Increased
death and suffering with an end-game in sight is something most Syrians would accept
at this stage, because by now the only choice we have is to get to the other side
no matter how high the cost will be. It’s the combination of death and abandonment
that fuels extremism and kills hope.
Thursday May 31, 2012
Death toll: 51, most
of whom fell in Homs Province in Qusayr, Rastan and Homs City.
Most neighborhoods and
bazars in the suburbs of Damascus and Aleppo and many local neighborhoods continue
to observe the call for general strike.
Defections in Deir Ezzor
City and surrounding areas have increased dramatically over the last few days. Most
of the city and the larger province seems to have fallen under the control of
the local resistance.
Authorities and pro-Assad militias
in Damascus prevent a funeral for the Christian activist Bassil Shahada in
order to avoid an embarrassing show of anti-Assad sentiments by the city’s
large Christian community. Assad and his supporters are still trying to portray
the revolution as an exclusively radical Sunni phenomenon, but, in truth,
discontent with Assad rule is endemic to all communities in Syria.
News
Op-Eds & Special Reports
While USA
Today's own
editorial cautions against military intervention in Syria at this
stage, I was given the opportunity to express the opposite point of view,
arguing that "The
time for action has come." People can actually vote on whether
they agree with the arguments made or disagree.
Highlighted
Articles
While many respondents
supported religious values in public life, only a small fraction strongly
favored Shariah law, clerical influence in government, or heavy emphasis on
Islamic education. A large majority (73%) said it was "important for the
new Syrian government to protect the rights of Christians." Only 20% said
that religious leaders have a great influence on their political views…
Just 5% had even a
mildly positive view of Saudi Arabia as a political model. In contrast, 82%
gave Turkey a favorable rating as both a political and economic model
(including over 40% extremely favorable). The U.S. earned 69% favorable ratings
as a political model, with France, Germany and Britain close behind. Tunisia
rated only 37% and Egypt 22%. Iran was rated lowest of any country included in
the survey, including Russia and China: Not even 2% of respondents had positive
views of Iran as a political model. Fully 90% expressed an unfavorable view of
Hezbollah, including 78% with the most negative possible attitude…
The survey demonstrates
that the core of the Syrian opposition inside the country is not made up of the
Muslim Brotherhood or other fundamentalist forces, and certainly not of al
Qaeda or other jihadi organizations. To be sure, a revolution started by
secularists could pave the way for Islamists to win elections, as has occurred
in Egypt. But the Syrian opposition is solidly favorable to the U.S. and
overwhelmingly negative toward both Hezbollah and Iran.
“If the Americans are
serious about adopting the Yemeni solution and pointing everybody in this
direction, then they must do more than negotiate and consult because al-Assad
will not accept any deal until after the Yemeni solution is no longer
applicable and it is impossible to implement. We must accelerate the arming of
the Syrian opposition and support them to besiege the regime until al-Assad
accepts stepping down from power via a deal that represents the bare minimum
that he has offered others. Unless al-Assad feels that he is being militarily
besieged, he will never step down, rather he will accept more and more support
from Hezbollah and Iran to create even more chaos, pushing Syria towards a
sectarian war, for this is precisely what he wants, as he believes this will
allow him to retain control of some parts of Syria, remaining as president of
the regions that are – in terms of sectarianism – affiliated or allied to him.”
By Donatella Rovera,
Amnesty International’s senior crisis researcher.
“Every protest I
observed during three days in Aleppo ended the same way: with the army,
security forces and shabiha – the infamous militias who do some of the
government’s dirty work – opening fire on non-violent demonstrators who posed
no threats to them (or to anybody else).”
Video Highlights
In the
village of Eastern Bouaydah near the town of Qusayr in Homs
Province, 14 laborers fell victims to summary executions by pro-Assad militias http://youtu.be/T0eP4K2Tibs , http://youtu.be/0nZcaV1WxFI , http://youtu.be/bcFD1-7PNJk
In Qusayr
itself, the pounding continues http://youtu.be/JiRImmprk-8
and claims the life of local activist involved in filming and documenting the crackdown
against the protesters in his area http://youtu.be/45Tg7lMgLlk
Doctors and the field hospital come under fire even as they scurry to treat the
injured http://youtu.be/LRPLh9wxfa8 Some
of today’s martyrs http://youtu.be/1dFvUskVWAM
In Homs
City, the pounding of the old neighborhoods continues http://youtu.be/BHZtlskgi_M , http://youtu.be/ub5PH78dQnQ
Nighttime pounding left many buildings on fire: Qoussour http://youtu.be/1pcGUFOJWTA Hamidiyeh
a historic house converted into restaurant is destroyed by the pounding http://youtu.be/CnS-E5fPkGU Home catches
fire http://youtu.be/BKyt6C4r5Cc A
local church is hit http://youtu.be/rSOgu9CnrC8
Khaldiyeh: homes catch fire http://youtu.be/RbcgPKvjBZw
, http://youtu.be/6ZrAL3cGN7A Siraj
Mosque catches fire http://youtu.be/E6BmkL14W9Y
The nearby
town of Rastan is pounded again http://youtu.be/fZQOo_MMaMU
, http://youtu.be/HarxR6hd7-Q , http://youtu.be/GBKv1EHf9gg , http://youtu.be/S9gn8zGVnVE , http://youtu.be/xWjel4NN3zI An activist
from the local documentation team is killed http://youtu.be/l_AGxEmdAV4 Clouds of black
smoke rise above the town http://youtu.be/pRPe8JrRPn4
Some buildings catch fire http://youtu.be/fjv6LVszO3o
In the
town of Dar Azzah, Aleppo Province, choppers take part in bombarding the
historic church of St. Simeon http://youtu.be/MMPIV-IPUK8
, http://youtu.be/7SL7AefbPeo
The town
of Marei is pounded using choppers destroying many homes http://youtu.be/u1Ceq7odwao , http://youtu.be/ArpHYfYBrwA One of today’s
martyrs http://youtu.be/FSrPjZtII1k The
chopper that took part in the pounding http://youtu.be/gSO1uK0YgXI
The town
of Ma’arrat Al-Nouman, Idlib Province, is pounded http://youtu.be/dxFpY7d8Rlo
The town
of Daraya, Damascus Province, is pounded http://youtu.be/hSR2LZg-Jhg
The Massacre of Eastern Bouaydah
Village, Town of Qusayr, Homs Province
The Current Counts
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