Syrian Revolution Digest – Thursday 15 November 2012

Syrian Revolution Digest – Thursday 15 November 2012

For Country!

Syrian Revolution Digest – November 15, 2012 

Now that we have come so far, it might be worth remembering that we started this revolution to topple the regime, not help tear the country apart. For this, we should be ready and willing to enter into dialogue whenever a real chance becomes available, even as we pursue our armed struggle. It’s not an either/or situation: we fight when there is no other choice, but when there is a chance for real dialogue we should be willing and ready. Let international mediators do what they can to create the opportunity for dialogue, and let’s support their effort by producing our vision for change in Syria, beyond the usual platitudes about citizenship and justice. Since the devil is in the details, as well know, it’s time we began providing some of these details and wrestling with the real demons standing between us and achieving our goals. 

Today’s Death Toll: 130 (including 11 children and 5 women)

59 in Damascus and Suburbs
21 in Aleppo
17 in Homs
10 in Idlib
8 in Daraa
5 in Raqqah
5 in Hama
3 in Deir Ezzor
2 in Lattakia

Random Shelling: 206 points

146 by artillery
46 by mortars
23 points by missiles
21 by fighter jets (including 6 uses of explosive barrels)
6 of Thermobaric bombs

Clashes: 84 points

Developments: MiG shot down in Alboukamal, Alboukamal declared a liberated city (LCC).

The Christian village of Tal Nasri in Hassakeh Province in northeast Syria, with its majority Assyrian population was pounded by MiGs on Thursday making it the first Christian village to be targeted by the regime since the beginning of the revolution. Locals say that they don’t understand the reason for which they were attacked as their village does not harbor armed groups. But the Assyrian community in Syria has sided with the revolutionaries from the very beginning, and may now be targeted as part of a regime strategy to punish its enemies in the region and foment troubles among the region’s diverse population.

 

News

Securing Chemical Arms in Syria a Vast Task, Pentagon Says The Pentagon has told the Obama administration that any military effort to seize Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons would require upward of 75,000 troops, amid increasing concern that the militant group Hezbollah has set up small training camps close to some of the chemical weapons depots, according to senior American officials… The Pentagon has not yet been directed to draft detailed plans of how it could carry out such a mission, according to military officials. There are also contingency plans, officials say, for securing a more limited number of the Syrian chemical weapons depots, requiring fewer troops. 

Turks Grant Recognition to Coalition of Syrians

Brotherhood cannot dominate post-Assad Syria: deputy leader

Britain could intervene in Syria as David Cameron considers no-fly zone

UK police charge 2nd man with taking Western journalists hostage in Syria

William Hague to meet opposition leaders

Syrian Authorities Arrest Red-Crescent Board Member Raed Al-Tawil

 

Special Reports

Rebels capture Ras al Ayn, 1st town to fall in Syria’s Kurdish region

Rebels said they’d captured heavy machine guns from the base but that the soldiers had rendered heavier weapons inoperable before the base was stormed. Residents said the rebels carted off anti-aircraft guns and artillery nonetheless.

Despite Political Divides, Syria’s Kurds Want Autonomy

The conflict in Syria has brought a measure of self-rule to one of Syria’s marginalized minorities, the Kurds, and especially in Afrin – which means “fruitful creation” or “blessing” in Kurdish. Since the Syrian government withdrew its forces from Kurdish areas several months ago, the Kurds – despite their own political divisions – have taken responsibility for local security and claim autonomy. Kurds in this area near Turkey strongly oppose the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and say they have suffered detentions and bombings because of it.

Syria’s Neighbors Have Few Options as Security Concerns Over Refugees Grow

Syria’s neighbors are “trying to move refugees away from the border and get them registered,” White said. “But their capacity to deal with the problem, with numbers approaching half a million refugees, is beyond the capacity of states like Jordan or Lebanon to deal with.”

 

Analysis: Why Britain could intervene in Syria

The deepening humanitarian crisis on Turkey’s border with Syria, together with fears that the Syrian conflict is threatening to destabilise other parts of the region, are the factors that are driving the Government’s determination to adopt a more pro-active stance.

The Hackers of Damascus

The Syrian conflict illustrates the extent to which the very tools that rebels in the Middle East have employed to organize and sustain their movements are now being used against them. It provides a glimpse of the future of warfare, in which computer viruses and hacking techniques can be as critical to weakening the enemy as bombs and bullets.

