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Syrian Revolution Digest – Tuesday 31 July 2012

The Mother of All Transitions Looming!

… But into what exactly? As deadly battles rage on throughout the country, and the international community continues to differ any decision on intervention to some undermined point in a seemingly mythical near future, in the hope that the situation will miraculously work itself out, somehow, while, somehow, producing all the “right” results, Syria’s myriad opposition groups and coalitions are now rushing headlong to form myriad competing transitional governments, each armed with its own detailed transitional plan. Moreover, we now have the Americans and the Germanscompeting to take credit for helping some in the Syrian opposition form a transitional plan in what was supposed to be an exercise wholly-owned by the Syrians! But initial suppositions change, I guess, especially when the Americans and the Germans need to show that they are doing something at a time when they are doing absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, the killing, the pounding of cities, the cold-blooded massacres, continue, unfettered, unabated, unrelenting. Oh, this will be the Mother of All Transitions all right. But again, into what exactly?

Tuesday July 31, 2012

Today’s Death toll: 86. The Breakdown: 24 in Damascus and Suburb, 19 in Aleppo, 13 in Idlib, 11 in Homs, 10 in Deir Ezzor, 7 in Daraa and 1 in Lattakia.

Cities & Towns Under Shelling: Harasta, Arbeen, Moadamiah, Harran Al-Awameed, Ain Terma, Zabadani, Madaya, Eltal, Dmeir, Hameh, Yelda, Rankous, Qarrah (Damascus Suburbs), Sit Zeinab, Al-Qadam, Midan, Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Yarmouk, Kafar Sousseh, Mazzeh, Qaboun, Barzeh(Damascus City), Daraa City, Khirbet Al-Ghazaleh, Tafas, Bostra Al-Sham, Na’eemah, Mseifrah, Jimreen, Hraak (Daraa), Rastan, Talbisseh, Houla, Tal Kalakh, Al-Qusayr, Al-Hosn, Al-Ghanto, Al-Bouaydah, Old Homs (Homs Province), Hreitan, Elbab, Eizaz, Marei, Bayanoun (Aleppo Province), Haffeh, Jabal Al-Akrad (Lattakia), Deir Ezzor City, Mouhassan, Albou Kamal (Deir Ezzor Province), Kafar Zeiteh, Hawash, Shahshabo, Hama City (Hama Province), Jabal Al-Zawiyeh, Ma’rrat Al-Nouman, Saraqib, Maar Shoureen, Ariha, Kafroumah, Al-Rami, Khan Shaikhoon (Idlib).

News

Op-Eds & Special Reports

Syria’s Kurds Unite against Assad, but Not with Opposition A sudden political shift among Syria’s three million Kurds, who now control much of the country’s border with Turkey, provides an opportunity for the United States to better coordinate its policy with regional allies and to encourage the Syrian opposition to respect minority rights.

As Syrian War Drags On, Jihadists Take Bigger Role As the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s government grinds on with no resolution in sight, Syrians involved in the armed struggle say it is becoming more radicalized: homegrown Muslim jihadists, as well as small groups of fighters from Al Qaeda, are taking a more prominent role and demanding a say in running the resistance.

Spinmeister Ammar al-Wawi Peddles Upbeat Message of Syrian RebellionAs the Assad regime bombards Aleppo, the rebels are desperate not only to repel the military, but to shore up morale and build outside support. Ammar al-Wawi, the Free Syrian Army’s leading spin doctor, tells Mike Giglio the government is “like the walking dead.”

For besieged Syrian dictator Assad, only exit may be body bag “In his mind he is fighting against the imperialists and their pernicious allies for the people of Syria,” Lesch said. “He believes that’s his legacy. Perhaps that is the way he will want to go down.”

Syria rebels suspicious over defector’s motives Ammar Abdulhamid, a Washington-based Syrian dissident, said that while Tlass could provide valuable information, the opposition on the ground will not accept him as a leader. After so many months of “confrontations and sacrifice,” he said, “legitimate leaders of the transitional period can only rise from the ranks of the internal revolutionary movement.”

