Syrian Opposition Rejects Assad’s Recent Peace Proposal

Syrian Opposition Rejects Assad’s Recent Peace Proposal

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian and international opposition forces refused a peace plan proposed by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during a speech he made last Sunday.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s (center) peace proposal was rejected the next day by local opposition groups and the West. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

In his speech, Assad called for Western countries to desist from finding and arming rebels, and said that he would be willing to work with countries “who have not betrayed Syria.”  Originally billed as the unveiling of a new peace plan, Assad did not offer to make any compromises in establishing peace with his opposition, and also appeared to take a tougher stance on many of his positions.  In his speech, Assad called on Syrians to fight “a war to defend the nation,” and made it unlikely for any prospect of negotiations.  This was Assad’s first address to the nation since June.

“We do not reject political dialogue… but with whom should we hold a dialogue? With extremists who don’t believe in any language but killing and terrorism?,” asked Assad.

Assad’s foreign opposition was dismissive of his speech.

The U.S. State Department denounced Assad’s speech, calling it “detached from reality,” while Britain said the speech was “empty.”  The European Union maintained its position on Assad, calling for him “to step aside and allow for a political transition.”

State Department Spokeswoman Victorian Nuland said of the speech that it was “yet another attempt by the regime to cling to power and does nothing to advance the Syrian people’s goal of a political transition.”

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi says that he endorses any decision which helps the Syrian people in putting Assad on trial in front of the International Criminal Court.

Assad’s opposition within Syria found the speech to prove that Assad is not willing to step down.

Louay Safi, member of the Syrian National Coalition Opposition Block, said that Assad’s speech was nothing more than “empty rhetoric.”  George Sabra, Vice President of the opposition National Coalition said that the speech itself did “not even deserve to be called an initiative… We should see it rather as a declaration that he will continue his war against the Syrian people.”  The National Coalition also noted that Assad refuses to hold a dialogue with rebels, making negotiations impossible.  The opposition claims that they will negotiate only if Assad offers to resign from the presidency.

Opposition groups are unwilling to compromise with Assad unless he offers to step-down.  Nevertheless, that is a move that Assad is not likely to make any time soon.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — Syrian Opposition, West Reject Assad ‘Peace Plan’ — 7 January 2013

Al Jazeera — Syrian Opposition Rejects Assad’s Peace Plan — 7 January 2013

BBC News — Syria Crisis: US Decries Assad ‘Western Puppets’ Speech — 7 January 2013

Reuters — Assad Peace Plan Greeted with Scorn by Foes — 7 January 2013

Icelandic Girl Fights for Right to Use Name

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – On all official documents, 15-year-old Blær Bjarkadóttir is identified only as stúlka, literally girl, because her name is not approved by Iceland’s Human Name Committee.  However, Blær has become the first person to challenge in court the Human Name Committee’s adverse decision in order to obtain the right to legally use her name.

Blær Bjarkadóttir and her mother, Björk Eiðsdóttir. (Photo Courtesy of AP and National Post)

Iceland, like Germany and Denmark, has an official “Personal Names Register,” which contains 1,853 approved names for women, and 1,712 approved names for men that confirm to grammar and pronunciation rules and are believed to protect children from embarrassment.  Parents may apply to the Human Name Committee for a special exception.

Blær’s name however, which means “light breeze,” was rejected by the Committee because it takes a masculine article, although it is an approved name for a man.

Björk Eiðsdóttir, Blær’s mother, had not realized Blær was not on the approved name list when she had her daughter christened, and it was only later that the priest informed her he had made a mistake by allowing the name.

Blær’s lack of a legal name has given her years of frustration, as she must explain the story of why she is officially called Stúlka when filling out forms or dealing with the country’s bureaucratic system.

“I had no idea that the name wasn’t on the list, the famous list of names that you can choose from,” said Björk.

Björk added that she knew a woman named Blær.  Accordingly, this Blær Guðmundsdóttir, born in 1973 is the only legal Blær in Iceland, named after a character in Nobel Prize in literature winning author Halldór Laxness’s 1957 novel, Brekkukotsannáll (The Fish Can Sing).  The author was friends with Blær Guðmundsdóttir’s parents, and may have influenced the Committee’s decision to approve the name.

