A quick exit for the colonel matters less than a well-managed transition, preparing the country for representative government
Brian Whitaker
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 August 2011
"....A meeting in Tunisia on Sunday evening between the warring sides has also given rise to speculation that Gaddafi's exit is under discussion again. On Monday, the regime seemed to suffer a further political blow when Gaddafi's interior minister turned up in Cairo with nine members of his family – ostensibly on a tourist visit, though defection seems more likely, as the Libyan embassy in Egypt was unaware of his arrival.
These may be signs that Gaddafi's fall is imminent, but there are still too many unknown factors for anyone to be sure. We don't, for example, know how much cohesion there still is within Gaddafi's inner circle. As they feel the squeeze, however, internal rifts are far more likely – and the interior minister's "holiday" may be an example of that.
Similarly, once Gaddafi's remaining supporters sense that his departure is inevitable, those who have depended on his patronage or supported him through fear of the alternatives will have to reconsider their options – and when that starts happening, the collapse could come quite suddenly...."
Monday, August 15, 2011
Syria left vulnerable by state violence
Bashar al-Assad's shelling of towns and killing of citizens leaves country at risk of imperialist invasion, says author.
George Galloway
Al-Jazeera
"The news this morning that the Syrian navy were shelling the water-front of Latakia - including the Palestinian refugee camp there - shook me to the core.
Not just because I lived in that camp last year, on that water-front, when Egypt's then-dictator Hosni Mubarak was stalling about letting the Viva Palestina 5 convoy sail for Gaza (after more than a fortnight of Syrian hospitality, the convoy sailed - though I was banned). The people of Latakia, a beautiful seaside holiday resort, were good to me. I cannot be silent about their suffering now.
More importantly, the news was shocking insofar as it calibrated how close we now are to a full-scale civil war in "the last Arab country" - as I described Syria in a speech in the Assad library five years ago, just after the Israeli attack on Lebanon was repulsed by the Syrian-backed resistance, led by Hezbollah.
Historically, I was never close to the Syrian regime. I'm writing this from my house - which I named Tal-al-Zattar, after the Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon which suffered a massacre - facilitated by another Assad - more than thirty years ago, and carried out by his then Phalangist allies.....
That's why I must say, for me, it looks like five minutes to midnight in Syria. For years, the president has talked of reform. But the more he talked, the faster his relatives counted their ill-gotten gains.
He has talked about the lifting of states of emergency while presiding (one assumes he's still presiding) over the mother of all emergencies in his country. He has talked about ending the Ba'ath party's constitutional monopoly as the "leading force" in the country - but it still exists, at least on paper if not on the streets. He has talked about elections, but of those there is no sign - and how could there be amid the carnage?
The risk of open imperialist intervention in this situation increases almost by the hour...."
George Galloway
Al-Jazeera
"The news this morning that the Syrian navy were shelling the water-front of Latakia - including the Palestinian refugee camp there - shook me to the core.
Not just because I lived in that camp last year, on that water-front, when Egypt's then-dictator Hosni Mubarak was stalling about letting the Viva Palestina 5 convoy sail for Gaza (after more than a fortnight of Syrian hospitality, the convoy sailed - though I was banned). The people of Latakia, a beautiful seaside holiday resort, were good to me. I cannot be silent about their suffering now.
More importantly, the news was shocking insofar as it calibrated how close we now are to a full-scale civil war in "the last Arab country" - as I described Syria in a speech in the Assad library five years ago, just after the Israeli attack on Lebanon was repulsed by the Syrian-backed resistance, led by Hezbollah.
Historically, I was never close to the Syrian regime. I'm writing this from my house - which I named Tal-al-Zattar, after the Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon which suffered a massacre - facilitated by another Assad - more than thirty years ago, and carried out by his then Phalangist allies.....
That's why I must say, for me, it looks like five minutes to midnight in Syria. For years, the president has talked of reform. But the more he talked, the faster his relatives counted their ill-gotten gains.
He has talked about the lifting of states of emergency while presiding (one assumes he's still presiding) over the mother of all emergencies in his country. He has talked about ending the Ba'ath party's constitutional monopoly as the "leading force" in the country - but it still exists, at least on paper if not on the streets. He has talked about elections, but of those there is no sign - and how could there be amid the carnage?
The risk of open imperialist intervention in this situation increases almost by the hour...."
Syria Attacks Protesters with Tanks, Naval Bombardment: “The Regime Has Made War Against the People”
"Syria has intensified its crackdown on opposition protesters despite growing international pressure. This morning, Syrian tanks and gunboats reportedly shelled the main Mediterranean port city of Latakia, killing one person and bringing the total dead to at least 28 since government forces moved into the city on Saturday. The violence follows massive demonstrations on Friday in which tens of thousands of people turned out to protest the Assad regime. On Saturday, a large crowd of mourners gathered in Douma, a suburb of the capital Damascus, for the funerals of four protesters who activists say were killed by security forces. We speak with Haitham Maleh, a leading human rights attorney in Syria who was released from prison earlier this year. We are also joined by his son Iyas Maleh, a Syrian human rights activist....."
Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll
This poll asks:
Do you see that the declared constitutional amendments are enough to effect reform in Jordan?
With over 1,000 responding, 82% said no.
Do you see that the declared constitutional amendments are enough to effect reform in Jordan?
With over 1,000 responding, 82% said no.
Thousands of Palestinians flee refugee camp near Latakia, Syria - UNRWA
By Ali Abunimah
The Regime of "Resistance" Now Targeting the Palestinians Too??
"Thousands of Palestinian refugees have fled their camp in the city of Latakia on Syria’s Mediterranean coast amid an assault in the area by Syrian forces, UNRWA Spokesman Chris Gunness told The Electronic Intifada by telephone from Gaza.
According to Gunness, UNRWA has received information from a broad range of sources that more than half of the camp’s approximately 10,000 residents had left the camp after being ordered to do so by Syrian authorities. Gunness said the camp had come under attack from gunboats at sea, and by land.
Syrian forces have been engaged in a violent crackdown on protests in a number of cities throughout the country and information has been difficult to obtain as authorities have cut off most communications......"
The Regime of "Resistance" Now Targeting the Palestinians Too??
"Thousands of Palestinian refugees have fled their camp in the city of Latakia on Syria’s Mediterranean coast amid an assault in the area by Syrian forces, UNRWA Spokesman Chris Gunness told The Electronic Intifada by telephone from Gaza.
According to Gunness, UNRWA has received information from a broad range of sources that more than half of the camp’s approximately 10,000 residents had left the camp after being ordered to do so by Syrian authorities. Gunness said the camp had come under attack from gunboats at sea, and by land.
Syrian forces have been engaged in a violent crackdown on protests in a number of cities throughout the country and information has been difficult to obtain as authorities have cut off most communications......"
Real News Video: Fault Lines: The Top 1%
Al Jazeera: The richest 1% of US Americans earn nearly a quarter of the country's income and control an astonishing 40% of its wealth
Video: Hosni Mubarak returns to court in Cairo
Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak arrived at court in Cairo to face charges of corruption and of unlawful killing of protesters earlier this year during the uprising against his rule.
Scuffles between opponents and supporters of the ousted 83-year-old Mubarak broke out outside the court.
The Cairo criminal court will decide whether Muhammad Tantawi, the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian forces and de facto head of state, will be called to testify at Mubarak's trial
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 August 2011
Scuffles between opponents and supporters of the ousted 83-year-old Mubarak broke out outside the court.
The Cairo criminal court will decide whether Muhammad Tantawi, the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian forces and de facto head of state, will be called to testify at Mubarak's trial
guardian.co.uk, Monday 15 August 2011
Mubarak behind bars: Human rights & justice
Human rights standards may not be met in this trial, but the more essential purpose is to prove there's no going back.
Phyllis Bennis
Al-Jazeera
".....Right now, six months after the heady days of Tahrir Square and six months after the extraordinary ouster of Mubarak from power, Egypt's future remains uncertain. The military - Mubarak's old military, largely unchanged - remains far too powerful. The military-appointed interim government remains torn between retaining popular credibility by responding to the still-unmet demands of the still-mobilised population, and remaining in office by acceding to the dictates of their military overseers. There are no guarantees. Except for the fact that Egypt's people, the people of Tahrir Square, have lost their fear of the government and the military. They are still mobilised, they are still working to hold at least parts of the overthrown dictatorship to account.
Many people remain understandably uneasy about what Egypt's future holds. The struggle to shift power - real power, not only symbolic power - away from the military and to the people of Tahrir Square, continues. It is precisely in that context that the importance of the trial of Hosni Mubarak sharpens: it is proof that, whatever comes next, whatever structures of privilege and oppression Egyptians continue to face, it will not be the same as before. The trial of Mubarak shows there's no going back."
Phyllis Bennis
Al-Jazeera
".....Right now, six months after the heady days of Tahrir Square and six months after the extraordinary ouster of Mubarak from power, Egypt's future remains uncertain. The military - Mubarak's old military, largely unchanged - remains far too powerful. The military-appointed interim government remains torn between retaining popular credibility by responding to the still-unmet demands of the still-mobilised population, and remaining in office by acceding to the dictates of their military overseers. There are no guarantees. Except for the fact that Egypt's people, the people of Tahrir Square, have lost their fear of the government and the military. They are still mobilised, they are still working to hold at least parts of the overthrown dictatorship to account.