In cooperation with Impunity Watch and the Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies in Buffalo, it’s my pleasure to announce the launch of the “I Am Syria” Campaign – an effort designed to raise awareness in the U.S. and the world regarding the revolution in Syria and the massacres perpetrated daily by pro-Assad militias and troops, highlighting the need for immediate international action. You can follow our activities on YouTube, Facebook,Twitter and our official website. Please, “Like” us and spread the word…

The Battle for Aleppo City

One of the main factors helping the rebels in their fight for the city so far is the increased number of desertions in Assad armies, while not all deserters are choosing to become defectors at this stage, but clearly, and as reports by locals who came in contact with the deserters and often provided them shelter, soldiers in Assad’s army, especially the Sunnis, are becoming increasingly aware and resentful of their role as fodder. Many are also clearly ill-fed as well as ill-informed about the situation, they don’t believe their commanders, but they don’t enough about the rebels to know if they could trust them. Many just want to go home to their families, or at least they regions.

Scenes from the Battle of Salaheddine: A MIG in actionhttp://youtu.be/Qa9fBOgOW_k The pounding http://youtu.be/x1mHxpbPhec ,http://youtu.be/WYhdp3kuZv0 , http://youtu.be/WYhdp3kuZv0 ,http://youtu.be/mTvHu2OmeEs More MIG action http://youtu.be/gd1zeql4E4o ,http://youtu.be/jtUso_U04zs Al-Jazeerah correspondent is hit during his coverage of the battles http://youtu.be/OpCnO2YtceY At end of the day, the rebels remain in control, as one of their leaders speaking from his headquarters in Salaheddine assures us http://youtu.be/WejTfY-oYVw Impact of shellinghttp://youtu.be/sBbYxgFmFx8 , http://youtu.be/ZnAdHH0Eyfo More scenes from the ballte http://youtu.be/MbDMbu4F1Wk

In order to control Aleppo City, Assad relied heavily on two Sunni clans of smugglers: Al Birri and Al Hmeideh. Today, rebels put an end to the rule of al Birri, killing and capturing many of their senior members including their top leader, Ali Zein Al-Abdeen Birri, shown here http://youtu.be/RJMiMuMUk9I Despite specific instructions from rebel leaders to refrain from summary executions, Ali and few of his commanders were executed http://youtu.be/5Pjk1sYEjuU

In Bab Al-Nayrab Neighborhood, rebels wrest control of the local police station killing everyone inside http://youtu.be/bhSMVXyA8yc The protests we hear at the end is against shooting the dead bodies in order to conserve the dwindling supplies of ammunition. The rebels lose fighters toohttp://youtu.be/gXUzTPMKQ6A Scenes from the battlehttp://youtu.be/9HXasuWYeqg

In Salihein, rebels capture and kill the local police chief, Ali Nasr, who chose to fight to the end, and drag his body in the streets http://youtu.be/V8NLDfHLyeI ,http://youtu.be/cFhbAflScWI Rebels had given the General a chance to give himself up along with his men, but he refused http://youtu.be/4cZCRJdc7QAsome of the soldiers who surrendered himself http://youtu.be/11LAIJF7vN0Rebels celebrate their victory http://youtu.be/kxvyY5tVF74 More scenes from the battle http://youtu.be/Yt3BJlZQgjY The battle started at dawnhttp://youtu.be/gXSN1q-GEbg

In Marjeh, rebels battle to “liberate” the local police stationhttp://youtu.be/WrjmsJuo1h0 , http://youtu.be/PuXlUCuVVQA

The police station in Hanano, after “liberation” http://youtu.be/IOA7ItCz3uE ,http://youtu.be/6yEzU5r8ACk , http://youtu.be/kALkZkME5HY One of the torture devices used in Hanano station http://youtu.be/17UBC-bU1NA