Nicholas D. Kristof: The men are vanishing in northern Syria

There are dangers with greater involvement, and Syria is a more difficult arena in which to intervene than Libya was, but let’s acknowledge that the existing hands-off approach has failed. Western passivity has backfired and accelerated all that Washington fears: chaos, regional instability, sectarianism and growing influence of Islamic militants. The United States certainly shouldn’t send boots on the ground. But there are steps we can take to save lives, hasten an end to the war, reduce the risks to the region and protect American interests as well. A sensible menu includes a NATO-backed no-fly zone over parts of northern Syria, transfers of weapons and ammunition (though not anti-aircraft weapons) to the Free Syrian Army, training and intelligence support, and cooperation with rebels to secure chemical weapons.

Syria and Turkey: A Complex Relationship

Turkey’s role in helping the opposition has made things more difficult within the country, said Landis. Uncontrollable militias and other hardline fighters are among those battling Assad, and Turkish citizens don’t like their involvement, particularly Shiite Turks, he said. “Even if they don’t all sympathize with the Alawites (an offshoot of Shiite Islam of which Assad is a member), they don’t like the muscular Sunni militant aspect of this insurgency.”

Syria needs a twin-track negotiation

Since 2011 three failed strategies have been attempted, with weapons provision bringing up the rear. The regional politics of the conflict make the dangers of massive escalation imminent: it is time to find a transition acceptable to both sides.

The Economist: Higher Hopes – Can Syria’s new opposition coalition make a difference?

But the new body’s impact on the war in Syria is less certain. “Its influence on the situation inside the country depends in great part on its ability to get supplies to the rebels and rebel communities,” saysAmmar Abdulhamid, a dissident based in Washington, DC. “If it fails in this, it loses everything.” Mr Khatib has called for more than humanitarian aid to help cement his coalition’s authority, but officials from warier countries, including Britain and the United States, say recognition will come only if the new lot sets up effective technical committees, proves its popularity with Syrians on the ground, and brings most of the rebel groups under its umbrella.

Mapping Syria’s armed opposition: A sketch of rebel units, leaders and organizations — in military parlance, the ‘order of battle’.

While so much focus is usually given to Jihadi videos with their sounds tracks of religious songs reflecting Sunni doctrine, we rarely get a chance to see the other side doing the same. But, it has been clear since the beginning of the revolution that for many Alawites at least, the Assad-orchestrated crackdown was their version of jihad, one aimed at Syria’s Sunni community. This is an element of doctrine is beginning to get more prominence at this stage, as Assad tries to recruit the poorer classes in the Alawite community to join his militias. This video found on the mobile of a fallen Alawite militiaman, shows the militia lobbing missiles against enemy targets, but it’s the religious song inspired by Alawite doctrine that is notable here: Talk of conspiracy against the resistance and Assad’s speeches are no longer sufficient to motivate Assad’s Alawite supporters, the doctrine needs to be called in as well. This is rapidly becoming a confessional war with all the trimmingshttp://youtu.be/QDYGzHTd-bA

It’s for this reason, that we should take the advice offered by Simon Adams, the executive director of the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect, to heart:

The real choice in Syria today is not between Alawites or Sunnis, or between Mr. Assad and Al Qaeda, but between action enabling further crimes against humanity to take place and action dedicated to ending impunity for such crimes once and for all.

 

Video Highlights

A recently released detainee shows signs of severe malnutrition: he says he is 18 years old and was imprisoned in the Air Force Security compound in Hama. He was 80 Kg. (170 Lbs.) when first detained and he spent 4 months in detention. He is now less than 50 Kg (110 Lbs). He says he was accused of being a rebel, which he was not, but, he says, he will be joining the rebels once he is healthy enough to do it. Over 1,000 other people were detained with him, and everyday 7 or 8 of them died of torture or hunger. http://youtu.be/k7oVlryrZz4

The battles in the Eastern Ghoutah Region in Damascus continues to heat up, rebels managed to destroy an entire convoy near the village of Bouydahhttp://youtu.be/115ibVObfIc ,http://youtu.be/8THYcG3rp9M Clashes began earlier in the day http://youtu.be/U1IWZE2ZpGM But many civilians were killed in the pounding http://youtu.be/Na2SUzdJs0Y Assad’s tanks forced to withdraw from Harastahttp://youtu.be/6N5KuPCP6lg Meanwhile, MiGs continued with their daily routine of bombardment: Kafar Batnahttp://youtu.be/DxCgvAOt_QQHamouriyehhttp://youtu.be/CMeAq8-ckgUSaqbahttp://youtu.be/I0TkqYV71qQ People in Jisreen rush to save the wounded and retrieve the bodies from under the rubble after a raid http://youtu.be/3KOfdoJsU7k , http://youtu.be/r88o_3q_vn4

