Syrian Revolution Digest: Monday, 11 March 2013

The Holy War!

As calls for Jihad and counter-Jihad proliferate, and an all against all holy war unfolds, Syria disintegrates.  

 

Today’s Death Toll: 121 martyrs, including 8 women and 5 children: 36 martyrs in Damascus and suburbs, 31 in Aleppo, 17 in Homs, 14 in Deir Ezzor, 14 in Daraa, 4 in Idlib, 3 in Hama, and 1 in Jableh (LCCs).

Points of Random Shelling: 308 points. Aerial bombardment counted in 17 points. Scud bombing in 3 points, Shelling using Surface-to-Surface missiles in 7 points. Shelling using cluster bombs recorded in Busra Harir, Daraa. Artillery shelling in 102 points. Rocket shelling counted for 78 points, while mortar shelling counted in 102 points (LCCs).

Clashes: 159. Successful rebel operations include the liberation of the towns of Karnaz, Tal Jadid and Hammamiyat in Hama Province, and shelling the vicinity of the Military Security and Air Force Intelligence headquarters in Deir Ezzor. FSA rebels also seized control over the main road in Busr Al-Harir and targeted few locations where regime forces were stationed. In Aleppo, the FSA targeted a regime checkpoint manned by pro-regime thugs in Tal Shuoaib area near Nairab Camp and killed several regime soldiers (LCCs).

 

News

Deadly abuses intensify in Syria as war worsens: U.N. The Syrian government has stepped up indiscriminate, heavy bombardments of cities while rebels are executing prisoners condemned in their own makeshift courts without due process, U.N. investigators said on Monday. The independent investigators said they were looking into 20 massacres committed by one or the other side and hundreds of “unlawful killings”, cases of torture and arbitrary arrests since September in the two-year-old conflict… “In a disturbing and dangerous trend, mass killings allegedly perpetrated by Popular Committees have at times taken on sectarian overtones,” the 10-page U.N. report said. “Some appear to have been trained and armed by the government.”… “We are not saying that it is a sectarian war but we call attention to sectarian elements in the present conflict,” Pinheiro said. Foreign fighters from more than a dozen countries are estimated to comprise less than 10 percent of the opposition forces fighting the Assad government, he said. “We don’t want to contribute to a paranoia that Syria is being invaded by foreign fighters. But they have a lot of skills and have been very successful in spreading acts of terror inside Syria,” said Pinheiro.

Turkey Links Syria to Deadly Car Bombing at Border Turkey’s interior minister blamed Syria’s intelligence agencies and its army for involvement in a car bombing at a border crossing last month that killed 14 people, after he announced Monday that police detained five suspects. Four Syrians and a Turk are in custody in connection with the Feb. 11 attack at the Bab al-Hawa frontier post. No one has claimed responsibility, but a Syrian opposition faction accused the Syrian government of the bombing, saying it narrowly missed 13 leaders of the group.

EU Foreign Ministers Split on Arms to Syria The ministers were sharply divided, with Britain and Italy joining France in supporting eventual military aid for the opposition while Germany, Sweden and others see that as moving in the wrong direction. Sweden’s Carl Bildt warned that a military solution carries the risk of “the devastation of the region.” On her way into the meeting, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she supports a political solution.

Supporting Assad is a ‘religious obligation:’ Syria’s Grand Imam Supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a “religious obligation” of all Muslims, whether they live inside or outside of Syria, the country’s supreme religious ruling body said Monday. The state television quoted Grand Mufti Shiekh Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun as urging all Arabs and Muslims to fight so called “enemies of Syria.” The Assad government had recently claimed in an interview with The Sunday Time that it was the last “secular” state in the Middle East, reiterating that radical Islamists would come into power if the Alawite president was overthrown.

Assad ‘will fight to the end’ despite setbacks
“Now he is much more the ‘boss’ than before, though he of course could not do without his military and security supporters,” Nikolaos van Dam, a Dutch diplomat and leading expert on Syria, told AFP. “He will fight until death if necessary,” said van Dam, author of “The struggle for power in Syria.” “There is too much at stake here, not only for him, but for his Alawite followers and the Alawite community as well.” The Alawites are an offshoot of Shiite Islam, while the rebels in Syria are mostly Sunni. “The future may hold a long and ferocious civil war,” van Dam added… “He seems both more erratic and more delusional, still convinced he can win militarily,” said Berlin-based Volker Perthes, who heads the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Steeped in the “anti-imperialist” ideology of the Baath party which has ruled for 50 years, Assad believes Syria is the target of a foreign conspiracy because his government supports movements fighting Israel, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah. He also believes that control over Syria’s main cities – chiefly Damascus – and the west of the country will give him cards to play in any future negotiations led by the United States and Russia.

