Saturday, June 1, 2013

Al-Jazeera Video:Andrew Finkel talks to Al Jazeera about the protests in Turkey

Al-Jazeera Video: Turkish PM vows to probe alleged police misconduct

Al-Jazeera Video: Turkey protesters fear growing authoritarianism


"Since the creation of Turkey as a modern republic almost 100 years ago religion has had no place in the constitution. But now many fear that is changing. Al Jazeera's Isil Sariyuce looks at what has led to the ongoing anti-government demonstrations."

مشعل: غادرنا دمشق بسبب ضغوط الأسد واستجابة لطلب الاخوان المسلمين

عرب48 /وكالات

"شن رئيس المكتب السياسي لحركة "حماس" خالد مشعل هجوما لاذعا على الرئيس السوري بشار الأسد وقال إن حركته غادرت دمشق بسبب الضغوط التي مارستها قيادة دمشق على الحركة من أجل أن تدعم النظام ضد ثورة الشعب السوري.وقال مشعل في حديث مع التلفزيون البريطاني القناة الرابعة إن قيادة "حماس" حذرت من أن للشعب السوري الحق في مطالبته بحقوقه وأنه الوحيد الذي يقرر من يبقى في الحكم وقيادته.
وردا على سؤال حول مغادرة قيادة "حماس" دمشق ونقل مكاتبها من هناك والتهديدات بانهاء وجود "حماس" في لبنان من قبل حزب الله قال مشعل إن هذه الضغوط هي السبب وراء مغادرة حماس دمشق ولبنان حيث أشار الى مغادرة بعض قيادات "حماس" الأراضي اللبنانية وتوجهها إلى العاصمة القطرية الدوحة.
وشدد مشعل على أنه لا توجد لدى "حماس" أي نوايا للتدخل بشؤون سوريا الداخلية، نافياً أن تكون حركته قد دعمت طرفا على حساب الآخر، مؤكداً أن "حماس" دعمت حلا سلميا للأزمة في سوريا لكن النظام السوري رفضها .
وحول تفاصيل مغادرة دمشق قال مشعل إن قيادة "حماس" اتخذت قرارات سريعا ونفذته على الفور حيث شعرت بأن القيادة السورية رفضت تدخل "حماس" لانهاء الأزمة وانها لم تكن راضية على الاطلاق على محاولات التدخل من قبل "حماس" حيث واجهت تدخلها بطريقة بشعة وقاسية، مشيراً الى أن هذه الردود جعلته يغادر دمشق فورا.
وأشار إلى أن مغادرته جاءت لأن الحركة لم تكن تريد أن تغش أي من الاطراف السورية، موضحاً أن النزاع العسكري الطويل اثر وسيؤثر سلبا على واقع البلاد، موضحا أن انسحاب الحركة جاء استجابة أيضا لطلب جماعة الاخوان المسلمين التي تترتبط بها "حماس" وتتبع لها حيث تنتقد الجماعة ممارسات بشار الأسد بشكل واضح وتوفر الدعم المطلق للثورة ضده.
"

'Not About Trees Anymore' as Turkey Protests Intensify

What started as a bid to save public land has escalated as youth face riot police with calls of revolution


"What began as a protest to protect a public park in Istanbul from commercial development has escalated dramatically in a week's time with violent clashes between demonstrators and police on Friday leading to an even larger escalation on Saturday as more than ten thousand Turkish citizens faced down security forces in a call for deeper social change.
On Saturday, what started in Gezi Park—where developers backed by the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) hoped to build a shopping mall—has now spread to other parts of Instanbul.
As the Hürriyet Daily News reports......

"The protesters are saying that this is not about trees anymore," said Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Istanbul.......

Despite that and following the aggressive use of force on Friday, including the detention of nearly 60 demonstrators on Friday, the protest movement seemed only to spread overnight.

As part of their campaign, the Gezi protest organizers released this poster calling for others to join them:
And, with dramatic photos of blood-soaked protesters at the hands of Turkish security forces via social media sites like Tumblr and Twitter, the support for those who promised to "guard the trees" has exploded......"

Al-Jazeera Video: Police crack down on Istanbul protests

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة/ توسيع الائتلاف السوري، المعارك بالقصير

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll


Have Egypt and Sudan made sufficient efforts to keep their share of the Nile water?

So far, 89% said no.

Egypt: 'foundations for a new police state'

Morsi under fire over draft law to regulate NGOs


By Brian Whitaker


"Old habits die hard, and some of the new Arab leaders seem unable to break away from the authoritarian mindset. In Egypt, President Morsi has produced a new draft law "regulating" the activities of NGOs and human rights groups in much the same way that the Mubarak regime used to regulate them.

The draft is now awaiting approval from the Islamist-dominated Shura Council. An earlier draft attracted fierce criticism, both inside and outside Egypt but the new version appears to be only slightly less bad.
On Thursday, forty Egyptian NGOs issued a joint statement attacking the revised draft and accusing the government of laying the foundations for a new police state "by exceeding the Mubarak regime’s mechanisms to suppress civil society"....... 