On July 30, head of the Aleppo Military Council, Abdul Jabbar Okaidi, toured parts of the liberated neighborhoods, Al-Shar Neighborhood, and was warmly welcomed by then local inhabitants http://youtu.be/94FIRFDvc2U ,http://youtu.be/Iy_tmXm8llE , http://youtu.be/HdYecOBc-r4 Un Monitors also paid a visit to the city and met leaders of Al-Tawhid Brigadehttp://youtu.be/__OIWNtAOJM

Other neighborhood in Aleppo city remain under the control of pro-Assad troops and militias http://youtu.be/VRVX5kiTRiQ , http://youtu.be/clhXH9KNyzw

While Aleppo City and the Rural areas to the North have come under rebel control for the most part, the regrouping process to the south continues, with the formation of a new brigade http://youtu.be/gMpU7bzIcII But more units are formed in the north as well http://youtu.be/FXO7Hj1pdq4

Other Highlights

In Damascus Suburbs, the pounding of Eastern Ghoutah Region continues:Harasta http://youtu.be/wguKbLnQGE8 tanks and helicopter gunships subject the suburb of Zamalka to heavy pounding http://youtu.be/W6xiJtVsQAA The dead line the streets http://youtu.be/2ZKXlPc5RxE , http://youtu.be/aZnTn8fb9nsSaving the injured http://youtu.be/qUulgHgTA9M In nearby Yelda, the pounding claims more lives (July 30) http://youtu.be/xVKhGfecLYw In harasta, People inEastern Ghoutah keep regrouping as they welcome more defectorshttp://youtu.be/AIFVFRNcPBY In Ain Terma, rebels fight backhttp://youtu.be/lDBkSpqvrw4 and destroy a tank http://youtu.be/a6kyiQusz_k ,http://youtu.be/smlRmHtBQAA

In Yabroud to the north, flood gave people a respite from the shellinghttp://youtu.be/6YcAJK12vy0

In Damascus City, another massacre uncovered in Al-Hajar Al-Aswadhttp://youtu.be/UuVe9hWLoRM

Sheikh Miskeen, Daraa Province: mew massacre (July 30)http://youtu.be/tAmDQIDKVms , http://youtu.be/dVkJnQWDAOk Locals say the people were burnt alive http://youtu.be/d7Pbhz-wLQ0

In Daraa City, we can see pro-Assad troops as they remove the bodies of the dead and injured from a car they hit and take them away on board their tankhttp://youtu.be/lLR_Uy0owtQ The continuous pounding of Daraa City claims more lives http://youtu.be/vAVAmswAAQQ

The pounding of Talbisseh, Homs Province, continues http://youtu.be/LPakyV-Q_Mw , http://youtu.be/sq7KZKodRwY Locals keep finding bodies in the nearby fields http://youtu.be/tPJFXa73tjM The pounding of Old Neighborhoods in Homs City continues http://youtu.be/zTkAnhgd96g In Qusayr, people the spirit of defiance alive, despite the continuing siege and poundinghttp://youtu.be/0DQJexoEKR0

The pounding of Ghneimiyeh Village in Lattakia http://youtu.be/wF68fiM2xVIAkko http://youtu.be/aoHmyxfN5ag

In Deir Ezzor Province, the pounding of the town of Mayadeen continueshttp://youtu.be/xjq73cNBRLk , http://youtu.be/jNTZyRzqfJM But defections keep plaguing Assad troops, as more of them form a new rebel unithttp://youtu.be/S0bHufMbJso Scenes from a local battlehttp://youtu.be/OKxXvCCJ2RA , http://youtu.be/xc9Dw5UOeVo

Russian Government Facilitates Lobbying by Convicted Criminal Klyuev Against Magnitsky Sanctions at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Monaco

Press Release

8 July 2012 – Dmitry Klyuev, convicted in 2006 for a $1.6 billion attempted fraud, and lawyer Andrey Pavlov, who were shown to be central to $800 million of successive frauds against the Russian treasury uncovered by the late Sergei Magnitsky, both attended the OSCE parliamentary assembly in Monaco today in order to lobby against the Magnitsky sanctions. Their participation was facilitated by members of the official Russian delegation.

