By now, we all know the kind of disease that is eating away at Assad’s
mind, but pray tell me what sort of disease is eating away at the world’s
conscience?
SNC president, Burhan Ghalioun, raised a new controversy with Syria’s Kurdish population when he categorically rejected, in an interview with Kurdish TV station Rudaw, the notion of federalism or autonomy that Kurdish parties and groups have been demanding as their national right for decades.
Monday April 16, 2012
Death Toll: 50 in Homs,
Hama and Idlib City (21).
News
Op-Eds & Special Reports
"There is no going back," says
Alloush. "The Free Syrian Army is a reality and we have to accept it. But
that does not mean that we have to accept them as the leaders of this
revolution. I know these people, and I know that many of them want to turn
Syria into an Islamic republic if they get the chance.”
Turkey has been debating implementing a
humanitarian corridor that would allow the international community to bring
relief to civilians in Syria. Ankara should make a strong case for opening the
first such corridor from Turkey into Syria's Alawite heartland or the
multi-ethnic city of Latakia. This would signal Turkey's intent to protect all
Syrians. Such a corridor would be a bridge not only between Ankara and
Alawites, but perhaps also between Turkish Sunnis and Alevis. And it may reduce
internal opposition to intervention.
New Needless Controversy
SNC president, Burhan Ghalioun, raised a new controversy with Syria’s Kurdish population when he categorically rejected, in an interview with Kurdish TV station Rudaw, the notion of federalism or autonomy that Kurdish parties and groups have been demanding as their national right for decades.
Mr. Ghalioun said that there is no entity in Syria known as Kurdistan
Syria, and those Kurds who advocate federalism are clinging to a “useless illusion.”
Calling for federalism is tantamount to a call for separatism. The Kurds are
not entitled to autonomy, the Sorbonne professor said, because there is no
region in Syria where the population is 100% Kurdish. The Kurds might be a majority
in some cities, but there is no region called Kurdistan in Syria, he said. This
idea is nothing but an attempt at cloning the Iraqi model, he asserted. By
taking part in the revolution, the Kurds will get their rights recognized not
only in the areas where they exist but all over the country.
Needless to say, these declarations have roiled the Kurdish population and
Kurdish activists throughout the world and are not likely to endear the SNC
president or the SNC itself to the Kurds. And Kurdish participation in the
revolution will continue to dwindle.
Meanwhile, those in the Syrian opposition who dismiss the SNC as a
Turkish construct will see new evidence in this anti-Kurdish stance by Mr.
Ghalioun, and the SNC will continue to considered by them as well as Syria’s other
religious minorities, not to mention liberal forces within the Arab population,
as a coalition representing the interests of leftists, Arab nationalists and Islamists,
but not their own. This will severely undermine the SNC’s ability to lead the transitional
period, if talk of transition still carries any meaning or significance at this
stage.
Video Highlights
Arrested loyalist officers are often found with pens that hide cameras
and a GPS device on them to enable collection of information and tracking, but
defected officers have warned FSA colleagues of eh dangers and are spreading
awareness of the matter http://youtu.be/UYwcl45EOVI
In Homs City’s Khaldiyeh Neighborhood, and despite the heavy pounding,
some locals insist on rallying to remind Assad that “we’re coming to get you [sucker!]”
http://youtu.be/afDSqcNl0Yw But the pounding
soon resumed http://youtu.be/4o-GghzYu2U
A house catches fire http://youtu.be/t3i3WnXvS-U
Elsewhere,
in Insha’aat, the rally was bigger http://youtu.be/O1jyW93s0v0
But the main story is still that of continuing pounding in a clear
infringement of the ceasefire agreement: Jouret Al-Shayah http://youtu.be/VK6ClZ8XL6o , http://youtu.be/omLp4SPz5e8 , http://youtu.be/YIstEeLJFQo Tanks firing
http://youtu.be/PK7hRAilzL8 Qarabis
http://youtu.be/xOD46uwN490 , http://youtu.be/bqeZ62BaDv4 , http://youtu.be/16TqxvUFvoE Qoussour http://youtu.be/tjqYan8v79k , http://youtu.be/-ZNoKApVXcE House
catches fire http://youtu.be/tgZ1mALXkrk
And another: Bayadah http://youtu.be/zKggFnUraxw
, http://youtu.be/xq3cZxXI8mc The
pounding became very intense, and activists played cat-and-mouse with the falling
shells http://youtu.be/UnCo6nnBCKs
Idlib City came under heavy gunfire
as well http://youtu.be/23gqn-Kniyo ,
http://youtu.be/2woRG825WOM In nearby
Saraqib, a chopper overflies and pound the town http://youtu.be/Xt-vnbRwcEk
In Damascus City, stopping traffic by burning tires has become a daily
routine in many neighborhoods: Baghdad Street http://youtu.be/Yz_3dqBTc6o
No comments:
Post a Comment