Protests in Syria

[High_Gravity]

Syria's Revolt: How Graffiti Stirred an Uprising

The words have been repeated from Tunisia to Egypt, from Yemen to Bahrain. "The people want the regime to fall" — the mantra of revolution. And so, last week, after 15 kids wrote those words on a wall in the agricultural town of Dara'a in southern Syria, the local governor decided to come down hard. The young people — all under 17 — were thrown in jail. The punishment stunned the town and, suddenly, Syria — so confidently authoritarian — got its first strong taste of rebellion in what is called the Arab Spring.

Syria remains a closed and walled-off nation. But descriptions of the uprising in Dara'a were dramatic. The alleged details included dozens of young men pelting a poster — in broad daylight — of a smiling President Bashar al-Assad; a statue of his late father and predecessor Hafiz al-Assad, demolished; official buildings including the ruling Baath Party's headquarters and the governor's office burned down. "There is no fear, there is no fear, after today there is no fear!" hundreds of men chant, captured in shaky mobile phone footage allegedly taken on Monday. Over the weekend, provincial security forces opened fire on the marchers, killing several.

President Assad responded immediately. Sending a high-ranking delegation to deliver his condolences to the families of the dead. The governor was cashiered and the 15 kids released. But, according to at least two dissident websites, protesters have given the Syrian government until Friday morning to meet a list of demands relayed back to the President by his delegation. If not, they threaten that this Friday will become the "Friday of the Martyrs" not just in Dara'a and its province, Hauran, which shares a border with Jordan, but throughout the country.

Read more: Syria's Revolt: How Graffiti Stirred an Uprising - TIME

 

[High_Gravity]

Security Forces In Syria Kill At Least 6 People

DAMASCUS, March 23 (Reuters) - Syrian forces killed at least six people on Wednesday in an attack on the Omari mosque in the southern city of Deraa, site of six days of unprecedented protests challenging Baath Party rule, residents said.

Those killed included Ali Ghassab al-Mahamid, a doctor from a prominent Deraa family who went to the mosque in the city's old quarter to help victims of the attack, said the residents.

It was not immediately clear whether the protesters had any weapons.

The attack, which occurred shortly after midnight, brought to 10 the number of civilians killed by Syrian forces in confrontations with protesters calling for political freedoms and an end to corruption.

No comment was immediately available from President Bashar al-Assad's government.

The attack occurred a day after the U.N. Office for Human Rights said the authorities "need to put an immediate halt to the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, especially the use of live ammunition".

The protesters, who erected tents in the mosque's grounds, said earlier they were going to remain at the site until their demands were met.

Before the attack, electricity was cut off in the area and telephone services were severed.

Cries of "Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest)" erupted across neighbourhoods in Deraa when the shooting began.

Security Forces In Syria Kill At Least 6 People

 

[ekrem]

Syria's Revolt: How Graffiti Stirred an Uprising

The 15 kids who had been detained will be released.
The Syrian government has set-up a coalition to investigate the incidents.
The residents have submitted their demands to the commission.
They demand the Governor of the town to be fired, the central bus-station relocated, gasoline prices decreased etc.

msnbc.com

 

[High_Gravity]

Thousands March to Protest Syria Killings

Thousands of people gathered in protest at funerals in the southern city of Dara’a on Thursday, despite a major crackdown by Syrian security forces that suggested that the country’s leaders would not tolerate pro-democracy protests like those that have swept other Arab nations.

Arab World Uprisings: A Country-by-Country LookAn assault on the central mosque there early Wednesday, and subsequent attacks by security forces, left an unknown number of deaths, some of which appeared to be documented in bloody videos posted on YouTube. An American official who would speak only on background about intelligence reporting said that “about 15 people” were killed by forces of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. Reuters quoted an unnamed hospital official in the city as putting the death toll at 37. Various Web sites were collecting names of those believed to be killed.

No violence was reported in the huge gatherings around the funerals for the dead on Thursday.

Information has trickled out slowly and incompletely from Syria, one of the most closed and repressive nations in the Middle East, which is closely allied both to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. But as the death toll from the Dara’a crackdown rose, Mr. Assad faced growing pressure both internally, as the protests spread around the south, and from other nations.