The right of people to act collectively – and independently of governments – for the sake of shared interests, purposes and values is one of the building blocks of a free and open society.
Arab governments have traditionally sought to restrict such activity, though the Arab Spring protests raised hopes that this would change.

Restrictions on civil society, though often scandalous in nature, tend to get less attention from the international media than more dramatic events. For the benefit of readers who are unfamiliar with this issue, I have posted an extract from my book, What's Really Wrong with the Middle East, which explains the background to the problem and why freedom of association is vital if Arabs are to achieve accountable government. "

Turkey must halt brutal police repression and investigate abuses at Istanbul protest

Amnesty International
Cartoon by Carlos Latuff

"The Turkish authorities must order police to stop using excessive force against peaceful protesters in Istanbul and immediately investigate alleged abuses, said Amnesty International after more than a hundred people were injured during an ongoing peaceful demonstration in a city centre park.
On 30 and 31 May, police officers used water cannon and tear gas to disperse a peaceful protest against the destruction of Gezi Park in central Istanbul.

More than a hundred protesters are reported to have been injured during police interventions. Some suffered head injuries and at least two people had to receive emergency surgery.
Amnesty International activists who were observing the protest were also hit with truncheons and tear gassed.
“The use of violence by police on this scale appears designed to deny the right to peaceful protest altogether and to discourage others from taking part” said John Dalhuisen, Director of Europe and Central Asia Programme at Amnesty International.
“The use of tear gas against peaceful protestors and in confined spaces where it may constitute a serious danger to health is unacceptable, breaches international human rights standards and must be stopped immediately.”
“The Turkish authorities must order police to halt any excessive use of force and urgently investigate all reports of abuse. They have a duty to ensure that people can exercise their right to free expression and assembly.”
On Friday afternoon, riot police were preventing access to Gezi Park but an estimated 4,000 people were continuing their protest in the area......."

Friday, May 31, 2013

Syria War Moving Outward, Obama Looks Inward

The civil war in Syria is already expanding beyond the borders, with regional and potentially global consequences.



"Even as the U.S. and Russia continue collaborating on plans for a Syrian peace conference to be held some time in late June, arms shipments on all sides continue to threaten even greater escalation. Arms flows to Syrian rebel forces from Qatar and Saudi Arabia via Turkey and Jordan continue, Britain and France forced the European Union to end its prohibition on sending arms to the opposition, the United States cheered the EU decision, Russia announced in response it intends to send Damascus advanced anti-aircraft missiles, and Israel made clear it would bomb those missiles if they arrive in Syria. And the Obama administration has reportedly requested the Pentagon to prepare plans for imposing a “no-fly” zone in Syria in support of rebel fighters and even for direct multilateral military engagement inside Syria.

Senator John McCain’s highly-publicized visit to rebel-held territory inside Syria, accompanied by top leaders of the fractious rebel alliance, also appears timed directly to scuttle any potential for Washington’s and Moscow’s efforts to establish the new peace conference for Syria.  I talked about McCain’s visit, the necessity for a diplomatic rather than military solution, and the futility of trying for a military victory on The Real News a couple of days ago [Posted on PP].

Syria – and the region in which it sits – are in serious trouble. Pressures on the Obama administration to engage even more directly in Syria, establishing a “no-fly” zone, creating “safe corridors” for the rebel forces, sending heavy weapons to the U.S.-identified “good guys” among the rebels, training even more than the 200 CIA agents in Jordan are training now… all are on the wish list of the We-Want-To-Attack-Syria-And-We-Want-You-To-Do-It-Now caucus......."

My Favorite Weekly Show: البرنامج - الحلقه 25 كامله

Sectarian Fighting, by Emad Hajjaj

THE ARABS ARE EXCELLENT IN THIS KIND OF FIGHTING,
BUT NOT MUCH ELSE!

BECAUSE THEY ARE TRIBES WITH FLAGS.

Egypt: New Draft Law an Assault on Independent Groups

Scrap or Amend Repressive Provisions

"(New York) – The draft Associations Law that Egypt’s president put before the country’s legislature on May 29, 2013, would allow the government and its security agencies to arbitrarily restrict the funding and operation of independent groups if it is adopted in its present form.

Despite some improvements compared to previous drafts, the May 29 draft falls far short of Egypt’s international human rights obligations. It would reinforce and formalize state control over nongovernmental groups by empowering the government to deny them access to both domestic and international funding. It would also give the authorities complete discretion to object to activities of Egyptian and international organizations, including human rights groups that document or criticize rights abuses by the government.

This draft law dashes all hopes that independent groups could operate freely and independently after the revolution,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Egypt’s proposed NGO law would allow the government free rein to cut off funding and halt activities of groups that it finds inconvenient. It is hostile to the very notion of independent civil society.”......"

Yes, Gaza is still under siege

By Ali Abunimah


At Rafah, Israeli-built walls still stand between Egypt and Palestinians in Gaza.