In order to gain access to the OSCE parliamentary assembly facilities, two members of the Russian delegation gave their badges and escorted Klyuev and Pavlov to the OSCE Convention Center at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The Russian officials helping Klyuev and Pavlov’s attendance at the OSCE assembly were Gleb Reshetnikov, secretary of the Russian delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (gleb@duma.gov.ru), and Ilya Kostunov, a deputy of the Russian Duma (http://www.duma.gov.ru/structure/deputies/131106/).

Gleb Reshetnikov (L) and Ilya Kostunov (R) helped Klyuev gain access to the OSCE parliamentary assembly.

“It is remarkable that Russian officials would advocate for convicted felon and his partner shown to have stolen $800 million from Russian people and involved in crimes that Sergei Magnitsky discovered for the exposure of which he was killed,” said a Hermitage representative.

Russian Duma deputy Ilya Kostunov who assisted Klyuev and Pavlov in Monaco is a former activist of Nashi youth movement, which is an organisation involved in attacks on Russian opposition figures and foreign diplomats. Most recently, in June 2012, Ilya Kostunov initiated an attack on Alexei Navalny, a prominent Russian blogger, over his anti-corruption work.

The details of the serial $800 million thefts and role played by Klyuev, Pavlov and his associates were revealed last month in “The Magnitsky Files,” an 18-minute movie shown in Washington by U.S. Senator John McChain and Freedom House David Kramer, and which is now available on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL9b5LP4Ubc)/.)  Over 280,000 Russians have watched it in the first week since its release.  The movie shows a pattern of joint trips by Russian government officials, Klyuev and Pavlov to Dubai, United Kingdom, and Cyprus after various crimes were committed.

Summarising the links between Russian government officials, Klyuev and his associates, U.S. Senator John McCain called on President Obama to proscribe the Klyuev group as a “transnational criminal organisation” and introduce targeted economic sanctions.

“Public information, much of it uncovered by Mr. Magnitsky himself before his arrest in Russia in 2008, suggests that the Klyuev Group has colluded with senior Russian officials to engage in bribery, fraud, embezzlement, company thefts, and other serious financial crimes…Activities of the Klyuev Group appear to put the U.S. and international financial systems at serious risk of abuse,” said Senator McCain (http://www.scribd.com/doc/98337177/Untitled).

“I write to you today to request that you begin a process to determine whether to designate and impose sanctions, under the Executive Order 13581, against a dangerous transnational criminal organization known as the “Klyuev Group,” said Senator McCain in the letter.

Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year old Russian lawyer who was investigating the money laundering by the KOCG, was falsely arrested, tortured and killed in police custody two and a half years ago. His killers have not been brought to justice in Russia.

The theatrics of swapping badges with the government officials for Klyuev and Pavlov to get access to the OSCE Parliamentary assembly was unnecessary. According to the communications director for OSCE PA Neil Simon:

“The annual session is open to the press and the public.”

 

For further information please contact:

Hermitage Capital

Phone:             +44 207 440 17 77
E-mail:             info@lawandorderinrussia.org
Website:          http://lawandorderinrussia.org
Facebook:        http://on.fb.me/hvIuVI
Twitter:            @KatieFisher__
Livejournal:     http://hermitagecap.livejournal.com/

Press Contact for OSCE PA:

Neil Simon
Director of Communications
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
+45 60 10 83 80
neil@oscepa.dk
www.oscepa.org

Danger Increases in Mali

By Vicki Turakhia
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

BAMAKO, Mali – School closures in Mali have increased the vulnerability for children making them susceptible to violence or recruitment as a child soldier. The increased violence in Mali has caused families to be torn apart. The age of the child soldiers are reported to be as young as 12 years old.