The Guardian Interactive Report on Aleppo River Massacre

 

Special Reports

Syria’s Opposition: Ready or Not?
there is no reason why a government, as opposed to an opposition, could not be the interlocutor with regime-designated negotiators in talks aimed at producing the peaceful, managed, and complete regime change transition agreed to by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council at Geneva last year. British and American reluctance on this score has less to do with who does the talking and the implications for continuity of government than it does with their own preparedness to take the next step on Syria.

The Enigma of the Syrian Nation
Today a political order is needed to manage the multiple identities of the Middle East—Syria included. It must not impugn them, suppress them or pretend they don’t exist. Orientalists, Arabists in particular, should stop railing [3] against the pre-modern heritage of the region. They would serve their fields by admitting that tribal, sectarian, and ethnic identities matter in the Middle East, trump all others, and deserve consideration in any thoughtful reflection on the region’s troubles. Absent that, no sense of meaningful civic identities, or genuine “citizenship” can ever develop, and Syria will prove a mere passageway to the impending unraveling of other Middle Eastern states.

What might have been: a decade of civil activism in Syria
The Syria Trust for Development was beginning to play an important role in Syria, when the Syrian uprising took place: an excerpt from a study of Syrian civil society on the eve of revolution that helps us to understand some of the deeper changes that were under way.

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.”

Onward Holy Soldiers!
In a statement read by Sheikh Mamdouh Junaid, the League of Syrian Ulema (Sunni religious scholars) responded to yesterday’s call for Jihad issued by Syria’s Grand Mufti with a call of their own. Today’s call was for Jihad against “Assad and his sect,” and threatened the international community that if it fails to intervene to stop Assad’s sectarian war against the “Syria’s Sunni people,” it will be considered a culprit http://youtu.be/lHKdR5D4MZY.

Yesterday’s call for Jihad by the Grand Mufti was not just aimed at Syrians, but at all Arab and Muslim nations. Many activists fear that the call is meant as a prelude for inviting Iran to officially send troops to defend the regime. In my recent paper “Syria 2013: Rise of the Warlords,” I actually predicted that Assad will resort to recruiting Shia fighters from other countries, including in South Asia. This development might be around the corner now. The Assads are not planning to give up despite their recent setbacks.

Activists today posted today a video showing Syrian TV running an actual Jihadi song titled “We will wage our battle against them.” If the video is not actually fake and meant as a joke, it would be the most surreal development to have taken place so far http://youtu.be/rLlpsDLrGVQ. Social media is picking it and describing as real.

Reports from Qardaha now explain that the weekend clashes happened when officials showed up to seek over 2,500 young Alawite men who are dodging the draft. Certain Alawite cans in Latakia may not be willing to directly challenge the Assads, but they are becoming increasingly reluctant to see their children being drafted and forced to fight against rebels, even as rebel groups inch their way towards Latakia City. If Alawite youths are to fight, they might as well fight to safeguard Alawite strongholds, rather than engage in a battle to safeguard Assads’ hold over Sunni-majority areas.

Still, an Alawite youth movement based in Turkey, the Coalition of Alawite Youth Against Bashar Al-Assad, issued a statement today promising to provide shelter and compensation for all Alawite youths willing to leave Syria in order to avoid the draft.

Meanwhile, a group of Alawite sheikhs from Latakia, where most Anti-Assad Alawite clans are based, came up with a 10-point plan to stop the current conflict. In the preamble, the sheikhs refer to a conspiracy against homeland, accuse all actors of working for their own private interests, and a accuse the opposition of being “weak,” “unable to lead the society,” and does not “represent the will of the Syrian people.” For its part, the regime is described as having become “weak and unable to manage the crisis to get Syria to the safe side.” This is not exactly an endorsement of the revolution, nor is it a reflection of a popular move among Alawites, but it does capture the mood within a certain small segments of the Alawite community.