Pro-Assad militias torturing captives in Yalda, Damascus http://youtu.be/KuufacDHlpQ

The pounding of the town of Zabadani in Damascus resumes http://youtu.be/de-I54eUDWA ,http://youtu.be/3_jpLneFkqg

Leaked video shows the pounding of Haffeh District in Lattakia by pro-Assad militiashttp://youtu.be/Jfaiv-HzOIs

Rebels salvage the wreckage of a MIG that they have downed in Alboukamal, Deir Ezzor Province  http://youtu.be/Eo8IySFqFrQ , http://youtu.be/6LWUZukMUX8 The pro-Assad militias that were captured by the rebels http://youtu.be/bwctb9kD9Io Major sections of the towns have been captured by rebels http://youtu.be/e85s9UPfV08

The pounding of the town of Rastan in Homs Province continues http://youtu.be/XLyFsftRfw0 ,http://youtu.be/kt-Jdne5BpQ , http://youtu.be/qELXtNQXw3E

Putin Signs Treason Bill into Law Despite Promise to Reconsider

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, sitting before his newly expanded Human Rights Council, promised to review a new bill expanding the definition of treason, which potentially threatens anyone working for a foreign or international organization, in order to avoid overly broad interpretations of treason.  However, the following day he signed the bill into law and the legislation went into effect on Wednesday.

President Putin signed into law a bill expanding the definition of treason, potentially criminalizing sharing information with foreign and international organizations, such as Amnesty International or the European Court of Human Rights. (Photo Courtesy of The Telegraph)

Under the new law, which amends Article 151 of the Criminal Code, it is possible to be convicted of treason for passing state secrets to any foreign or international organization.  Furthermore, even if no secrets are passed, merely providing “other assistance” believed to be “directed against Russia’s security” may trigger a treason charge.  Even receiving secret information with no intention to use it carries the potential of being a treasonous act.

Unintentional acts of treason carry a fine of between £3,700 – £9,900, or imprisonment of up to four years.  Willing treason carries a prison sentence of up to eight years.

The bill has been gaining steam in the Russian parliament for some time (see Legislation Expanding Treason Definition in Russia Could Criminalize Foreign Funded Organizations for further background information).  On October 23, the Duma passed it with only 2 out of 375 adverse votes.  On October 31, in the Federation Council, 138 out of 166, with 2 abstaining voted for the bill.

Human rights groups have rallied against expanding the definition of treason, a move they see as motivated by a desire to distance Russians from Western non-governmental organizations, more specifically NGOs, to the detriment groups such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.  They further fear that between a lack of clarity and its criminalization of the unsuspecting, courts will use the legislation to convict, for example, those opposed to the government or irritate authorities.

Initially on Monday, Putin expressed a “read[iness] to return” to the amendments to look at them more “carefully.”  He seemed specifically concerned with making sure that “[t]here shouldn’t be any broader definition of state treason, [and] it shouldn’t address issues that have nothing to do with the instance of state treason.”

However, on Wednesday, his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, explained to reporters that Putin actually meant that amendments to the bill could be adjusted if “problem areas” were to arise.

Lyudmila Alexeyeva, 85, former Soviet dissident and veteran human rights activist, expressed her concern that the legislation is a step back for Russia: “It’s an attempt to return not just to Soviet times but to the Stalin era, when any conversation with a foreigner was seen as a potential threat to the state.”

Yabloko opposition leader party, Sergei Mitrokhin, explained: “Anyone can be charged under the new bill – the average activist as well as a Federal civil servant disliked by the government.”  He further charged that “[t]he Russian secret service is interested in having a legal basis for arresting dissidents or people who are simply inconvenient. Charges can be brought against any organisation or person deemed to be dangerous. The fact that the bill has been passed is yet another indication of the appearance of totalitarian tendencies in Russian politics.”

For further information, please see:

The Independent – Postcard from… Moscow – 15 November 2012

The Independent – Russia’s Broadened Treason Law Denounced as Stalinist – 15 November 2012

BBC News – Russia Treason: Putin Approves Sweeping New Law – 14 November 2012

The Moscow Times – Treason Law Expanded Despite Putin’s Pledge – 14 November 2012

RFE/RL – Controversial Russian Treason Law Comes into Force – 14 November 2012

The Telegraph – Vladimir Putin Signals Willingness to Review Russian Treason Bill – 13 November 2012

 

U.S. Wants Answers in Murder of Honduran Teen by Military

By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — American officials on Wednesday deplored the killing of a Honduran teenager by soldiers trained, vetted, and equipped by the U.S. government.

