Syrian Peace Talks Open With Vitriol, as Official Rails at Rebels
MONTREUX,
Switzerland — From its early moments on Wednesday, the long-delayed
peace conference on Syria was marked by acrimony when Syria’s foreign
minister described Syrian rebels as “evil” and ignored appeals by Ban
Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, to avoid invective or
even to yield the floor.
By
the end of the day, the sense that the new peace talks were headed for
trouble was compounded when the proceedings ended without any hint of
progress toward imposing local cease-fires or opening humanitarian
corridors for the delivery of food and medicine to besieged towns and
cities.
In
an evening news conference here, Syria’s ambassador to the United
Nations, Bashar Jaafari, said that stopping terrorism, not sharing
power, needed to be the priority when Syrian government officials sat
down with the Syrian opposition on Friday to discuss a political
solution to the bloody conflict, a stance that also appeared to promise
more confrontation.
Putting
the best face on the meeting, Secretary of State John Kerry told
reporters on Wednesday night that it was significant that senior
diplomats from 40 countries and organizations had gathered in the
lakeside Swiss city of Montreux, to initiate the conference. Mr. Kerry
insisted that he had always known that the talks would be “tough” and
described the conference as a “process,” which he implied could last for
months or even years.
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Several
Syrians also expressed hope that the conference signaled the start of a
process in which Syrians might eventually overcome their differences.
“It’s
a historic moment,” said Ibrahim al-Hamidi, a veteran journalist for
the Saudi-owned newspaper Al Hayat who is originally from the northern
Syrian city of Idlib. “After three years of military struggle, when the
opposition tried very hard to destroy the regime, and the regime tried
very hard to crush the opposition, this is the first time the two
delegations sit down in one room under U.N. auspices.”
But
it was hard to escape the sense that the conditions for a productive
negotiation between the Syrian government and the opposition had yet to
be set. Mr. Kerry tried to set a positive tone on the eve of the
conference by engaging in a calculated display of comity with Mr. Ban
and Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister — a gesture that
appeared intended to play down the lobbying effort by the United States
to persuade the United Nations to withdraw its invitation to Iran to
attend the meeting. “Do we look happy?” Mr. Lavrov quipped as the three
held hands for a photo.
But
when the conference opened on Wednesday sharp differences came to the
fore. Mr. Kerry said it was unthinkable that President Bashar al-Assad
of Syria could play a role in a transitional administration that would
govern the country as part of a political settlement. The establishment
of such a transitional body by “mutual consent” of the Assad government
and the Syrian opposition is the major goal of the conference. “The
right to lead a country does not come from torture, nor barrel bombs,
nor Scud missiles,” Mr. Kerry said.
Mr.
Lavrov challenged the American insistence that Mr. Assad be excluded
from a transitional administration, arguing that the conference had to
“refrain from any attempt to predetermine the outcome of the process.”
While
the stark differences between the American and Russian positions were
outlined in civil tones, that diplomatic restraint was abandoned when
Walid al-Moallem, the Syrian foreign minister who will lead the Syrian
government’s face-to-face talks with the opposition, took the floor and
accused Arab nations of financing terrorism and conspiring to destroy
his country.
Speaking
for more than 30 minutes, Mr. Moallem also accused insurgents of
“sexual jihad” by using brainwashed women as sex slaves and engaging in
incest. When Mr. Ban asked that Mr. Moallem wind up his lengthy speech,
the Syrian official shot back: “You live in New York, I live in Syria.”
After
Mr. Ban again urged him to be concise, Mr. Moallem said he would
conclude soon, adding that “Syria always keeps its promises.” But he
continued with his denunciations of the opposition and Mr. Ban later
lamented that his injunction that participants take a constructive
approach to the crisis “had been broken.”
Ahmad
Assi al-Jarba, the president of the Syrian opposition, opened with the
story of Hajar al-Khatib, 11, who he said was shot by government forces
as she rode a bus to school in Rastan near the city of Homs in May 2011.
