The irony involved in holding an international conference on Syria
on April Fools is all too noticeable, and the fact that just on the day before,
an Assad official would claim victory simply adds a certain “je ne sais quoi”
to the mix. But the Revolution-cum-Devolution goes on, no amount of irony or
wishful thinking will make it go away.
Friday March 31, 2012
Death Toll: 81,
including 30 in Homs City, 29 ion Deraa and 12 in Idlib.
Activists in Deraa Province
report that a major massacre took place in the plains of Ghariyeh Gharbiyeh,
when pro-Assad death squads used knives to kill 18 locals hiding in the plains then
set their bodies on fire.
News
Op-Eds & Special Reports
I will be traveling over the next week
and may not be able to update the blog during this period. Sorry!
Syrian activist Ammar Abdulhamid, a fellow at the Foundation for the
Defense of Democracies in Washington, is trying to bridge the gap between the
exiles and those Syrians on the ground. He's bringing together small groups of
Syrian experts to brainstorm ideas for a transition, which he is feeding to
opposition groups on the ground in Syria who the United States is now trying to
reach. "We don't have a political agenda and aren't tabling a plan,"
Abdulhamid said. "This is to raise public awareness and highlight the
issues we are going to be facing once Assad falls. There needs to be a public
debate and we want to empower Syrians to do that." The First Report to out
of our project can be downloaded in English (here)
and in Arabic (here).
The activities currently undertaking by Fred Hoff and Robert Ford as described
by the reporter fall in line with the approach that I have been advocating
since the outset of the revolution. I just wish it didn’t take them so long to
see the wisdom behind this approach, and I just that the administration
realizes that all their efforts will be useless unless there is a will to
intervene and be more actively involved in hastening the end of the Assad
regime.
For the reality is, there is much disgruntlement within the ranks of the
Baath Party itself with the “security solution” adopted by the Assads, but
often officials who dare enough to voice their concerns and call out for
serious reforms receive immediate threats from members of the Assad inner
circle, including family members. This was the case recently
with former Minister of Information, Muhammad Salman, who recently launched “the
National Democratic Initiative,” which called on Assad to hold a national
conference to chart a roadmap out of the current crisis. Salman seemed to be
reaching out as, well to opposition groups calling for ouster of Assad, a move
that reportedly angered Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Chawkat and his chief of
security Ali Mamluke.
The simple truth is that Syria under Assad in 2012 is not Iraq under Saddam
in 2003: official institutions, the private sector and the civil society at
large have enough people with the necessary knowhow and leadership skills to
take over the affairs of the state and keep it running and viable, and to help
chart a path towards a more open system, inclusive and democratic system down the
road under the leadership of protest leaders and the new political elite that
is imposing itself on the scene internally. As such, the role of the expat
community is not as vital in managing the transition as many policymakers have
for long believed, and, perhaps, continue to believe.
Syria’s new leaders, political and technocratic, are inside the country
for the most part. Yes, the technocrats are not “innocent,” most have certainly
benefitted from involvement in the regime to enrich themselves, but most, nonetheless,
are smart enough to see the writing on the wall that the Assads cannot. But they
cannot stand up to Assad’s death squads on their own. The international
community MUST intervene, before these leaders, too, become irrelevant to the
unfolding processes, and extremists end up taking over.
Video Highlights
The town of Atareb, Aleppo Province, comes under renewed assault
by pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/e9GEymzFquc , http://youtu.be/8pjoccK14ug
In Rastan, Homs Province, members of a local FSA unit, open fire
on loyalist troops trying to storm the town http://youtu.be/xltZ6ZfSmzg But pounding
keeps claiming victims http://youtu.be/GBRYINcyQBk
, http://youtu.be/BkLR7rlr-gE
In nearby town of Qusayr, the pounding keeps claiming children http://youtu.be/ktqoYot2bi0 , http://youtu.be/ipiEV1lBkdM And the old
are suffering as well http://youtu.be/OIeGx3vBVAg
In Talbisseh, the pounding and random shooting claim the lives of
a number of locals http://youtu.be/uC3p_GpwrAE
, http://youtu.be/ilO36aAGfa8
In Homs City, the pounding of residential neighborhoods continues:
Wadi Arab http://youtu.be/WE9XrZM2PAM
The old historic neighborhoods are being wiped out http://youtu.be/wIi_Zcf_pKs In Deir
Baalbah, locals find three unidentified bodies thrown in the streets http://youtu.be/0-F-R9E_E3c In Khaldiyeh,
a shell explodes next to the local activist narrating what is taking place http://youtu.be/zJH23cO6lWI Another http://youtu.be/68RkK8OPCCA The pounding
continues http://youtu.be/GUvH-5ocr80
, http://youtu.be/1amGlo60lEY , http://youtu.be/gXGebIU3x0E Martyrs http://youtu.be/hvdyJlvNLaQ , , http://youtu.be/bGTBKmoHoUA In Bab
Houd, three bodies stull lying in the streets, local unable to retrieve
them http://youtu.be/HVp70YcIS50
In Damascus City, inhabitants of Kafar Sousseh held a mass
funeral for two local activists http://youtu.be/yCp1rANnkRk
Just as hordes of pro-Assad militias watched on http://youtu.be/gB_1gT2L0To
In Deraa Province, near the town of Alma, pro-Assad
militias pound a number of farms where locals are hiding http://youtu.be/UH1y-1vNo_Y
In Tahtaya village, Idlib Province, locals found five bodies, including
those of three defectors, a child and an old man, near a loyalist checkpoints http://youtu.be/gWhxRK1OMZA
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