Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 475 Location: North London
Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:51 pm Post subject: Witness in Syria
The media again
The media’s lying about Syria. You wouldn’t expect the Orthodox Christian Church is the world’s oldest Christian church, to lie
http://www.antiochian.org/
Antiochian Delegation to Damascus, Syria
His Eminence Metropolitan Philip, Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America writes:
http://www.antiochian.org/delegation-syria-2011
‘…The reports we receive on an almost daily basis from our Patriarch and various Metropolitans of the See of Antioch, together with our many contacts in Syria do not agree with the reports we see and hear in Western media such as CNN, Fox News, and others. Likewise, many of the gulf sponsored Arabic news channels like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya seem to portray a dire situation in Syria when the reality based on our many contacts there appears to be something quite the contrary.
Because of this contradiction, and because our office has been inundated with letters, emails and phone calls about the situation in Syria, we felt it necessary to send a delegation made up of a group of some of our convert priests, other religious leaders from non-Orthodox communities, and an international lawyer to see first-hand the situation and report back to me and to all of you, the faithful of our God-protected Archdiocese…’
‘…Our last meeting, which lasted until about three o’clock in the morning of our final day in Syria, was with the leading Islamic cleric in the country known as the Grand Mufti, the spiritual father of Syria’s 70% Sunni majority…
…The Grand Mufti was also very pro-Assad and criticized what he called the huge fabrication the Western media was advancing by using unverified You-Tube films in its reports. He had been at those locations, he declared, exactly when some of the alleged uprisings and violence were occurring, and he saw nothing to support the exaggerations of the Western press. The Grand Mufti speculated that there was a 90% approval rating for President Assad in Syria, compared to the current 39% approval for President Obama in the United States…’
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:14 pm Post subject:
Arab League is ‘under Western petrodollar influence’
Published: 13 February, 2012, 23:15
http://rt.com/news/arab-league-west-syria-213/
The Arab League is lobbying for a UN peacekeeping initiative in Syria. Tony Gosling, an investigative journalist, says the organization is heavily influenced by the West, which is moving towards conflict.
“The Arab League now has become simply a tool of the West, because the most powerful countries in there are very much under the Western petrodollar influence,”Gosling explained, adding that the body no longer represents the interests of Arab people.
Meanwhile, the journalist asserts that Western policy is divided into the official and unofficial whereby, officially, the Western countries seek negotiations but, unofficially, carry out “constant cover attacks against the Assad regime.”
Gosling says the current crisis looks “as if NATO are trying to just simply replay the script they wrote for the Libyan uprising.”
The journalist says NATO have been “ruthless” in manipulating the rebels in order to get them to fight the Assad regime.
“Many of the rebel fighters in Syria are playing into the hands of NATO,” he added.
Gosling strongly warns that intervention in Syria will bring drastic consequences.
“Assad has made it crystal clear if there is an intervention in Syria he will then attack Israel. If this does happen it may even cause a nuclear exchange in the Middle East, which could be the first shots of a third world war.”
The only way to save Syria, the journalist says, is through negotiated settlement, “but the actions of the West are, unfortunately, heading for more conflict.” _________________ www.lawyerscommitteefor9-11inquiry.org www.rethink911.org www.patriotsquestion911.com www.actorsandartistsfor911truth.org www.mediafor911truth.org www.pilotsfor911truth.org www.mp911truth.org www.ae911truth.org www.rl911truth.org www.stj911.org www.v911t.org www.thisweek.org.uk www.abolishwar.org.uk www.elementary.org.uk www.radio4all.net/index.php/contributor/2149 http://utangente.free.fr/2003/media2003.pdf
"The maintenance of secrets acts like a psychic poison which alienates the possessor from the community" Carl Jung
https://37.220.108.147/members/www.bilderberg.org/phpBB2/
Uploaded by FeloniousVendetta on 6 Jan 2012
Two Russian warships are expected to arrive in Syria on Saturday, the state-run Itar-Tass news agency reported, a visit that will likely be seen as a show of force and a display of support for President Bashar al-Assad's government.
The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and the frigate Yaroslav Mudry are scheduled to put in at Russia's naval maintenance and supply facility in the Syrian port of Tartus, Itar-Tass cited an unnamed representative of the navy's general staff as saying.
Uploaded by infolivetvenglish on 21 Aug 2008
Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Russia on Thursday for a two-day visit during which he is seeking to purchase advanced weaponry from Moscow including the Pantsyr-S1 Air Defense Missile system, the BUK-M1 surface-to-air medium-range missile system and the sophisticated S-300 long range anti-aircraft missile system already purchased by Iran. Syria has also reportedly offered to allow Moscow to deploy its Russian Iskander missile system, an advanced short-range, solid fuel-propelled missile, in its territory. The new Russo-Syrian military cooperation comes in reaction to the recent US-Poland missile deal which positions NATO missile systems on Russia's western front, eliciting harsh threats and criti
_________________ 'Come and see the violence inherent in the system.
Help, help, I'm being repressed!'
“The more you tighten your grip, the more Star Systems will slip through your fingers.”
Uploaded by RTAmerica on 13 Feb 2012
Nearly a week ago, China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to oust the Bashar al-Assad's government. The remaining members of the UN Security Council criticized the two countries for the veto, but Russia and China fear Syria will share the same fate as Libya. Russia took matters into their own hands by offering to host peace talks between the Rebels and the Syrian government but the rebels have refused the offer. But despite the UN Security Council's failed resolution the US prepares for military actions against Syria ignoring the UN. Here is our report.
Joined: 13 Sep 2006 Posts: 2568 Location: One breath from Glory
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 11:09 pm Post subject:
US could gain a bit of credibility (in some eyes) if they move on Syria without total UN backing to rescue the anti govt people getting shelled-- this might give them an extra push to try a preemptive attack on Iran _________________ JO911B.
"for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places " Eph.6 v 12
Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 6060 Location: East London
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 11:49 pm Post subject:
fish5133 wrote:
US could gain a bit of credibility (in some eyes) if they move on Syria without total UN backing to rescue the anti govt people getting shelled-- this might give them an extra push to try a preemptive attack on Iran
What?