That was in the early days of the protest movement that set off the
uprising. “Ten thousand children have died because of the Syrian Army,”
he added, singling out not only Mr. Assad but the army, which many
pro-government Syrians distinguish from the political leaders as an
object of patriotism.
Mr.
Jarba has said from the start that the Syrian opposition will never
accept a role for Mr. Assad in a transitional government and he wondered
aloud if the negotiators that the Syrian president had sent to
Switzerland were prepared to contemplate that outcome. “We want to be
sure we have a Syrian partner in this room,” Mr. Jarba said, adding, “Do
we have such a partner?”
Asked
whether the United States had any way of putting more leverage on the
Assad government, Mr. Kerry suggested that the Obama administration
would support “augmented” support for the opposition, among other
options. But Mr. Kerry was vague about those options, and the White
House has been extremely reluctant to use force in Syria or to even
treat the Syria crisis as its principal foreign policy challenge.
On
the sidelines, attempts at dialogue turned to scuffles. Outside,
pro-government protesters waved the flags of the Syrian government and
Hezbollah and chanted “God, Bashar and nothing else!” An opposition
activist, Rami Jarrah, approached them with a television camera and
interviewed them. But when he asked if Mr. Assad should be tried for war
crimes, they began shouting and pushing.
Inside,
the Syrian information minister, Omran al-Zoubi, was asked by a Syrian
opposition journalist from Aleppo, Adnan Hadad, about the barrel bombs
that the military had used on neighborhoods in his city, killing
hundreds in recent weeks.
“This is the kind of question you ask if you support the terrorist groups,” Mr. Zoubi said. “Ask the Saudi foreign minister.”
In
an interview, Fayssal Mekdad, the Syrian deputy foreign minister, said
he welcomed sitting face to face with the government’s opponents. “We
look forward to looking them in the eye,” he said, “and asking them,
‘Who do you represent?’ ”
Hwaida Saad and Hala Droubi contributed reporting.
A version of this article appears in print on January 23, 2014, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: Syrian Peace Talks Open With Vitriol, as Official Rails at Rebels.
State Dept. Learned in November of Photos Said to Show Torture in Syria
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration first learned last November about a harrowing trove of photographs
that were said to document widespread torture and executions in Syrian
prisons when a State Department official viewed some of the images on a
laptop belonging to an antigovernment activist, a senior official said
Wednesday.
The
United States did not act on the photos for the past two months,
officials said, because it did not have possession of the digital files
and could not establish their authenticity. Nevertheless, they said, the
administration believes the photos are genuine, basing that assessment
in part on the meticulous way in which the bodies in the photos were
numbered.
The
photographs, some of which were released this week on the eve of an
international peace conference on Syria, have helped prompt the
administration to heighten its demand that President Bashar al-Assad
release political prisoners and allow Red Cross inspectors access to the
prisons.
But
it seems clear that the photos that appear to document the torture and
executions will not fundamentally alter American policy, which is to
push for a political settlement that will remove Mr. Assad from power
but to avoid direct military intervention in the conflict.
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Opponents
of Mr. Assad said the cache of images was smuggled out of Syria by a
police photographer who defected and was given the code name Caesar.
Lawyers commissioned by the Qatari government, an avowed opponent of Mr.
Assad, to assess the photos did not make Caesar available or offer
independent proof of their origin.
Some
supporters of Mr. Assad raised questions about their authenticity while
insisting that the government is fighting foreign-backed terrorists. At
the same time, the three-year civil war has often been defined by
competing images of atrocities committed by both sides.
For
now, the White House and the State Department are expressing outrage
over the images, even as they caution that the United States has not
independently authenticated them. At the peace conference in Montreux,
Switzerland, Secretary of State John Kerry endorsed a demand by Syrian
opposition groups that the United Nations investigate the portfolio.
“The
questions raised by this require an answer,” Mr. Kerry said. “I can’t
tell you exactly what all of it is except that I know that they are
people who have suffered egregious torture and death.”
