A series of mistakes make it imperative for the SNC to elect new
leader(s), or risk becoming completely irrelevant.
Thursday 5, 2012
Today’s death toll: 31. The breakdown:
13 in Deir Ezzor, 6 in Homs City including a woman, 6 in Deraa, 4 in Rural
Damascus (3 in Hamouriyeh), 1 in Lattakia and 1 Idlib. Additionally, 5 would-be
defectors were killed by Loyalists in the village of Sur in Deraa/Hauran
Province.
Links
In Brief
Reuters report
that Syria releases 552 people detained during civil unrest. But the real
story is that the regime had arrested more than ten times this number since the
AL delegation began its work. It's a case of the right hand doing things meant
to distract attention from what the left hand is doing.
Keep Eyes on Prize or Go Bust!
In his interview
with BBC, President of the Syrian National Council Burhan Ghalioun explains
that “SNC's strategy for overthrowing the regime rests on the street protest.
But for the past 11 months, there has been a bloody stalemate.” He also says
that “the safe area he wants would tip the balance, allowing mass defections of
Syrian soldiers and their families.” This is indeed the view of many opposition
figures and protesters.
But, the BBC
correspondent asks: “What if the international community does not come through?
Ghalioun answers: "Then we would seek an international conference on Syria
to stop the atrocities and the killings… "We cannot just sit by and watch
our people being slaughtered. Our conscience will not allow it."
On the surface, this
might sounds like an OK answer, but, to me, it’s very troubling. The main goal
of the revolution is regime change. If stopping the atrocities and the killings
becomes the goal, then, the best result that could be achieved down the road is
some kind of power-sharing arrangement, and the Assads will have won. As a
cofounder of the NCB (the National Coordination Body), a body that is dedicated
to achieving exactly that power-sharing arrangement rather than straight-out
regime change, it seems that Ghalioun’s move to head the SNC has not really
changed his basic outlook on things. Of course, Ghalioun did not join the SNC
on his own, rather, he brought with him a lot of people who seem to share his
outlook on things. As such, the problems with the SNC are pretty much similar
to those within the ranks of the NCB: many of its members seem to represent
their own individual and ideological visions and interests rather than the
demands of the protesters. And the protesters can see it.
This video from the
town of Rastan in Homs Province underscores the growing divide between
SNC and NCB leaders and the protesters, while featuring a confession by the AL
monitor that the monitors cannot provide any protection to the civilians,
because they are not a military force. The activist tells the Monitor: the SNC
does not represent us, the NCB does not represent us. We want international
protection. We demand our freedom. We want to topple the regime. We don’t want
to dialog. If the Arab League cannot protect us, then we demand the
internationalization of the Syrian File by referring it to the UNSC. The video
was just uploaded but was made during the AL monitors visit to Rastan on
December 3 http://youtu.be/LM5pMOCvngc
This sentiment is not
only restricted to Homs and environs and has long been echoed in other protests
communities as well, such as Douma in Rural Damascus (Dec 4) Banner “Down with Ghalioun, the Conspirator” http://youtu.be/RtxX6_pBmXk And Deraa City: Speaker in a nighttime rally in Deraa City (Dec 4) http://youtu.be/GSi6hJMcuh4 reminds that the NCB will not be accepted until
it subscribes to the demands of the Revolution, and that any person in the SNC
who deviates from this demand will be rejected http://youtu.be/zffFFrcxqs4
The idea for an international
conference on Syria might provide a way for legitimating international
intervention while sidestepping Russian and Chinese vetoes at the UNSC, and
will indeed be an ingenious solution for legitimating said intervention. But,
in the absence of an international will to intervene, it could only legitimate
a power-sharing arrangement. That seems to be the option that Ghalioun believes
in in his heart, a faith that continues to influence his utterances and
leadership style. With the wrong people at the helm, good ideas will go to
waste. If we are to be saddled with the SNC for the foreseeable future, there
is increasingly little justification to be saddled with Ghalioun as well.
Ghalioun must go! The SNC needs wise consensus builders at this stage, not confused
narcissists.