".........My trip underground, a few days ago, along with other members of the Palestine Festival of Literature (palfest.org) delegation in Gaza, was coordinated for us by community members from the border city of Rafah.....

While there’s no doubt that a lot of consumer goods come through the tunnels (and why shouldn’t they?), the scope of what we saw indicates that the underground link plays a fundamental role in keeping the Gaza economy from collapse.
Tunnels operate on a large scale in an area that was once residential – thousands of homes were demolished by Israel in this area in 2003-2004 and we were not far from where Rachel Corrie was murdered.
Now, the area is full of equipment, warehouses and tunnel heads that are covered by canopies or steel sheds.
We saw impressive quantities of goods coming in..........

And Egypt’s new Muslim Brotherhood government has continued Mubarak’s policy of acting as a US-Israel subcontractor when it comes to the Palestinians.

All this militates against the Egypt-Gaza border turning into a large-scale commercial crossing any time soon. The tunnels, it would seem, are a compromise that comes at a high price in human life: desperately-needed imports come in, sustaining the economy, but without formally legitimating or succumbing to Israel’s plan to permanently separate Gaza.........

Instead of “easing” the closure, as has been repeteadly promised, it has just become institutionalized with the consent and legitimation of the UN, the European Union and other international bodies.
Everywhere that Israel rules Palestinians, it has successfully reduced them to worrying about daily life – the next meal, the next payment, the next permit – too preoccupied, too hungry, mentally even more than physically, to mount a successful resistance.
All of this is buying Israel the peace and quiet it needs to pursue the project that is really important to 21st Century Zionism: completing the colonization of the West Bank. And when that’s done?......

I know all of this and yet I did not come away from Gaza depressed or hopeless. The feeling I came away with is that for all the hardships they face, people in Gaza have not surrendered and won’t surrender any time soon.
Rather, the worry I heard from more than one person in Gaza is that the rest of the Palestinian people might forget about them, or give up first."

Thursday, May 30, 2013

نازحون فلسطينيون أضرموا النار في مساعدات تموينية لحزب الله


"بيروت -  “القدس العربي” ـ من سعد الياس: في تطور سياسي وشعبي، اقدم العشرات من النازحين الفلسطينيين في مخيم عين الحلوة على اضرام النار في المساعدات التموينية التي قدمها “حزب الله” للجان الشعبية الفلسطينية كتعبير احتجاجي عن مشاركته في معارك القصير السورية، رافعين شعار “لا نريد مساعدات مجبولة بدماء الشعب السوري الاعزل”.

وقد احتشد المحتجون عند مدخل عين الحلوة التحتاني على بعد عشرات الامتار من مدرسة “الكفاح” سابقاً وقاموا بتنفيذ اعتصام رمزي قبل ان يضرموا النار بحصص من المساعدات التموينية.ورفع المشاركون يافطات تقول “دماؤنا اغلى من فتاتكم”، نحن شعب مسلم مقهور وليس تكفيريين” في اشارة الى حديث الامين العام لحزب الله السيد حسن نصرالله الذي اكد “اننا لن نقبل ان يسيطر على سورية لا امريكا ولا اسرائيل ولا التكفريين”.

وفيما غابت “القوى الاسلامية” عن الصورة والتزمت الصمت حتى الان، لم تخف مصادر مقربة منها استياءها من هذا التدخل، واصفة ما جرى بانه “رسالة” اعتراض يجب ان تقرأ معانيها، في خطوة جاءت بعدما لم تحضر “القوى الاسلامية” حفل تسليم “حزب الله” للمساعدات الغذائية إلى النازحين الفلسطينيين في مخيمات عين الحلوة والمية ومية ومدينة صيدا ووادي الزينة الذي اقيم في بهو مقبرة عين الحلوة الجديدة في درب السيم.

 "

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll


Do you see the policies of Maliki's government as exacerbating sectarian strife in Iraq? 

With over 4,000 responding, 83% said yes. 

Obama's cautious approach to Syrian intervention sparks growing concern

Given the recent US track record in the Middle East, however, it's not surprising that the White House is treading carefully

in Washington
guardian.co.uk,
Foreign policy has long been where second-term US presidents turn when they run out of political clout back home. But for Barack Obama, accusations of drift and inaction on the domestic front are only compounded by his lack of progress internationally, particularly when it comes to the biggest challenge of all: preventing war in Syria from fatally destabilising the Middle East......

Part of the problem, argues Hof, is that other powers such as Russia, Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah are much more determined to prop up Assad than the West is to support the rebels. "This is a war that Iran and Hezbollah have decided not to lose," he says. "We are not yet seeing that level of resolve on behalf of the US administration.".......

"Everyone wants the US to do more of something," Cordesman told the Guardian. "More of what is a much harder question to answer."
He argues that prospects for meaningful talks in Geneva were always limited and the Syrian conflict is fast spiralling into a clash between Sunni and Shia across the Arab world, rather than just a disagreement between Russia and the West.

"The prospects for peace were always negligible and the chances of this escalating are significant," adds Cordesman, who was once an adviser to Senator McCain......."