A picture of Ebed Yanes sits on his bed in Honduras. The 15-year-old was killed by soldiers who previously received training and support from the United States. (Photo Courtesy of Terra)

The Honduran military chased down and killed 15-year-old Ebed Yanes the night of May 26 after he drove through a military checkpoint.  His father, Wilfredo Yanes, uncovered a high-level cover-up, including new information leaked this week that the unit in question previously had U.S. support.

“The incident with Ebed Yanes was a tragedy, and we urge the Honduran government to assure the perpetrators are brought to justice,” said State Department spokesperson William Ostick.

Not long after the May incident, U.S. Ambassador Lisa Kubiske discussed the case with the Honduran special prosecutor for human rights, as well as the country’s armed forces.  U.S. officials “encouraged them to investigate the case fully,” Ostick said.

The Associated Press reported that the United States had vetted the unit before providing it with the Ford F-350 truck that it used to chase the teen from the checkpoint.  By law, all foreign units must undergo a vetting process before receiving any U.S. military assistance equipment, or training.

By all accounts, Ebed was an obedient son who never ventured out after dark, but on the night he died, he was trying to meet a girl he had befriended on Facebook.  He never found her.

Ebed’s body was found dead by 1:30 a.m., slumped over his father’s motorcycle, which he used to travel to meet his new friend.  He had a bullet to the back of his head.

His father, Wilfredo Yanes, vowed not to let Ebed’s death be in vain.

“I’m not only reacting to the impotence that my son’s death made me feel,” he said.  “I can’t allow for rights to be violated, and even less if it’s my family’s right to life.”

A witness told Yanes he saw at least half a dozen masked soldiers in dark uniforms approach a body, poke it with their rifles, pick up empty bullet casings, and return to their unusually large pickup truck.  The next day, Yanes picked up the casings the soldiers failed to retrieve.

The military initially said Ebed brought this situation on himself.

“Everyone who does not stop at a military checkpoint is involved in something,” the army chief, Rene Osorio, told the press.  One soldier, however, later told his own family that he was forced to lie about the shooting.

Within three weeks, three soldiers were under arrest, one of whom faced murder charges.

U.S. officials said Ebed’s death will not lead to withholding of funds from Honduras because that was already triggered earlier this year after reports that a national police chief had ties to death squads.  Instead, it has called the U.S. support for current Honduran police and military into greater question.

For further information, please see:

ABC News — US Deplores Murder of Honduran Teen by Military — 15 November 2012

The New York Times — Killing of Honduran Teenager Could Jeopardize U.S. Aid — 15 November 2012

Terra — EEUU Alarmado por Uso de Ayuda Militar en Honduras — 15 November 2012

The Republic — A Father Crusades to Get Justice for Slain Teenage Son–and Fix a Profoundly Broken Honduras — 12 November 2012

Two Zambian Soccer Players Injured in Stoning Attack

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

LUSAKA, Zambia—Two Zambia soccer players were injured when the African champion’s team bus was stoned late last night by two young individuals. The team’s goalkeeper, Kennedy Mweene’s injuries required stitches in his head after the bus windows shattered. The team was leaving Johannesburg for its hotel when the bus was attacked. Felix Katongo, a midfielder, was also injured.

The Goalkeeper, Kennedy Mweene Sustained Head Injuries Requiring Stitches. (Photo Courtesy of Fox Soccer)

The Football Association of Zambia said that it was “very sad that the Zambian bus was stoned and Kennedy Mweene sustained a head injury.” The Association also noted that he “has had stitches and is okay, but the incident was shameful.” The investigators are still looking for other minors who also engaged in this attack, throwing stones outside of the stadium and breaking several windows.

On the other side of the story, the South Africa Football Association told the press that two boys, ages 12 and 13, were apprehended just outside of the soccer stadium immediately after the stoning. The South African Football Association spokesman Dominic Chimhavi said “SAFA (the Association) condemns the incident in the strongest possible terms.” He also added that the youths were in police custody and that a case for “malicious damage to property” has just been opened.