Check these links, and remember what you know about 'False Flag' ops (9/11, 7/7, Northwoods ad finitum), and also what is generally known, i.e. that nations come up with 'atrocity stories' about the countries they wish to attack ('babies taken out of incubators and thrown on the cold floor', tearfully related by a 15 year old Kuwaiti girl, on national US TV: the 'young girl' was later identified by journalists with 'cohones' to have been the daughter of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the US, who had been coached how to present the total lies by one of the biggest PR firms in the States):
Some useful info re anti-Syrian regime machinations:
Redesigning the region and rewriting its map - that is the Western agenda in the Middle East, insists Galtung, specifying that "above all of that - protection of expansionist Israel." http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29877.htm
What the Syrian 'demonisation' is about, is a persuance of US plans to take over the world (starting with the Muslim countries not already in their pockets), clearly enunciated by Wesley Clark on the '7 governemts in 5 years' video link. _________________ 'And he (the devil) said to him: To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them'. Luke IV 5-7.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 2:52 am Post subject:
11 Days To Stop World War Three? US says it's 'laughable' to vote for a new constitution. Don't they believe in democracy?
Syrian govt to hold referendum for new constitution on Feb 26 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-02/16/content_14619257.htm
DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has decreed to hold a referendum for a new constitution on Feb 26, the official SANA state news agency reported on Wednesday.
"President Bashar al-Assad issued today a decree setting Sunday, Feb 26, as the date for the referendum on the draft constitution," SANA reported.
Syrian state television said the new constitution would allow the "people to govern the people" under a new multi-party democratic system.
It said that under the proposed text, freedom is "a sacred right" and that any violation of personal freedom is considered a crime punishable by law.
Assad received a copy of the draft constitution on Sunday from the head of a national committee entrusted with drafting a new constitution, SANA said, adding that after the president reviewed the draft it would then be referred to the People's Assembly before being put up for a referendum.
The committee's members stressed that the new constitution had been written in a way that would preserve the dignity and rights of the Syrian people, according to SANA.
The committee has also decided to limit the presidential terms to a maximum of two seven-year mandates.
The Syrian president decreed the formation of a national committee on Oct 15 to prepare a draft constitution within four months. The committee comprises 29 academics, lawyers and opposition figures.
Amending the constitution, particularly canceling an article which states that the ruling Baath party is the leader of the nation and the society, has been one of the main demands of Syrian protesters.
The amendment of the article would pave the way for the formation of new political parties besides the Baath party and 11 other closely associated parties known as the National Progressive Front.
At the time, he said it could be put to a popular vote as early as March, although that date for the ballot has now been brought forward.
Syria's government lifted a state of emergency in April last year and in July adopted a law allowing a multi-party political system.
Government raids
Syrian government forces attacked the opposition strongholds of Homs and Hama on Wednesday and also raided a district of Damascus in the closest military operation to the capital's center since the uprising against Assad broke out 11 months ago.
Elite forces backed by armored personnel carriers erected roadblocks in main streets of Damascus' residential Barzeh neighborhood, searched houses and made arrests, witnesses said.
Residents said they were looking for opposition activists and members of the rebel Free Syrian Army, which has provided armed protection for protests against Assad in the district.
imo there is no way Russia will just walk away from their last foothold in the Med!!!
EDIT* Could this be why the Polish were downed and Libya attacked also?
Remember it's openly admitted now that Georgia was a proxy war backed by the West. _________________ 'Come and see the violence inherent in the system.
Help, help, I'm being repressed!'
“The more you tighten your grip, the more Star Systems will slip through your fingers.”
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:43 pm Post subject:
Marie Colvin:
"I watched a little baby die today... this is happening over and over and over"
"Free Syrian Army are lightly armed", people here are terrified in case they leave.
What were they doing in the killing zone?
Was it really a Syrian shell that killed them?
Reuters wrote:
U.S., French journalists killed in Syria
Western journalists killed in Homs shelling
6:04am EST
Amateur video claims to show bodies of Western journalists killed in Homs
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Erika Solomon
AMMAN/BEIRUT | Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:26am EST
(Reuters) - American correspondent Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday when rockets fired by government forces hit the house they were staying in, opposition activists and witnesses said.
At least two other journalists and possibly more were wounded in the attack, the Syrian Network for Human Rights said.
One of the wounded was named as British photographer Paul Conroy, the other as Edith Bouvier of France's Le Figaro newspaper. She was said to be in serious condition.
A witness contacted by Reuters from Amman said shells hit the house in the opposition-held Baba Amro district of Homs which was being used as a media centre. A rocket hit them when they tried to escape.
Colvin and Ochlik were both prize-winning veterans of wars in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere.
The British-based Colvin, who worked for the Sunday Times, lost an eye when she suffered a shrapnel wound while working in Sri Lanka in 2001. In public appearances after that attack, she wore a black eye patch.
Among her awards was a Martha Gelhorn Prize in 2009 for distinguished work over many years
Ochlik was born in France in 1983 and first covered conflict in Haiti at the age of 20. Most recently he photographed the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
He won first prize for general news in this year's World Press Photo awards for a photo of a rebel fighter in Libya and ran his own agency, IP3 Press.
In Paris, Reporters Without Borders said Bouvier working as a freelancer for Le Figaro newspaper.
Video broadcast from Homs showed the bodies among the rubble.
"We don't know if the building was deliberately targeted... we urge Syrian authorities to stop bombing Homs, said its Middle East director, Soazig Dollet.
Activist Abu Thaer said four journalists were wounded. They were being treated in a makeshift hospital but there was nothing that could be done for them and they needed to be urgently evacuated.
"There is hardly any medical equipment or medicine to treat people," he said on Skype.
SUSTAINED BOMBARDMENTS
The Syrian conflict is especially dangerous for journalists to cover as opposition and rebel forces are for the most part bottled up in enclaves which can only be reached by hazardous journeys.
A Syrian photographer, Rami al-Sayed, died on Tuesday because there was nothing to treat him with, Abu Thaer said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have also documented the deaths of at least other four Syrian journalists.
Syria banned almost all foreign journalists from the start of the uprising March 2011, but has started issuing short-term visas for a limited number of journalists, who are allowed to move around accompanied by government minders.
Gilles Jacquier, of the French TV station France 2, was killed in January while on a government-authorized reporting visit to Homs. Last week New York Times reporter Anthony Shadid died of an asthma attack while returning to Turkey from an opposition zone.
Pro-opposition areas of Homs have been under a sustained bombardment from government forces since February 3. Several hundred people have been killed, activists say.
YouTube video from Homs activist Khalied Abu Salah, showed him standing in the rubble next to the bodies of Colvin and Ochlik, on the floor of a grey concrete hallway scarred with bullet marks and cracks from the blasts.