After calling the protesters’ grievances “justified,” one of Mr. Assad’s top advisers, Bouthaina Shaaban, announced a series of reforms that have been demanded by the protesters, including possibly suspending the long state of emergency rule, reducing corruption, establishing political parties and opening up the media.

Her statements came after Britain, France, Germany and the United Nations all condemned the violence.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, speaking on Thursday during a visit to the Mideast, said the Syrian government should learn from the example of Egypt, where the military played the role of broker during the popular uprising there that toppled the Mubarak government.

“What the Syrian government is confronting is in fact the same challenge that faces so many governments across the region — and that is the unmet political and economic grievances of their people,” Mr. Gates said during a news conference at the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/world/middleeast/25syria.html?ref=middleeast

 

[High_Gravity]

As Protests Mount, Is There a Soft Landing for Syria?

The Baathist regime that has ruled Syria for 48 years is on the ropes. Even President Bashar al-Assad himself seems to have been shocked by the level of violence used by Syria's security forces to suppress demonstrations that began a week ago, and on Thursday afternoon his office announced unprecedented concessions to popular demands. But the question of whether those concessions assuage protesters' concerns or prove to be too little too late may be answered on the streets after Friday prayers.

The protests began a week ago in the dusty agricultural town of Dara'a, near the border with Jordan, over the arrests of high school students for scrawling antigovernment graffiti. Those demonstrations quickly spun out of control, with thousands joining in, inspired by the wave of revolutions that have rocked the Arab world, to demand political freedoms and an end to emergency rule and corruption. The government responded brutally, killing over 30 demonstrators and wounding many more, according to activists. Gruesome videos of the crackdown, disseminated via the Internet in recent days, have enraged Syrians from one end of the country to the other.


On Thursday, the regime began to try a different tack, with Assad's spokeswoman Buthaina Shaaban offering the President's condolences to the people of Dara'a and acknowledging their "legitimate" demands, even as she insisted that reports of the scale of protests and the number of casualties had been exaggerated. Oddly, the President has himself not appeared on TV since Syria's political troubles began, apparently hoping to protect himself from criticism. But Shaaban insisted that Assad was completely against the use of live fire in suppressing the demonstrations. She emphasized that she had been present in the room when the President ordered the security agencies to refrain from shooting at protesters — "not one bullet."

But the only promised concessions that can be taken to the bank are pay rises for state employees of up to 30%, and the release of all activists arrested in the past weeks. Other reforms, which the regime undertook to study, are job creation, press freedom, permitting the formation of opposition parties and lifting emergency law. Should they be implemented, those changes would be nothing short of revolutionary. But many activists have already dismissed Assad's offer as a stalling tactic to make it through the next few days of funerals and, most importantly, Friday prayers. The opposition has called for Syrians to assemble in large numbers in mosques for a day of "dignity" and demonstrations.

Read more: Syria: Can the President's Concessions Pacify Protesters? - TIME

 

[ekrem]

Syria has announced that it will implement democratic reforms.
Emergency law will be abolished as 1st step.


Turkey warns Syria it must implement reforms quickly

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey has urged neighbouring Syria to quickly apply reforms to meet legitimate demands in the country, which has been shaken by violent protests against its autocratic regime.
The Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Syria must apply reforms "without losing time."

Turkey warns Syria it must implement reforms quickly - Yahoo! News

PM Erdogan has advised Assad to approach Syrians with a democratic attitude

“I told him to take lessons from what has been happening in the region,” he said. Assad should find a different way than the other leaders in the region, by approaching his people with a democratic attitude, Erdoğan said.

Turkey anxious over protests in Syria - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review

 

[High_Gravity]

Syria has announced that it will implement democratic reforms.
Emergency law will be abolished as 1st step.


Turkey warns Syria it must implement reforms quickly

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey has urged neighbouring Syria to quickly apply reforms to meet legitimate demands in the country, which has been shaken by violent protests against its autocratic regime.
The Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Syria must apply reforms "without losing time."

Turkey warns Syria it must implement reforms quickly - Yahoo! News

PM Erdogan has advised Assad to approach Syrians with a democratic attitude

“I told him to take lessons from what has been happening in the region,” he said. Assad should find a different way than the other leaders in the region, by approaching his people with a democratic attitude, Erdoğan said.

