Assad’s
acceptance of the Arab League Initiative is but a ploy to help him stall for
time, as his troops carry out their operations in Homs, Hama and Idlib, and the
opposition continues to dance for rain, Manna and a clue.
Sunday November 2, 2011
Assad accepts an Arab
League Initiative calling for immediate cessation of the violent crackdown and
for holding dialog with opposition groups in Cairo. Meanwhile, the orchestrated
crackdown continues with 34 people reported dead, more than 25 in Homs Province
alone, including 11 workers who were killed in the village of Kafar Laha (Houleh
District) when pro-Assad popular militias from nearby villages stormed the
factory were they worked in search of defectors. There were none. Also, in the
Houleh District, 8 more were killed by loyalist militias when they were
snatched from their cars near the village of Talf and shot execution
style.
In Hama Province 15
loyalists were killed in clashes with defectors near the town of Madeeq.
Two more protesters were killed in Deir Ezzor Province and 2 in the
Damascene Suburb of Arbeen.
Links
Bashar Al-Assad’s acceptance of the Arab
league Initiative means absolutely nothing. What matters is what is actually
happening on the ground – there the devolution continues.
If the Arabs wanted to be honest brokers,
their demand of ending the crackdown should have been followed by a demand for
the imprisonment of Atef Najib, Maher Al-Assad, Assef Chawkat, Jameel Hassan, Ali
Mamluke, Hafiz Makhlouf and all top military and security officials who were
responsible for orchestrating it, and, thus, for all the killings that has
taken place so far. If Assad wants immunity and a safe exit, a lot of people
around him have to pay.
As for the dialog, it will have to take place
between Baath leaders and other members of the ruling National Progressive
Front who were not involved in this mayhem, and representatives of the
opposition, who cannot be distilled down to the Syrian National Council no
matter what Alchemy one deploys.
Meanwhile, law and order will have to be maintained
by the second line of command in the military and security apparatuses. Their
main challenge will be to control and disarm all the militias the Assads have
created.
No, I don’t believe this scenario will be
playing out anytime soon. Assad did not accept the Arab League Initiative
because he is thinking of an exit strategy: he is simply experimenting with
another stalling tactic. Indeed, his move is a page out of Yemeni President Ali
Saleh’s book: a cynical attempt at stonewalling, talking about talking while
militias and death squads take the battle on the ground to another level,
plunging the country further and further into civil mayhem.
This is not my sentiments alone: there is a
growing network inside the country made up of activists who are wary of any
negotiations at this stage. They feel that this path favors the Assads who will
be negotiating as a cohesive block, and who will be using the negotiations at a
strategy for stonewalling, for fracturing the opposition even more, and for sapping
the strength and the energy of the protest movement by bogging it down in a bottomless
political quagmire. The issue is further complicated by the fact that the
opposition, the dysfunctional MIA SNC included, has so far failed to produce
the kind of leadership that inspires confidence when it comes to these
situations. In other words, everyone knows that Assad negotiators will have any
negotiating team fielded by the opposition for breakfast.
It’s for these kind of rational
considerations, and not out of emotional impulse, as some might suggest, that
the protesters and activists on the ground are refusing to enter into
negotiations at this stage. They know that the respective positions are unequal
and that the Assads have to be cut down to size before embarking on such path,
hence, the early push for transitional justice. We have to bear in mind here
that it’s not the Assads who are expected to deliver this justice, of course, but
the international community, for “We won’t take
part in any dialog while our killers go free.”
Indeed, it seems fitting that demonstrations
on Wednesday were dedicated to raising the Independence Flag.