The points: 1) A cease fire observed by all, 2) all non-Syrians should leave the country, 3) A committee of wise men should be established to oversee the implementation of the plan, 4) No more political kidnappings, 5) Assad should declare that he will not run for reelection and the date for the presidential elections should be moved forward to the last quarter of 2013, 6) all exiles should be allowed to return, 7) A representative national reconciliation committee should be established, 8)  Syrian should transition to a civil state with equal rights for all within a year, 9) the transitional period should be supervised by a joint civilian and military council whose members will not be allowed to run or occupy any position in the future, 10) no political party will be allowed to impose its ideology on the state, and the army should not dabble in politics.

Judging from comments on social media sites run by the opposition, the plan seems to have come too late to be taken seriously at this stage.

 

Video Highlights

Missile hit the recently liberated neighborhood of Baba Amr, Homs City http://youtu.be/8WNgCm-Q0b4 Tanks heads towards Baba Amr to take part in the shelling http://youtu.be/7Vn2zDHTMQs Missile launchers positioned inside Homs University are used in pounding Baba Amr http://youtu.be/EozPmjG-1nY The launchers as tehy enter the university grounds http://youtu.be/C2jz1ES_2Go MiGs take part in the pounding http://youtu.be/PJR9oX52u4g

Member of Jabhat Al-Nusra carried out a suicide operation against a checkpoint at Mashtal checkpoint, Damascus http://youtu.be/_3fW77WQ8To

Rebels bring down a Sukhoy warplane in the Raqqa countryside http://youtu.be/SiUYdw2iQgk

Another video produced by the Russians covering the tank assault on the town of Daraya in Damascus Suburbs http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=437792469635518 The view from the rebels’ perspective http://youtu.be/jl4Qx7GluMU

Heavy clashes in Daraa City http://youtu.be/Uf8Ck526Mh4 , http://youtu.be/9cbV567yzJ8 , http://youtu.be/DwXq2gdqNsg , http://youtu.be/rS75XcGg8f0

Heavy clashes take place in Rushdiyeh, Deir Ezzor http://youtu.be/Bz0CKaQ3KWE , http://youtu.be/5KL1Wq5L_eI

The towns of Eastern Ghoutah, Damascus Suburbs, continue to be the target of warplanes and missile attacks: Saqba http://youtu.be/4Pmp5wVheuk Arbeen http://youtu.be/vF791qGyDsE

Alraqqa Became the First Provincial Capital Came Under Rebel Control, Alassad Troops Continue Bombardment Alraqqa City with Scud Missiles, and Deep Concerns of Targeting Dams

On the sixth of this month Alassad troops targeted the city with two Scud missiles, the first fall south of the city , and the second one kilometer far from Almashlab area in the city, that’s makes the total number of Ballistic missiles targeted the city is 11.

In light of the inability of the international community to stop the Syrian regime from launching ballistic missiles against the Syrian, where SNHR documented through our reports until the moment at least for 73 Scud missiles we launched.

We are afraid and in a serious manner that the Syrian regime will avenge from the people of the province and the target Al- Baath and Al-Furrat dams.

In 12-2-2013, a Scud rocket hit Albaroda village, 1.5 Km away from Al- Baath dam, and another one hit Aaid protected area, 10 Km away from Al-Furat dam.

Al- Furrat, located 40 Km upstream from  Raqqa city. The dam is 60 meters high and 4.5 kilometers long and is the largest dam in Syria.

Its construction led to the creation of Lake Assad, Syria’s largest water reservoir.  The dam was constructed between 1968 and 1973 with help from the Soviet Union.

Raqqa Tand at least 1.3 million displaced people in addition to nearly half a million of its indigenous population.

Thus destruction of the dam will inundate the city’s buildings until the fourth floor and there will be no time to evacuation the city of its population, because the water will cross the distance between the dam and the city, which almost 50 miles in less than 15 minutes, the water level of the lack is 200-250 m rising from the sea – while Raqqa city rise 170 m and Dier Alzoor rise 150 m, that’s mean water will flood Raqqa up to 50 m and Dier Alzoor up to 100 m.

Then the Dam water will turn to destroy other cities on the same line, which is Ma’dan and Dier Alzoor, it will take less than 40 minutes to get there, and also Abu Kamal city on the Iraqi Syrian border.

To be mentioned that Al-Furrat dam has been liberated in 11-2-2013.