Since January, the fighting has displaced some 95,000 people within Mali and has forced more than 100,000 to flee (Photo Courtesy of All Africa).

Hassan Toure, a citizen of Mali, has stated that he chose to stay in Mali because he owns a shop there and wanted to prevent the shop from being destroyed or looted. But in March, Toure’s eldest son never returned home and is missing to this day.

While some children have been recruited as child soldiers, some girls also as young as 12, have been kidnapped and raped. In addition, UNICEF is fearful that 560,000 children are at risk for malnutrition this year with 220,000 needing a more involved treatment. Already, 70,000 children have already been treated for malnutrition in Mali this year.

Around 330,000 people have fled their homes in Mali, a fifth of them being children. Many of these people have fled to neighboring countries due to the fighting taking place in Mali.

As of April, the rebels in Mali have announced a new state called Azawad and are fighting with the help of the weapons from Libya. The group fighting for the separate state of Azawad calls themselves the Movement for the National Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and have been known to use child soldiers.

A separate group in Mali fighting against the MNLA, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), have also been using child soldiers. M’Bera, a refugee camp, is where many Malian citizens have gone to get away from the instability.

M’Bera is located in Mauritania and is now considered the fourth largest town in Mauritania. Security has become an issue, the Mauritanian government is reacting by providing free military escorts to aid workers. This is to prevent the same situation that occurred in Dadaab where aid workers were being kidnapped.

Other problems also remain with the availability of resources such as food, water, and firewood. The refugee population is now greater than the local population. The resources are depleted to a point where the humanitarian standard for providing 20 liters of water per person has been diminished to 10 liters per person, per day.

Solutions discussed include dispersing the people of Mali with the use of local hospitality of neighboring countries and people.

 

For further information, please see:

All Africa – Mali: Unicef Warns of Increasing Violence Against Children in North – 6 July 2012

Huffington Post – Mali Conflict: Children Recruited Into Armed Groups, U.N. Says – 6 July 2012

Yahoo News – Mali children raped, maimed, recruited by armed groups – 6 July 2012

All Africa – Mali: Beyond Big Refugee Camps – 3 July 2012

All Africa – Mali: Child Soldiers Used in Conflict – 4 May 2012

 

General Bachelet’s Death Confirmed as Aggravated by Torture

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile—On June 21, 2012, investigations confirmed that General Alberto Bachelet’s fatal heart-attack was induced by torture while he was held in captivity.

General Bachelet's Cause of Death Confirmed as Aggravated by Torture. (Photo Courtesy of Merco Press)

In 1973, Bachelet was charged with treason after showing support for the socialist President Salvador Allende in opposition to the military coup led by the late Augusto Pinochet. Bachelet died in captivity. Investigations as to the cause of his death were reopened by the Santiago Court of Appeals last year in 2011, along with another 700 cases of human rights violations under Pinochet’s regime and dictatorship.

Bachelet joined the Chilean army in 1940. He served as Brigaidier General in the Chilean Air Force and also served as a Secretary for President Allende’s government. Bachelet strongly opposed Pinochet’s military coup in 1973. Because of this, he was held captive at the Air Force’s War Academy along with many of his colleagues, where they were interrogated and tortured. Bachelet’s wife, Angela Jeria, and his daughter Michelle, did not escape Pinochet’s regime. They too were tortured and held in captivity until they were able to escape to Australia where they lived with relatives.

During the investigation, a forensic study was conducted by Judge Carroza, who was assigned to study and review the complaint brought by Bachelet’s relatives alleging that he had been tortured to death. The study convinced Carroza that “all the interrogations to which General Bachelet was submitted damaged his heart and was the likely cause of death.” Judge Carroza has also been assigned to investigating the death of former President Allende himself. While a team of international experts concluded that Allende committed suicide, many of his supporters suspect that he was killed by military soldiers.

