Syrian Revolution Digest – Saturday 10 November 2012

To live or die in Syria!

Syrian Revolution Digest – November 10, 2012 

Assad pledges “to live or die” in Syria, he is not the only one to have made this vow. Everything in Syria these days is about living or dying, even a simple walk to the local bakery involves making a choice about life or death. But this whole cycle started because so many of us yearned to live, really live. The martyrs are those who strive to embrace life and die trying. The peddlers and harbingers of death and doom know nothing of that, their occasional shows of bravery and defiance notwithstanding.

Saturday November 10, 2012

Today’s Death Toll: 107

The Breakdown: Toll includes 5 children and 3 women: 47 in Damascus and Suburbs, 14 in Raqqa, 10 in Daraa, 10 in Aleppo, 9 in Idlib, 8 in Deir Ezzor, 7 in Homs, and 2 in Hama (LCC).

 

News

AP Interview: Syria Opposition Blames West

Syrian Group Fights Effort to Unify Foes of Government

Moves to form Syrian opposition look set to end in failure

Fleeing fallen Syrian town, refugees fear Assad’s air power

Syria rebels take Turkish border town, Kurds alarmed

Syria: ‘Casualties After Two Large Blasts’

Syria Clashes Kill 90; Regime Tells Japan to Cancel Meeting

Syria army retakes part of key highway

IDF Changes Rules of Engagement Along Syrian Border According to a Channel 2 News report on Friday, the new orders instruct soldiers to respond if fire from Syria is dangerous and persistent. The report noted that while Israel wants to avoid such confrontation with Syria as much as possible, the main concern is that Islamist elements are contained along the Syrian border.

 

Special Reports

Syria’s Kurds: Civil Wars Within a Civil War

Even if they oppose Assad, many Kurds, particularly those aligned with the PYD, see the rebels as Islamist thugs acting on behalf of neighboring Turkey to control a post-Assad Syria. Many insurgents, meanwhile, resent the PYD and its armed supporters for staying out of the war against Assad, accusing it of being a cat’s paw for the regime.

Will Syria’s Rebels Face a Kurdish Front?

With Assad’s enemies now struggling to liberate areas from his tanks, fresh fighting between Kurdish militias and Syrian rebels around Aleppo threatens a second front for the already bruised Syrian opposition, notes Daniel Brode.

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: Bordering on Disaster

Lebanon has more than 100,000 refugees from Assad’s civil war. They subsist without camps, money, or hope. Jamie Dettmer reports.

The crisis in Syria

Syria is fractured and innocent civilians die but why should we be surprised? Geopolitics is, in the end, a game of elite interests that produces its own crises at the expense of the people.

A new normality in damaged Damascus

For residents of Syria’s battle-scarred capital, Damascus, life as it used to be has long since ceased, giving way to a pervading sense of fear and insecurity. Here, the BBC’s Lina Sinjab describes the effect of daily conflict on her and others who live there.

Post Election, Obama Gambles on Syrian Rebels

The U.S. has made its boldest move yet on Syria to date, pushing to create a new and better opposition that it can trust—and that it hopes Syrians will too… Many in the wider opposition have remained skeptical that the SNC is willing to share its leadership role. “The Brotherhood and their allies will not stand for something like this, something aimed so clearly at downplaying their role,” says longtime Syrian activist Ammar Abdulhamid. “In fact, the recent elections in the SNC show that they are baring their teeth by allowing more overt Islamist presence and control.” “The U.S. pushed for Seif’s plan,” he adds. “But if it fails, it will give [America] more reason to adhere to a policy of minimal involvement.”

Ammar Abdulhamid & Khawla Yusuf: The Shredded Tapestry: The State of Syria Today

 

Getting to Politics

We do need a political process to end the current conflict in Syria. But in order to succeed in launching that political process, we need to set the right conditions on the ground for it. Seeking the establishment of a transitional government is not sufficient. We need to set the right conditions on the ground, ones that are conducive to dialogue, and to accepting the results of the dialogue once agreement is reached. We also need to agree on what the dialogue should be about.