HIGHLIGHTS: Kerosene shortages plague all protest
communities Wadi Arab (Homs City) http://youtu.be/SVfydtxBZWc
Amoudeh (Hassakeh Province) http://youtu.be/PfNGjE2YE24
Students rallies like this one in Ghabaghib
(Deraa/Hauran) http://youtu.be/23s7n0brxcI
and these ones in the Damascene suburbs of Moadamiyah http://youtu.be/LUyih4vRQtI and Daraya
http://youtu.be/ZVP9ZETp86M and this
one in Hama City http://youtu.be/rGb4OQy9SNI
happen even day and in every protest community across the country, especially
as students go back home at the end of the day.
The General Strike continues t be observed
throughout the protest communities. In Deraa City, police car roam the
neighborhood calling on shopkeepers to open their ship http://youtu.be/XkSnkX9voTs
At night, all through Syrian, protesters
carried a Noise Campaign. The purpose of the campaign was simply to annoy the
loyalist troops in the neighborhood. This is a sample of what the campaign
entailed: Mreijeh (Homs City) http://youtu.be/HbHI7UddkYA
Sahari (Deraa City) http://youtu.be/aRSM4pkMkJY
Douma (Damascus) http://youtu.be/17zZkGtp1JA
Moadamiyeh (Damascus) http://youtu.be/aSO7Qm-UVv0
Idlib City (Idlib) http://youtu.be/9wbp-TJbKbc
Major General Mustafa Ahmad Al-Sheikh announces
his defection on Al-Jazeerah, making him the highest ranking officer to
defect. Maj. Gen Al-Sheikh accused of threatening the civil peace and social
fabric of the country, and calls on his colleagues to join him http://youtu.be/D5aYcFc4pTM More
defections took place in the town of Rastan in Homs Province. The officer
making the announcement says “I came into this world in spite of me, and will
leave it in spite of me. But I will live free” http://youtu.be/B0sOFbC5tF4
HOMS CITY: Bab Al-Sibaa A loyalist checkpoint in
action http://youtu.be/WOu1MMuPmrs
Impact of recent shelling in Bab Al-Sibaa
http://youtu.be/dU8jo0nwTBI Martyr in
Khudr Neighborhood http://youtu.be/dL6yA9cGSU0
Martyr from Baba Amr http://youtu.be/xSXwGWeEONs
Another http://youtu.be/Qta0jLpYA_4
And another http://youtu.be/XIFjVNgAIIU
His impromptu funeral http://youtu.be/6SyDMIorgBI
A young activist from Deir Baalbah who
volunteers as a medic shows off his medical kit, complains of lack of
medications and supplies, and says that he and others took a crash course in
administrating First Aid. They have no other training http://youtu.be/TM8N5n7As38
Elsewhere in the city, a local activist shows
as an example of the walls people are constructing around their neighborhoods
to protect themselves and their children from snipers http://youtu.be/CjJRMdXaH3Y
In Shammas a local activist leads the
protest in Arabic and French for the benefit of an international audience http://youtu.be/kj1c1JPLkcY
Rallies Khaldiyeh http://youtu.be/_7piwRDUA6k , http://youtu.be/S4G82dHpkA4 An all-women
protest in Wa’er http://youtu.be/2CeaV-Rtlx8
, http://youtu.be/P_zrrKGS2-0 Bab
Houd http://youtu.be/3L1CHg8bwj0
, http://youtu.be/xh12DrjiKgM , http://youtu.be/swCISDAGTCw , http://youtu.be/AxDpjoPpSCQ Jib
Al-Jandali http://youtu.be/VwC4EUztXG4
Nighttime Insha’aat http://youtu.be/R2Q7qtvsDQo
Qoussour http://youtu.be/CovwbAK4cV0
, http://youtu.be/VzznC4T9TvE Ghoutah
http://youtu.be/vcMngDhdf2M Deir
Baalbah http://youtu.be/6mxt9ntLt00