Turkey anxious over protests in Syria - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review

Will this be enough to appease the protestors? how can you drop emergency law when there are riots and people being shot in the streets?

 

[Ropey]

Syria has announced that it will implement democratic reforms.
Emergency law will be abolished as 1st step.

Turkey warns Syria it must implement reforms quickly

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey has urged neighbouring Syria to quickly apply reforms to meet legitimate demands in the country, which has been shaken by violent protests against its autocratic regime.
The Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Syria must apply reforms "without losing time."

Turkey warns Syria it must implement reforms quickly - Yahoo! News

PM Erdogan has advised Assad to approach Syrians with a democratic attitude

“I told him to take lessons from what has been happening in the region,” he said. Assad should find a different way than the other leaders in the region, by approaching his people with a democratic attitude, Erdoğan said.

Turkey anxious over protests in Syria - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review

Turkey needs to admit their genocide in the past and their attempts to genocide the Kurds in the present. And more. Until then, they just open their mouths with blabber about other countries.

See how that works ekrem?

Historic Armenia has no Armenians left. Where did they all go?

Historic Turkey has no Armenians either. Where are all the Kurds going?

Underground? Like the Armenians ekrem?

I've demanded my account to be deleted.

You stand to your word and honor in the same way Turkey stands to its word and horror.

 

[Jos]

What would you known of word and honor Canadian, but israeli firster

 

[ekrem]

Chief of Intelligence Organization has been sent to Syria.
“We have a border of 800 kilometers [with Syria] and we have family relations. We cannot remain silent.”

Turkey urges reforms in Syria, dispatches intelligence chief - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review


Erdogan said, "we did not receive a negative answer when we urged Mr Assad to listen to the voice of people. I hope he makes the announcement today or tomorrow."
Turkish PM expects Assad to announce reforms soon | Diplomacy | World Bulletin

 

[High_Gravity]

Syria Protests: Two Americans Detained During Demonstrations

CAIRO -- Syrian authorities have detained two Americans amid an unprecedented wave of protests in the repressive Middle East nation, relatives and state media said Saturday.

Syria's state news agency Sana alleged that a man with dual U.S.-Egyptian citizenship had "confessed" to selling photos and videos of demonstrations to a Colombian woman. He was later identified by relatives as Mohammed Radwan, 32, of Austin, Texas.

Syrian government television has been blaming foreigners, among others, for the unrest that began more than a week ago.

Radwan's cousin, Nora Shalaby, told The Associated Press that she last heard from him on Friday when he tweeted that he was at a mosque in Damascus where security forces were clashing with anti-government protesters.

Shalaby said her cousin was an engineer and had been working in Syria.

The state news agency said Radwan also confessed to visiting Israel. Syria is formally at war with the Jewish state, and visiting Israel is considered taboo. The accusation is sometimes used as a hint that they believe the person is a spy.

Meanwhile, a Vermont man said his 21-year-old son Pathik "Tik" Root – who had been missing since March 18 – has been found to be safe in Syrian custody.

Tom Root said his son, a Middlebury College student who had been studying Arabic in Damascus as part of a program through Damascus University – was detained during a demonstration in the capital.

Root said in a message posted Saturday on Middlebury's website that he believes his son was watching, and not participating, in the demonstration.

Syria Protests: Two Americans Detained During Demonstrations

 

[High_Gravity]

In Syria, a test for Bashar Assad

Reporting from Cairo— Syrian President Bashar Assad tried to retain control of his protest-roiled nation on Sunday, sending troops to the site of recent clashes and promising through subordinates to remove a controversial emergency law used to detain dissidents without trial.

But there were signs that the unrest continued to test the political skill of Assad, who came to power in 2000 after his father's 29-year rule. Political analysts pondered the regional implications of the stress being placed on his regime.

A presidential advisor told reporters Sunday that Assad would address the nation on state television "within 24 to 48 hours." The president has largely remained out of view since his forces first fired on unarmed protesters in the southern city of Dara on March 18. The death toll from such clashes has climbed past 60.

Assad's remarks were expected to detail his pledge to remove the 1963 emergency law, which strictly limits Syrians' ability to assemble or voice opposition to the regime. The government first signaled a willingness to relax the law on Thursday, but it did not give a timetable or scope for the pullback, and the pledge failed to stem widespread protests.

