person:bashar al-assad

isabelledaniel
Barbara Walters has been forced to apologise after she had tried to further the career of an aide of Bashar al-Assad ►http://t.co/UNgbv90E

NOW Syria ‏@NOW_Syria

Russia said Tuesday it was prepared to see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leave power in a negotiated solution ►http://bit.ly/L81uP9 #Syria

Syria will have a long, bloody war : Fisk
►http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3515700.htm

ROBERT FISK: I wouldn’t take too seriously anything he says, simply because whenever I’ve gone to the border and tried to see the Army, I’ve seen three or four different versions of it.

The fact of the matter is that the Syrian opposition, the armed opposition to Bashar al-Assad is so divided that it cannot be regarded as being a single united faction. What we’ve got to realise - and this is one of the reasons why Obama and Madame Clinton and all the other mountebanks and liars are saying what they’re saying is that we don’t know who the opposition is.

And since we don’t know who the opposition is, all we can do - “we” being the West - is express our outrage against Bashar al-Assad and his Baathist regime. But we can’t give too much support for the opposition, who may indeed include members of Al Qaeda, and whose members may indeed perhaps be involved in the Houla massacre. We don’t know yet. I’m not saying that Bashar al-Assad is a good guy. He’s not, he’s a bad guy.

Robert Fisk n’étant pas très fiable sur le Liban ces derniers temps, il n’y a pas forcément de raisons pour qu’il soit plus fiable sur la Syrie. Il semble en tout cas que, dans les cercles qu’il fréquente, ce genre de choses se disent.

AymanM
Head of UN Syria Observer Mission says 13 bodies discovered in Eastern #Syria with hands tied, some shot in the head

NOW_Syria
Annan says situation in #Syria is “complex” and urges an intensification of international efforts to end bloodshed. ►http://bit.ly/KbSgW6

Samsomhoms
About 1/3 of #Homs ’s residents are gathered in an area no more than 1/5 of the city. About 5000 ppl occupy the refugee schools #Syria

WashingtonPoint
“Pres Obama’s lack of leadership resulted in a policy of paralysis that has watched Assad slaughter 10,000” ►http://goo.gl/jfh7h

Locations of some snipers in #Hama city ►http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=cc5ca49ae621498ead0f9666c0eb0028&extent=36.7064,35.1043,3 #Syria

i_magpie
1. Assad will continue killing 2. The world won’t stop him or help Syrians 3. Syrians have no options but to carry on & fight back. #Syria

NOW_Syria
#Turkey orders all #Syria diplomats to leave country within 72 hours. ►http://bit.ly/KZ5fGD

MulhamJundi !!!!!!!! “@ emmasuleiman: I am unable to sleep since I watched this video
►http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsQwnApVlBA&feature=youtu.be

NOW_Syria AFP:
President Bashar al-Assad must step down if UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan plan is to be saved, opposition say
#Syria expelled the Dutch charge d’affaires, AFP reported on Wednesday

LeShaque
AlArabiya: Mood expresses grave discontent at the killing of 13 people in Deir Ezzor. —How about those 30 corpses in Qusair?! #Syria

MahirZeynalov
RT @ ZaurShiriyev: Eurovision Terror, Assassination Plots Foiled, Azerbaijan Says ►http://bloom.bg/Ncf9H0 #Azerbaijan #Iran

NOW_Syria
AFP: President Bashar al-Assad must step down if UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan plan is to be saved, opposition says

NOW_Syria
#Syria expelled the Dutch charge d’affaires, AFP reported on Wednesday

Samsomhoms
Most parts of old city of #Homs(center of city)remain under #FreeSyrianArmy control&under siege of #Assad forces since March #Syria

NOW_Syria
AFP: UN mission chief ’deeply disturbed’ by killing of 13 in Syria’s Deir az-Zour

HamaEcho
Bassel Shehada teaching #Homs activists filming and recording techniques, he was a talented Cinematographer. RIP. ►http://t.co/qs34ypCu

Aleppo Joins the Syrian Revolution: Are al-Assad’s Days Numbered? (via @alaingresh)
►http://www.juancole.com/2012/05/aleppo-joins-the-syrian-revolution-are-al-assads-days-numbered.html

The largest demonstrations held in Syria’s second city, Aleppo, since the beginning over a year ago of the revolutionary movement in that country, were held on Friday. In part, they were provoked by the brutality of regime troops toward student protesters at the university in Aleppo on Thursday. The Baathist regime of President Bashar al-Assad responded with tear gas and batons, and there were some injuries reported. Tens of thousands of people came out in the streets in other cities as well on Friday in a continued effort to topple the regime.