Meanwhile, the war for independence in
occupied Homs City continues, with pounding
of Baba Amr neighborhood http://youtu.be/V8GWFwd-1-s
, http://youtu.be/Ie_4Vmd496U which
killed and charred the body of a baby on November 1 http://youtu.be/cxTVh-cMRL0
More shelling in Baba Amr:
It begins at dawn http://youtu.be/8PqKfjUv3yE
, http://youtu.be/HigrBCi7S7s and
continues throughout the day http://youtu.be/OmuAGrYh59c
, http://youtu.be/kfxrrtErSIA , http://youtu.be/_JU_lJqNRpg , http://youtu.be/6EaCCnLlofM a tank
roaming the nearby Cairo Street firing randomly http://youtu.be/BREmBv92CcY Meanwhile,
Assad’s snipers continue to pick locals like sheep http://youtu.be/hYwppUGyuYg
And the dawn of November 3 the
shelling of Baba Amr continues, the decision to accept the Arab league Initiative
notwithstanding http://youtu.be/crHypRvTGKo
, http://youtu.be/IYrYSfxFdUE
On the other
side of town, Khaldiyeh is now a ghost town http://youtu.be/CxJyFg69g1o But the
battle against ghosts rages on http://youtu.be/BGR64b7jQXY
Black smoke rises over the skies of the nearby Bayadah neighborhood
after a house catches fire due to pounding http://youtu.be/8Rh-EdzarJ4
In Deir Baalbah automatic gunfire http://youtu.be/xm96GvGtpjg
Other parts of
the city observe a strike http://youtu.be/9hmdRzbMow0
Taking his last
breaths in Jub Al-Jandali http://youtu.be/eRabu-3ZbzM
, http://youtu.be/KgmIkN-EAao a
martyr from Qoussour http://youtu.be/nt6pq9GbO94
His funeral http://youtu.be/J-H-oHZ7q1E
A martyr from Shammas neighborhood http://youtu.be/pCVZTXmRxKA
a martyr from Deir Baalbah http://youtu.be/4IuE9o1zUCM
At night,
protesters take to the streets calling for ouster of Bashar, for international
protection and for freezing of Syria’s membership in the Arab League: in Midan
http://youtu.be/FhgzoldfA_o Qoussour
http://youtu.be/gT-19DSDNSk , http://youtu.be/02BejYY1HcI Jouret
Al-Shayah http://youtu.be/uwg2-8mziGI
Ghoutah http://youtu.be/vnHcmjKpd6E
Qarabees http://youtu.be/kSpg0L4stbU
Jobar http://youtu.be/ECtvV9OBEXs
Wa’er http://youtu.be/MK_sLM99eTY
, http://youtu.be/mVjXfMEl9nI And of
course in Baba Amr itself http://youtu.be/Zjvwq1MQwAo
, http://youtu.be/dVNmxgWtaGM and Deir
Baalbah http://youtu.be/gHkHYBNFP7U
and Khaldiyeh http://youtu.be/41nuIreBEDw
, http://youtu.be/vrxd23-INzQ In Bab
Houd, protester carry signs calling for a safe zone that “Assad dares not
invade like the Golan,” and support to “our army,” the Free Syrian army http://youtu.be/fQngYUpHgwM Insha’aat
http://youtu.be/CphOB_dnzYY Shammas
http://youtu.be/rrCd9uCxv7o
In the village
of Kafar Laha in the Houleh District of Homs Province, a massacre
was perpetrated by pro-Assad militias who targeted 11 workers in a local brick
factory and killed them after tying their hands behind their backs and
blindfolding them http://youtu.be/Is-YryRbpk0
, http://youtu.be/7RGdREy_RPg This
was an execution along sectarian lines and comes part of a series of smaller
scale mass murders that have been taken place over the last few weeks.
A similar
incident took place in Houleh as well near the village of Talf.
Eight locals were dragged away from their cars and executed http://youtu.be/BvWNA4Q7EdI , http://youtu.be/MYbu5zrro-0 The funerals
http://youtu.be/q0ir4EnQowI , http://youtu.be/I9PQYQfhhQU
More martyrs
from Houleh http://youtu.be/nAFAiHjLfm0
, http://youtu.be/mfeq_BBZDn4 , http://youtu.be/R6GIzcrCyrQ , http://youtu.be/_uXZGBgtmvU , http://youtu.be/BVKasDprQVc
So far the
perpetrators of these feats are loyalists, but there have been a couple of
incidents recently that seem to have been perpetrated by local Sunni villages in
retaliations. It is feared now that these developments might start a chain
reaction of retaliations and counter-retaliations. But as the pounding of
residential neighborhoods in Homs City, Qseir, Houleh, Talbisseh and Rastan
continues, cool heads cannot prevail. The Assads are getting all the breaks to
implement their plans.
But courage is
not short supplies, as locals in Houleh take to the streets at night http://youtu.be/-ORA7W0Tbbk , http://youtu.be/gfLAJvlC718
In other news, more defections
The defection
of Lt. Muhammad Ahmad, Director of Special Operations Office in the Air-Force
Intelligence, and the highest ranking Alawite to declare his defection to date.
Among the reasons he cites for his defection are the crimes he witnessed in
Deraa/Hauran Province, and the false warnings and threats sent as text messages
to the mobiles of members of the Alawite community signed in the name of
fictitious Salafist groups, especially in Damascus and Homs. He calls on his
comrades in the army and security and to notables and intellectuals in the
Alawite community to side with the protesters. Then he calls on Assad to
depart. Finally, he admonishes patience to the protesters saying victory is
near http://youtu.be/_lyUALmJvMg.
Lt. Col. Radwan Al-Madloush, head of the
recently formed Syrian Revolution Military Council, honors officers who carried
out a successful operation against loyalists in the town of Karnaz in Hama
Province which resulted in 38 dead, including a number of raking officers, and
scores of wounded. The Council operates independently of the Free Syrian Army
at this stage, and has only one fighting brigade, the Sulaiman Brigade, active in
the Hama and Idlib provinces http://youtu.be/7_i0D5v0OrE The Brigade was
established before the defection of Lt. Col. Al-Maloush and the establishment
of the Military Council, but it was not included among the brigades acting
under the FSA or even the Free Officers Movement before it merged with FSA. It
is not clear what kind of relationship exists between the two groups: the
Military Council and the FSA.