"These are the bodies of the American journalist Marie Colvin and this is the French journalist Remi Ochlik. They are martyrs of the random shelling on the neighborhood of Baba Amro ... There are others injured, among them the journalist Edith who works for Le Figaro."
He raises his fist defiantly and calls for urgent aid to treat the wounded in Baba Amro.
"I am sending a message to the European Union to move immediately. The blood of your own has mixed with Syrian blood. You need to move now," he shouts.
(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Erika Solomon; Writing by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Alison Williams)
The European Union plans to freeze the assets of the Syrian Central Bank starting next Monday, declared French Foreign Minister Alan Juppe, as quoted by Reuters.
The new sanction will hit Syria the day after the referendum on the new constitution set for February 26.
"Starting from Monday, we will take new strong measures, notably a freezing of the assets of the Syrian Central Bank," Juppe announced.
The statement comes as the minister is in Tunisia attending the “Friends of Syria” meeting.
Another participant in the event, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on Friday called on all nations to freeze Syrian assets and boycott oil from the country.
Syria has been the target of a range of sanctions since unrest broke out in the country in mid-March. All in all, the EU has agreed more than 10 rounds of sanctions against the regime of President Bashar Assad, placing asset freezes and travel bans on more than a hundred parties, including companies and individuals.
_________________ 'Come and see the violence inherent in the system.
Help, help, I'm being repressed!'
“The more you tighten your grip, the more Star Systems will slip through your fingers.”
BEIJING- As International pressure mounted on the Syrian government to open up the country to humanitarian aid; the official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary that China's position on Syria was balanced and that "most of the Arab countries have begun to realize that the United States and Europe are hiding a dagger behind a smile."
"In other words, while they appear to be acting out of humanitarian concern, they are actually harboring hegemonistic ambitions," it said.
In a commentary titled "Political Settlement is Best Way out of Crisis in Syria", Xinhua said Saturday that more Arab countries are gradually becoming aware that foreign interference by western powers will not bring about democracy, freedom or justice, rather it will create chaos, unrest and suffering in the Middle East.
Chinese official agency added that China's stance on Syria is firm as it always hopes that the issue can be solved through political dialogue within the framework of the Arab League.
Xinhua also pointed out that China has repeatedly stressed that the international community should respect the sovereignty, stability and unity of Syria and the independent decision of the Syrian people in addition to the outcome of political dialogue among various sides in Syria.
Xinhua noted that china supports the calls for ending violence immediately in Syria, protecting civilians, offering humanitarian aid to Syria and rejecting military foreign intervention.
The United States and Europe are "harboring hegemonistic ambitions" in Syria, China's state news agency said Saturday, a day after Beijing was condemned at an international conference held to find a way to halt the Syrian regime's nearly year-old suppression of an anti-government uprising.
At the Friends of Syria meeting in Tunisia, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton blasted Russia and China as "despicable" for vetoing U.N. Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning the crackdown by President Bashar Assad's government.
"They are clearly not on the side of the Syrian people," Clinton said.
Both China and Russia boycotted the Friends of Syria conference, which Xinhua said ended with a "broad consensus" on avoiding a militarization of the conflict in Syria.
The conference urged Assad to end the violence immediately and allow humanitarian aid into areas hit by his regime's crackdown. It also proposed tighter sanctions on the country and Assad's inner circle.
Press reports indicated Saturday that calls and faxes to China's Foreign Ministry on Saturday asking for comment on Clinton's charges were not immediately answered.
Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at several news conferences this week that China wanted more information on the goals and mechanisms of the conference before it would attend. Xinhua quoted him as saying China was a friend of the Syrian people, and that "any action taken by the international community should help to cease tensions, boost political dialogues, resolve differences and maintain peace and stability in the Middle East."
The Foreign Ministry emphasized that the "crime was committed by parties that are supported by Arab and Western countries in violation of their international obligations and with the determination to undermine the security of Syria and its citizens."
It seems that some countries in the region encourage an international mobilization against Syria under the guise of humanitarian arguments, while they are harboring armed terrorist groups who choose to murder as a means to achieve their destructive goals.
In their note, the Government "demands that those who give refuge, support, funding and arms to these terrorist groups extradite these criminals according to international law and resolutions on the fight against terrorism."
The note also points to the countries and media that provide political and propaganda coverage to these terrorists to stop such practices, according to the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
Syria has been receiving demonstrations of support and condemnation of terrorist violence, particularly against the suicide bombings in Aleppo.
Deputy Russian Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, confirmed on Friday the presence of British commandos and Qataris on the territory of Syria. It was made public after the Israeli digital website DEBKAfile broadcast such a possibility.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:51 am Post subject:
WW3 Trigger: US To Implement Syria Aerial Blockade?
Posted by Alexander Higgins - February 27, 2012 at 2:59 am - Permalink - Source via Alexander Higgins Blog
Despite repeated warnings from Russian and China to respect the sovereignty of Syria’s airspace, the US plans on implement an aerial blockade without UN backing
Israel’s second largest newspaper is quoting a U.S. military official who has outlined a plan to implement a U.S. backed aerial blockade over Syria, reminiscent of the NATO lead no-fly zone over however.
However, the news paper reports the plan is to be modeled after NATO’s intervention in Kosovo which led to shelling of the nation.
According to the report the plan calls for the establishment of international humanitarian missions to handle Syrian refugees before the blockade is to be implemented.
Earlier U.S. drones were reported to be operating over Syria which prompted Iran to say Syria has the right to shoot down the drones and stern warnings from China and Russia to respect Syria’s sovereignty.
Of course an aerial blockade, which would essentially mean nothing in or out, backed by U.S. airpower, will not work in Syria unless it is accompanied by a naval blockade.
That presents another problem, since Russia and Iran have sent warships to Syria within the past few weeks and will not take kindly to being told they can not continue to do so.
Clearly, Russia, China and Iran have joined forces and said that Syria is the line drawn in the sand just as allied forces drew the line in the sand in Czechoslovakia before Hitler invaded marking the official start of World War 3.
Even if those nations don’t respond immediately with a declaration of war, a situation is created in which many events could occur for either side could us as a pretense to justify all out war.
Analysts are already saying the economic blockade sanctions against Iran is an act of war so an aerial and naval blockade surely fits the criteria.
We already know that Iranian military forces are on the ground.