This incident comes at a difficult time as South Africa is set to host the Africa Cup of Nations next year from January 19 through the 10th of February. The stoning also came after a match that was played in honor of the former president Nelson Mandela. Chimhavi reflecting on this said that these people are not welcome in South Africa’s stadiums.

Another SAFA spokesperson also said, “such people do not belong to the football family and once the investigations have been concluded, the police should send out a strong message against future perpetrators. People come to the games with their families and this behavior is not acceptable.”

The country has hosted a number of international events and has not experienced such conduct in the past.

 

For further information, please see:

BBC Sport – Two Zambian Players Injured After Attack on Team Bus – 15 November 2012

Fox Soccer – Two Zambia Players Injured in South Africa – 15 November 2012

IOL Sport – SAFA Condemn Zambia Bus Attack – 15 November 2012

Mail & Guardian – Boys Who Stoned Zambian Soccer Team’s Bus Released – 15 November 2012

Ecuador Government War on Rats

By Margaret Janelle R. Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 QUITO, Ecuador – The Galapagos National Park Authority (DPNG) is working with other conservation groups to affect Phase II of their mission to eradicate all invasive rodent species on the archipelago, before 2020, by dropping nearly 22 tons of poison onto Pinzón and Plaza Sur Islands.

The government’s goal is to kill off all non-native rodents, beginning on the Galapagos’ smaller islands, without endangering other wildlife. (Photo Courtesy UK Daily Mail)

The capacity of the DPNG has allowed for the control, but not the elimination of invasive rodent species, on the islands over the past four decades.  This operation, with an estimated cost of $180 million in this phase alone, aims to achieve just that.

“It’s one of the worst problems the Galápagos have. [Rats] reproduce every three months and eat everything,” said Juan Carlos González, a specialist involved in the second phase of the program.

“This is a very expensive, but totally necessary war,”  González added.

The tactical approach to the rodent elimination is technical and systematic.  The helicopters that will drop the poison are equipped with high precision satellite global positioning systems (GPS), which allow the pilot to maintain complete control over the application of the poison.  Specific routes, meant to cover the entirety of the islands, are cross-referenced with the GPS data to ensure complete coverage is achieved.  Reapplication will take place 7 days after the first application to make sure all the rodents are killed.

Phase I of the anti-rat campaign began in January 2011 on Rábida island, and about a dozen islets, which like Pinzón and Plaza Sur are uninhabited by humans.  Eventually the non-native black rats, Norwegian rats and house mice will be exterminated on all the islands, with the islands where humans live, Isabela and Santa Cruz, coming last.

The offending rodents, introduced by whalers and buccaneers beginning in the 17th century, feed on the eggs and hatchlings of the islands’ native species, which include giant tortoises, lava lizards, snakes, hawks and iguanas. Rats have also depleted plants on which native species feed.

The rats have left bird species critically endangered on the 19-island cluster 600 miles (1,000km) from Ecuador’s coast.

The rat infestation has now reached about 10 per square metre (one per square foot) on Pinzón, where an estimated 180 million rodents reside.

The project has various mechanisms built in that are intended to mitigate the affect on native species.

The poisoned bait, developed by Bell Laboratories in the United States, is contained in light blue cubes that attract rats but are repulsive to other inhabitants of the islands. The one-centimeter-square cubes disintegrate in about 8 days.

A total of 34 hawks from Pinzón were trapped in order to protect them from eating rodents that consume the poison, Sevilla said. They are to be released in early January.

On Plaza Sur, 40 iguanas were also captured temporarily for their own protection.

Asked whether a large number of decomposing rats would create an environmental problem, Rueda said the poison was specially engineered with a strong anti-coagulant that would make the rats dry up and disintegrate in less than eight days without a stench.

It will help that the average temperature of the islands is 24C (75F), he added.

The Galápagos, whose finches famously inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, were declared protected as a Unesco natural heritage site in 1978. In 2007, Unesco declared them at risk due to harm from invasive species, tourism and immigration.

For further information, please see:

The Guardian – Ecuador drops poison on Galápagos Islands in attempt to eradicate rats – 15 November 2012

International Business Times – 180 million Rats on Galapagos Islands to be Killed – 15 November 2012

KLFM 96.7 – Rat Massacre: Galapagos Islands To Kill Millions – 15 November 2012

UK Daily Mail – Ecuador drops 20 tons of poison on Galapagos Islands to wipe out rats and save unique native species that inspired Darwin – 15 November 2012

Parque Nacional del Galápagos – DPNG implementa plan para erradicar roedores de Pinzón y Plaza Sur – 11 November 2012