Al-Jazeera Video: معارضون يؤكدون تورط حزب الله وإيرانيين في القتال

Al-Jazeera Video: أماكن انتشار المقاتلين الأجانب المساندين للنظام السور

Real News Video: Kerry Offers $4 Billion for Palestinians to Restart Peace Negotiations

AN EXCELLENT VIDEO!

Phyllis Bennis: Kerry's offer may appeal to Palestinian elite but will not alter the basic demands of the Palestinian people

More at The Real News

Hizbullah's Syrian adventure

Has Nasrallah lost the plot?

A GOOD PIECE

By Brian Whitaker

".....Whatever the precise motivation, though, it's a move that has far-reaching implications and brings considerable risks – not least for Hizbullah itself.
Hizbullah's principal raison d'être has always been resistance to Israel, and Israeli occupation of Lebanon in particular. On those grounds it has succeeded in retaining its military wing, arguing that the Lebanese army is incapable of defending the country alone. 
Until now, that has been a persuasive argument for many Lebanese, even beyond Hizbullah's own Shia community. But many of them will surely balk at the idea of Hizbullah's militia being used to support a beleaguered dictator next door – especially when the dictator in question had been forced to withdraw his troops from Lebanon in 2005 as a result of popular demonstrations in the wake of Rafiq Hariri's assassination......

 As an ally, Hizbullah is useful to him but he certainly wouldn't risk martyrdom for its cause. In 2006, when Lebanon faced a month-long onslaught from Israel (and Israeli leaders talked of obliterating Hizbullah once and for all), Syria generously opened its doors to thousands fleeing the conflict but made every effort to stay out of the fight. Rhetoric aside, the Syrian military adopted an obviously non-aggressive posture – one that was intended to be seen, and noted as defensive, by Israeli surveillance.
Meanwhile, Hizbullah is already paying a price for its stance, as Ghassan al-Azzi, professor of political sciences at the Lebanese University, observed in remarks to AFP:
"Hezbollah's reputation has suffered not only in the Arab world but also in Lebanon. Gone are the days when polls named Nasrallah as the most popular political leader in the Arab world for his resistance against Israel." ......
But even if the fighting can be confined mainly to Syria, does Hizbullah really appreciate what it is getting into? Peter Harling of the International Crisis Group suspects not. The war in Syria may prove more challenging for Hizbullah than anything it faced in three decades fighting Israeli troopshe told Reuters:
"Hezbollah will soon realise that this conflict is far bloodier than anything it has seen before. This is a very deadly conflict. If they go all in, they will have huge losses."
Whether or not Harling is right about that, fighting "takfiris" in Syria on behalf of a dictator is not, and never has been, Hizbullah's core business. It's a diversion that smacks of adventurism – and one that Lebanon's Shia community will probably come to regret.
In the meantime, Israel can sit back and watch as "the resistance" exhausts itself."

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Egypt moves ahead with law to stifle non-governmental organizations


"A new law on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Egypt, currently with the Shura Council, would effectively be a death blow to independent civil society in Egypt, said Amnesty International.

If it passes in its current form, the Egyptian authorities would have wide-ranging powers over the registration, activities and funding of civil society organizations. It would also allow for the creation of a new Co-ordinating Committee, which is likely to include representatives of security and intelligence agencies. Those found in violation of the law would face hefty fines and potential prison sentences.

President Morsi announced today that he had referred the law to the Shura Council, Egypt’s nominal upper house of parliament. While the lower house remains dissolved, the Council has the authority to pass new legislation until elections are held to elect a lower house.
“If they pass the law in its current form, the Egyptian authorities would send a message that little has changed since the Mubarak era, when the authorities restricted independent human rights organizations to stop them from exposing abuses,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

“Passing a law such as this one in a country with a long history of cracking down on the work of human rights organizations would be incredibly dangerous. If Egypt is serious about moving forward from its recent past, the authorities must turn away from this law and instead enable an environment for NGOs to ensure human rights are protected and promoted.”....."

No More Tunnels Please: Gaza Held Hostage to Egypt’s Turmoil

Tunnels are seen as a lifeline for Gazans under siege.
Tunnels are seen as a lifeline for Gazans under siege.
By Ramzy Baroud

"........Palestinians in Gaza feel humiliated and are deeply frustrated for paying the price of Egypt’s protracted political turmoil. It is time that the Muslim Brotherhood government of Morsi do some serious soul-searching and understand that Palestinians will continue to dig tunnels to survive if Cairo doesn’t reach an agreement with the Gaza government that would allow for commercial exchange and humanitarian relief.

Yes, Egypt has every right to secure its border, but certainly not at the expense of a besieged people who are tired of being subjected to ‘collective punishment’ or being used as political fodder. Additionally, they are most certainly tired of digging tunnels to survive."

Emad Hajjaj's Cartoon: Real Arab Unity!

Arab Unity Only Exists When it Comes to "Arab Idol" Programs!
Long Live the Entertainment Umma!

