Syrian People voice their opinion with mass demonstrations 30/12/

NEWS UPDATE 7PM GMT 30/12/11

Mass demonstrations took place in Homs, Hama, Idlib, Damascus and other major cities. In Idlib scene of much of the fighting in December there was a mass demostration that rocked the city amounting 300,000 people. These were mainly peaceful demonstrations throughtout with people singing Arabic Islamic peace chants in unity with Islamic prayers, or dancing to traditional songs. It appears Christain and Islamic groups sing and chant together. A sign in one demonstration had a Cross and a Crescent joined togther signalling there is a Unified approach to the opposition against Assad. Its unlikely therefore these are Islamic extremists. Adding to the peaceful forms of demonstation a Strike called the 'Dignity' strike mainly to attract Blue collar workers was launched today. Damascus had over 50000 protestors against the Assad regime with most like peaceful outcomes, but there is varying reports about some clashes in Damascus, around the Douma Mosque and while it is difficult to verify Aljazeera report that 100 were wounded by Government Security forces clearing people from the Mosque and Square there. Early this morning protesters said security forces had surrounded the Mosque. One has to fill in the gaps here and assume people were detained in the streets and fired at and perhaps the Mosque was raided. It is difficult to understand why a Mosque would be surrounded unless the people inside were going to be under threat. Some Protesters have been shot in Douma with live cracker style small grenades which were deployed along with some tear gas according the Sky News. Protesters have become adept at collecting the teargas shells which seem to have a higher potency than would be expected. An explosion was reported in Hama by a nail bomb with 3 reported dead. Other news reports say there may have been an explosion in Damascus this evening.
These reports are difficult to verify because the repression is so great outlets of information are scanty. Journalists remain banned from Syria and were not invited by the Arab Observer delegation who were greeted with 100,000 demonstrators in Douma. It is thought that there may have been further detentions at Aleppo University where students have been killed over the last few months. These dententions may have happened last night. El Arabia channel has a story today, about the difficulties students are facing there in the largest University in Syria.

Shooting did take place today because footage uploaded shows a youngmen with gunshot wounds but it is difficult to determine when exactly that happened. Algazeera reports 30 dead but the opposition reports 42 dead whilst other networks 12.

Information may have come to light by the larger agencies, newspapers and broadcasters and this blog does not claim to be all of the news from Syria. Oppostion through there advocates voice the requirement for the Government army to withdraw, prisoners to be released, journalists to be allowed in, the UN to act and dialogue to begin for creating a new government. Assad's regime remains silent and in denial that there are shootings or detentions despite Amnesty International's report and the UN that there are have been 12,000 in prisons to date since the uprising. The Syrian Free Army has, except for protective measures, temporarily drawn back it's forces to allow the Arab league delegation to do its job. What is clear from today is that the vast number of ordinary people in Syria would like Assad to peacefully step aside and with dignity close down his stewardship of the country.

Sky News has two reports showing damning footage of a member of the Government Assad army raising his rifle to shoot at a boy of around 14 years old, on UK National network. Tomorrow the Independent Newspaper in the UK places Syria on the Front page.

NEWS UPDATE 29/12/11
After the defiant scenes of the Arab Observer Delegation being challenged by local mourners yesterday it was sad news to hear that one of the local activists who documented many of the abuses in Syria with his phone camera was killed yesterday in Homs it is believed. (Currently unverified) His name was Basil al Sayid and he will be remembered for his work alongside the Libyan videographer Mo Nablous. Tributes are being placed at a Facebook site for al Sayid. It is also thought another youth videographer was shot in Deraa while filming the tear gasing of residents in a district of the town. Today sees the Arab League Observers visiting Homs, Idlib, and Deraa. Activists say 30 or more are dead in Syria today. At the bottom of the blog you will see a small addition showing the number of articles in the Geneva Convention which have been infringed by the reigning Syrian Government. So many it seems it is hard to choose which articles in relation to civilians that have not been violated. The blog below points up the Geneva article on 'Proportionality'. What is gauling is that the UN is ignoring all this to date.