In the current context of aerial bombardment and continued military operations meant to help rebels consolidate their positions, setting the right conditions must involve:

1)       Agreeing ways to neutralize Assad’s aerial superiority, either through the establishment of a no-fly zone, sending MANPADs and Stingers to moderate rebel groups, or inserting small units made up of “foreign” troops armed with the needed weaponry to achieve the task.

2)      Once aerial bombardments of towns and cities stops and rebels have enough access to light weapons, they can proceed to secure the areas under their control and launch local political processes meant to help them administer their territories. Redlines that should be drawn to them in this process should include: avoiding entry into Kurdish-majority areas or areas where the majority residents are Alawites or Christians, avoiding acts of retributions and ensuring effective policing of troubled areas in order to prevent territorial consolidation by extremist elements bent on carving out their own turfs.

Until Assad’s air power is neutralized, rebels will not be able to launch any serious political process inside Syria, one that ensures commitment to democratic standards and fair representation of all political and communal groups involved. So, as long as the international continues to dither on this point, violence and bloodshed will continue and no viable political process can ever be launched. The West cannot rely on the expat and traditional opposition groups to speak in the name of rebels and conduct dialogue with the regime even as its planes pound rebel strongholds. A transitional government formed along the model proposed by longtime dissident Riad Seif could have a chance to reach political settlement only if there is a real truce on the ground, and no such truce can be imposed so long as Assad’s airpower remains intact. Moreover, no agreement with the regime will amount to anything, if local rebel groups and governing council are not willing to endorse it, and these groups will not endorse any process in which they are not playing an active role. That’s another reason for neutralizing Assad’s airpower. We need to create a window of opportunity for legitimate local political structures to emerge on the scene as a result of local elections. This development will allow local activists and rebel leaders to take part in the national dialogue and legitimize whatever agreement reached at the end.

Considering the kind of issues that need to be tackled in a national political process, local representation is of paramount importance. The issues that need to be addresses should include:

1)       Agreeing on new administrative structure and laws for the State to accommodate the country’s regional and communal diversity.

2)      Agreeing specific set of constitutional and legal guarantees for the country’s different communities and regions.

3)      Agreeing on the specific roles of the army and security apparatuses in the country.

4)      Agreeing on the scope of transitional justice processes that need to be pursued.

5)      Agreeing on a specific power-sharing arrangement until the above agreements are enacted.

Opposition groups, led by the Brotherhood, have intentionally avoided raising any of these topics so far except for occasional vague statements. For many opposition groups still embrace the fiction that a military resolution is still possible, and that the international community can still be coaxed into adopting a more interventionist policy following the Libya model. Indeed, the leaders of the SNC and Muslim Brotherhood in particular are still clinging to this myth, as it will allow them greater maneuverability later when dealing with these issues. Working from a position of power entails less compromise. What opposition leaders fail to see, however, is that we may not get to that magical time when they have power without tackling and compromising on these very issues first.

As for the SNC, and it’s only appropriate to end with them these days, considering their wonderful contributions to the cause of opposition unity, I have only this to say: personally, I have learned from my experiences not to be fooled twice by the same group of incompetent opportunists, and so I will not support the Syrian National Council even if they elected the Pope or the Dalai Lama to lead it. Supporting opportunists is not a sign of pragmatism, but of chronic stupidity.

 

Video Highlights

Residents in parts of Aleppo City grew so tired of the behavior of some rebels, on Friday they took to the streets chanting “the people want to topple the Free Syrian Army,” and “For shame, the FSA has Shabiha”http://youtu.be/h95MaCFVz70

Scenes from the battle fronts of Aleppo City http://youtu.be/0LCPimIH0bE , http://youtu.be/7Czw_iNf2bU ,http://youtu.be/ejRi6WfKp9Y , http://youtu.be/UGXSS1z2DZ4

Activists in the Damascene Suburb of Babbila rush to rescue the victims of aerial bombardmenthttp://youtu.be/ApnsB4K5mP0 And bombardment of restive neighborhoods of Damascus City continues: Qabounhttp://youtu.be/s3O5dk-0jN