Recommendations:

Scud missile, classified by USA as a mass as a mass destruction weapon in Al Iraq case because of its ability to carry chemical weapons.

For that the International community in the maximum speed should protect Syrian from death and destructions cause using Scud Missile by Alassad Troops, almost two  Scud missile ever day.

SNHR demands international community represented by security council to maintain civil peace, in case it is not deter the Syrian regime, it will be considered as a green light, and it may led to a repeat a major disaster like Hama massacre in 1982, and hold the responsibility again to Alassad regime, security council and Arab League.

 

–

الشبكة السورية لحقوق الإنسان 

Syrian Network for Human Rights 

https://www.facebook.com/syrianhr

Venezuela Accuses The West Of Assassinating Hugo Chavez

By Brendan Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – With the death of Hugo Chavez the people of Venezuela have begun their morning period. But with the Venezuelan base restructuring itself to protect the transition of power come rumors and accusations of a western based assassination.

After his death on March 5, conspiracies fly concerning western assassination attempts on his death. (Photo courtesy of Human Rights Watch)

Since his death on March 5, accusations have come from the upper echelons of the Chavez administration have been implying that the United States and Israel conspired to assassinate Hugo Chavez and destabilize Venezuela. In 2011, Chavez upon discovering he had cancer implied that he had been injected by foreign imperialistic forces.

However at this stage, giving other people cancer via injection seems highly suspect. While Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has implied similarities to Palestinian Leaders Yasser Arafat death, even polonium poisoning does not give you cancer, and merely mimics end stages of cancer.

The assassination of a foreign leader has been denounced by the Geneva Convention, which in Article 37 of Protocol I states “It is prohibited to kill, injure or capture an adversary by resort to perfidy. Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence, shall constitute perfidy.” Beyond the rules of International Conflict, President Reagan signed Executive Order 12 333, which prohibits US Intelligence agencies from assassinating foreign leader targets.

Venezuela has since expelled two U.S. military attaches, and the U.S. has in turn expelled two Venezuelan diplomats. It seems that until the Venezuelan administration finishes their probe into Hugo Chavez’s death, tensions will rise between the two nations. Yet the possibility of an unbiased report seems unlikely, as in 2006 Chavez told reporters, “If they kill me, the name of the person responsible is George Bush,” unwilling to acknowledge the numerous Venezuelans who were economically displaced when the President altered the economic and social structure of the country.

When Hugo Chavez took power after his failed coup d’état in 2002, he seized power away from the court systems, and undercut the ability of journalists, and human rights defenders to exercise their ability to report on violations within the country. Chavez was able to use the government’s free reign to intimidate, censor and prosecute those within the country who challenged his political agenda. In September 2012, Venezuela announced its withdrawal from the American Convention on Human Rights, indicating a radical decision in the face of international scrutiny.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Venezuela To Investigate Chavez Murder Allegations – 12 March 2013

Tehran Times – Assassination Of Hugo Chavez – 8 March 2013

Gawker – Could The U.S. Have Assassinated Hugo Chavez Using Cancer? – 8 March 2013

Miami News Times – Did Assassins Give Hugo Chavez Cancer? Conspiracies Fly As Groups Request CIA Docs – 7 March 2013

Human Rights Watch – Venezuela: Chavez’s Authoritarian Legacy – 5 March 2013

6,000 Dead Pigs in the Huangpu River Ignites Concerns Over Water’s Drinkability

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Today, Chinese officials released a statement that revealed the number of pig carcasses found in Shanghai’s Haungpu River, a major source of drinking water for Shanghai, was close to 6,000.  Yesterday, nearly 5,916 dead pigs were removed from the river.

Authorities retrieving carcasses from the river. (Photo Courtesy of New York Times).

Officials stated that the water quality met the government set standard and thus, was drinkable. Specifically, the Shanghai municipal government claimed that the water in Huangpu River was safe.  No contaminated or contaminated pork had been discovered in the local markets.

However, many are still skeptical.

According to the Huffington post, many residents are concerned after seeing the pictures of “swollen and rotting carcasses.”

Laboratory tests have discovered that some of the dead pigs possessed porcine circovirus, a common disease that affects pigs but not humans. Moreover, authorities are disinfecting the pig carcasses before burying them, while incinerating others.