At
the White House, the press secretary, Jay Carney, said: “These photos
cannot be ignored or dismissed. They suggest widespread and apparently
systematic violations of international human law and demonstrate just
how far the regime is willing to go in harming its own people. They’re
very disturbing images.”
A
top official in the Syrian group that helped smuggle the trove said
that a private legal team was examining and categorizing the photos to
be used in future war crimes trials of Syrian officials.
The man, Emad ad-din al-Rashid,
the head of the political office of the Syria National Movement, said
that the group had not shared its reported archive of 55,000 photos with
any other organization, but that it was starting to make contact with
international human rights groups.
“We
will do all that we can to make sure that people get what they
deserve,” Mr. Rashid said in a telephone interview from Montreux. “The
only path is to take the files and documents to the international
criminal court.”
The existence of photos came to light with the release of a report
by a six-person legal and forensics team that was commissioned to
assess the credibility of the photos as evidence by Qatar, a major
backer of Syria’s rebels.
Syrian
officials said the photographs had been fabricated, either by the
opposition or by Persian Gulf countries. “They have been fabricating
such images for the last three years, and this is not new to us,” said
Syria’s deputy foreign minister, Fayssal Mekdad, in an interview in
Montreux. The publication of the photos, he added, had no effect on the
talks.
Russia’s prime minister, Dmitri A. Medvedev, said in an interview with CNN that no conclusions could be drawn about the photos.
“I
know there are a lot of victims, and that’s very sad, but that does not
mean that the existence of victims or victims in a particular place is
the proof that those are the victims of the regime and not the bandits
who were doing something or any other force,” Mr. Medvedev said.
The
report on the photos, though led by three experts with experience in
international war crimes trials, also raised some questions. While
saying that the full archive consists of about 55,000 photographs,
indicating the execution of around 11,000 people, the investigators
acknowledged they had examined only 5,500 photos showing 835
individuals.
The
timing of the report’s release also suggested that it had been timed to
undermine Mr. Assad’s government as talks began. The report says
investigators interviewed the photographer, Caesar, on Jan. 12, 13, and
18, meaning the report was prepared within days of the last interview.
One of the investigators said the timing of the report’s release had no bearing on the credibility of its findings.
“Whether
it was a month ago or a month from now, this is clear and convincing
evidence of an industrial killing machine that is indicative of what
Assad is doing in this civil war,” said David M. Crane, who previously
indicted President Charles G. Taylor of Liberia.
Much
also remains unclear about how the photos made it out of Syria and what
will be done with them now. Mr. Rashid, whose group helped smuggle them
out, said it had worked for months with contacts in Syria and in
unnamed “neighboring countries” to get the defector and his photos out
of Syria.
Mr.
Crane played down the role of Qatar, which commissioned the report, and
denied that the release of the report before the conference was
political.
“That
report is to serve the rights of the victims, but we see this as a
legal, humanitarian document,” he said. “It is not political at all.”
Administration
officials said the State Department official, whom they did not name,
viewed the photos in Turkey during a meeting with the representative of
an antigovernment group.
A
senior administration official said the photos led the United States to
“bolster our repeated demands that the Assad regime grant immediate and
unfettered access for the I.C.R.C. and the U.N. Commission of Inquiry,
and lend force to our calls for prisoner releases.”
Mr.
Rashid, a former assistant dean at the Islamic law college of Damascus
University, said that a legal team with members in France, the United
States and other countries was working to examine and categorize the
photos so that they could be used for future war crimes prosecutions.
“It is a huge project, and it will not go away because there are more issues in there than you can imagine,” he said.
While
his group has so far not shared the photos with anyone, he said that it
met with the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday and
would meet with representatives from the United Nations Human Rights
Council on Thursday.
An
American official said that American intelligence agencies had not yet
seen the photographs, other than those published in the news media, and
could not independently verify them. But the official added, “We have no
reason to doubt them.”