In the Kurdish-majority town of Ras Al-Ain/Seri Kanye, rebels organized a small victory parade, they had some cheerers, but the majority Kurdish inhabitants are not happy with their presence http://youtu.be/dPaeKXyyBA8 ,http://youtu.be/JT3w5F7F8fY

Mosques and minarets continue to be a favorite target for pro-Assad militias: a minaret in Sheikh Miskeen, Daraa Province is targeted http://youtu.be/cBAEzENOxpE

Sounds of clashes in Daraa City http://youtu.be/GVblGM0_lTw

The pounding of the town of Rastan, Homs Province, continues http://youtu.be/CcCbPkhZRiA

UK Supreme Court to Consider a Solder’s Right to Life

By Madeline Schiesser
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, U.K. – Does a soldier on the battlefield have a human right to life?  The United Kingdom’s highest court plans to answer this question for the families of three soldiers killed in Iraq.

The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court will hear the Human Rights cases of three soldiers killed in Iraq in Snatch Land Rover incidents in February. (Photo Courtesy of the Telegraph)

Each case involves the much-criticized Snatch Land Rover vehicle.  The snatch had relatively light armor, and, according to The Independent, was “a vehicle so vulnerable to bombs that it would earn the nickname the mobile coffin.”  It was eventually removed from combat service.

Pte Philip Hewett, 21, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, died in July 2005, after the Snatch in which he was riding was blown up.   Pte Lee Ellis, 23, of Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, was killed in an attack on his Snatch in February 2006. L/Cpl Kirk Redpath, 22, of Romford, East London, also died in a Snatch explosion in August 2007.

The families of the deceased, including Hewett’s mother, Sue Smith, persistently filed a series of suits to make the Ministry of Defense (MoD) admit the danger of the Snatch and the need to offer British soldiers the same protects as any other British citizen.

Last year, Redpath’s father, Colin Redpath, said “All we wanted was for the government to admit Snatch Land Rovers were not fit for purpose. Generals and MPs have already said this.  We just wanted it to be recognized. People are still dying in Snatch Land Rovers in Afghanistan when armored vehicles should be used against improvised explosive devices.”

Smith added that her son “was at all times a British citizen and subject to the orders of his superiors, which is why he was in a Snatch Land Rover in the first place. If Phillip had known the MoD was going to wash its hands of responsibility for his safety the moment he was sent to war, I don’t think he would have gone.”

In October, a Court of Appeal granted damages to the three families (and to the family of a soldier killed by “friendly fire”) on claims of negligence.  According to BBC News, the Court of Appeal focused on two issues: whether the MoD owes a duty of care to soldiers who are killed or injured on the battlefield, and whether soldiers serving in operations abroad fall under Human Rights laws.

While the MoD argued that decisions about battlefield equipment were for politicians and commanders, the court found that an employer-employee duty did exist.  However, as to this issue of human rights, the court rejected the claims, but gave the families leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Currently, men and women serving in foreign wars are covered by European human rights laws while on base, but not off.  Ironically, the European Court of Human Rights has also ruled that the citizens of a country under occupation by a country bound by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are also protected, leading to a paradox in which under European law soldiers may at times have less human rights than the people of a country in which they are stationed.

Smith’s attorney, Jocelyn Cockburn further explained “It is anomalous that, as the law currently stands, that soldiers are capable of bringing others within UK jurisdiction but they are not within it themselves. We afford Iraqi citizens rights of protection which we can’t even give to our own soldiers.”  Cockburn hopes that the Supreme Court will take the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling into consideration.

However, according to the Independent, the Supreme Court has previously ruled in 2010 against protecting soldiers in the battlefield under the Human Rights Act.  Then Defense Secretary, Liam Fox, considered it a victory for common sense, and stated: “It is right that orders given in the heat of battle should not be questioned by lawyers at a later date. It would have been absurd to try to apply the same legal considerations on the battlefield that exist in non-combat situations.”

The U.K.’s seven-justice Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the cases during a three day session beginning February 18, 2013.  The appeal is being brought under Article 2 of the ECHR, which according to John Wadham, General Counsel for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, places a responsibility on the state to protect life in the context of the situation.  According to BBC News, a reversal of the Court of Appeal’s rejection is anticipated.