A clash between those forces and western force could spark an uncontrollable chain reaction that would lead to a complete meltdown of foreign relations between the east and the west.
Let’s also not forget that Syria has hundreds, if not thousands of Surface to Air missiles, which are more than capable of shooting down military air craft in their skies.
Clearly with Iran knowing they are the next target after Syria, it is more likely they will wage a proxy war on Syrian soil than their own.
That war of course will have the full backing of both Russian and China.
Make no mistake about it, the situation in the Middle East looks like it is head straight toward a dead-end called World War 3 faster than we know it.
Obama has already invoked the NDAA declaring the threat from Iran a national emergency.
Israel knows war is going to breakout soon, evidenced by the embassies located there have already began making preparations for war by and diplomats their have began ordering gas mask, putting their military on high-alert and their deployment of the Iron Dome Battery over Tel-Aviv for the first time.
The media has been making emergency preparations to broadcast the war with Iran, measures which telling their contractors to implement redundancies to broadcast during war and renting out several Tel-Aviv roof tops to shoot news coverage from.
Iran has cut oil to France and the UK, and just yesterday to Greece as well.
Surely Iran is outraged by the admission of top U.S. officials that Israel is sponsoring and controlling the terrorists that are conducting assassinations and bombings inside of Iran.
It is also no secret that the Pentagon has been preparing for war in Syria and U.S. officials have warned the international militarization of Syria is growing closer.
The question is for how long? Let’s not forget General Wesley Clark told us that immediately after 9/11 the US had plans to invade seven nations — Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Lybia, Somalia, Afghanistan and, Iran.
We are working on Syria and Iran right now.
YT News reports on the US plan to implement the aerial blockade which has the potential to trigger world war 3
‘US to announce aerial blockade on Syria’
US readies for possibility of intervention without UN resolution, Asharq Al-Awsat reports, citing US military official; plan to include humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees on Turkey’s border
The Pentagon is readying for the possibility of intervention in Syria, aiming to halt Syrian President Bashsar Assad’s violent crackdown on protesters, the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday, citing a US military offical.
According to the official, the intervention scenario calls for the establishment of a buffer zone on the Turkish border, in order to receive Syrian refugees. The Red Cross would then provide the civilians humanitarian aid, before NATO crews would arrive from Turkey and join the efforts.
Related articles:
US to use ‘every tool available’ to stop Assad
‘Friends of Syria’ ready ultimatum for Assad
Syria: We’re not responsible for journalists’ deaths
The measure would pave the way for the US to declare an aerial blockade on Syria.
The intercession is to be modeled after NATO’s efforts in Kosovo, which brought an end to the Serbian control of the region. NATO’s plan of action included prolonged aerial shelling.
The US’ diplomatic efforts have yet to yield an effective international resolution that would stop the bloodshed. More than 100 protesters have died over the weekend alone, human rights activists said.
Russia, China to join aid efforts?
According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Pentagon does not anticipate a change of heart on the part of China or Russia, who have opposed foreign intervention or sanctions against Syria. But the US expects the two nations to join the humanitarian aid efforts, support a ceasefire between the Syrian regime and rebels and send special UN envoys to investigate the developments in the country.
The next step in the reported US Department of Defense plan would be to appoint a team of UN observers to monitor the humanitarian aid, and enter Syria. They would need aerial protection, which would eventually lead to an aerial blockade.
The military official said in the interview that the plan is a cautious one, and takes into account the Syrian air force’s advanced capabilities.
In his most forceful words to date on the Syrian crisis, US President Barack Obama said Friday the US and its allies would use “every tool available” to end the bloodshed by Assad’s government.
[...]
Source: YT News
Accroding to DEBKAfile, which is known for printing highly speculative and unconformable intelligence reports, the plan may already be underway as intelligence officials report the first international humanitarian aid convoys have entered Syria and reached the rebels in the city of Homs..
Failure of Red Cross-Damascus talks brings foreign intervention closer
International Red Cross spokesman in Geneva reported Saturday night, Feb. 25 that talks with the Assad government for evacuating wounded civilians from the bombed Homs district of Baba Amr had “yielded no concrete results.” The evacuations which began Friday were halted after one day. The talks will continue Sunday.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the regime interrupted the aid operation after deciding it was the opening shot toward implementing the US-European-Arab-Turkish plan for setting up safe havens in badly bombed Syrian regions, thereby removing them from central government control. At the same time, if Assad imagined that keeping the Red Cross out would scuttle the plan, he was mistaken; the longer the talks with the Red Cross are stalled, the sooner this plan is likely to be imposed unilaterally.
Earlier Feb. 25, DEBKAfile reported:
Under the protection of the United States, Turkey, Britain, France, Italy, Qatar and the UAE, the first Red Cross convoys reached Homs Friday, Feb. 24. They began evacuating untreated injured victims and bringing medical aid to the city devastated and beleaguered by Bashar Assad’s troops. This ICRC corridor marked the first step toward foreign intervention in the Syrian crisis.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report exclusively that it came about after Washington and Ankara warned Assad through confidential channels that if his forces interfered with the emergency medical route for Homs, US and Turkish warplanes would take off from air bases in East Turkey and give the medical convoys air cover, thereby opening the door for a Western-Arab plan for resolving the Syrian crisis (which was first revealed exclusively in DEBKA-Net-Weekly 530 out Friday, Feb. 23.)
Assad’s response to the warning is unknown.
[...]
Our intelligence sources report that expectation of international protection for Homs was signified Friday by the insistence of two injured Western correspondents, Paul Conroy of the Sunday Times and Edith Bouvier of La Figaro, that they would only leave the battered city if evacuated by the International Red Cross.
They were injured in the same bombardment of the Baba Amr district of Homs which last week killed Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik in their clandestine press center.
Conditions of the 20,000 to 30,000 people trapped in Bab Amr are worsening by the hour, the Red Cross spokesman in London reported, as sensitive negotiations take place between the ICRC and the Damascus government. They aim at gaining protection for the city of Homs and an aid corridor through which to evacuate the wounded to Turkey and bring in essential supplies, granting them the status of “safe havens” free of a Syrian military presence.
In the initial stage of this plan, Western officials are talking about cooperation between the Syrian Red Crescent and the International Red Cross. Such cooperation if it took place might signify Assad’s willingness to go along with the international effort – or at least tolerate it without resistance.