SYRIA PINNACLE OF TEARS


Syrain National Council requests safety zone for civilians.
UN Emergency Meeting called for to declare Jabal Zawiya a disaster zone

Comander Co Riad As'ad of the Northern Syrian Free Army stated last week(21st Dec) via the Wall St Journal that in Jabal Zawiya he saw the worst, harshest and most inhumane attack ever in the 8 month war. The Syrian National Council of the Oppostion are therfore requesting that Jabal Zawiya be considered a disaster area and that the UN arrange an emergency meeting to declare it as a safety zone. This request is highly significant because it is calling for the International law of the Geneva Convention to be implemented where safety zones are created for civilians and for the army wounded to be protected as well as the neutrality of the Hospital to be upheld. Should the UN ignore this request they are in themselves contributing to a war crime scenario because when a commander requests a safety zone international law requires it is implemented.

Pinnicale of Tears

In the last few weeks the Syrian regime has shown itself to be an expert in the things that most human beings of normal conscience and sanity would not tolerate. They have orchestrated a military campaign against their own people with such skill that they have become the pinnacle of injustice in war.

Their latest victims in Homs yesterday (20th dec) were a group of innocent children, who bore witness to the insane barbarity of the regime. Bodies were blown appart in artillery shellings, that seemed to have focused on an area where children were playing. Footage reveals one decapitiated boy and parts of legs of other children wrapped together. In another video shreds of two babies fall through the ceiling. Such damning footage must be explained away to discover what circumstances occurred to create these terrible images. None can dispute that from the voices of the wailing family members trying to muster the strength to bury the children they are certainly of Syrian origin. What is shocking is that there is no remorse or admission by the regime that they have made a big mistake in taking up arms against their own people in whatever measure their own people have railed against them the government violence is simply untenable. No state can claim to be a state when it ceases to protect its own people or when it takes to murdering them in order to keep itself in tact.

The denials of Assad are no longer acceptable, not that they ever were, for it is clear today that his Government artillery were in Homs and have been there all week. What ranckles highly amongst the advocates of human rights is that the state violence meted out against the people is disproportionate. The analogy is like a sledgehammer to crack a nut - why oh why are tanks being used against children who are simply throwing stones? This is not a crime against the state surely? Most children express their anger all the time by picking up stones so how did these innocents become anarchists theives and armed gangs over night? It doesnt seem realistic that they would have become such monsters. Therefore a lot of questions need to be asked by the Observer Delegates, attending Syria this month.

It is indeed mind boggling that Syria's regime has orchestrated such an environment of fear over the whole Middle East region that its Heads of state fear to critise Assad in case they themselves may become political targets. But in failing to admonish Assad they are being tarred with the same brush of coalgulating blood, in which they themselves are distrusted by their own citizens.

Therefore now is the time, for the excuses end. The bully can no longer be allowed to rule the playground nor distrub the children at play. He must be called to account by the International Community for misjudging the situation and placing his whole people in jeopardy. Whilst it is a bad thing to do it is not necessarily a crime to throw a stone. It depends on the context and I cant see how any citizen could be a criminal by throwing a stone at a tank if it was thundering down on him.

It is therefore up to Assad to apply the first principle of his ancient country as the seat of Christainity encapsulated in the phrase 'He who is without sin, cast the first stone.' In the light of this, the Honourable thing for him to do is to stand down from power. Anything else is a betrayal by the International Community and of himself.

But for the Red Cross to implement safety zones they must be given access right away with no excuses either by Assad, Western or Arabic powers because anything less is a rancourous formula that fails to see that the Geneva Convention is the tool to sort these matters out. A cursory view of the International Customary Law on war reveals violations in various degrees on the following articles in the Geneava Convention by Syria 5,6,7,8,11,14,15,17,19,20,22,23,24,37,36, - with the following articles deemed active by ICRC 89,90,94,100,101,104,111,113.
It remains to be seen if the International Community can prove these violations and has the courage of its convictions to punish the perpetrators of them.
Another Blog will look in depth at the violations of international law and the UN's responsiblity to uphold it.