Important: Syrian rebels get influx of arms with gulf neighbors’ money, U.S. coordination
►http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-rebels-get-influx-of-arms-with-gulf-neighbors-money-us-coordination/2012/05/15/gIQAds2TSU_story.html

Syrian rebels battling the regime of President Bashar al-Assad have begun receiving significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, an effort paid for by Persian Gulf nations and coordinated in part by the United States, according to opposition activists and U.S. and foreign officials.

[…]

Material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border. Opposition activists who two months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said this week that the flow of weapons — most still bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military — has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

Several dead in clashes in Lebanon’s Tripoli
►http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/201251383952809563.html

At least four people have been killed, and another 24 injured, after fighting erupted overnight in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between residents loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and those supportive of the Syrian opposition, witnesses and security officials have said.

Rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles were used in the fighting in an Alawite enclave and surrounding Sunni neighbourhoods in the port city, 70km north of Beirut, the capital.

In foreign policy, Obama learns on the job - David Ignatius
►http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-foreign-policy-obama-learns-on-the-job/2012/05/10/gIQAHSJ4FU_story.html

On Syria, the other Middle East tinderbox, Obama knows that Kofi Annan’s peace effort is failing because of the former U.N. secretary general’s inability to halt violence and begin the transition from President Bashar al-Assad. Obama knows that Russia is the key to avoiding a civil war, but he doesn’t think the Russians will commit to oust Assad unless they’re convinced that he can’t govern and that only a new government will contain extremism in Syria. Like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Obama thinks parts of the Syrian opposition would be worse than Assad — and he worries that the protracted struggle is empowering precisely these people.

Syrian activists to rebels: Give us our revolution back
►http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0416/Syrian-activists-to-rebels-Give-us-our-revolution-back

Syrian activist Mohamed Alloush has fled his native country for Lebanon, but it wasn’t President Bashar al-Assad’s regime that drove him away. It was the rebels of the Free Syrian Army who ran him out of his hometown of Homs.

“In September last year I had been arrested again by the regime for organizing protests,” says Mr. Alloush, speaking on a cafe terrace in Beirut. "After they released me, I ran into a group of men I knew as members of the Free Syrian Army. I walked up to them and screamed: “You guys have stolen our revolution! You are just as bad as the shabiha,” the pro-regime militia in Syria.

The rebels kept Alloush for four days, after which they told him not to show his face in Homs again.

U.N. gets reports of child soldiers with Syria rebels
►http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/26/us-syria-un-idUSBRE82P0W220120326

Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad have been accused of using children as fighters in violation of international conventions banning the recruitment of child soldiers, a senior U.N. official said on Monday.

Étonnant, non, la multiplication d’articles avec ce genre d’informations, ces derniers temps ? J’ai l’impression que les États-Unis (ou au moins qu’une importante partie de l’establishment américain) ont décidé d’arrêter les frais avec l’Armée syrienne libre et le Conseil national syrien.

Saudis Seek to Funnel Arms to Syria Rebels
►http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304177104577311572820862442.html

Saudi Arabia has pressed Jordan to open its border with Syria to allow weapons to reach rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, officials from both countries say, a move that could buoy Syria’s opposition and harden the conflict in the country and across the region.

In a March 12 meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah asked his Jordanian counterpart to permit weapons shipments into Syria in exchange for economic assistance to Jordan, these officials say. Jordan hasn’t yet agreed, they said.

The U.S. has opposed furnishing arms to the rebels, fearing that weapons could end up in the hands of al Qaeda or other extremist groups. But late Thursday, a top U.S. defense official suggested such a policy could potentially shift. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Syrian opposition appeared to be taking steps to unite as a group, a development he said could help clear the way for international aid including arms.