Björk’s petition to have her daughter’s name recognized was rejected after she named Blær.  However, now Björk and Blær and have brought suit against the Ministry of the Interior for Blær’s right to legally use her name.  Their case is currently before a District Court, and a verdict is expected within the month, possibly on January 25.  Björk and Blær are prepared to take their case all the way to Iceland’s Supreme Court.

“The law is pretty straightforward so in many cases it’s clearly going to be a yes or a no,” said Agusta Thorbergsdottir, the head of the government committee of three people which hears naming cases.

The Human Name Committee has, however, allowed other masculine words to become girl’s names, among them “auður” (wealth) and “ilmur” (scent).

Blær’s situation is not unique.  In the country of 320 thousand, about 200 people over the age of one year have no name, and are instead listed in the National Registry as merely stúlka (girl) or drengur (boy).  In some cases this is because the parents have not yet submitted information to the Registry or the children are living abroad.  However, as is the case with Blær, the Human Name Committee may not have approved the person’s name.

First names hold particular importance in Iceland, where people are referred to by their given names and surnames are usually patronymics, derived from a father’s first name.  The phone book is indexed by first name, and even the president is called Ólafur Ragnar instead of Mr. Grímsson.

In recent years, the Human Naming Committee, which also has the power to veto adult name changes, has shown greater leniency, but still adhered to certain Icelandic language rules.  The name Elvis has been allowed, while names starting with the letter “c,” such as Cara, Carolina, Cesil, and Christa have been altogether rejected because the letter “c” is not part of Iceland’s 32-letter alphabet.

For example, Icelandic artist Birgir Orn Thoroddsen applied to the Committee to have his name changed to Curver and was rejected.  He said, “I can understand a clause to protect children from being named something like ’Dog poo,’ but it is strange that an adult cannot change his name to what he truly wants.”

Blær and Björk will continue to press forward with their first of its kind case.  In an interview, Björk commented, “So many strange names have been allowed, which makes this even more frustrating because Blær is a perfectly Icelandic name.  It seems like a basic human right to be able to name your child what you want, especially if it doesn’t harm your child in any way…and my daughter loves her name.”

For further information, please see:

Iceland Review – Many Icelanders Nameless in National Registry – 5 January 2013

Reykjavik Grapevine – Nobel-Winning Author Connected To Name Dispute – 4 January 2013

Iceland Review – Girl Named ‘Girl’ Sues State to Have Name Approved – 3 January 2013

Independent – 15-Year-Old Girl with Missing Moniker Set to Sue Icelandic Government in Fight to Legally Use Her Name – 3 January 2013

National Post – State-Approved Names Only, Please: Icelandic Girl Suing Government over Right to Use Her Name – 3 January 2013

RT – What’s in a Name? Quite a Lot, if You Live in Iceland – 3 January 2013

Syrian Revolution Digest – Friday, 4 January 2013

By Any Other Name!

Revolution, civil war, proxy war — they are all terms that denote transformation, heaven knows we needed it. The challenge ahead of us now is to remain vigilant and to keep learning, not just fighting. For whatever the immediate outcome of all these goings-on might be, it will not mark the end of the road, but a solitary milestone telling us what we still need to do to get where we want.  