The creation of a safe haven in Homs, initially to provide the distressed populations with medical and humanitarian aid, would serve as a precedent for other parts of Syria and obviously diminish the regime’s control over the country. This is clearly more than Assad is willing to accept as of now.
Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 6060 Location: East London
Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:29 am Post subject:
Visiting delegation gives lie to Western Media lies:
Antiochian Delegation to Damascus, Syria
His Eminence Metropolitan Philip, Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America writes:
http://www.antiochian.org/delegation-syria-2011
‘…The reports we receive on an almost daily basis from our Patriarch and various Metropolitans of the See of Antioch, together with our many contacts in Syria do not agree with the reports we see and hear in Western media such as CNN, Fox News, and others. Likewise, many of the gulf sponsored Arabic news channels like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya seem to portray a dire situation in Syria when the reality based on our many contacts there appears to be something quite the contrary.
Because of this contradiction, and because our office has been inundated with letters, emails and phone calls about the situation in Syria, we felt it necessary to send a delegation made up of a group of some of our convert priests, other religious leaders from non-Orthodox communities, and an international lawyer to see first-hand the situation and report back to me and to all of you, the faithful of our God-protected Archdiocese…’
‘…Our last meeting, which lasted until about three o’clock in the morning of our final day in Syria, was with the leading Islamic cleric in the country known as the Grand Mufti, the spiritual father of Syria’s 70% Sunni majority…
…The Grand Mufti was also very pro-Assad and criticized what he called the huge fabrication the Western media was advancing by using unverified You-Tube films in its reports. He had been at those locations, he declared, exactly when some of the alleged uprisings and violence were occurring, and he saw nothing to support the exaggerations of the Western press. The Grand Mufti speculated that there was a 90% approval rating for President Assad in Syria, compared to the current 39% approval for President Obama in the United States…’ _________________ 'And he (the devil) said to him: To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them'. Luke IV 5-7.
Mossad, Blackwater, CIA Led Operations in Homs
Israa Al-Fass
“The crisis is at its end” is no longer a relieving statement made by some political analysts, as the crisis is really close to its end. Baba Amro is now under the control of the Syrian army… and so are the armed groups of which a big number escaped to the Lebanese borders dubbing their retreat “tactical”.
Around 700 Arab and Western gunmen surrendered in Baba Amro, well-informed sources told Al-Manar website, adding that “huge and critical surprises will be uncovered in the coming few days… such as the kinds of arms seized, as well as the military tactics the armed groups followed, and the sides that supervised the operations.”
The sources further assured to the news website that the security operation in Homs will be over in a maximum of five to eight days.
Weapons from Israel used for First Time in Baba Amro
For his part, Syrian expert is strategic affairs Salim Harba pointed out that Baba Amro neighborhood and the areas surrounding it were emptied from the armed groups’ organizational as well as command structures with minimum army and civilian casualties, as the area was mainly concentrated by gunmen.
Speaking to Al-Manar website, Harba said that “the captured gunmen held Arab nationalities, including Gulf, Iraqi, and Lebanese… among them were also Qatari intelligence agents and non-Arab fighters from Afghanistan, Turkey, and some European countries like France.
“The Syrian army also uncovered tunnels and equipments there,” he added, pointing out that “advanced Israeli, European, and American arms that have not yet been tested in the countries of manufacture, in addition to Israeli grenades, night binoculars, and communication systems were confiscated by the security forces.”
Harba went on saying that “communication stations where established on the Lebanese borders to oversee the military operations in Baba Amro, and to ensure contact between field commanders and a coordination office led by members of information in the Qatari capital Doha.”
He clarified that “the escape of British journalists from Homs through the Lebanese-Syrian borders was the result of this coordination.”
In parallel, the Syrian strategic expert revealed that “the communication stations were being operated by Lebanese figures; some of them were members of the Future parliamentary bloc,” and considered that “these figures worked on transforming Wadi Khaled region into a strategic depth for Baba Amro.”
Mossad, Blackwater Directed from Qatar Operations in Homs
Additionally, Salim Harba revealed to Al-Manar website that “a coordination office was established in Qatar under American-Gulf sponsorship. The office includes American, French, and Gulf –specifically from Qatar and Saudi Arabia- intelligence agents, as well as CIA, Mossad, and Blackwater agents and members of the Syrian Transitional Council.”
“Qatar has also made deals with Israeli and American companies to arm the armed groups, and Gulf countries have been financing the agreements,” he added.
The Syrian expert pointed out that “the significance of the security operation in Homs is due to the high expectations that regional and international sides had from the armed gangs in Baba Amro … they wanted Homs to be turned into a new Benghazi.”
Indicating that the operation was implemented with high professionalism and accuracy, Harba reassured that documents will be exposed at the right time.
“The authority will not reveal everything it has now… the Syrian security forces have documents and confessions that could harm everyone who conspired against Syria, and could make a security and political change, not just on the internal Syrian level, but also on the regional level,” he assured.
In the same context, Harba considered that all the conferences and meetings by what he referred to as the “enemies of Syria” were aimed at paving the way for an American initiative under a “humanitarian” title.
He concluded: “At the end, the US will submit to the Russian initiative after it realized that confrontations will only result in its defeat, and that the Syrian regime is still strong enough to deal with any conspiracy.”
BREAKING NEWS - 120 French Troops Captured In Syria
Uploaded by RussiaToday on 10 Feb 2012
Two explosions have hit Syria's northern city of Aleppo, state-run TV said on Friday. The attack struck the security compounds, killing at least 28 people and wounding 175 The blasts were the first in Syria's largest city. It has not been affected seriously by the Syrian uprising that began in March. Colonel Arif Hamood of the Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the two blasts that targeted military and security buildings in the city.
A suicide attack in Damascus killed 26 people last month. The UN says more than 5,400 people have been killed in the government's crackdown on the uprising.
Uploaded by RussiaToday on 10 Feb 2012
The US is setting up an international coalition aimed at supporting rebels in their struggle. The so-called "Friends of Democratic Syria" will involve countries willing to prop up the opposition, and pile more pressure on the regime. Direct military action is ruled out, but reports suggest British and Qatari special forces are already in the conflict zone. And while the US and its allies criticize Russia for supplying military hardware to Damascus, there are now calls from American lawmakers to arm the opposition. As RT's Marina Portnaya reports, the region's already been flooded with firepower made in the USA.
Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on 27 Jan 2012
Members of the Free Syrian Army say they have taken hostage seven Iranians, five of whom were allegedly soldiers complicit in the Syrian government's military crackdown on protesters in the opposition-controlled city of Homs.