Many people remain understandably uneasy about what Egypt's future holds. The struggle to shift power - real power, not only symbolic power - away from the military and to the people of Tahrir Square, continues. It is precisely in that context that the importance of the trial of Hosni Mubarak sharpens: it is proof that, whatever comes next, whatever structures of privilege and oppression Egyptians continue to face, it will not be the same as before. The trial of Mubarak shows there's no going back."
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Video: Assad's forces attack Syrian port city of Latakia
Amateur footage uploaded to YouTube shows President Bashar al-Assad's tanks prowling the waterfront of the Syrian port city.
Anti-government activists say gunboats and armoured vehicles have fired on the Sunni-majority city, killing at least 19 people
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 14 August 2011
Anti-government activists say gunboats and armoured vehicles have fired on the Sunni-majority city, killing at least 19 people
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 14 August 2011
Al-Jazeera Video: United States Intervention in Syria
"This interview was conducted with Jadaliyya Co-Editor, Bassam Haddad, on the role of the United States in Syria."
Today's Cartoon by the Syrian Cartoonist Ali Ferzat
By order of the Syrian Ba'th Party, click on cartoon to enlarge.
Assad's forces pound Syrian port city of Latakia
Anti-government activists say gunboats and armoured vehicles have fired on Sunni-majority city, killing at least 19 people
Nour Ali
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 14 August 2011
"At least 19 people were shot dead in the Syrian port city of Latakia on Sunday morning as the Assad regime's aggressive military campaign to quell protests during the holy month of Ramadan continued.
Machine guns were fired from at least one ship and several armoured vehicles at the neighbourhood of Ramel, according to local residents and activists.
"Tanks and armoured cars entered as far as possible into the narrow streets and they started to use machine guns to fire at some houses," said Amer al-Sadeq, a pseudonym for a representative of the Syrian Revolution Co-ordinators Union.
Another local activist network, the Local Co-ordination Committees, posted amateur footage on its Facebook page showing a boat apparently patrolling the Latakia coastline, although its location could not be confirmed.....
Ahmad said a small number of soldiers had defected in the area to join the fightback against the regime. "Now there is a battle between defected soldiers and the others," he said.
Radwan Ziadeh, a US-based Syrian human rights expert, told the Guardian: "The regime is repeating what it did in Hama and Deir Ezzor to try to put an end to this. And every time we see more violence, some soldiers defect, and we see more violence."
Opposition figures are looking for greater splits in the army than handfuls of defectors, which they see as key to toppling the regime. The regime, which has not spoken about the assault in Latakia, claims it is fighting armed gangs and Islamists."
Nour Ali
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 14 August 2011
"At least 19 people were shot dead in the Syrian port city of Latakia on Sunday morning as the Assad regime's aggressive military campaign to quell protests during the holy month of Ramadan continued.
Machine guns were fired from at least one ship and several armoured vehicles at the neighbourhood of Ramel, according to local residents and activists.
"Tanks and armoured cars entered as far as possible into the narrow streets and they started to use machine guns to fire at some houses," said Amer al-Sadeq, a pseudonym for a representative of the Syrian Revolution Co-ordinators Union.
Another local activist network, the Local Co-ordination Committees, posted amateur footage on its Facebook page showing a boat apparently patrolling the Latakia coastline, although its location could not be confirmed.....
Ahmad said a small number of soldiers had defected in the area to join the fightback against the regime. "Now there is a battle between defected soldiers and the others," he said.
Radwan Ziadeh, a US-based Syrian human rights expert, told the Guardian: "The regime is repeating what it did in Hama and Deir Ezzor to try to put an end to this. And every time we see more violence, some soldiers defect, and we see more violence."
Opposition figures are looking for greater splits in the army than handfuls of defectors, which they see as key to toppling the regime. The regime, which has not spoken about the assault in Latakia, claims it is fighting armed gangs and Islamists."
Horrors in Hama
A trainee doctor tells of the bloodshed he witnessed during the Syrian army's siege of the city of Hama.
Hugh Macleod and Annasofie Flamand
Al-Jazeera
"....
Intense shelling
The morning before, the young doctor had been woken at around 5am by the sounds of explosions. His home is in Hama's Hader district, one of the heaviest hit.
Syrian tanks had begun shelling Hama, a return to the nightmare of 1982 when Assad's father, former President Hafez al-Assad, ordered a military assault on the town to crush an armed rebellion by the Muslim Brotherhood, killing between 20,000 and 30,000 civilians.
A generation later, Hama's residents were again being bombed, shot, stabbed and looted by Assad's security forces for having turned out in massive numbers for peaceful, often joyous rallies, filling the city's central squares - week after week - with colourful flags, posters and chants calling for freedom and an end to oppression.....
'Babies dying'
Activists said at least 54 people were confirmed killed by security forces on that first day of the assault, with a further 160 injured. Four days later, 109 people were killed in a single day. Activists estimate between 200 and 300 people were killed in the ten-day assault, but an exact figure has yet to be established, due to the ongoing security restrictions.
