This Week in Syria Deeply: 7 April 2013
[scribd id=134800138 key=key-27ft2v10v1opimrhadh8 mode=scroll]
Spanish Youth Rally Against Unemployment Crisis
By Alexandra Sandacz
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
MADRID, Spain – On Sunday, Spanish youths, frustrated by a lack of opportunities in Spain, protested in various cities against high unemployment and poor working conditions, which force them to move abroad to find work.
Hundreds of youths marched in Madrid behind a large black and white banner that stated, “We are not leaving, they are throwing us out.” Furthermore, the youth chanted, “We don’t want to go!”.
In addition to the protests in Madrid, numerous other smaller protests took place in Barcelona, Zaragoza and over 30 other cities around the world.
Mikel Revuelta, a spokesman for a grass-roots group called, Youth without a Future, stated, “We want to denounce the forced exile which young Spaniards are experiencing due to a lack of job opportunities.”
Currently, Spain is experiencing a recession that was caused by the collapse of a decade-long building boom in 2008. The employment rate reached 55 percent among 16 to 26 year-olds.
Unfortunately, the unemployment growth shows no sign of slowing.
However, last month, Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government introduced a 3.5 billion-euro plan to boost hiring of young people and help them start businesses. This particular plan includes reductions in social security payments for the self-employed and for companies hiring workers under 30 and training for young people who did not finish high school.
Furthermore, on Friday, the Spanish government stated it would invest 2.4 billion euros over the next three years to help rental housing and renovate buildings.
Unemployment caused tens of thousand of young Spaniards to look for job opportunities in other countries. Last year, more than 280,000 youths left Spain last year to find jobs in countries, such as Germany, Britain, Argentina and Venezuela.
David Garcia Jurado, a young Spaniard, stated, “It’s frustrating. It’s boring when you wake up every morning and you don’t know what to do. You try to study a little bit, study languages or try to learn how to use new IT programs, but you know that the next day is going to be the same.”
Jurado also stated he started to doubt himself and feels “useless”. “If you have an opportunity, in my case, you are lucky. Just an opportunity, just to have a door open. I just want to have the opportunity to demonstrate my capacities, my skills, my hard work. But now there are no opportunities in Spain. This is the only thing that I want, an opportunity. And Canada, for me, means opportunities.”
For further information, please see:
PressTV – Youth Spaniards Hold Job-Related Rallies – 8 April 2013
TengriNews – Spanish Youth Protest Around the World Against Unemployment – 8 April 2013
Aljazeera – Spain’s Youth Rally Against Unemployment – 7 April 2013
Deutsche Welle – Unemployed Yoth Turn Their Backs on Spain – 1 April 2013
Syrian Revolution Digest: Sunday, 7 April 2013
The Burden!
Should we be honored that a new regional order is being “negotiated” on our land, exploiting our differences, our fears, our desires and our prejudices? Should we say “thank you world!” for giving us such a “historic” opportunity, such a historic mess? Sarcasm aside, now that the resurgent “realists” are arguing more loudly for a sustainable stalemate in Syria, extolling its benefits for all different players, it should be clear by now that the Syrian civil war is bound to last for years to come, that a path out of the quagmire will be difficult to carve, and that the burden of the work will have to carried out by Syrians.
News
Syria oil industry buckling under rebel gains Exports have ground practically to a standstill, and the regime of President Bashar Assad has been forced to import refined fuel supplies to keep up with demand amid shortages and rising prices. In a sign of the increasing desperation, the oil minister met last week with Chinese and Russian officials to discuss exploring for gas and oil in the Mediterranean off Syria’s coast. Before the uprising against Assad’s regime began in early 2011, the oil sector was a pillar of Syria’s economy, with the country producing about 380,000 barrels a day and exports — mostly to Europe — bringing in more than $3 billion in 2010. Oil revenues provided around a quarter of the funds for the government budget.
Steep fall in Syria foreign trade in 2012: study The study, published in pro-regime daily Al-Watan, showed “the dramatic impact caused by the current crisis” on foreign trade. The value of Syria’s exports registered in the year 2012 dropped to a mere $185 million, a decline of 97.4 percent on the $7.21 billion registered in 2011. In 2010 exports were valued at $11.35 billion. The study attributed the massive fall-off to “the large-scale destruction of the country’s infrastructure and industrial supplies, causing many enterprises to stop functioning”. Imports also suffered an unprecedented sharp decline of 78.4 percent in 2012, dropping to a value of just $3.58 billion from $16.57 billion a year earlier. The study blamed “the important role” played by international sanctions for the decline in foreign trade, which had pumped up the trade deficit and weakened the national currency.