Deputy Guillermo Tellier of Chile’s Communist Party (PC), who was also detained and tortured alongside Bachelet stated that, “The information submitted by Minister Carroza on the death of the father of former President Bachelet, apart from being painful for the family, is also painful for our entire society, which must relive these atrocities every time the justice system is able to establish the truth about the fate of our countrymen.”

In the General Cemetery, in Chile’s capitol city of Santiago, stands a memorial to honor more than 3,000 people who disappeared or were executed under Pinochet’s dictatorship. It is here that Alberto Bachelet is buried and his name appears on the monument along with thousands of other Chilean victims.

 

For further information, please see:

I Love Chile – Investigations Confirm Bachelet’s Father Died of Torture – 21 June 2012

Merco Press – Father of Former President Bachelet Was Tortured to Death by Pinochet Dictatorship – 21 June 2012

The Santiago Times – Bachelet’s Father Confirmed Among Chileans Tortured Under Pinochet – 21 June 2012

BBC News – Chile to Probe General Bachelet’s Death Under Pinochet – 25 August 2011

Turning Point for Human Rights in Azerbaijan

By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BAKU, Azerbaijan –  The legal affairs and human rights committee of the Council of Europe voted on a resolution that calls for Azerbaijani authorities to resolve the cases of more than 80 political prisoners and to ensure that no further arrests on politically motivated charges are made. By the passing of this resolution, the Council of Europe has sent a clear message to the Azerbaijan government to stop using its criminal justice system as a way to deal with political oppositions.

Vivdadi Isganderov, detained human rights defender. (Photo Courtesy of Frontline Defenders)

The adopted resolution comes from a report by Christoph Strässer, who was assigned to follow up on political prisoners in the country. Azerbaijan has denied Strässer’s visa for entry into the country since 2009. Strässer was forced to write his report without meeting with the political prisoners and relied on information provided by consulting Azerbaijani lawyers, and local and international human rights groups. His report listed around 100 political prisoners who are in detention due to trumped up charges.

Azerbaijan was admitted into the Council of Europe in 2001 but on the condition that they would release all political prisoners. Among the political prisoners is Vidadi Isganderov, a human rights defender who was sentenced for three years following a complaint he submitted to authorities alleging vote rigging during his 2010 parliamentary election. Instead of investigating his complain, he was charged and convicted of interfering with the elections.

“ARTICLE 19 welcomes this decision by the Council of Europe as crucial step in recognizing that political prisoners exist in Azerbaijan, something which the authorities in that country have continued to deny,” says Dr. Agnes Callamard, director of ARTICLE 19, a London based human rights organization.

Azerbaijani authorities released nine political activists last week, but a number of journalists, human rights defenders and activists remain in custody. This month alone, three were arrested on false charges in what appears to be retaliatory action for their human rights work.

Hilal Mammadov, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Tolishi Sadoi, was arrested on June 21 on alleged drug possession charges and is in pre-trial custody for three months. Mehman Huseynov, a blogger for Institute for Reports’ Freedoms and Safety is in custody and charged with “hooliganism”. Ilham Amiraslanov, an activist for the country’s 2001 flood victims is currently detained on weapons charges.  sent to pre-trial custody for three months. On June 12, Mehman Huseynov, a blogger and photographer at the Institute for Reporters’ Freedoms and Safety, was arrested and charged with “hooliganism.” And on June 8, police arrested Ilham Amiraslanov, an activist who worked on behalf of victims of a 2010 flood in eastern Azerbaijan, on trumped-up weapons possession charges.

For further information, please see:

Public Service Europe – Enough is Enough Azerbaijan Must Act On Human Rights 28 June 2012

Azeri Report – Council of Europe Adopts Resolution on Azerbaijan’s Political Prisoners 26 June 2012

New Europe Online – Amnesty International Welcomes Release Azerbaijani Activists 26 June 2012