The
official said the three legal experts hired to authenticate the photos
smuggled out of Syria all had “good reputations” and experience dealing
with war crimes investigations.
“The
idea of this kind of massacre is consistent with allegations we’ve
heard before,” the official said. “That the Syrian government would
commit such atrocities shouldn’t surprise anyone.”
Konferensi Jenewa 2, Optimisme yang Membentur Dinding
Konferensi
internasional Jenewa 2 yang bertujuan untuk meretas solusi mengatasi
krisis Suriah akhirnya digelar hari Rabu (22/1). Publik dunia telah
lama menanti digelarnya pertemuan tersebut. Konferensi ini dibuka dengan
pidato Sekretaris Jenderal PBB Ban Ki-moon.
Ban berharap pihak yang bertikai di Suriah menggunakan kesempatan yang
ada untuk menyelesaikan perselisihan di antara mereka. Pertemuan
tersebut dihadiri menteri luar negeri negara anggota Dewan
Keamanan. Selain itu, diundang perwakilan empat puluh negara dunia.
Konferensi Jenewa 2 akan diselenggarakan dalam dua bagian. Pada hari
Rabu, sesi pembukaan acara akan digelar di Montreux, kemudian akan
dipindahkan ke kantor PBB di Jenewa pada Jumat. Dilaporkan, Delegasi
SNC, Menteri Luar Negeri Rusia Sergey Lavrov, Menteri Luar Negeri
Amerika Serikat John Kerry, Kepala Kebijakan Luar Negeri Uni Eropa
Catherine Ashton, dan Menteri Luar Negeri Inggris William Hague juga
hadir dalam perundingan Jenewa 2. Tapi Republik Islam Iran tidak
mengirimkan utusannya dalam pertemuan, karena menolak prasyarat yang
ditentukan oleh AS dan sekutunya serta sejumlah Negara Arab. Meski
demikian, Menteri Luar Negeri Inggris mengakui peran Iran sangat penting
dalam transformasi Suriah.
Tampaknya sejumlah kalangan tidak optimis pertemuan Jenewa 2 akan
membuahkan hasil bagi penyelesaian krisis Suriah. "Jangan terlalu
berharap banyak dari konferensi Jenewa 2" tutur Menlu Jerman. Para
analis politik menilai konferensi kali ini sedang mengarahkan bola yang
dilempar AS dan pihak oposisi Suriah untuk menutup jalan bagi Assad dan
mengeluarkannya dari arena politik Suriah.
Pada saat yang sama, Menteri Luar Negeri Suriah mengatakan, peran masa
depan Presiden Bashar al-Assad adalah "garis merah" bagi delegasi
pemerintah dalam pembicaraan damai di Swiss. Walid al-Muallem menyatakan
bahwa delegasi pemerintah akan melakukan segala upaya untuk memastikan
bahwa Konferensi Perdamaian Jenewa II akan membuahkan hasil. Al-Muallem
mengkritik penyelenggara konferensi atas kegagalan mereka mengundang
delegasi terpisah dari oposisi yang berbasis di Damaskus, Komite
Koordinasi Nasional untuk Perubahan Demokrasi (NCC). Selama ini, NCC
menentang milisi bersenjata di Suriah, tetapi oposisi berbasis asing
yang disebut sebagai Koalisi Nasional Suriah (SNC), mendukung
kelompok-kelompok bersenjata yang berusaha menggulingkan pemerintah.
Sementara itu, Menteri Rekonsiliasi Nasional Suriah mengatakan,
Konferensi Jenewa 2 tidak akan menyelesaikan krisis di negara itu.
Haidar membantah adanya perbedaan pendapat antara Amerika Serikat dan
Arab Saudi terkait Suriah dan mengatakan bahwa kedua negara itu saling
berbagi peran dalam krisis Suriah.