The attempt to topple President Assad has failed | Patrick Cockburn (The Independent)
►http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/patrick-cockburn-the-attempt-to-topple-president-assad-has-failed-758

The year-long effort to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad and his government has failed. Two or three months ago, it seemed to come close to succeeding, as insurgents took over enclaves in cities such as Homs and Deir el-Zour. There was talk of no-fly zones and foreign military intervention. Severe economic sanctions were slapped on Syria’s already faltering economy. Every day brought news of fresh pressure on Assad and the momentum seemed to build inexorably for a change of rule in Damascus. (...) Source: The Independent

Syria forces bombard Homs, U.N. condemns appalling brutality | Reuters
►http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/09/us-syria-idUSTRE80S08620120209

The United Nations chief condemned the ferocity of the government assault on the heart of a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad that broke out nearly a year ago and is getting bloodier by the day.

#Syrie

U.N. leaders consider world tax to fund social protection, services | Deseret News
►http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705398584/UN-leaders-consider-world-tax-to-fund-social-protection-services.html?s

Outside the United Nations headquarters, hundreds of people were shouting and waving banners Tuesday that read “China and Russia – No Veto.” These people wanted support from the Security Council of the U.N. to oust the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad.

Inside the U.N., another group of civil society leaders demanded a basic level of social security as they promoted a “social protection floor” at a preparatory forum for the Commission on Social Development, which began Feb. 1.

The focus of the forum was “universal access to basic social protection and social services.”

“No one should live below a certain income level,” stated Milos Koterec, President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. “Everyone should be able to access at least basic health services, primary education, housing, water, sanitation and other essential services.”

These services were presented at the forum as basic human rights equal to the rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The money to fund these services may come from a new world tax.

Gulf states to fund struggling resistance fighters | The Australian
►http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gulf-states-to-fund-struggling-resistance-fighters/story-e6frg6so-1226254713240

SAUDI Arabia and Qatar have agreed to fund the Syrian opposition, which is struggling to afford weapons in its fight against President Bashar al-Assad, a Syrian dissident has told The Times.

Opposition figures held a secret meeting with Saudi and Qatar officials after an Arab League meeting in Cairo last weekend. All the Gulf countries decided then to pull their observers from a monitoring mission that has been widely criticised for being toothless.

Syrians struggle to cope with energy cuts - FT.com
►http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/06dbfeaa-3d3b-11e1-8129-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1jKnKgKKo

Conflict-torn Syria is battling growing shortages of heating oil and other fuels as President Bashar al-Assad and the west fight a propaganda war over who is to blame.

#carburant
#électricité

European Union Bans Exports to Syria of Systems for Monitoring Web, Phones - Bloomberg

Bloomberg News reported Nov. 4 that an Italian company, Area SpA, was building a surveillance system that would have given Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime the power to intercept, scan and catalog virtually every e-mail that flows through the country.

This week, a lawyer for the company, Fabio Ambrosetti, confirmed the company is exiting the deal and the project won’t be completed. He declined to comment further.

Earlier this year, Telecomix, a group of online activists, discovered that technology from a U.S. company, Blue Coat Systems Inc., was filtering web sites inside of Syria.

►http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-01/european-union-bans-exports-to-syria-of-systems-for-monitoring-web-phones

Syria says deal reached with Arab League - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
►http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/11/2011111175657214856.html

Syria says it has reached a deal with an Arab League committee entrusted with finding a way to end seven months of unrest and starting a dialogue between President Bashar al-Assad and his opponents.

State media reported the deal without giving details, saying an official announcement of the agreement would be made at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Wednesday.

But a senior Arab League official said the organisation was still awaiting a response from Damascus to proposals for halting the bloodshed, which activists said continued on Tuesday with two civilians shot dead by Assad’s forces in Homs and two soldiers killed by army deserters in an ambush.

One activist said gunmen dragged nine people, all of them from Assad’s minority Alawite sect, from a bus on a road between the cities of Homs and Hama, and killed them.

Return of the Renditioned - By Katherine Hawkins | Foreign Policy
►http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/09/07/return_of_the_renditioned?page=0,7

For all its condemnation of President Bashar al-Assad’s human rights record, the United States appears to have had few qualms about sending terrorism suspects to Damascus. Although Almalki, Arar, and El-Maati have been released, seven prisoners whom the United States rendered to Syria remain missing. In interviews with journalist Stephen Grey, Almalki named six of them as his fellow prisoners in the underground cells at the Palestine Branch.

[...]

The U.S. and Syrian governments are unlikely to answer any questions about the detainees’ rendition or their current whereabouts. If Assad’s regime falls, perhaps activists or journalists will find the answers in a binder labeled “CIA” in one of the mukhabarat’s many offices. Until then, they remain missing.