Zawahiri urges establishment of Islamic state in Syria to help return of Caliphate “Let your fight be in the name of Allah and with the aim of establishing Allah’s sharia (law) as the ruling system,” he said in his first message posted on the Internet since last November. “Do all that you can so that your holy war yields a jihadist Islamic state,” said Zawahiri, adding that such a state would help to re-establish the Islamic “caliphate” system of rule. “The enemy has begun to reel and collapse,” he said, referring to forces loyal to Assad. Islamist rebel groups such as the Al-Nusra Front, which has links to Al-Qaeda, have eschewed the main opposition National Coalition, making it clear their goal is the creation of an Islamic state to replace President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Women and children killed in shelling near Damascus: report Fifteen people, among them a child and three women, were killed in shelling of the towns of Jisreen, Kafr Batna and nearby areas, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers for its reports. Another six rebel fighters were killed in fighting in Nashabiyeh, also east of Damascus, said the Britain-based group. Some of Syria’s fiercest and best organised rebel groups hold enclaves east of Damascus — known as the Eastern Ghouta area — and the army has for the past several months fought to halt the insurgents in their tracks.
Syria Army Oust Rebels From Airport Near Aleppo, Activists Say Intense fighting is taking place on the outskirts of the “strategic” Aziza village after Syrian forces ousted rebels late yesterday after weeks of clashes, the U.K.-based group said on its Facebook page today. Aziza and Jisr Assan were used by rebels to attack the airports, the group said. Rebels have tried to capture military airports to reduce the government’s air superiority. In February, rebels including the Islamist Al-Nusra Front, a group classified terrorist by the U.S., captured the Jarah military airport in Aleppo province. They have been unable to seize the Aleppo airport and the Bab al-Neyrab military airbase.
Syria Airstrikes Launched By Regime, Rebels Warned Via Text Message At least 20 people were killed in heavy airstrikes that targeted rebels trying to topple the regime in at least seven cities and regions. To underline their resolve, the government called on opposition fighters to surrender their arms and warned in cellphone text messages that the army is “coming to get you.” State television said the aim of the counteroffensive was to send a message to the opposition and its Western backers that President Bashar Assad’s troops are capable and willing to battle increasingly better armed rebels on multiple fronts.
Report: Syria withdraws troops from Golan Assad’s army moves thousands of soldiers into battle fronts closer to Damascus, The Guardian reports. Rebels move into the vacuum.
Special Reports
Grave Robbers and War Steal Syria’s History Across much of Syria, the country’s archaeological heritage is imperiled by war, facing threats ranging from outright destruction by bombs and bullets to opportunistic digging by treasure hunters who take advantage of the power vacuum to prowl the country with spades and shovels. Fighting has raged around the Roman ruins of Palmyra, the ancient city in central Syria, once known as the Bride of the Desert. And the Syrian Army has established active garrisons at some of the country’s most treasured and antiquated citadels, including castles at Aleppo, Hama and Homs. For decades Ebla has been celebrated for the insights it offers into early Syrian civilization. The scenes here today offer something else: a prime example of a peculiar phenomenon of Syria’s civil war — scores, if not hundreds, of archaeological sites, often built and inhabited millenniums ago because of their military value, now at risk as they are put to military use once more.
Should America let Syria fight on? An unsettling new way to see the catastrophic civil war Many observers fear that Assad will fall and open the way to a five- or ten-year civil war between his successor and a well-armed coalition of Islamist militias, turning Syria into an Afghanistan on the Euphrates. The only thing that seems likely is that whatever comes next will be tragic for the people of Syria. Because this chilly if practical logic is largely unspoken, the current hands-off policy continues to bewilder many American onlookers. It would be easier to navigate the conversation about intervention if the White House, and the policy community, admit what observers are starting to describe as the benefits of the war. Only then can we move forward to the real moral and political calculations at stake: for example, whether giving Iran a black eye is worth having a hand in the tally of Syria’s dead and displaced.
My new paper, prepared for a briefing in Washington, D.C. that took place on January 15, 2013, is now out and is titled “Syria 2013: Rise of the Warlords.” It should be read in conjunction with my previous briefing “The Shredded Tapestry,” and my recent essay “The Creation of an Unbridgeable Divide.”
Video Highlights
Rebels in Khan Shaikhoon, Idlib, bring down a fighter jet http://youtu.be/pbFoCVy0QuM
In Raqqah City, regime pounding targets the grain silos http://youtu.be/9wuQpY8RuBQ Schools have become centers for refugees http://youtu.be/55iY1OO-u58 Water mains explode due to pounding http://youtu.be/qdegDTbUjQg , http://youtu.be/_aI2NQZE5Zs
Aerial raids against Eastern Ghouta in Damascus Suburbs leave many dead: Jisreen http://youtu.be/fdmuMeC1aV8 , http://youtu.be/amqbtml8axM Kafat Batna http://youtu.be/Zwh_FjrOWUg , http://youtu.be/QSx4e5MFUaY
Sitting Guatemalan President Accused Of War Crimes
By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
GUATEMALA CITY , Guatemala – Guatemalan president Otto faces accusations atrocities that would link his command to war crimes and crimes against humanity as the trial of former leader Efrain Rios Montt goes underway.