Assange: U.S. Probe of WikiLeaks & "Show Trial" of Bradley Manning Aims to Scare Whistleblowers

Democracy Now!

"Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of disclosing a trove of government documents and cables to WikiLeaks, is set to go on trial next week. Manning has already pleaded guilty to misusing classified material he felt "should become public," but has denied the top charge of aiding the enemy. Speaking from his refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange calls Manning’s case "a show trial ... to terrorize people from communicating with journalists and communicating with the public." Assange also discusses his own legal status as he continues to evade extradition to Sweden. Assange fears that returning to Sweden would result in him being sent to the United States, where he fears a grand jury has secretly indicted him for publishing the diplomatic cables leaked by Manning...."

Al-Jazeera Video: ما وراء الخبر- قرار تسليح المعارضة السورية

Real News Video: Did McCain Go to Syria to Sabotage US Russia Negotiations?

Phyllis Bennis: McCain's trip to Syria, his calls for US air strikes and arming rebels with heavy weapons, seems designed to counter Obama plan to negotiate with Russia

More at The Real News
  

'Rebel' campaign signals Morsi's downfall, says leftist journalist

Abdel-Halim Qandil compares anti-Morsi 'Rebel' campaign with Kefaya movement that challenged former president Hosni Mubarak

Ahram Online , Wednesday 29 May 2013

"qandil
Abdel Halim Qandil (Photo: Al-Ahram)



"The end of the Muslim Brotherhood regime is near," said Qandil during a Popular Current press conference in Damietta.The campaign, which officially began on 1 May, hopes to collect 15 million signatures by 30 June to register opposition to President Mohamed Morsi and his policies and to demand snap presidential elections.
Qandil compared the campaign with the pro-democracy Kefaya movement that played a crucial role in paving the way for the January 25 Revolution.
The Rebel campaign will announce the number of signatures it has collected during a press conference on Wednesday.
Last week, campaigners claimed they had collected some three million signatures in support of their demands....."

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Al-Jazeera Video: Lebanese soldiers killed at checkpoint

Real News Video: Corruption in Palestinian Government is Connected to Occupation

Aman: the main reason for malpractices in the Palestinian government is the Israeli occupation, but reforms should be pursued nevertheless, as public demand for transparency and fair government is strong  

More at The Real News

Is it the end of Sykes-Picot?

Patrick Cockburn on the war in Syria and the threat to the Middle East

London Review of Books

"...........Fear of widespread disorder and instability is pushing the US, Russia, Iran and others to talk of a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Some sort of peace conference may take place in Geneva over the next month, with the aim at least of stopping things getting worse. But while there is an appetite for diplomacy, nobody knows what a solution would look like. It’s hard to imagine a real agreement being reached when there are so many players with conflicting interests. Five distinct conflicts have become tangled together in Syria: a popular uprising against a dictatorship which is also a sectarian battle between Sunnis and the Alawite sect; a regional struggle between Shia and Sunni which is also a decades-old conflict between an Iranian-led grouping and Iran’s traditional enemies, notably the US and Saudi Arabia. Finally, at another level, there is a reborn Cold War confrontation: Russia and China v. the West. The conflict is full of unexpected and absurd contradictions, such as a purportedly democratic and secular Syrian opposition being funded by the absolute monarchies of the Gulf who are also fundamentalist Sunnis.

By savagely repressing demonstrations two years ago Bashar al-Assad helped turn mass protests into an insurrection which has torn Syria apart. He is probably correct in predicting that diplomacy will fail, that his opponents inside and outside Syria are too divided to agree on a peace deal. He may also be right in believing that greater foreign intervention ‘is a clear probability’. The quagmire is turning out to be even deeper and more dangerous than it was in Iraq."

Insight: Syrian village gives up secrets after dawn killings


"(Reuters) - Awakened by the sound of gunfire, Ahmad could hear the armed men knocking on his brother's door, shouting insults and calling the family "dogs".
Ahmad's sister-in-law said the gunmen told her husband to "bow to your god, Bashar" -- the Syrian president. She and her husband and their two teenage sons were dragged towards the village square.
"She told me her son's knees were bloodied as they kicked and dragged him," Ahmad said.
When the violence was over, Ahmad ventured out from his hiding place in an attic. In less than two hours, Baida, his picturesque village near the Mediterranean, had become the scene of one of the worst mass killings in Syria's two-year-old war.
As the country fragments under the weight of civil strife, troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad have made gains against rebel fighters in a counteroffensive to secure a corridor linking the capital Damascus with the president's clan heartland on the coast. Baida, a tiny pocket of rebel sympathizers surrounded by pro-Assad villages, was an ideal place for the government to deliver a harsh message....."

