Syria

Syrian regime sinks to new low

The Syrian state under Bashar al-Assad used tank fire and heavy machine guns on Sunday 31 July as the army overran barricades erected by the citizens of Hama. 500,000 had marched in Hama on Friday 29 demanding “the regime must go!” Shooting wildly, soldiers attacked mainly peaceful demonstrators who — amazingly, bravely — ran into the firing from the ramshackle barriers, demanding the tanks stop. The Syrian National Organisation for Human Rights estimates 142 people died on Sunday in Hama and three other Syrian towns. It seems the regime wants to break the protests before the start of the...

Syrian rebels gain confidence

The heroic uprising of the Syrian people against brutality and despotism continues to grow despite intimidation, mass arrests, torture, extreme violence and murder. The biggest street protests since the movement erupted in March took place on Friday 15 July. The marchers were demanding the release of political prisoners. It is estimated that 10,000 have been detained since March. Rami Abdel Rahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said one million people turned out in just two cities: Hama and the eastern Kurdish town of Deir al-Zour. In the capital — heavily policed Damascus — 20...

Syria: a new phase

In early July film footage came from an unnamed Syrian town, showing a group of young men – perhaps six or eight of them – bare-chested on a dusty road. They are so agitated they are repeatedly getting up and then lying down again. They are beating their chests and shouting at figures in the distance. The translation tells us they are screaming: "Cowards! Kill us if you dare!" at the Syrian armed forces. Over 1500 people have been killed in the course of the Syrian uprising. Those young men might very well be shot dead. Their extreme bravery illustrates the extent of the contempt and hatred in...

Is Syria's army cracking?

The Syrian army is “cracking” under the pressure of the indomitable rebellion in the country, which continues despite over a thousand deaths and an estimated ten thousand people jailed. Or so Hugh Macleod and Annasofie Flamand estimate (Al Jazeera, 11 June). They cite reports from people who have fled over the border to Turkey, including defecting soldiers. Joshua Landis, a US academic expert on Syria, is sceptical. “There is little evidence of wide-scale mutiny of Syrian soldiers. No solid evidence that they shot at each other... Individual soldiers do seem to have deserted. Some turned up in...

Syria: the dog that didn't bark

As I write these words, news has come in of the failure of Syria’s opposition to hold a general strike. One is reminded of Sherlock Holmes’ comment about the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. When told that “the dog did nothing in the night-time” Holmes famously responded, “That was the curious incident.” It is not unusual for civil society organisations in repressive societies to issue a call for a general strike. What is unusual is that the Syria call — reported on Facebook — got an instant statement out of the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)...

Syrian revolt holds up against the odds

Against all the odds, fierce repression by Syria’s police state has not yet quelled street protest there. Joshua Landis, a US expert on Syria, wrote on 21 May: “Syrian government statements that it had defeated the revolution with its brutal crackdown were premature. “This Friday [20 May], Syrians came out to demonstrate across the country despite the growing danger of violence. The absolute number of demonstrators may not have been very great, but the number of demonstrations was...” Landis reckons that “even if demonstrations can [eventually] be shut down for the time being, the opposition...

Refugees flee Syrian crackdown

On Tuesday 17 May, Syrian activists used Facebook to call for a general strike throughout Syria on Wednesday 18th to protest against the Assad's regime use of tanks, bullets, and curfews to suppress the rebellion simmering across the country. As far as can be determined while outside journalists are excluded from Syria, it is unlikely that the opposition is strong enough to pull off anything like a general strike. A refugee fleeing across the border to Lebanon told Reuters: "They are entering homes and killing everyone in them, men and women. They are destroying everything inside the homes"...

Syria: the labour movement must speak out!

The Assad dictatorship in Syria is going for endgame. It wants to crush the people's revolt now, with whatever violence it takes. Despite some small mutinies, the armed forces are standing with Assad, not splitting as in Libya or turning against the dictator as the Egyptian army turned against Mubarak and the Tunisian against Ben Ali. The big powers, while deploring the repression, are too anxious about their difficulties in Libya to want to get much involved. With most news from Syria blocked by the regime, media coverage is low-key. Too much of the left is more interested in repeating its...

Syrian revolt at a turning point

The confrontation between the Syrian police state and the popular movement is now in a decisive phase. Either the regime manages to use sufficient violence and terror to force the demonstrators off the streets, or the inability to do so fatally wounds it. There are two preconditions for a step forward for the mass movement. Firstly, a continued willingness — despite the obscene, murderous violence of Syria’s rulers — to come out onto the streets and risk a massacre. Secondly, a serious split in the Syrian state machine. The protest which began six weeks ago in the southern town of Deraa has...

Syrian uprising continues

“From alleyway to alleyway, from house to house, we want to overthrow you, Bashar”. The movement against the repulsive, brutal regime of Bashar Assad continues to spread geographically and deepen in intensity. On Monday 18 April thousands marched in the city of Homs to bury dead protesters killed over the weekend. Mourners chanted, “Either freedom or death, the people want to topple this regime!” Later Suhair Atassi, a prominent human rights activist, said 10,000 people had occupied Al-Saa square in the centre of Homs late on Monday night. Demonstrators said the square had been renamed Tahrir...

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