Assad

By Jonah Hull in Europe on March 22nd, 2012
Photo by EPA

In resisting two previous United Nations resolutions on Syria, Russia's position was that the texts were unbalanced and aimed at regime change. It insisted both sides should cease fire and begin negotiations, without preconditions or ultimatums.

Western powers, demanding that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down, lambasted Russia for this. It cost them a show of diplomatic unity against Assad, in the absence of will to take concrete steps on the ground.

Wednesday's presidential statement includes calls for both sides to cease fire and engage in negotiations. It includes the Russian position that these should occur with no preconditions, timelines or ultimatums.

By Sue Turton in Middle East on February 11th, 2012
[Al Jazeera]

The sprawling housing estate of Bab al-Tebbeneh north of Tripoli sits cheek-by-jowl alongside the Jabal Mohsen estate. They are neighbours but their allegiances are worlds apart.

To get to the street that split the two communities we have to dart in and out of side streets and alleyways, workshops and backrooms. We sprint through the gaps between the high rise apartment blocks, lest the snipers pick us off. Even the dogs run faster here, sensing the fear.

At times the gunfire is deafening as the residents let off a few rounds to let the guys sitting in the opposite estate know that they're still there. Snipers reply, sometimes inadvertently hitting the minarets of one of the estates' many mosques.

Inner city estates all over the world have gangs that fight against other estates, but rarely with RPGs and AK-47s, and rarely in the name of another country's conflict.

Tags: Assad
By Jane Ferguson in Middle East on February 5th, 2012

Within half an hour of arriving at the activists’ office in Homs, I was in a car and careering past the sound of sniper fire.

These citizen journalists wanted to waste no time in showing an international reporter what they’re up against.

Climbing the stairs of an abandoned building, they push forward in front of me with their small, hand-held video cameras.

While this area of the city - Bab Amr - has been pounded by President Assad’s tanks, almost all of the footage seen on the world’s TV screens has come from this small team of self-made cameramen.

The Arab Spring has clearly shown revolutionaries that they can fight an aggressive government by exposing it to the outside world.

But in that regard, Syria is very different from Egypt, Yemen, or Libya where access for foreign journalists was tough, but by no means impossible.

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on March 30th, 2011

 

Did Syrian president Assad meet the high expectations ahead of his speech?

No he didn't. Syrian officials had promised a historical speech. Instead, we were treated to a bombastic political speech interrupted by more of the same parliamentary chorus of support for the 'brother leader'.

It must have been disappointing for those hoping, at a minimum, for the lifting of the brutal emergency regulations that de facto ban all political dissent, never mind the other urgent political and economic demands.

Anything but humbled by recent unrest, the president was either in denial over the widespread opposition to his regime, or indifferent to the authenticity of calls for better living conditions, an end to the systemic corruption and paternalism, as well as the need for urgent political reforms.

Tags: Assad, Syria

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