The Farouk Brigade of the FSA, an umbrella group of members of the country's security forces who defected to protect civilians from the government's attacks, say they will not release the hostages until the government frees a defected army officer and stops the prolonged military siege on Homs.
A video released by the FSA fighters purports to show five of captured Iranians and their identity cards, which allegedly reveal that they are part of Iran's security forces. The defected troops say the other two hostages were civilians.
The video appears to show the hostages admitting to operating as snipers targeting civilians under the direct supervision of Syria's Air Force Security unit.
The Syrian National Council, a leading opposition group, says the development helps confirm many reports from refugees fleeing the country's violence and from activists within Syria, that the Iranian government, a close ally of Damascus, has been logistically backing the 10-month crackdown that has claimed thousands of civilian lives across the country.
But there are concerns over the veracity of the FSA's claims that the five hostages are actually soldiers.
According to a report by Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston, all the five names of the hostages appear to match the names of five Iranian engineers abducted in December, which were listed by Iranian press.
Furthermore, at least one of the Iranians in the video bear a striking resemblance to a kidnapped engineer.
Haider Ali, one of the hostages, appeared in the video saying:
"I am a member of the revolutionary armed forces of Iran. I am leader of a five-member special team. I entered Syria on Oct. 16, 2011. The others entered Syria on different dates."
"I and my team members, with the support of Syrian security-intelligence forces, were involved in suppressing and shooting ordinary Syrians. We killed a lot of people, including women and children, in the city of Homs."
"We urge Iran's supreme military leader (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei to order the Iranian military personnel who suppress the Syrians to be repatriated from Syria, so we can also return home," Ali said.
The other hostages also stated their names: Ahmad Aziz Askari, Hasan Hasani, Majid Qanbari, Kyumars Qobadi.
It was not possible to determine if the confession was forced.
_________________ 'Come and see the violence inherent in the system.
Help, help, I'm being repressed!'
“The more you tighten your grip, the more Star Systems will slip through your fingers.”
Uploaded by RTAmerica on 15 Dec 2011
There have been reports of hundreds of American and NATO troops training militants on the Syrian border to overthrow Al-assad's regime. According to a former FBI official this has been going on since May 2011. Why are we not hearing about this on American mainstream media? Sibel Edmonds, president of the National Security Whistle blowers Coalition, exposes what is going on around Syria.
Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 475 Location: North London
Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:36 pm Post subject: Role of Western journalists?
Th Guardian moderators seems to have decided not to post this in their Syria comments:
Guardian
Quote:
4 March, 6.10pm GMT / 1.10pm ET: More now from the interview with photographer Paul Conroy about the situation in Homs. He describes thousands of residents freezing in cold weather, after days without power, food or water, "waiting to die."
"The time for talking is absolutely over. Now the massacre and the killing is at full tilt," Conroy tells Sky News correspondent Lisa Holland.
Syrians are not doubt suffering in Homs. But it is also clear that vast numbers of Syrians were happy with the Russian and Chinese veto that held up UN action against Assad.
Meanwhile, Paul Conroy's account is very clear: Syrians face genocide by Assad. Why are large numbers of Syrians happy about halting efforts to prevent Assad from killing them. This doesn't add up.
But Conroy account does support an agenda. It can create a new basis for NATO intervention that would circumvent the Russian and Chinese veto. He likens Syria to Rwanda and Srebenica, and this introduces the genocide argument for intervention. Yet, no other journalist is as damning as he is.
His comments come when the armed opposition are in a relatively weak position. They have been forced out of Homs. Saudi Arabia and Qatar recognise the desperate position of the armed opposition which is why they were openly arguing for arming the opposition (rather than doing it covertly).
The need for a new strategy is important and Paul Conroy would be happy to provide it.
Yet, no media exposure is going to other witnesses in Homs. Russia Today presents a 'witness' who says that the rebels were executing people, http://rt.com/news/syrian-witness-report-rebel-crimes-639/. The witness say many rebels were foreign. Many progressives will discount Russia Today and their witness but this view is supported by the Arab League monitors' report. They identified an 'armed entity' that were killing soldiers and civilians. They also said that opposition factions lied and exaggerated about what the Syrian Army were doing.
He is a freelance photographer and filmmaker working for the Sunday Times. In fact, he has extensive experience in film and photography and some of his experience has been in conflict zones such as Rwanda.
But that is not what he has always done. In fact, in the 1980s, he was a communications and targeting specialist for the UK army.
Now, he sounds as if he is committed to the anti-Assad military and political campaign. Clearly, he has skills that the armed opposition would want.
Is it really credible that Conroy would refuse to actively support the military operations of the rebels when he has such military skills?
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:42 pm Post subject:
insidejob wrote:
So, who is Paul Conroy?http://t.co/MADLkymDin the 1980s, he was a communications and targeting specialist for the UK army.
Nice on IJ - now on to today's action as not yet reported on the BBC.
Thirteen French officers 'captured by Syrian Army'
Thirteen French officers have been captured by Syrian forces according to the Lebanon-based Daily Star newspaper, the first mainstream media outlet to report on rumours of Western troops on the ground.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9122749/Thi rteen-French-officers-captured-by-Syrian-Army.html
By Henry Samuel, Paris, and Amy Willis
8:07AM GMT 05 Mar 2012
The French foreign ministry dismissed the report, however, telling the Daily Telegraph that not a single French soldier is on Syrian soil.
But the defence ministry was less categorical, saying it neither confirmed nor denied the claim.
A photographer who recently escaped from the besieged Syrian city of Homs also dismissed suggestions French soldiers had intervened to secure his evacuation and that of three other Western reporters.
The report claiming that French officers are on the ground came from the Daily Star, a reputable newspaper in Beirut.
The Daily Star cites a Damascus-based Pro-Syrian Palestinian source as alleging that the French troops are being held in a field hospital in Homs.
The source claimed officials in Paris and Damascus are brokering a deal on what to do with the French nationals.
No explanation as to why the French troops had been in Syria was given nor was any indication as to whether they had been part of a larger contingent.
It was not possible to independently verify the claims.
A foreign ministry spokesman in France said: “We deny the idea that there are French troops on the ground”. A defence spokesman said: “We have no information on this. We neither confirm nor deny it".
Damascus has not commented on the presence of French troops on Syrian soil.
However, Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said last month it had no intention of intervening in the country as with Libya.