Today’s Death Toll: 170 (including 14 children and 10 women)
74 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs (20 of them in Douma), 26 martyrs in Idlib (7 of them in Qmeinas), 21 martyrs in Aleppo, 16 martyrs in Daraa, 12 martyrs in Homs, 10 martyrs in Deir Ezzor, 7 martyrs in Hama and 6 martyrs in Raqqa.
Points of Random Shelling: 303
21 points were shelled by warplane, 5 points by barrel bombs, 3 points by Thermobaric bombs and 2 points by Cluster bombs. The mortar shelling was reported in 115 points, the artillery shelling in 126 points and the missile shelling in 30 points (LCCs).
Clashes: FSA rebels clashed with the regime forces in 143 locations and downed 4 warplanes today: 2 fighter jets in Aleppo Suburbs, 1 MiG in Deir Ezzor and 1 Helicopter in Taftanaz. The FSA gained control of 70% of Taftanaz Military Airport and killed the leader of the airport and the leader of communications. In Jabal Al-Zawiya, FSA rebels liberated Baidar checkpoint in the town of Rami and captured all the vehicles and ammunitions, they also gained control of Madjana Haboush checkpoint. In Zakiya in Damascus Suburbs, the FSA forced the Air Defense Battalion belonging to the regime forces to retreat from Abassiya area completely, and blocked at attempt by the regime forces to storm Dariya from the southern side. In Raqqa the FSA was able to control the Safeeh Oil Field arresting 15 soldiers and 2 officers in the process. FSA rebels also tried but failed to down a warplane that was shelling the area (LCCs).
News
Special Reports
Where are the demonstrations? The shocking disclosure that Syria’s civil war has claimed at least 60,000 lives has brought precious little reaction. To place this in context, President Bashar al-Assad’s murderous struggle to keep his stranglehold on power has now killed more people than any of the Arab-Israeli wars. Not one of those conflicts, going back to and including 1948, was remotely as bloody as the conflagration in Syria. The nearest comparison is the Six Day War of 1967, which killed 23,500 Arabs and 1,000 Israelis – barely a third of the death toll in today’s Syria.
Those grim assessments by U.N. officials are clearly intended to spur international stakeholders to act more urgently to end the conflict.
Rami Jarrah, a Syrian anti-regime activist now living in Cairo, is launching Syria’s first non-state-run news outlet to provide something he sees as sorely missing: objective reporting.
The Benetech report is only a reflection of available data — not a projection, estimate or demographic study. But there is information in the actual dataset itself that points towards a higher — and maybe even much higher — number of dead.
Though the humanitarian stakes are high, the European Union (France at the forefront) and the U.S. have chosen their allies and continue to defend geostrategic and economic interests by pushing for the fall of the Syrian regime. To pursue this objective, the political discourse is idealistic and focuses on the massacres and humanitarian issues while national interests are real, but not mentioned.
However, from a realistic point of view, the conflict can be viewed as a broader struggle between mainly Russia and Western countries which attempt to advance their national interests. For the West these interests are isolating Iran and bolstering the strategic and economic alliance with Arab allies like Qatar, which invests in Europe and offers an alternative to Russian gas.
This is an excellent analysis of why the conflict in Syria metastasized into a proxy war pitting Russia and Iran on one side, and U.S. and Europe on the other. By now, the reality of this development and the factors contributing to it are simply hard to deny.
Some would even like to argue that the entire conflict in Syria, not to mention the entire Arab Spring phenomenon, were indeed instigated as a reflection of an ongoing geopolitical alignment seeking to isolate Iran, support Gulf allies, and secure future natural gas pipelines. The problem with such analysis is that it simply ignores the genuine democratic aspirations involved on part of revolutionaries and the objective factors that paved the way to the revolutions: authoritarianism, corruption, the youth bulge, and the breakdown of the middle class as a result of introduction of neoliberal economic policies coupled with lack social safety nets and lack of economic opportunity. The Arab Spring and the Syrian Revolution are genuine indigenous phenomena which are now being coopted by a combination of external and domestic players with their own particular agendas. In Syria, the situation has indeed (d)evolved into a proxy war pitting Russia and Iran against the United States and Europe, involving the issues highlighted earlier.
Another thing we should bear in mind while reading this article is that the author, Milad Jokar, had previously made a similar argument and reached a conclusion that was a bit too facile in my view.
Earlier this summer, Vali Nasr, former special adviser to the White House and now Dean of the SAIS of Johns Hopkins University explained on Australia Network News that “the rebels are not democrats, they are too fractured. This is an uprising that is becoming increasingly bloody. It is now essentially a sectarian war between a minority Alawite regime and its Christian and Kurdish allies, and the majority Sunnis”.
Nasr already argued that the conflict “is no longer about democracy, and a liberal democracy does not emerge in these kinds of circumstances of violence and fratricide.”