In Kafar Zita in Hama Province, gunfire
at night http://youtu.be/PoViH-FTu-M
Protesters in Damascus City arrange a hasty protest
in Khalid Bin Al-Walid Street in downtown Damascus http://youtu.be/P6BiPrVBrGg
Major demonstrations
HAMA: Hilfaya http://youtu.be/6tAWyGqavuM Taybat
Al-Imam http://youtu.be/tAzBmHBzEhE
Sahel Al-Ghab http://youtu.be/7cEFpiEsLU4
IDLIB: Kafar Battikh a funeral http://youtu.be/wa7e0Ghvt7g for this man
http://youtu.be/SGSaqwOnDdQ Binnish
a large protest http://youtu.be/WUd7kz3QIWA
, http://youtu.be/tHm2sYUt6FM , http://youtu.be/xaagq0mBtGY Also in Jarjanaz
http://youtu.be/I_ZrZUoOM1c , http://youtu.be/BjBx73kFCZc Kafar
Nabbel sign “we want the President to be tried and executed” http://youtu.be/JDG2rKBf_vQ Idlib
City http://youtu.be/KDWCcaLFRaA
, http://youtu.be/fYyUDHY9FxM Saraqib
http://youtu.be/oEa9RSeTxEs Taftanaz
http://youtu.be/yprh4x763aQ Corine
http://youtu.be/NvDjpc3MufQ Jabal
Al-Zawiyeh http://youtu.be/E2gzq2jjiIk
HOMS PROVINCE: Tadmor (Palmyra) http://youtu.be/2i-AzaENUo8 , http://youtu.be/qY8jAkccHQs Qseir
http://youtu.be/NHD6JQ-ysWc
DAMASCUS: a funeral for an activist from rural Damascus http://youtu.be/gODYRqDUTe4 , http://youtu.be/CE0IK4kheys Another in Arbeen
http://youtu.be/D2SCMZ1ZjtA , http://youtu.be/XtEefBILIKc In Douma,
women protesters come under fire but remain defiant http://youtu.be/t7ojAefix4Y Hamouriyeh
http://youtu.be/S4ZD4LVuWeo Harasta
http://youtu.be/Y-D8MzeOH3k Zamalka
http://youtu.be/QFsNKb4AxWs Barzeh
http://youtu.be/Wxkj4QvmTVQ Douma
http://youtu.be/Loz4VxLvfHg Qadam
signs “National Coordination Committee does not represent me” and “Assad’s
terrorism calls for no-fly zone” http://youtu.be/b6VZnQQc0F4
Kafar Sousseh http://youtu.be/4O3wscXiFG8
Midan District http://youtu.be/k3fAiJQEJIg
DERAA/HAURAN: Sanamein http://youtu.be/HTrYbs6H1D8 Namar
http://youtu.be/3xjWhzmEWAY Jizah
http://youtu.be/gORPU1Ubw3I Da’el
http://youtu.be/q1Hyxq3h4Ps Ma’arabah
http://youtu.be/t94hVAEHKQU
DEIR EZZOR: Qrayah http://youtu.be/iYTOvXcEw0E Deir
Ezzor City (Jbeileh neighborhood) http://youtu.be/AH8N1ilkVT0
(Takaya Street) http://youtu.be/djtBJ3A0MW8
ALEPPO: Tal Rif’aat http://youtu.be/IqlCGvyYEoE Anadan
http://youtu.be/pmTOOI8nGgg Dar
Azzah http://youtu.be/nj3oLWtsJ1w
LATTAKIA: despite the heavy siege, people take to the streets
at night in Lattakia City http://youtu.be/-CIiKPINMSA
Student Demonstrations
BANIYAS: security arrest students as they come out of
schools in order to prevent protests http://youtu.be/YLGjwiICiq4
We should bear in mind that we are talking about junior high students here.
HAMA: Kafar Nabboudeh http://youtu.be/njLezx83Edc Morek
http://youtu.be/eVXBCZkhA-g
IDLIB: Idlib City http://youtu.be/p2jgp31PG5s Kafar
Nabbel http://youtu.be/KMBnNa_GN8Q
Kafroumah http://youtu.be/r_0yhHqDI9U
Kafar Sinjah http://youtu.be/1Is5ugczpKk
Jabal Al-Zawiyeh http://youtu.be/TWj8KYM3Rwk
, http://youtu.be/T1XW-3Dmiuc M’arr
Zita http://youtu.be/twyE9SI5R9M
DERAA/HAURAN: Nahteh http://youtu.be/4sNhmqF6imo Deraa
City students from the college of the literature speak their mind http://youtu.be/BDKJPDMWD-0
DAMASCUS: Kafar Batna http://youtu.be/VXjISdLYtRc Barzeh
http://youtu.be/bzXx-xuGmuI Moadamiyeh
http://youtu.be/QVXW8bFVQsA Qarrah
http://youtu.be/elmtUKT9UCU
ALEPPO: Marei http://youtu.be/Tm8ew7uzhYM
DEIR EZZOR: Qraya http://youtu.be/8jruD6kXVM0
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