Kelompok-kelompok etnis yang menghadiri konferensi ini menyatakan
komitmen mereka terhadap keputusan pemerintah Suriah soal Konferensi
Jenewa. Abbas Saadi, Ketua Perwakilan kelompok etnis Suriah
mengungkapkan bahwa pemerintah dan rakyat Suriah sendiri yang akan
menentukan nasib bangsanya, bukan pihak asing.(IRIB Indonesia/PH)
Menlu Lebanon: Kami Tidak Mengijinkan Hizbullah Dituding Melakukan Terorisme
Tasnim News melaporkan, Mansour dalam wawancaranya dengan al-Mayadeen, Rabu (22/1) mengatakan, "Sebagian besar negara masih belum mengubah sikap mereka terhadap Suriah."
Ditambahkannya, "Saya tidak akan pernah menerima sebuah kelompok Lebanon, apalagi Hizbullah yang berperang melawan Israel, menjadi tertuduh dalam terorisme."
Dijelaskannya, "Saya berharap pidato-pidato yang akan mengemuka setelah tiga tahun krisis, akan lebih melunak, akan tetapi ternyata tidak seperti itu yang saya saksikan."
Menlu Lebanon menegaskan pula bahwa lembaga-lembaga bersenjata di Suriah khususnya militer tetap kokoh dan solid, sementara saat ini muncul atmosfer internasional untuk mempertahankan Assad dalam pemerintahan.
Menyinggung pernyataannya kepada Lakhdar Brahimi, Utusan Khusus PBB-Liga Arab untuk Suriah, Adnan Mansour mengatakan, "Saya bertanya kepada Ladkhdar Brahimi tentang delegasi dari oposisi, apakah delegasi tersebut mewakili semua kelompok oposisi? Akan tetapi dia menolak memberikan jawaban."(IRIB Indonesia/MZ)
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| Local Editor | |
| http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=131756&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=20&s1=1 Syria’s warring sides are gathering on Wednesday with world powers in Switzerland, in a bid to find a peaceful solution for the nearly three year’s deadly crisis. Meeting for the first time since the start of the conflict, the two sides could not be further apart as the "Geneva II" conference kicks off in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva. Expectations to solve the crisis are low, but top global diplomats gathe  red
for the conferencebelieve that simply bringing the two sides together is a mark of some progress and could be an important first step. "It would be wrong to expect progress in the next few days in terms of major breakthroughs," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on arrival Tuesday. "Nevertheless, things can be achieved once diplomacy starts, once diplomacy is attempted -- we've seen that on many other subjects, including with Iran on its nuclear program," he added referring to nuclear agreement reached between Iran and world powers. "Everybody has to understand that this is the beginning of a process. It's not going to be fast. It's very bitter fighting on the ground. And so there's going to be an absolute requirement for patience and for persistence," a senior US State Department official said. The conference was to begin with formal speeches by UN leader Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The opposing Syrian sides are then expected to have their say, followed by representatives of the rest of the about 40 nations and international groups invited to Montreux. No direct talks are expected until Friday, when opposition and regime delegations will meet in Geneva for negotiations that officials have said could last seven to 10 days. Notably absent from the talks will be Iran, after Ban, pressured by the US, reversed a last-minute invitation when the opposition said it would boycott if Tehran took part. |
Sheikh Rouhani Doubts Syria Peace Talks Will Succeed
| Local Editor | ||||
 http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=131745&frid=19&cid=19&fromval=1&seccatid=32
Iranian
President Sheikh Hasan Rouhani said Wednesday that Tehran does not pin
much hope regarding the international conference on Syria to be held in
the Swiss city today.
The President made the remarks prior to his departure for the World Economic Forum, slated for January 22-25.
Speaking to IRNA news agency, Sheikh Rouhani said he is not optimistic about the conference due to the existing circumstances.
Tehran believes that the Geneva II talks will not be successful in fighting terrorism, the President reiterated.
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General Ashraf Rifi’s Solitary Battle: Take Note, I am Here!
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/general-ashraf-rifi%E2%80%99s-solitary-battle-take-note-i-am-here
General
Ashraf Rifi is waging an orphaned battle in Tripoli, without a
political umbrella or regional patronage, and the city is paying the
price. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah).