"No, I don’t think so because Syria is also a different society, it is much more complicated ethnically, politically, religiously. That’s why I do believe that a regional solution should be found,” he said.
Homs, 20 miles from the Lebanese border, remains a strategic battleground with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad unrelenting in their bombardment of the area and anti-Assad demonstrators continuing their protests against the tyrannical dictator.
The report did not say whether the French troops were part of the mission to evacuate the reporters, who had been holed up in a safe house for one week following the deadly shelling.
France announced it was closing its embassy on Friday, as assaults continued in the region. Britain has already evacuated its embassy.
Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 6060 Location: East London
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 9:22 pm Post subject:
Thanks Disco for extensive coverage.
Just a note about AVAAZ; if it wasn't a NWO operation at the outset (I suspect it was) it certainly is now:
This morning, 4 western journalists are home safe with their families, the echoes of the horror and heroism of Baba Amr still ringing in their ears. Over 50 Syrian activists, supported by Avaaz, volunteered to rescue them and scores of wounded civilians from the Syrian army’s killzone. Many of those incredible activists have not survived the week.
Abu Hanin is one of the heroes. He’s 26, a poet, and when his community needed him, he took the lead in organizing the citizen journalists that Avaaz has supported to help the voices of Syrians reach the world. The last contact with Abu Hanin was on Thursday, as regime troops closed in on his location. He read his last will and testament to the Avaaz team in Beirut, and told us where he had buried the bodies of the two western journalists killed in the shelling. Since then, his neighborhood of Baba Amr has been a black hole, and we still don’t know his fate.
It’s easy to despair when seeing Syria today, but to honour the dead, we must carry forward the hope they died with. As Baba Amr went dark and fears of massacre spread, Syrians took to the streets -- yet again -- across the country, in a peaceful protest that showed staggering bravery.
Their bravery is our lesson, the gift of the Syrian people to the rest of us. Because in their spirit, in their courage to face the worst darkness our world has to offer, a new world is being born.
And in that new world, the Syrian people are not alone. Millions of us from every nation have stood with them time and time again, right from the beginning of their struggle. Nearly 75,000 of us have donated almost $3 million to fund people-powered movements and deliver high-tech communications equipment to help them tell their story, and enable the Avaaz team to help smuggle in over $2 million worth of medical supplies. We’ve taken millions of online actions to push for action from the Security Council and the Arab League and for sanctions from many countries, and delivered those online campaigns in dozens of stunts, media campaigns and high-level advocacy meetings with top world leaders. Together we’ve helped win many of these battles, including for unprecedented action by the Arab League, and oil sanctions from Europe.
Our team in Beirut has also provided a valuable communications hub for brave and skilled activists to coordinate complex smuggling operations and the rescue of the wounded and the journalists. Avaaz does not direct these activities, but we facilitate, support and advise. We have also established safe houses for activists, and supported the outreach and diplomatic engagement of the Syrian National Council -- the opposition movement’s fledgling political representative body. Much of the world's major media have covered Avaaz’s work to help the Syrian people, including features on BBC, CNN, El Pais, TIME, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, AFP and many more, citing our "central role" in the Syrian peaceful protest movement.
Today, a dozen more nightmares like that visited on the city of Homs are unfolding across Syria. The situation will get worse before it gets better. It will be bloody, and complicated, and as some protesters take up arms to defend themselves, the line between right and wrong will blur. But President Assad’s brutal regime will fall, and there will be peace, and elections, and accountability. The Syrian people simply will not stop until that happens -- and it may happen sooner than we all think.
Every expert told us at the beginning that an uprising in Syria was unthinkable. But we sent in satellite communications equipment anyway. Because our community knows something that the experts and cynics don’t -- that people power and a new spirit of citizenship are sweeping our world today, and they are fearless, and unstoppable, and will bring hope to the darkest places. Marie Colvin, an American journalist covering the violence in Homs, told Avaaz before she died, "I’m not leaving these people." And neither will we.
With hope, and admiration for the Syrian people and courageous citizens everywhere,
Ricken, Wissam, Stephanie, Alice, David, Antonia, Will, Sam, Emma, Wen-Hua, Veronique and the whole Avaaz team
I certainly would like to do more, by exposing this sham NGO; hope folks take note of it's gross bias. [i] _________________ 'And he (the devil) said to him: To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them'. Luke IV 5-7.
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:58 pm Post subject:
ah - here we have the NATO/Israeli MO!
SHARP divergence of NATOzone & Russian coverage - NOTED
Around 700 gunmen were recently arrested in the former rebel stronghold of Babar Amr.
“The captured gunmen held Arab nationalities, including Gulf, Iraqi, and Lebanese. Among them were also Qatari intelligence agents and non-Arab fighters from Afghanistan, Turkey, and some European countries like France,” the agency quotes Syrian expert in strategic affairs Salim Harba as saying.
Harba also confirmed to the agency that “a coordination office was established in Qatar under American-Gulf sponsorship. The office includes American, French, and Gulf – specifically from Qatar and Saudi Arabia – intelligence agents, as well as CIA, Mossad, and Blackwater agents and members of the Syrian Transitional Council.”
The Syrian expert also added the security forces have also seized Israeli-, European- and American-made weapons.
“The Syrian army also uncovered tunnels and equipments there,” he told to the agency, “advanced Israeli, European, and American arms that have not yet been tested in the countries of manufacture, in addition to Israeli grenades, night binoculars, and communication systems were confiscated by the security forces.”
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:50 pm Post subject:
Hooray!
NATOs diabolical UN SC resolution looks likely to die.
Maybe the Grand Orient controlled French government should admit the capture of its 13 officers and start to negotiate rather than pretend nothing has happened?
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:58 pm Post subject: UK ambasaddor: Assad's hollow regime could fall within weeks
.
excerpt from: Assad's hollow regime could fall within weeks, says ambassador
by Martin Fletcher, The Times, 6 March 2012
Quote:
The Syrian regime will be toppled this year, possibly within weeks, the British Ambassador to Damascus predicted yesterday.
"The regime is like a tree trunk being hollowed out from the inside," Simon Collis told The Times in his first interview since the Foreign and Commonwealth Office closed the embassy last week because of deteriorating security.
The military was demoralised and overstretched, he said. The economy was collapsing. The business classes were privately abandoning the regime and Syrians everywhere were suffering acute hardship. In this humanitarian crisis even Russia and China were wavering in their "defence of the indefensible".
