Syria’s so called “elite”. Their homes are still standing, their bank accounts fattened and their losses is next to none -compared with rural Damascenes. Why did they leave?

    These children can no longer tolerate the constant bombardment on their city, the loud explosion of deadly bombs. Homs, Hama,..every city and vilage is not spared from the the ASSes wrath

    Like

  116. No one can keep up with ASSad daily achievements , the dead, the injured, the tortured, the disappeared, number of houses, schools,mosques and churches demolished.. historical monuments destroyed, artifacts robed and conspiracies weaved nowadays in the open…his latest, Austin Tice whereabouts unknown

    أعرب والد الصحافي الأمريكي الذي فقد في إحدى أخطر المناطق السورية، أوستين تايس، عن اعتقاده أن ولده معتقل من قبل حكومة الأسد، مناشداً الأسد لإطلاق سراحه.

    http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/08/31/235262.html

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  117. Last Thursday, Rami Nakhla met some friends after work at a Starbucks on Dupont Circle. They sat outside, and the sun glinted off a glass building and lighted their faces.

    For months, Nakhla and his friends, Syrian dissidents who in the past year fled the regime of Bashar al-Assad, had lived shrouded in darkness. Now, meeting openly at a cafe in Washington evoked mixed emotions: bemusement, relief and a twinge of survivor’s guilt for being safe when so many are still in danger.

    “If you do anything for yourself, you feel guilty. . . . You have so many more things to do,” said Nakhla, 29, a political asylee who is working as a program specialist at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Until last year, he had been a political science student living in an Alawite section of Damascus.

    For many asylees who come to the United States, their political engagement dries up as they lose their connections with home and struggle to earn a living. But Washington, with its think tanks and politically engaged expat communities, offers more opportunities for involvement for people like Nakhla, who is still deeply entrenched in the war in Syria.

    For eight months, through the auspices of the institute, Nakhla has been putting together “The Day After,” a nongovernmental organization that connects Syrian dissidents worldwide to develop a blueprint for what should happen once al-Assad is ousted. The NGO is funded mostly by the State Department, with additional funding from some European governments and NGOs.

    Nakhla and others on the board of the 50-member organization unveiled the 130-page plan Tuesday at a news conference in Berlin, where the group’s meetings have been held (many of its members live in the Middle East or Europe). The plan offers suggestions on how to address issues often inherent in a regime’s collapse, such as ….

    to view the rest, click here.

    http://advancinghumanrights.org/news/ahr_blogger_board_member_featured_in_washington_post

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  118. sadness and happiness?

    Watching the determination of Syrians during this noble Revolution was never an easy task. Watching the sheer brutality committed by a group of sadists is in itself excruciating. That oneness among Syrian activists, the selflessness..”I am no better than my friends” is a constant sentence you hear, their utter determination, their longing for justice and freedom will not stop. Solely, they will be victorious…

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  119. Helping refugees on humanitarian basis is the least they can do, that in itself is not based solely on goodwill, ex Jordan and Lebanon. They are cutting their hands and begging. Jordan AlHashemites is no different than Syria AlASSad. Two peas in a pod. Same age, their fathers dark history is more or less the same, vis a vis the Palestinians.

    “Jordan First” a 6year old phrase repeated by al-Hashemy and his ministers, ma-khalasna!

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  120. Those blah babbling are silent forever. “sectarian civil war” encore, encore, like a broken record… a cliche for the past 17 months.

    Syrians are not sectarian. We never were, never will be…the rest of the world has a lot to learn from us. This is a badge of honour, that very few, especially in the so called civilized nations can brag about. They want to force feed us. NEVER!

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  121. Voici une vidéo à ne pas manquer sur YouTube :

    admirable defiance of thse women

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  122. How Iranian translators distorted Morsy’s speech

    1. Morsi “Palestinians and Syrians are struggling for freedom” rendered Palestinians & Bahrainis.

    2. Morsi spoke of how the Arab Spring began etc. Translators said Bahrain instead of Syria & “Islamic awakening” instead of “Arab Spring”

    3. The veto paralysed the hands of UNSC to solve the Syrian crisis, rendered “Veto.. UNSC to solve popular demands” didn’t mention Syria.

    4. We declare our solidarity w/t Syrian ppl against injustice & repression, rendered “… solidarity w/t Syrian ppl against the conspiracy”.

    5. Morsi’s “opposition’s unity is a necessity”, rendered “we hope the regime remain in power because it has popular base”. 5/6

    6. AJA then concludes: After all this distortion, Iraians were probably wondering why Syria’s delegation then left the meeting hall. END

    تقرير الجزيرة عن تحريف التلفزيون الإيراني لكلمة مرسي

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  123. syrie سوريا بالإنجليزية: syria سوريا بالإيطالية: siria من عجائب اللغات: سوريا بالفرنسية
    ! سوريا بالفارسية: البحرين

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  124. مذيع قناة فرانس يبكي متاثراً من مجزرة داريا.. بينما عاهرة الدنيا تتراقص علئ الجثث وتقابل الضحايا بكل جمود

    http://po.st/hGApuL

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  125. “Bahrein” ! Such contempt for us mortals ! It is what riles me most about these regimes, their contempt. Remembering “elections” in Syria where people were forcefully dragged to the polling stations and handed a yes bulletin. I mean, how long did they think people would take that ?

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  126. Now Jordan is wanting $700 million from the int’l community so it can take care of Syrian refugees! How much of that is going to be REALLY spent on them and how much will be siphoned off by corrupt officials? I can see many rubbing their hands in gleeful expectation.

    Meanwhile, Syrian young girls are reportedly being married off to anyone, just so that their parents don’t have to worry about what might happen to them while they are homeless in refugee camps 😦
    http://www.rnw.nl/arabic/article/781816

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  127. (محمد العبدالله يمسح الأرض بريبال الأسد وأبيه (مترجم) W/English subtitled

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  128. Congratulations!

    Begun by Syrian women, “Syrian Freedom Waves” is a free radio station organized by activists working in their individual capacities and not representing any entities, states, or organizations.

    mission and vision

    The grassroots of the Syrian people has shown amazing bravery and resilience in demanding an end to authoritarian dictatorship and the opportunity to build a democratic Syria that guarantees human freedoms for all. The regime has met these widespread grassroots demands with horrific repression. Day after day, civilians continue to be disappeared, imprisoned, tortured and killed at the hands of a brutal regime.

    SFW’s mission is to establish a free radio station that amplifies the voices of Syrians for broadcast in Syria, to emphasize:

    The grassroots movement for a democratic civil society in Syria
    Vision for a strong, unified, democratic and free Syria
    Respect for the rule of law, due process, human rights and human dignity
    Freedom of expression, opinion and assembly
    Pluralism and non-sectarianism

    Syrian Freedom Waves affirms the four original principles of this revolution:

    Demanding the fall of the current regime in Syria
    Rejecting sectarian bigotry
    Pursuing nonviolent resistance
    Rejecting foreign military intervention in Syria

    To learn more about this much needed radio station..

    http://syrianfreedomwaves.org/

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  129. Mohja Kahf ‏@ProfKahf

    SyrianFreedomWaves Radio is a #woman -run volunteer project soon to stream.Meanwhile,hear podcasts of SFW pilot shows #Syria & RT @SFWRadio

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  130. FRIENDS
    There is a new post. I was for a while on travel with no easy access to wordpress, which prohibited my monitoring of the site.

    Dear MGB, are you still seeing strange behavior. It seems that wordpress has updated some software (I can see much faster loading as admin of admin tools). There were also a huge garbage of spams that may have caused the problems and some comments by dear friends that went into moderation for unknown reasons.

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