For Smith, getting this far gives her hope: “It actually gives me a little bit of faith back. Sometimes I feel the government is in control of everything that I am fighting a system that everybody works for. It is nice to know that I might have a chance.

For further information, please see:

BBC News – Supreme Court Judges to Consider Iraq Damages Ruling – 10 November 2012

The Independent – Exclusive: Supreme Court to Rule on a Soldier’s Right to Life – 10 November 2012

The Independent – A Mother’s Story on a Soldier’s Right to Life: ‘Initially, I just Got Blanked and Treated Like a Fool by Everybody I Met’ – 10 November 2012

The Telegraph – Court to Consider Whether Soldiers Have Right to Life’ – 10 November 2012

BBC News – Soldiers’ Families Get Green Light to Sue MoD over Iraq Deaths – 19 October 2012

The Telegraph – Families of Dead Soldiers Can Sue MoD for Negligence, Senior Judges Rule – 19 October 2012

BBC News – Relatives of Iraq Death Soldiers Make Compensation Bid – 25 June 2012

BBC News – Iraq Compensation Bid is Blocked – 30 June 2011

Sri Lankan Prison Explodes in Violence

By Karen Diep
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – On Friday, a standoff between inmates and prison authorities in the Welikada prison left at least 27 prisoners dead and 42 people wounded.

Army soldiers in front of the prison. (Photo Courtesy of Hindu News)

Violence erupted when hundreds of Sri Lankan policemen arrived to provide additional security to prison authorities searching for illegal items, drugs and mobiles among the prisoners.  Inmates subsequently broke into the armory and momentarily took control of at least a portion of the prison.

Media reports showed inmates on the rooftop shooting at both policemen and prison authorities below.  According to Mahinda Perera, a nearby resident, the standoff sounded like “a mini-war at the prison.”

Nonetheless, the situation has stabilized as of today.  “The prison is now totally under our control,” reassured Sri Lanka’s Commissioner General of Prisons P.W. Kodippili.  Furthermore, Mr. Kodippili believes that authorities discovered the bodies of 11 other inmates inside the prison ground.

Witnesses to the standoff attested that prison guards immediately fired at fleeing inmates.

Moreover, according to BBC, the Sri Lankan police acted without a court order, which initially aggravated the inmates.

The Prison Minister, Chandrasiri Gajadeera, stated that a three-member probe committee will examine the event.

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News – 27 Inmates Killed in Sri Lanka Prison Shootout – 10 November 2012

BBC – Sri Lanka’s Welikada prison clash leaves 27 dead – 10 November 2012

The Hindu – Sri Lanka prison riot death toll rises to 27 – 10 November 2012

 

*Update* Brazilian Street war and executions continue

By Brendan Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil – Another 13 people have been killed in gangland war that has consumed São Paulo. At least 130 people have died as the violence has increased between police and members of the gang known as First Command of the Capital (PCC).

A Bus Torched During The Recent PCC Crime Wave. (Photo Courtesy of Business Insider)

Multiple executions and assaults have commenced since gang leaders have apparently ordered this new wave of violence. Within the last week 51 people have been executed in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. While many of these are have been attributed to random and targeted shootings and drive-bys there has been a trend of specifically targeting the infrastructure of the city by destroying buses.

The nights have become dangerous, with state officials and police officers alike fearing what the darkness brings. Every evening criminals strike with stolen vehicles and deadly weapons seizing buses and burning them to the ground. On Friday evening five individuals approached and boarded a bus. As it was driving towards the next stop the passengers revealed themselves with  nefarious intent and assaulted the driver, stealing his wallet and careening the bus towards awaiting passengers before torching the bus. This reign of terror has spread throughout the São Paulo as 12 gang related homicides have become necessary casualties in the gang war. One unidentified officer told officials “I do not walk more with my son.” Continuing that “[T]hey come in cowardice, with very heavy weapon[s].” She continues that her life is clearly at risk in the heightened state of violence.