Syria: why lifting arms embargo to supply rebels could be game-changing

Anti-Assad groups call for heat-seeking missiles, but supplying them strays too close to a repeat of Afghanistan for US comfort


guardian.co.uk,
For the past year, rebel groups that took their war to Syria's main cities have been unable to finish what they started. Pinned down by air power and shelling that can hit them wherever they are, opposition fighters have barely advanced in Aleppo and Damascus; their gains in some areas have been offset by losses in others.
With grinding stalemate now the undeniable reality, the rebels have pleaded for weapons that could give them a tactical edge. While they have enough Kalashnikovs and ammunition to keep the battle going, they don't have the firepower they need to win it.
Top of their wish list has been anti-aircraft weapons, particularly missiles such as the shoulder launched heat seekers that they have managed to steal from regime military bases and used to down an estimated 15 Mig fighters and attack helicopters. No more than a handful of such weapons have been smuggled into Syria – many more have been confiscated by Jordanian and Turkish intelligence officers, much to the chagrin of myriad gunrunners........"

Monday, May 27, 2013

مفارقات لبنانية في سورية!

الياس خوري


اتهم السيد حسن نصرالله في خطاب عيد التحرير الدولة اللبنانية بأنها دولة طائفية، وهذا كلام صحيح، ولكن هل الخلاص من الطائفية يفترض بالسيد ان يقود حزبا سياسيا-عسكريا تقتصر عضويته على ابناء الطائفة الشيعية ؟
قال السيد ان الدولة اللبنانية عاجزة، بسبب طائفيتها. لكن الى اين يقودنا تبنيه مع حليفه العوني مشروع ايلي الفرزلي الانتخابي (الذي عُرف باسم القانون الارثوذوكسي)، والذي يقوم بايصال الطائفية الى ذروتها. هل نحارب الطائفية بالطائفية، على طريقة ابي نواس، ‘وداوني بالتي كانت هي الداء’؟
قال السيد ان سقوط سورية وتدميرها سوف يشكل كارثة على القضية الفلسطينية، وهذا صحيح، هل انقاذ سورية مرادف لانقاذ المستبد؟ ولماذا ارسل السيد جنوده للدفاع عن نظام دمّر نصف سورية، ويعدنا بمزيد من التدمير؟
قال السيد ان سورية هي ظهر المقاومة وسندها. حجة النظام البعثي لاحتلال لبنان تجسدت في مقولة ان لبنان هو الخاصرة الرخوة لسورية ، هل يريد السيد اليوم ان يقلب المعادلة، فيقوم لبنان باحتلال سورية، دفاعا عن ظهره؟
قال السيد انه يقاتل اسرائيل في القصير، ولم يسأل نفسه من أوصل اسرائيل الى قلب سورية، التي تعرضت عاصمتها لقصف الطيران الاسرائيلي من دون اي رد ينقذ ماء الوجه من قبل نظام الممانعة او حزب المقاومة!
وعد جماعته بالنصر في القصير وسورية، متناسيا ان الحرب الأهلية هي المصيدة التي تلافى حتى الآن الوقوع فيها، وان السقوط في الحرب الطائفية لا تعني سوى الوقوع في المصيدة الاسرائيلية، واراحة اسرائيل بل جعلها حكما، وتدمير فكرة المقاومة.
والى آخره…
شعرت وانا استمع الى السيد بالألم، وفهمت العلاقة بين الكلمة والجرح، ففي اللحظات التي القى فيها خطابه كان جحيم الصواريخ يتساقط على القصير ويقوم بتهديمها بيتا بيتا. الرجل لم يكن يتكلم جزافا، بل حوّل الكلمة الى جرح نازف، جاعلا من اجساد فقراء سورية قربانا على مذبح المستبد غير الممانع.كان السيد يسعى الى الخروج من مأزقه عبر الغرق فيه. وهنا تكمن المفارقة اللبنانية الكبرى التي عبّر عنها هذا الخطاب.
فلقد قام حزب الله بتحقيق الانجاز الاكبر الذي لم يسبقه اليه احد، اذ الغى عمليا الحدود اللبنانية السورية. اعلن سقوط الحدود، وكلف نفسه وحزبه اللبناني مهمة انقاذ سورية من نفسها! واذا رست الأمور على هذه الحال، فمن سيمنع غدا الجيش السوري الحر من اجتياح مناطق في لينان، بحجة حماية سورية من اخطار تهددها. هل سيرفع السيد عندها شعار الوطنية اللبنانية التي انهاها في ريف دمشق ودفنها في القصير؟
قرأت في الخطاب ملامح المأزق الكبير الذي دخل اليه لبنان من الباب السوري ودخلت فيه سورية من الباب اللبناني. صحيح ان الباب اللبناني ليس لبنانيا، لأنه منذ لحظة اندلاع الحرب اللبنانية عام 75 تخلّعت ابواب لبنان التي كانت هشة منذ تأسيس الكيان على اسس طائفية. الباب اللبناني اتخذ اسماء عديدة، فكان اسرائيليا مرة، وسوريا مرة ثانية، والى آخره. هذه المرة كسر السيد نصرالله الباب تحت المظلة الايرانية، واوصل الخطاب الطائفي للنظام السوري الاستبدادي الى ذروته، وذهب الى القصير لتدميرها بصواريخ المقاومة، محطما آخر ما تبقى من قدسية الصراع مع الاحتلال الاسرائيلي.حزب الله في مأزق، او بعبارة ادق في المصيدة. والمصيدة ليست من صنع الآخرين فقط، بل هي من صنع يديه، فلقد تورط في معركة انقاذ نظام لا يمكن انقاذه.
ضعف الدولة اللبنانية بسبب الطائفية كانت سببا في فائض القوة التي يتمتع بها حزب الله في لبنان. هذا الفائض الناجم عن استثمار البنية الطائفية الى حدودها القصوى، خلخل معنى الرأسمال الرمزي الذي صنعته المقاومة ضد الاحتلال، لتصبح هذه المقاومة في نهاية المطاف اداة قهر للشعب السوري في انتفاضته من اجل حريته.
حرية السوريين صارت في العرف الطائفي اللبناني تهديدا للمقاومة؟
ما هذه المفارقة المرعبة التي وضع فيها حزب الله نفسه؟
منذ انطلاق الثورة، اي قبل العسكرة الوحشية التي فرضها القمع الفالت من عقاله، كان نصرالله في خندق النظام. واليوم يجد نفسه مضطرا للدفاع عن نظام يتهاوى، وبدل ان توجه الصواريخ الى اسرائيل توجه الى القصير وريف حمص وريف دمشق!
انه الأفول.
يجب ان يؤخذ كلام نصرالله بجدية، فالرجل قرر ان يقاتل في سورية، وهو قادر ومصمم على ذلك، وسيقذف بالوف المقاتلين الى القصير والجبهات السورية المختلفة، لكن من قال له ان اللعبة ستقف عند هذا الحد.دعا اللبنانيين المعارضين لموقفه الى قتاله في سورية وليس في لبنان؟
وفي هذا ما يثير العجب، فالرجل يستدرج لبنان الى الفتنة والحرب. من قال له ان الاصوليين اللبنانيين الذين تشبه تنظيماتهم حزبه في بنيتها العقائدية سيكتفون بملاقاته في سورية؟ ومن قال له ان السوريين سيتفرجون على بلادهم وقد غدت ساحة لاقتتال اللبنانيين؟
والألم ان حزب الله الذي يحفظ له اللبنانيون والعرب ذاكرة مقاومته للاحتلال قد سقط في الفخ، وقرر ان يمحو ذاكرة المقاومة بذاكرة الحرب الاهلية الطائفية.