Syria was, he said, "like a dam with fissures in it. The pressure is building up and one quite probable scenario is that, when it breaks, it will do so very quickly. I personally don't think it will last to the end of the year, and it could well be before that."
The Ambassador, who spent four years in Syria and was one of the last Western observers to leave, said he had spoken out because he wanted the world to know what was happening in a country he loved. He called Homs a "mini-Stalingrad" and said that the atrocities being committed there and elsewhere were even worse than the West suspected.
Unlike Arab television stations, "the Western media will not carry the most shocking images" of Syrians being killed or children having their heads blown apart, he said. It was "sanitising the human cost of conflict".
Mr Collis saw peaceful protests crushed, visited bereaved families, met activists who had been tortured. He said he felt "anger and disgust" at the regime's brutality and huge admiration for the courage of ordinary Syrians.
He said Gulf states were preparing to arm the opposition. That is not Britain's policy, but he indicated that, as a human being, rather than a diplomat, he had some sympathy for giving the rebels the means to defend themselves. Pressed on the issue, he replied: "I think I will dodge that."
The Ambassador accused Iran of giving the regime essential support: strategic advice; intelligence-gathering technology; riot-control equipment; help in circumventing sanctions; and practical assistance on "how to conduct their repression more effectively".
But he said Russia was providing the heavy artillery and tanks which were killing civilians, and that was "something that should be highlighted". For a year Mr Collis has watched the "amazingly incompetent" regime mishandle what began as a series of local grievances over child detentions and corruption. Instead of addressing those grievances, it resorted to force and turned the military into an "army of occupation" — but the more it slaughtered its own people, the more it fuelled the insurgency.
Syria was now close to tipping point, Mr Collis suggested. People were losing their fear of the intelligence services.The rate of military defections was increasing. From military families he had heard of unhappiness even within the officer class.
The regime had a dwindling number of troops it could rely on, forcing it to deploy the Republican Guard and 4th Armoured Division, which were supposed to be held in reserve. "But even these people are getting tired — they can't be everywhere at once," he said.
They could regain territory but not hold it. The 4th Armoured Division made five attempts before it was able to quell the small town of Zabadani,which had 500 poorly armed defenders. "That says something about the morale of both sides," he said.
Sunni businessmen in Damascus and Aleppo, formerly loyal to the regime, were outraged by the violence and feared for their futures. "I had a whole series of people coming up to me and privately expressing their distress," he said. Some were now financing the opposition.
Of the broader population, Mr Collis estimated that 20 per cent still supported the regime, mostly minorities who feared civil war. Across the country there was "cumulative human misery". Despite freezing temperatures there was no heating oil. Poorer areas lost electricity for up to 12 hours a day. Even subsidised goods were doubling or quadrupling in price.
"There's been an economic collapse and nobody has any hope of a credible reform process. There are a lot of people who don't feel able to break publicly, because of concern for themselves or their families or their businesses, but they are waiting for the moment that they can," he said.
"It is possible that some event will trigger a very rapid collapse. The regime's support base has become fragile as an increasing number of people realise that it's doomed — and they don't want to go down with it."
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 18335 Location: St. Pauls, Bristol, England
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:19 pm Post subject: !!!
Go Syria Go!
Tell NATO & Israeli PsyOps & war criminals where to go!
Assad sets date for parliamentary elections
Updated: 20:35, Tuesday, 13 March 2012
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0313/syria.html
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has set parliamentary elections under his country's new constitution for 7 May.
The poll will be the first under the constitution approved by referendum in February, which allows for multiple party elections but has been rejected by those who have joined the uprising.
Authorities say Mr Assad's move toward elections shows his commitment toward reform after a year-long internal uprising and amid growing international pressure on Syria.
His opponents say the constitution is illegitimate and insist the president must give up power.
"Of course we will boycott the elections because they will be fixed. But this is not a main focus for us. What we want is real change with a real presidential election, which Assad would surely lose," Melhem al-Droubi, a member of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and the Syrian National Council said.
The state's crackdown on an uprising that began as peaceful protests last March has grown increasingly bloody since rebels began fighting Mr Assad's forces. Damascus says it is confronting militants steered from abroad.
Under the new constitution, parties cannot be based on religion, profession or regional interests.
This would exclude the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood or Kurdish parties seeking regional autonomy....
Referendum in Syria confirms legitimacy of Assad’s power
Voltaire Network | 27 February 2012
http://www.voltairenet.org/Referendum-in-Syria-confirms Nine of ten participants of the referendum in Syria have upheld the draft of the new constitution. According to the Syrian public television, about 8.5 million people (57.4% of Syrians entitled to vote) took part in the referendum. The new constitution in particular abolishes a one-party system, guarantees the rights and freedoms of Syrian people and defines Syria as a “democratic state.”
Russia welcomes the end of a one-party system in Syria, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said adding that the referendum was a step towards democratization. He also stressed that it is the Syrian people who should take decision on further reforms.
Washington remains biased with regard to the referendum in Syria. Even before the referendum results were announced, US State Secretary Hillary Clinton had called the poll a “cynical ploy” of Bashar Assad. But if Syrians had not upheld the referendum the US statements would have been radically different. Clinton stressed that the US goal remains the same - to remove Bashar Assad from power. This statement reflects the essence of Washington’s approach to the referendum, Vladimir Sotnikov, an analyst of the Institute of the World Economy and International Relations, says:
"Some of our Western partners are dissatisfied with the current regime in Syria. That concerns also our partners from Arab countries. Before the referendum the statements they made and the steps they took proved such an attitude. There have been statements that Russia could provide a political asylum to Bashar Assad and his family. The intentions to change the regime in the country are clear. Any Bashar Assad’s step towards democracy is either denied or hushed up". _________________ www.lawyerscommitteefor9-11inquiry.org www.rethink911.org www.patriotsquestion911.com www.actorsandartistsfor911truth.org www.mediafor911truth.org www.pilotsfor911truth.org www.mp911truth.org www.ae911truth.org www.rl911truth.org www.stj911.org www.v911t.org www.thisweek.org.uk www.abolishwar.org.uk www.elementary.org.uk www.radio4all.net/index.php/contributor/2149 http://utangente.free.fr/2003/media2003.pdf
"The maintenance of secrets acts like a psychic poison which alienates the possessor from the community" Carl Jung
https://37.220.108.147/members/www.bilderberg.org/phpBB2/
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