This targeted level of increased violence has led to prosecutors imploring for PCC leaders to be moved and separated from the general population of the local prisons. However, caution must be implored as last time this was attempted in 2006 the PCC issued orders that lead to riots and violence and the deaths of nearly 500 people.

Yet Geralod Alckmin, governor of São Paulo believes that not all the violence can be attributed to the PCC as other criminal groups may be taking advantage of the crime wave being conducted, or simply the levels of violence common to the large Brazilian city.

While the death count is hard to track and different newspapers have made different estimates, the newspaper “Folha de S. Paulo” estimated 159 victims to the specific PCC crime wave.

Approximately 90 officers having been killed in the city since the beginning of the year. This is has led many police officers to question their own safety and that of their families.

For further information, please see:

Correio do Brasil – São Paulo Has Another Violent Night, With Seven Dead And Three Buses Torched – 10 November 2012

Glovo National Journal – In One Week, More Than Fifty People Are Executed In Sao Paulo – 10 November 2012

Ultimo Segundo – Enough To Seven Deaths In Greater São Paulo – 10 November 2012

Ultimo Segundo – On Another Night Of Violence, São Paulo Has 5 More Deaths And Buses Torched – 10 November 2012

BBC – Brazil: 13 New Deaths In Sao Paulo’s Gang Battle – 9 November 2012

Housing Demolitions in South Africa Spark Protests

By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

 PRETORIA, South Africa – On Thursday, the housing department of the Gauteng province began demolishing homes that it said were constructed on illegally sold land, despite efforts by protesters to stop the demolitions.

An unidentified woman unsuccessfully tries to stop a bulldozer from demolishing her home in Lenasia. (Photo courtesy of Yahoo News/ Associated Press)

37 out of 113 targeted houses have been bulldozed so far. Since then, residents in Lenasia Extension 13, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, protested against the demolition barricading roads and setting tires on fire.

The protesters clamored for due process. They claim that although their houses were on the list to be demolished, they were never given notice contrary to a public statement issued by the housing department. One of the things the government could have done, they said, was to work out a deal with them that would have allowed them to properly purchase the houses and lots.

Their rally fell on deaf ears, however. Bulldozers, escorted by armored police vehicles, made its way amid the protesters’ makeshift barricades and continued to smash the houses on their path. The residents could only watch in vain as their homes were turned into rubble.

In one instance, the police had to drag a woman who was carrying a baby out of her house, but that did not stop her from trying to save her property. Once outside, she ran and stood in front of the bulldozer that was about to tear down her house, pressing her hands against it and begging the authorities to spare her home. She cried, “Please, please, please, don’t do it”.

The provincial spokesperson, Motsamai Motlhaolwa, said that the housing department was merely implementing a court order. “We are evicting people from a land that belongs to the department,” he said. He maintains that the land is intended for future government housing projects.

Motlhaolwa also claims that the title deeds presented by some of the residents were fake. Citing an investigation conducted by the housing department’s anti-fraud and corruption unit, he said that “fraudsters sold several stands (for amounts) ranging from 2,500 rand ($285) to 95,000 rand ($10,860) and issued buyers with fraudulent deeds of sale which bore the department’s official logo.” In fact, he added, the court ordered the residents not to build houses on the land in 2006, but a syndicate had convinced them otherwise.

Sam Mfupa, one of the residents whose house was demolished, asserted that the government should have arrested the people who sold them the land beforehand. He speculated that members of the syndicate might be “con artists from the housing department” itself.

Police spokesman Kay Makhubele retorted that residents should lay charges if they have evidence of corruption and their homes were destroyed.

According to Spokesperson Motsamai Motlhaolwa, owners of the demolished houses would not be compensated for their losses.

 

For further information, please see:

The Peninsula – Demolition of houses sparks protests in S Africa – 10 November 2012

The Associated Press – SAfrica police destroy illegal homes – 9 November 2012

News24 – Anger over Lenasia demolitions – 9 November 2012

News24 – Lenasia woman hysterical over demolition – 9 November 2012

IOL News – Lenasia locals protest housing demolition – 9 November 2012