Syria medics treat hundreds of rebels for 'symptoms of chemical exposure'

Detailed account of Syria conflict include claims that suggest chemicals and toxic gases have been used on battlefields
in Beirut and
guardian.co.uk,
Medics working in six rebel-held districts near Damascus have treated several hundred fighters for symptoms of chemical exposure since March, a detailed investigation has found, adding fresh impetus to claims the Syrian regime has resorted to the banned weapons.
A reporter from the French newspaper Le Monde who spent two months with rebel groups on the edge of the Syrian capital claims to have witnessed chemical attacks and to have seen numerous victims at various stages of exposure.
The first-hand account, which includes interviews with medics, rebel leaders and patients, is the most-detailed yet among a range of claims that suggest chemicals and or gases have been used on numerous Syrian battlefields.
The report was immediately seized on by the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, who on Monday said: "There is increasingly strong evidence of localised use of chemical weapons [in Syria]. That must all be verified. We are consulting with our partners to see what concrete consequences that we are going to draw from this."
Britain, the US and Israel have also alleged to have evidence of chemical use. Le Monde blames regime forces for their use. That assessment is shared by all three countries, whose officials say they are still studying earlier findings, which have been based on blood and soil samples taken from the site of the alleged attacks.
Le Monde's account is supported by video of apparent victims being treated and reports of a dispensing device – a 20cm cylinder that allegedly releases a gas soon after hitting the ground......"

Al-Jazeera Video: إيران تهدد بفتح جبهة الجولان

Déjà Vu All Over Again: Senator McCain met with rebels in Syria on Monday: spokesman

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is pictured with U.S. troops at a Patriot missile site in southern Turkey on May 27, 2013 in this picture released via McCain's Twitter account. SSenator JohnMcCain/Handout via Reuters

Credit: Reuters
WASHINGTON | Mon May 27, 2013 3:20pm EDT


"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain, a former presidential candidate and one of the loudest voices calling for military aid to the Syrian opposition, met with some of the rebels during a surprise visit to the war-torn country on Monday, his spokesman said.....

General Salem Idris, who leads the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army, told the Daily Beast in an interview that McCain's visit came at a critical time for the rebels, who have stepped up their calls for U.S. support, including heavy weapons, creation of a no-fly zone and air strikes.

"The visit of Senator McCain to Syria is very important and very useful especially at this time," the publication quoted Idris as saying. "We need American help [Dream on!] to have change on the ground; we are now in a very critical situation."....."


And This Was McCain in Libya; Any Similarity??