He compares a possible fall of Assad to the situation of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2005 where “very quickly al Qaeda began to recruit among Iraqis and then sent Saudis, Egyptians, Syrians to come to Iraq to serve as suicide bombers and take over territories and confront U.S. forces and they became a major muscle within the insurgency”.
Today, we can clearly see this picture in Syria and the current situation confirms the words of Nasr, who warned months ago, “the more the control of the Assad regime erodes, the more you are going to have opportunities in which varieties of forms of illegal activities, from drug lords to criminal to mafia types and to al Qaeda, begin to finding the ability to taking over towns, villages and neighborhoods to operate at will because there is not going to be any police or military to push them out.”
What is happening in Syria is no longer about a democratic movement against a dictatorship, nor is it simply a civil war between two camps. Syria has become the theater of a proxy war which is spilling over to its neighbors. Consequently, to focus only on the departure of President Bashar al Assad is a strategy doomed to failure because it will not solve the conflict. The crisis is spreading far beyond the person of Bashar al Assad. Demanding the departure of the dictator can only be viewed as an attempt to advance the West’s geostrategic and economic interests, namely isolating Iran, securing Western energy supply policies and competing with Russia, and bolstering Arab Gulf allies; what it will not achieve is a lasting ceasefire to stop the bloodshed and a transition to a brighter political future for the Syrian people.
The last paragraph in particular is quite telling: Assad’s departure serves the West’s interests and is not conducive to a lasting ceasefire or a transition to democracy.
By the same logic, however, we can argue that keeping Assad serves Russia’s interests and is equally unhelpful when it comes to achieving a lasting ceasefire, or any ceasefire for that matter, not to mention facilitating transition to democracy. So, the author did not follow his own logic to its own logical conclusion and was unable to say that irrespective of Assad’s fate, no lasting ceasefire or a transition towards democracy is likely at this stage, thanks to this ongoing proxy war. As such, what we have to look forward to in the near future is civil strife and state failure. Both Russia and the West might be willing to live with this outcome for a while, albeit, Russia and Iran might be the ones hurt by it the most. The West might end up wiggling out a victory of some sorts in time, at which point we have to hope that the state can still be put back together, a development that cannot logically happen with Assad and his top aides on board. We simply cannot ignore the element of psychopathy involved in their case. But this development cannot happen unless a highly decentralized vision for administering the country is adopted by all parties. It’s this decentralized vision that might give minority groups a way to decouple themselves from Assad without fearing for their existence.
Be that as it may, the final outcome relies heavily on the nature of unfolding developments on the ground. Surprises can still happen that could twist things around.
Video Highlights
Many activists on the ground are still confusing incendiary cluster bombs with white phosphorous bombs, I did for a while as well. But experts who reviewed this video among others have confirmed that these are white incendiary cluster bombs, treatment for wounds resulting from such bombs is quite different from those resulting from use of white phosphorous. We have alerted many activists to this, and we hope to mount an awareness raising campaign in this regard as well, not that treatment is readily available. This video was taking in Jobar, Homs City where pro-Assad militias have intensified their attacks on restive neighborhood in order to drive out rebels and take full control of the cityhttp://youtu.be/rWWeO4ewnts Nearby village of Eastern Bouaydah was also pounded with cluster bombs http://youtu.be/SqQ1bb6zFKI
A leaked video shows loyalist militias abusing the dead bodies of rebelshttp://youtu.be/Qa2WuMQTp7c
This video reportage by Al-Arabiya shows how Syrian regime media fabricate lies about the rebels. In this part of this video, we see a girl with her face blurred claiming that she has been kidnapped and raped by rebels in the Damascene suburb of Harasta. In the second part, we see clips smuggled by a defector showing the same girl as she rehearsed her parts, giggling, making mistakes and is being corrected by her handlers http://youtu.be/zlyUTBtRq_8
Scud missiles are now being used more regularly in pounding rebel strongholds. This particular missile was fired from Al-Hisheh military base near Tartous City, the target: the Hama countryside http://youtu.be/C69xUPCcQOg
Shelling leaves many dead in Eastern Ghouta, Damascus Suburbs, especially inDouma http://youtu.be/VcRr-1ofV4c , http://youtu.be/qLUmdfFfabY A martyred child http://youtu.be/7qu2wMQIInY Arbeen http://youtu.be/6ZDv-lAZVNE Putting out a fire http://youtu.be/i6-k2RdoM1s And the pounding continued: Hamouriyehhttp://youtu.be/eu-Jfne3Mdk , http://youtu.be/QtxF15DSjP8 ,http://youtu.be/AUGyf012otk Saqba http://youtu.be/nwg4zlpQLVo
In Idlib, the shelling of the town of Qmeinas left many deadhttp://youtu.be/RBslSnKe7jY
Rebels laying siege to Manag Airport, Aleppo http://youtu.be/fuUyvqGndx0 ,http://youtu.be/8zAh1uJTeIA , http://youtu.be/rWV4quacW-Y
Clashes in Aleppo City http://youtu.be/Yy9F4mmFdZc