As well as snipers shooting at anyone trying to reach hospitals, tanks were deployed in front of Horany and the city's other main hospital, Bader.....
'Mass graves'
Avaaz and other rights groups are currently investigating the disappearance of scores of bodies, including at least 50 from a mosque in Assi Square. Avaaz citizen journalists have reported the presence of at least three mass graves in Hama since the assault began.
When they could no longer terrorise residents on the streets, gangs of shabiha "thugs", alongside plain clothes secret police, came breaking through doors, beating families in their homes before stealing gold, money and television sets.
"I had a big stick in case the shabiha came," said the young doctor. "They can kill anyone, steal anything and maybe even rape the girls. So I couldn't leave my family."....
Residents fleeing
Passing from one area of Hama to the next was "as if I was going to another country", said the Al Jazeera contributor, such were the number of checkpoints. Many thousands of Hama residents fled the onslaught. A conservative estimate by an Avaaz citizen journalist put the figure at 5,000. Other activists put it much higher....."
Hugh Macleod and Annasofie Flamand
Al-Jazeera
"....
Intense shelling
The morning before, the young doctor had been woken at around 5am by the sounds of explosions. His home is in Hama's Hader district, one of the heaviest hit.
Syrian tanks had begun shelling Hama, a return to the nightmare of 1982 when Assad's father, former President Hafez al-Assad, ordered a military assault on the town to crush an armed rebellion by the Muslim Brotherhood, killing between 20,000 and 30,000 civilians.
A generation later, Hama's residents were again being bombed, shot, stabbed and looted by Assad's security forces for having turned out in massive numbers for peaceful, often joyous rallies, filling the city's central squares - week after week - with colourful flags, posters and chants calling for freedom and an end to oppression.....
'Babies dying'
Activists said at least 54 people were confirmed killed by security forces on that first day of the assault, with a further 160 injured. Four days later, 109 people were killed in a single day. Activists estimate between 200 and 300 people were killed in the ten-day assault, but an exact figure has yet to be established, due to the ongoing security restrictions.
As well as snipers shooting at anyone trying to reach hospitals, tanks were deployed in front of Horany and the city's other main hospital, Bader.....
'Mass graves'
Avaaz and other rights groups are currently investigating the disappearance of scores of bodies, including at least 50 from a mosque in Assi Square. Avaaz citizen journalists have reported the presence of at least three mass graves in Hama since the assault began.
When they could no longer terrorise residents on the streets, gangs of shabiha "thugs", alongside plain clothes secret police, came breaking through doors, beating families in their homes before stealing gold, money and television sets.
"I had a big stick in case the shabiha came," said the young doctor. "They can kill anyone, steal anything and maybe even rape the girls. So I couldn't leave my family."....
Residents fleeing
Passing from one area of Hama to the next was "as if I was going to another country", said the Al Jazeera contributor, such were the number of checkpoints. Many thousands of Hama residents fled the onslaught. A conservative estimate by an Avaaz citizen journalist put the figure at 5,000. Other activists put it much higher....."
The Biggest Recipient of US Aid in Egypt? Tantawi and His Junta.
The "Supreme" Junta Has Accused Some Political Parties Receiving US Aid of Treason!
The Syrian Navy "Resists".....the Syrian People! Syrian 'warships shell port of Latakia'
Several people said to be dead as northern city is reportedly attacked by warships and tanks.
Al-Jazeera
"At least 11 people have been killed and 15 injured after Syrian warships and tanks opened fire on the port city of Latakia in two residential districts, activists have said.
Sunday's deaths were reported as a military assault on Latakia extended into a second day.
On Saturday, at least five people were killed and several were injured as at least 20 tanks and armoured personnel carriers rolled into the city.
Al Jazeera's Nisrene El-Shamayleh reporting from the Jordan-Syria border on Sunday said: "We understand from the activist and the Local Co-ordination Committee (LCC) that the Syrian tanks and the boats that are mounted with machine guns have halted opening fire and shelling neighbourhoods right now.
"However there is a curfew that has been imposed on Latakia and the surrounding neighbourhoods."....."
Al-Jazeera
"At least 11 people have been killed and 15 injured after Syrian warships and tanks opened fire on the port city of Latakia in two residential districts, activists have said.
Sunday's deaths were reported as a military assault on Latakia extended into a second day.
On Saturday, at least five people were killed and several were injured as at least 20 tanks and armoured personnel carriers rolled into the city.
Al Jazeera's Nisrene El-Shamayleh reporting from the Jordan-Syria border on Sunday said: "We understand from the activist and the Local Co-ordination Committee (LCC) that the Syrian tanks and the boats that are mounted with machine guns have halted opening fire and shelling neighbourhoods right now.
"However there is a curfew that has been imposed on Latakia and the surrounding neighbourhoods."....."
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