Rios Montt was indicted in January 2012 on charges related to 15 massacres of the indigenous Ixil people in 1982. Prosecutors have begun the trial by attempting to link this Rrios Montts history of representational inhumanity, and establish how as a general he willfully ignored soldiers who used rape, torture and arson as weapons against rebels. Montt has yet to take the stand, and when he does will be the first Guatemalan former head of state to do so on the charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Related to these incidents however was testimony from former army engineer Hugo Reyes that linked current president Otto Perez to war crimes an atrocities during the Guatemalan6g6y civil war. The engineer testified that under Perez’s commanded, soldiers’ intentionally and willfully destroyed property and burned homes and killed unarmed civilians.
These accusations led to statements that President Perez has vehemently rejected, referring to witness’s testimony as “a lie” and refused to comment on the potential testimony.
During the civil war, Perez was known as Major Tito Arias commanded troops along with another officer in northwestern Guatemala. Reyes, testified that the two coordinated the burning of homes and “pulling people out so they could execute them.” He continued by explaining how soldiers would take kidnapped civilians back to the military barracks where they were tortured, killed and then unceremoniously dumped into mass graves.
This is not the first time that Perez’s past as a military officer has led to speculation. When Perez took office, many questioned his participation in the war that took 200,000 people, and lead to the forced disappearance of another 45,000. After his ascension to the presidency, human rights activists questioned whether he would bar efforts to bring army officials accused of war crimes to justice, but beyond the rejection of Reyes testimony, Perez has not gone to lengths to stop the criminal courts from processing war criminals.
It is unknown if this testimony will lead to anything. As a sitting President he enjoys amnesty as a public officials and cannot be subpoenaed.
Reyes has stated that he fears for his life, explaining that he fears retribution from Perez and other military commanders stating “I’m totally sure that they feel nothing in their soul torturing and disappearing someone.”
For more information, please see:
Human Rights Watch – Guatemala Genocide Trial A Landmark – 19 March 2013
Reuters – Guatemalan President Rejects Testimony Linking Him To War Crimes – 5 April 2013
Stabroek News – Witness At Ex-Dictator’s Trial Links Guatemalan President To War Crimes – 5 April 2013
El Tiempo – ‘The Conviction Of Former Dictator Rios Montt Could initiate Reconciliation’ – 5 February 2013
Rwanda Commemorates 19th Anniversary of Rwandan Genocide with an Eye Towards Self-Reliance
By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
KIGALI, Rwanda – April 7th marks the 19th commemoration of the Rwandan Genocide. This year’s commemoration is marked under the theme: “Let’s remember the Genocide against the Tutsi while striving for self-reliance.”
Although 19 years have passed, the scars and horrific memories are still alive in the hearts and minds of many Rwandans, especially the survivors who witnessed the carnage that stretched to around 100 days.
From April 4, 1994, close to a million Tutsi ethnic minorities and some moderate Hutus were hacked to death by extremist Hutus in a violent ethnic bloodbath that lasted approximately 100 days.
This year’s observance begins with a weeklong commemoration that involves several activities including: visiting and laying wreaths at memorial sites, according decent burial to exhumed Genocide remains, giving testimonies, public lectures, and candle lighting vigils.
Although the activities officially last a week, the commemoration continues up to July 4, marking 100 days of the Genocide.
“As we commemorate the genocide against Tutsi, we celebrate many achievements attained as a result of good leadership but amongst all, we hail the reconciliation progress we have made in the last 19 years. This is seen in the way we work together and help each other regardless of one’s origin or colour,” says Landoward Mugema, a resident of the Karama sector.
Something new this year is the nation’s increased emphasis on the role of the youth. The youth have been urged to actively take part in the commemoration activities.
Students from universities and secondary schools participated in a conference in Kigali organized before the official commemoration. The conference was organized under the theme, “Sharing the past, shaping the future building on self-reliance” – a theme in line with the national commemoration’s focus on self-reliance.
In addition, a group of fifty youths from around Kigali have been trained to handle various trauma cases that are anticipated in the coming week.
“We, the youth, should be first to promote the culture of commemorating the Genocide,” Mahoro said, asserting that the youth can learn a lot from the country’s history.
The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight against the Genocide, Jean de Dieu Mucyo, said the youth have not been involved enough in prior commemoration activities, but added that their mindset is changing as they begin to feel responsible and own the activities.
Mucyo said the yearly commemorations help build peace, tolerance and peaceful co-existence in a nation that, not too long ago, witnessed one of the worst cases of ethnic cleansing in history.
“At the beginning, only the survivors and the leaders attended the commemoration activities, but now this has changed; everyone now feels part of commemoration,” Mucyo said.
After 19 years, Rwanda is looking forward to building a bright, tolerant, and self-reliant future never forgetting their nation’s most horrible tragedy.
For further information, please see:
The Sunday Times – Rwanda Remembers – 7 April 2013
News of Rwanda – Kigali Youths Trained on Trauma Counseling – 6 April 2013
All Africa – Rwanda: Nyagatare Residents to Cement on Reconciliation During the Genocide Commemoration Week – 6 April 2013
UN Africa Renewal – Rwanda Genocide Survivors Struggle to Rebuild their Lives – 5 April 2013
All Africa – Rwanda: Youth Urged to Participate in Genocide Commemoration – 4 April 2013