Army troops were sent Sunday to the small coastal city of Latakia, the site of the latest clashes with protesters. Government officials blamed "armed gangs" for violence there. News reports said six people have died and more than 100 have been injured.

Witnesses said the violence began when protesters set fire to a building housing the ruling Baath Party on Saturday, an event that was especially brazen because the Assad family's political and business connections run deep in the city.

Damascus, the capital, was skittish Sunday. Citizens received text messages from the government warning them not to go to Umaweyeen Square where security forces apparently fretted protesters would reemerge. The city buzzed with reports about detained foreigners, including Muhammad Bakr Radwan, a dual U.S.-Egyptian citizen who was accused of selling photographs to international outlets.

Syria protests: President Bashar Assad tries to maintain control - latimes.com

 

[Sunni Man]

President Assad, and the other rulers, plus the military of Syria are non Muslims known as Alawite's.

Syria is around 10% Alawite and 1% Druse

Alawite's and Druse are such a far out Islamic "cult" that even the Shiite's don't claim them.

The rest of the population is 74% Sunni Muslims, 10% Jewish, and and 5% Christian.

Hopefully the Sunni people of Syria will rise up and expel the corrupt Assad government from power.

 

[Trajan]

The BBC has reports via one of their translators that farsi speaking blokes ( Quds force compliments of Iran) are cracking heads, and Hezbollah has sent ion some of their goons.

*shrugs* its all good, Vogue got their shot in before the outbreak of .......the unpleasantness.

hey a little light reading... those publishers certainly do love providing equal coverage don't they?


Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert

Asma al-Assad, Syria’s dynamic first lady, is on a mission to create a beacon of culture and secularism in a powder-keg region—and to put a modern face on her husband’s regime.

Asma al-Assad is glamorous, young, and very chic—the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies. Her style is not the couture-and-bling dazzle of Middle Eastern power but a deliberate lack of adornment. She’s a rare combination: a thin, long-limbed beauty with a trained analytic mind who dresses with cunning understatement. Paris Match calls her “the element of light in a country full of shadow zones.” She is the first lady of Syria.

more unfortunately at-
Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert - Vogue Daily - Vogue

looks like he instructing his son on the standard art of munitions and detonation training.
( hat tip WS)

 

[High_Gravity]

President Assad, and the other rulers, plus the military of Syria are non Muslims known as Alawite's.

Syria is around 10% Alawite and 1% Druse

Alawite's and Druse are such a far out Islamic "cult" that even the Shiite's don't claim them.

The rest of the population is 74% Sunni Muslims, 10% Jewish, and and 5% Christian.

Hopefully the Sunni people of Syria will rise up and expel the corrupt Assad government from power.

So you support the Syrians over throwing Assad, but you are against the Bahraini people in their protests?

 

[Sunni Man]

So you support the Syrians over throwing Assad, but you are against the Bahraini people in their protests?

Take a look at my username.

That should answer your question.

 

[Ropey]

So you support the Syrians over throwing Assad, but you are against the Bahraini people in their protests?

Take a look at my username.

That should answer your question.

But Shia and Sunny love each other. Don't they Sunni Man? Both Muslims? Killing each other in this religion of peace.

Yeah, it shows.

 

[High_Gravity]

So you support the Syrians over throwing Assad, but you are against the Bahraini people in their protests?

Take a look at my username.

That should answer your question.

It sounds like the people in Bahrain and Syria have similar problems, the people in Bahrain are Shite but they are still Muslims, I thought you would have more empathy for them.

 

[Sunni Man]

So you support the Syrians over throwing Assad, but you are against the Bahraini people in their protests?

Take a look at my username.

That should answer your question.

It sounds like the people in Bahrain and Syria have similar problems, the people in Bahrain are Shite but they are still Muslims, I thought you would have more empathy for them.

The only time I cheer for the Shia is when they are kicking Israeli posterior like they did in Lebanon.

 

[High_Gravity]

Take a look at my username.

That should answer your question.

It sounds like the people in Bahrain and Syria have similar problems, the people in Bahrain are Shite but they are still Muslims, I thought you would have more empathy for them.

The only time I cheer for the Shia is when they are kicking Israeli posterior like they did in Lebanon.

When did that happen? I don't recall the Shia beating the Israelis at anything.