Egyptian NGOs Fear Law That Would Cripple Civil Society

By Cam McGrath

Critics of a proposed law say it could harm women's rights and other groups' ability to operate. Credit: Cam McGrath/IPS
Critics of a proposed law say it could harm women's rights and other groups' ability to operate. Credit: Cam McGrath/IPS

"CAIRO, May 27 2013 (IPS) - A controversial bill backed by Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood and submitted to the Islamist-dominated legislature surpasses previous laws used to repress Egyptian civil society, rights watchdogs say.
The legislation would allow the government to intervene in the internal governance and activities of civil society organisations and to control all funding.
If enacted, some critics say, Egypt’s 41,000 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) would become part of the state apparatus.
“If this bill passes, all of Egypt’s NGOs would essentially work under the government,” Hafez Abu Seada, chairman of the non-profit Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), told IPS. “We would operate not as independents, but as agents for the state.”........."

Arabs Are Always Ready to Kill Other Arabs: At least 79 Hezbollah fighters killed in Qusayr: NGO

The number of Hezbollah fighters killed in recent months in Syria rises to 141 including 79 fighters killed from the period starting at dawn on May 19 to dawn on Sunday

AFP , Monday 27 May 2013
Supporters of Hezbollah
Supporters of Hezbollah and relatives of Hezbollah members attend the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter who died in the Syrian conflict in Ouzai in Beirut May 26, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

"At least 79 members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have been killed fighting alongside the Syrian army in the town of Qusayr since last week, a watchdog said on Monday.


"That includes 79 fighters killed from the period starting at dawn on May 19 to dawn on Sunday yesterday, killed by mines, snipers and fighting in the town of Qusayr and its surroundings," the group added."The number of Lebanese Hezbollah fighters killed in recent months in the outskirts of Damascus and Homs has risen to 141," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

On Sunday, a source close to Hezbollah said the group's toll in several months of fighting was 110, most of them killed in Qusayr....."

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Al-Jazeera Video:ما وراء الخبر- زيارة وليد المعلم إلى بغداد

Bribing the Puppet Abbas to Restart "Negotiations": John Kerry unveils plan to boost Palestinian economy

US secretary of state says an independent Palestinian economy is essential to achieving a sustainable peace

The Guardian,

Current Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll



Do you believe that Hizbullah has become an enemy as a majority of Arabs and Muslims sees it?

So far, 64% answered yes.

We've moved on from the Iraq war – but Iraqis don't have that choice

Like characters from The Great Gatsby, Britain and the US have arrogantly turned their backs and left a country in ruins


The Guardian,
Recently, Hans von Sponeck, former assistant secretary general of the United Nations and senior UN humanitarian official in Iraq, wrote to me: "The US government sought to prevent WHO from surveying areas in southern Iraq where depleted uranium had been used and caused serious health and environmental dangers." A WHO report, the result of a landmark study conducted with the Iraqi ministry of health, has been "delayed". Covering 10,800 households, it contains "damning evidence", says a ministry official and, according to one of its researchers, remains "top secret". The report says birth defects have risen to a "crisis" right across Iraqi society where depleted uranium and other toxic heavy metals were used by the US and Britain. Fourteen years after he sounded the alarm, Dr Jawad Al-Ali reports "phenomenal" multiple cancers in entire families.

Al-Jazeera Video:Interview: al-Qusayr resident Rifaie Tammas

Al-Jazeera Video: حديث الثورة- تصريحات حزب الله بمحاربة التكفيريين بسور

BBC poll: Israel among world's least popular nations

The annual BBC World Service poll finds Germany most popular; only countries less popular than Israel are North Korea, Pakistan and Iran. 

"The world's opinion of Israel has not improved in the last year: According to BBC World Service's annual poll, Israel is one of the least popular countries in the world; the only states less popular are North Korea, Pakistan and Iran.
The survey, conducted among 26,000 people in 25 countries, found Germany to be the most popular country. 59 percent of respondents, who were asked to rate 16 countries according to how positively they impact the world, placed Germany at the top.
Only 21 percent of participants had a positive view on Israel, while 52 percent viewed the country unfavorably. Iran, in comparison, won the favorable opinion of 15 percent of those who answered the survey, while 59 percent viewed it unfavorably......"

Insight: In West Bank shadows, repressed Hamas breathes on


"(Reuters) - In his sparse village home adorned only with framed verses from the Quran, Mohammed Ghannam opens his shirt, pointing silently to his bruised chest.
Ghannam, 44, whose job was to deliver the call to prayer in Dura's local mosque, said plainclothes security forces from the Palestinian Authority (PA) detained him last month for belonging to the Islamist movement Hamas and beat him mute.
"They didn't ask me any questions, just punched me hard in the face and the chest," he wrote limply on a notepad. "They hit my head again and again against a concrete wall.".......

Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called upon Western governments to re-evaluate their aid to PA forces after several detainees died from suspected torture and no personnel were publicly convicted for abuse.
In a statement to Reuters, the European Union's training mission for the civilian police said it encouraged the PA to have "all such allegations investigated as a matter of urgency".

Hamas and many average Palestinians say the Western missions deliberately aimed to undermine the PA's internal rivals, something White denied....."