, http://youtu.be/ThMy3LYNZyw Wa’er
http://youtu.be/kHPReKY5n-w Baba
Amr http://youtu.be/jVjsL5ZI8lI ,
http://youtu.be/Cs7HZUB9WSk Malaab
http://youtu.be/YWhVUk5uBOs Khaldiyeh
http://youtu.be/lmy4BCRxdXY Karm
Al-Shami http://youtu.be/5xCSCKWiads
Sifsafeh http://youtu.be/W72ir25FD2o
HOMS PROVINCE: Protesters come under fire in Rastan
even as AL monitors were paying visit to the city (Dec 3) http://youtu.be/1eg8ToVsRgA Earlier in
the day, mothers of local martyrs met with AL monitors to explain the
circumstances surrounding the dead of their children http://youtu.be/95PsXfGHr7Y
A funeral in Qseir http://youtu.be/6ja-NoSJLHc became a
rally http://youtu.be/OdR1Q5hRQr0 , http://youtu.be/pLckYOZQT_M
A martyr in the morning http://youtu.be/35lNY8vrDpw and a rally
at night in Houleh http://youtu.be/kIMA7fzMBUA
Rallies Tadmor http://youtu.be/ysGhA2JKJKE Talbisseh
http://youtu.be/2h1-m981Xow
HAMA CITY: Army troops all over the Jisr Al-Mizraab Neighborhood
http://youtu.be/83EvZqo7AZ8
Rallies Bab Qibli http://youtu.be/Qs7L5iIqGK8 Hamidiyeh
http://youtu.be/-CUb9Hu51i0 Sheikh
Anbar http://youtu.be/8I2Y9OR1Ogk
HAMA PROVINCE: Rallies Karnaz http://youtu.be/i3a6aTzvw9Y Kafrenboudeh
http://youtu.be/q0SlUPo400w Morek
http://youtu.be/x7cMS7eBW3I Kafar
Zeiteh http://youtu.be/N7U62_4n4YI
Khaldiyeh http://youtu.be/7Y2BAg9DRP8
DAMASCUS CITY: A small funeral in Hajar Al-Aswad http://youtu.be/JjsD-ic4Hd0 Protesters
come under fire in Daraya http://youtu.be/0XoTYXzvMbA
A rally in Mojtahid neighborhood in
Central Damascus http://youtu.be/IoHeHiznO2o
, http://youtu.be/le2GyZxhauw
Rallies Barzeh http://youtu.be/hyYBLPUAv7Q Qadam
http://youtu.be/isiUSjk-eVQ Jobar
http://youtu.be/l6MlrnJ3UiM Assaly
http://youtu.be/0AplVL1grmM Qaboun
http://youtu.be/UiRZ0cfLAYc
DAMASCUS – NORTH: Rallies Qarrah http://youtu.be/fUqFpzNRoSs Ma’arrat
Yabroud http://youtu.be/sDOe4SJ7irQ
Yabroud http://youtu.be/iEd127TywGM
DAMASCUS – EAST: Protesters in Hamouriyeh http://youtu.be/l4vo4xGGN70 come under
fire http://youtu.be/8Hy96w_9QEc , http://youtu.be/TP4kHmrtMcc , http://youtu.be/6xDeCEA5i04 three were
killed http://youtu.be/pwhbe9KucFE The
martyrs http://youtu.be/N0eqFNcl-hY ,
http://youtu.be/CJizAbCB8ac , http://youtu.be/Qn_1alnhrOg At night, a
mass funeral was held http://youtu.be/YVCj3UC9oBY
, http://youtu.be/bm0Pfdkr9TA
Protesters in Arbeen came under fire as
well http://youtu.be/8twHHwQziiM , http://youtu.be/JAtY_lDHo0g even as AL
monitors were paying a visit to the suburb http://youtu.be/jFR8G-fXdms
, http://youtu.be/H2xac1_V_Vs Naturally,
the monitors escape http://youtu.be/3d7EG1bKH8w
Soon after, the anti-riot vehicle operated by loyalist storm its way out as
well http://youtu.be/39au7EHx5N8 But
not before playing some cat-and-mouse with the protesters http://youtu.be/CLYra0-0t7c
Rallies Zamalka http://youtu.be/BRztIDy4e3A , http://youtu.be/Ry2zc_FpIsI Fireworks
were involved http://youtu.be/xib1PkZxYiA
Douma http://youtu.be/Q7gRkIlirLY
Harasta http://youtu.be/BRWUK9Ec41A
Mdeirah http://youtu.be/bRUt1sXPUZk
Harran Al-Awameed http://youtu.be/GyOUbRYs6Es
DAMASCUS – WEST: Rallies Zabadani http://youtu.be/hPokdjqJi9c A martyr http://youtu.be/M4-GeFJRgj8
DEIR EZZOR: A funeral for a local activist in Deir