One Investigator Kidnapped, While Other Security Official Found Dead in Libya

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TRIPOLI, Libya – Ever since Muammar Gaddafi had been overthrown, safety officials have not been safe in Benghazi, as more than a dozen have been killed. The two most recent men to feel the effects of such danger are Chief-Captain Abdel-Salam al-Mahdawi and Lieutenant-Colonel Nasser al-Magrabi.

Police officers congregate to demand the release of their Captain Mahdawi. (Photo Courtesy of Saudi Gazette)

Mahdawi was the acting head of the criminal investigation department in Benghazi. It is believed that after leaving his farm to go to work, he was abducted at gunpoint by bearded men at a traffic light on Venezia Street not far from the criminal investigation police offices.

Mahdawi was known to have “many enemies,” stated an unnamed official who claimed that Mahdawi, “had files on everyone – Gaddafi loyalists, hard-line Islamists and common criminals.”

A small group of police officers staged a demonstration outside of Benghazi’s landmark, the Tibesti Hotel, calling for Mahdawi’s release. Officers held banners asking, “Where are the men of Benghazi?”

One man’s body was found charred by hydrochloric acid in Benghazi’s Buhmeida district. Officials have not yet been able to confirm or deny whether or not the charred body is what remains of Captain Mahdawi.

Interior Minister Ashour Shwayel has promised to “search for the officer [Mahdawi] and determine the identity of the perpetrators.” Nevertheless, legal experts and police investigators have kept their distance from the unidentified body charred by hydrochloric acid for fear that they have not been granted protection from the groups they believe to be the perpetrators of the attack.

One body that was found and identified was that of Lieutenant-Colonel Nasser al-Magrabi. Magrabi was a Gaddafi era security official who was part of the internal security services in Benghazi. His dead body was found shot, on his farm somewhere in the Sidi Faraj region.

No one is certain as to who are carrying out these attacks, however, some believe the acts to be conducted by hard-line Islamists who wish to punish those officials who formerly served under Gaddafi. Magrabi’s security services were responsible for detaining thousands of Islamists and other dissidents during the time that Gaddafi’s regime was in power.

Benghazi has also become a hot spot for other extremist groups to flourish, like those militants who attacked the U.S. Consulate and killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others this past September 11th.

For further information, please see:

Gulf Today – Qadhafi-era Security Officer Killed in Libya: Officials – 5 January 2013

Saudi Gazette – Top cop Kidnapped in Benghazi – 4 January 2013

BBC – Libyan Gunmen Kidnap top Investigator in Benghazi – 3 January 2013

New York Times – Police Captain in Benghazi is Abducted – 3 January 2013

Protestors Arrested During Rally for the Freedom to Assemble

By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – Russian police detained Eduard Limonov, leader of the Other Russia opposition movement, and various other activists during a protest to defend the right to assemble.  Article 31 of the Russian Constitution protects the right to assemble; however, officials frequently deny the necessary permits.

Russian police arrest opposition leader Eduard Limonov in Moscow during a rally to protect the right to assembly. (Photo Courtesy of RFE/RL)

Police arrested Limonov when he addressed journalists in Moscow’s Triumph Square. The Strategy 31 Movement organizes protests on the last day of every month that has 31 days to demonstrate the suppression of free assembly under President Vladimir Putin’s government.

As near by Muscovites watched, demonstrators in the capital’s main street chanted, “Russia without Putin!” and slogans calling for the right to free assembly. The protest in Triumfalnaya Square gathered 50 to 100 people. Opposition activists reported that the riot police arrested at least 28 people.

Putin passed a law in 2012 that increased fines for organizers and protesters deemed to have violated the assembly rules. As a response, Putin’s critics believe the recent laws are merely an attack on those who do not agree with the President’s views as he returned for a six-year term in May.

In his New Year’s Eve address, Putin did not address the protests that took place in the past year. He instead stated, “We believe that we can change the life around us and become better ourselves, that we can become more heedful, compassionate, gracious.” He added that Russia’s fate “depends on our enthusiasm and labor”.

On January 1, the Interior Ministry stated that all protesters arrested during the Moscow’s year-end rally for the freedom of assembly were released.

For further information, please see:

UPI – Moscow protesters arrested, released – 1 January 2013

The Guardian – Russian police arrest opposition activists at New Year’s Eve protest – 31 December 2012

Reuters — Russian activists detained at protest for free assembly – 31 December 2012

RFE/RL – Activists Detained At Russian Protests For Free Assembly – 31 December 2012