Un long entretien avec Fawaz Traboulsi (intellectuel gauchiste libanais) sur Jadaliyya. Il n’est pas nécessaire d’être d’accord avec tous les détails de ce qu’il dit pour trouver qu’il s’agit d’une lecture très nécessaire.
►http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/2544/escaping-mumanaa-and-the-us-saudi-counter-revoluti

Well, a serious leftist would start with the economy and realize that a lot of the problems in Syria are related to Bashar al-Assad accepting to neoliberalize his economy, as I’ve already mentioned. There’s nothing progressive about the al-Assad regime in that regard.

In terms of foreign policy, one way to answer to this debate is to simply describe the role of Syria in the regional and international arena. Syria is usually characterized by naive leftists and nationalists using the term mumana‘a. This is a very useful term in Arabic that means you want something and you don’t want it at the same time. It is used to characterize the relationship between Syria and the United States.

In May 2003, soon after the war on Iraq began, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Syria and reportedly presented a number of conditions to President Bashar al-Assad. First, breaking relations with Iran. Second, stopping the armament of Hezbollah. Third, closing the Syria offices of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. And fourth, stopping the export of jihadis to Iraq. Of the conditions presented by Powell, we know of these four at least.

Now, my argument is very simple. Most of these issues on which Syria supposedly serves as a counterweight to U.S. interests are no longer pertinent.

Syrian tanks storm city of Hama - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
►http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/201173143432348733.html

The attack on Sunday morning came nearly a month after Syrian forces besieged the city, following some of the largest demonstrations against Bashar al-Assad’s rule since protests began in March, the Reuters news agency reported.

Jadaliyya Co-Editor Bassam Haddad on Rami Makhlouf in the New York Times
►http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/1920/jadaliyya-co-editor-bassam-haddad-on-rami-makhlouf

Syria’s most powerful businessman, a confidant and cousin of President Bashar al-Assad, announced on Thursday that he was quitting business and moving to charity work, Syrian television said. The move, if true, would suggest that Mr. Assad was so concerned about the continuing protests that he would sacrifice a relative to public anger.

Coupure totale d’ #Internet en #Syrie
►http://www.korben.info/coupure-totale-dinternet-en-syrie.html

Après la Tunisie, l’Egypte, la Libye et la France (ah non, pas la France), c’est au tout de la Syrie de se révolter… ça fait des semaines que ça dure et les médias en parlent très peu, mais encore aujourd’hui, ce sont des dizaines de milliers de personnes qui se sont rassemblés dans les rues des villes du pays pour réclamer le départ du président Bashar al-Assad.

Cette #révolution est sanglante et l’armée ainsi que la #police secrète ne se prive pas de tirer sur la foule. Quelques images arrivent à sortir du pays grâce à Internet afin que le monde entier puisse s’informer (et réagir ?) des crimes commis là bas. C’est pour éviter ça, que le président Syrien a ordonné tout simplement la coupure d’Internet dans son pays. On parle aussi de coupure d’eau et d’électricité dans certaines villes.

Syria Comment » Archives » The Opposition Meeting in Antalya (1 June 2011) First Impressions
►http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/?p=10034

Syrian opposition activists walk past a poster of President Bashar al-Assad with his face crossed off during the opening session of a three-day meeting in Turkey to discuss democratic change.The writing on poster reads: ’The blood of the martyrs will make this throne unbearable for you. Get out!’

1- logistics were very poor. Little if any organization. no clear written agenda.
2- they all realized that the first objective must be to push ahead and save time.
3- Kurds and Islamists made up over half of the total. Tribal leaders were also present.
4- By far the most impressive were the young activists. They were connected to the demonstration movement on the ground in Syria. They had contacts.
5- There was little infighting. Most members of the opposition were rather guarded.
6- While one can accuse the attendees of being politically immature, it would be a huge mistake to underestimate them.
7- The events in Daraa and elsewhere are not driven by Salafists as the government claims.
8- When some were asked about the possible large loss of lives should the regime fight back, the response was to point to Algeria which gave up one million people to get rid of the French. In other words, they are mentally prepared.
9- While Damascus may not take this group seriously enough, their determination is very strong. They will not go away easily.
10- To many, Bashar al-Assad’s first speech was the moment that he lost a huge number of the young activists.

#Syrie