Ezzor City http://youtu.be/WjKpbXpJdWM
soon draws thousands of participants http://youtu.be/5FAh7OzoDhU
, http://youtu.be/ZUZxvrFhihE Near
dusk, protesters come under fire http://youtu.be/E_ayqh17pFs
but remain defiant chanting “long live the Free Syrian Army” http://youtu.be/Pi_vcQrz_wk , http://youtu.be/OvIL4OmBQ3I At night,
people take back to the street (Hassan Taha Street) http://youtu.be/BGyB7ocT-PI
Loyalist action in Ghraybeh leaves two
martyrs including http://youtu.be/fM0lpuZFLXg
, http://youtu.be/gJQzm1JJNgE These
are the loyalist tanks that pounded the city http://youtu.be/hAUbCFk9CTs Activists
show some of the shell fragments they found http://youtu.be/Qi6o_O6Ih28 The place
where the martyrs fell still shows signs of blood and human remains http://youtu.be/oedrpkOWJAo the
community is a poor one lying on the outskirt of the desert, the motorbikes of
the locals, their chief mode of transport, were burnt http://youtu.be/a96l38seA_I At night,
units affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, conduct their own operations
against loyalists destroying one of their tanks http://youtu.be/_JbtmnLIpbU
Rallies Jbeileh http://youtu.be/hmECP6Q5xOs Boqrus
http://youtu.be/aAkzLiOEJSk Ardi
http://youtu.be/edLnGVW0jh0 Qouriyeh
http://youtu.be/qcDMNs7Kh2w Jarthi
http://youtu.be/UX-Hxu-dAog Mouhassan
http://youtu.be/EhJmbxxePW4 Kaheel
http://youtu.be/JB6F--MJ6aQ
IDLIB: Unknown martyr found in Binnish http://youtu.be/2c1q_Vb4uR4
Rallies Tal Dibs (Dec 4) “Nabil Al-Arabi, can’t
you hear? The people want a no-fly zone” http://youtu.be/uo3dWpHynw4
Kafroumah http://youtu.be/Ujf9qxHuE5U
Sarmeen http://youtu.be/UByjxYk-sV4
Ariha http://youtu.be/CxQ5A8RR_tk
Jisr Ashoughour (Bsheiriyeh) http://youtu.be/On1clM0r9os
Nighttime Binnish http://youtu.be/5f7H-UPLnVw
Idlib City http://youtu.be/4zmyc6WZaeQ
Gilli http://youtu.be/Ptop_f0Imx8
DERAA CITY: Monitors stream out of the city http://youtu.be/ojONlAtZlt4 Rallies
Mahata http://youtu.be/mf2Y2_9E1LM
DERAA/HAURAN: Locals in Mseifrah speak with visiting
AL monitors http://youtu.be/xweleLWK5WU
, http://youtu.be/DS49lwUrbkE Some
show them examples of the shell cases used against them http://youtu.be/TRj-USTA3ls Afterwards
people hold a rally while the monitors blended in http://youtu.be/ylaBcfJK294
, http://youtu.be/FxuL-J-gLxE Pro-Regime
Addounia TV was on location as monitors spoke to loyalists troops http://youtu.be/aBkVi9ANNOM
In Da’el, monitors stand between
loyalist troops and protesters http://youtu.be/dRdMGyxYWNY
Rallies Hraak http://youtu.be/-_k6giguGu0 Na’eemah
http://youtu.be/a8O1XJVQKo0 Harrah
http://youtu.be/Zs6u5ux1Ucc Khirbet
Ghazaleh http://youtu.be/qJfsNDt61hg
Jizah http://youtu.be/IROXfoV4eDg
, http://youtu.be/bBnDJe0zA_4 Ankhel
http://youtu.be/9hHLitZ4et8 Tseel
http://youtu.be/XPjzU6SSDa0 Mhajeh
http://youtu.be/qqv-UugMcog Bosra
Al-Sham http://youtu.be/pVP507FgVFE
Da’el http://youtu.be/M2Bv9GAp5zY
Sahari http://youtu.be/wnv6htMrmGs
ALEPPO CITY: Marjeh http://youtu.be/qgCJ1ZJCrZs , http://youtu.be/ArRWtjokr-k protesters trample on Assad’s posters http://youtu.be/08yPu3KWuPM ALEPPO PRVINCE: Tal Rif’aat http://youtu.be/row4ouEQdqM
HASSAKEH: Deirik http://youtu.be/y9SSrl_WwtI Amoudeh
http://youtu.be/4OANFrLYkpk
No comments:
Post a Comment