According to BBC News’ John Sudworth in Shanghai, the general mood is of concern opposed to outrage or panic. Chinese citizens are very familiar to food scandals – oil scraped from sewers for cooking and plasticizer in baby formula.

On weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, users are voicing their concern over the dead pigs.

“Cadres and officials, we are willing to provide for you, but please don’t let us die from poisoning. Otherwise who will serve you? Please think twice,” said netizen Shi Liqin.

“This river’s colour [sic] is about the same as excrement, even if there weren’t dead pigs you couldn’t drink it,” wrote someone with the username Yuzhou Duelist.

In the state-run Global Times, the article claimed that the “pig scandal” comes amid growing concerns about China’s environment, including recent record smog levels in Beijing and water and air pollution affecting villages.

“The country’s citizens, including both ordinary people and officials, should bear in mind the necessity of protecting the environment,” read the article.

Although the cause of death is unknown, officials believe that the pigs may have come from Jiaxing, a city in the Zhejiang province.

“We don’t exclude the possibility that the dead pigs found in Shanghai were from Jiaxing. But we are not absolutely sure,” stated Jiaxing local spokesman Wang Dengfeng at a news conference. Furthermore, Jiaxing officials also believe that the pigs may have been killed by the cold weather.

Today, a Zhejiang court sentenced 46 people to jail for yielding unsafe pork from sick pigs that they had acquired and slaughtered between 2010 and 2012.

Last year, Jiaxing authorities segregated a gang that acquired and slaughtered diseased pigs arresting 12 suspects and seizing nearly 12 tons of unsafe pork.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – China Pulls Nearly 6,000 Dead Pigs From Shanghai River – 13 March 2013

Huffington Post – Dead Pigs In China’s Shanghai River Worry Residents – 13 March 2013

New York Times – With 6,000 Dead Pigs in River, Troubling Questions on Food Safety – 13 March 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

India Demands the Return of Two Italian Guards Accused of Gunning Down Unarmed Fishermen

By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India – Italy denied the return of two military security personnel to India for the purpose of standing trial after the two security guards killed two fishermen off of India’s southern coast last February.

Pictured above, the two Italian security guards accused of slaying the Indian fishermen. (Photo Courtesy of News Bharati)

The two security guards were placed on the Italian tanker, Enrica Lexie, to protect the vessel at sea from pirates.  The guards encountered an Indian fishing vessel, which they described as hostile and approached the tanker in an aggressive manner.  The fishermen were unarmed.

After administering warnings to the allegedly aggressive fishermen, the two guards opened fire and killed the two fishermen off of India’s southern coast near Kerala.  The security guards allegedly responsible for the murder of the two fishermen had been detained in India except for a brief holiday when the men were allowed to return home to Italy to spend with their families.

More recently, the men were allowed to return to their home country to participate in their nation’s general elections.  The Italian government, however, issued a statement informing the international community that the two security guards would not return to India to stand trial for their crimes.

The Indian Supreme Court handed down a ruling that stated India had jurisdiction over the two security guards’ crimes and demanded the return of the two alleged murderers to stand trial in India courts under India’s rule of law.  Italy has denied India’s Supreme Court ruling, stating that the incident occurred in international waters and believes they should be tried at home in Italian courts.

Italy bases its decision to not return the security guards on its assertion that India’s court decision would violate the guards’ rights (specifically the principle of immunity for foreign state actors).  An Indian protest leader, however, believes that this decision by the Italian government will set negative international precedent that would encourage foreigners to murder innocent Indian people and escape.

A woman, identified as Dora who is the wife of one of the slain fisherman, denounces Italy’s decision and calls the entire fiasco a conspiracy against justice which needs to be exposed on the international stage.  The woman said that although the Italian government compensated the families for their losses, monetary compensation could not possibly rectify the losses suffered.

Dora demands that the Italian government return the two alleged murderers to stand trial so justice can be served.  Reports say that the Italian government paid the families of the fishermen 10 million rupees (equivalent to 124,000 British pounds).

For further information, please see:

BBC – India fishermen killings: Italian ambassador is summoned – 12 March 2013

The Guardian – India furious after Italy blocks return of marines for murder trial – 12 March 2013

News Bharati – Italy blocks Marines’ Indian murder trial – 12 March 2013

Reuters –  India summons Italian envoy over marine killings dispute – 12 March 2013