General Ashraf Rifi is waging an orphaned battle in Tripoli,
without a political umbrella or regional patronage, and the city is
paying the price. The battle will change nothing in the expected
political settlement, nor the positions of the various parties and the
balance of power inside the city. All Rifi wants is for Saad Hariri to
pay attention to him and his field commanders (the heads of the local
armed groups in Tripoli) before he proceeds with the political
settlement.
The breaking news that former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri
agreed to participate in a government that would include Hezbollah
ministers had not been fully digested yet when another piece of
unwelcome news emerged. The president of the opposition Syrian National
Coalition (SNC) Ahmad al-Jarba agreed to attend Geneva II with the
modest agenda of forming a transitional government. Jabra stressed “the
need to preserve the Syrian army and security agencies in the event the
regime falls or is changed...”
The crowds gathered along Tripoli’s sea shore over the weekend and
exchanged these two pieces of news, well-attuned to the significance of
their concurrence and interconnectedness. “Saudi Arabia has U-turned”
and “woe be us,” could be heard from coming from the crowded shore.
Side cafes - which are basically broken-vans-turned-kitchens - preparing tea and nescafe, line the corniche.
“Take us for instance. We did everything to uproot Jabal Mohsen but
we failed to enter it,” said one of the young men in one of the side
cafes.
“We can destroy it only if we are willing to destroy our city too
with the bombardment,” his friend continued, expanding on this point of
view.
They concluded that trying is one thing and committing suicide is
quite another. In this sense, Saudi Arabia, the SNC and the Future
Movement tried but did not succeed. The two young men showed sympathy
towards Hariri and refused to compare him, in this context, with the
other politicians of the city: “For him, the honor of trying is enough.”
Near them, a young man quietly explained that Hariri’s latest
discourse will not find support in the city. There will be no car
processions roaming the streets, cheering and firing in the air. But at
the same time no one with stab him in the back or incite against him
except small Islamist groups. The city’s main political forces
represented by Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati and the two
ministers, Mohammad al-Safadi and Faisal Karami welcome Hariri’s return
to the concept of mutual understanding.
Questions at all the tables echoed the question posed by the
president of the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee Khaldoun
al-Sharif on Saturday: Why did Hariri waste three years if he is going
to go back to the language of dialogue and the discourse of partnership?
Especially as most of the residents of Tripoli have not gained anything
from standing by Hariri in the past three years, but instead paid a
heavy price, often with their own flesh and blood.
An almost full moon filled the city’s skyline and cars crowded the street leading to the theater of Rawdat al-Fayhaa High School where the Austrian maestro Robert Lehrbaumer was set to conduct the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert entitled ‘Vienne in Tripoli’. Here lay another face of the city that Austrian ambassador Ursula Fahringer, in what looked like a personal initiative, sought to show.
For about two hours, the sound of classical music rose in the packed
hall above the nearby burst of bullets. Tripoli’s leading figures, music
connoisseur and previous Future Movement MP Mustafa Alloush, as well as
most of the businessmen and intellectuals were there, watching a
glimpse of Vienna in their city and dreaming. Meanwhile, Tripoli’s field
commanders, represented by Ziad Allouki, were responding to Hariri’s
latest statement with their machine guns firing at Jabal Mohsen and some
Lebanese army posts.
Outside the high school, a street lined with restaurants connected
this musical serenity with the insanity of war. It is almost
unbelievable that the same city throbbing with all this positive energy
in one quarter is living this deadly struggle in another.
Islamist groups have nothing to do with the reemergent war in the
city, even if their members impulsively take part, along with their
neighbors, in firing at Jabal Mohsen. The field commanders clearly
proclaimed their responsibility. So what happened this time?
Allouki, like Rifi, was waiting for a call from Hariri to inform him
about regional developments and the details of US pressure on Saudi
Arabia, as well as consult with him on the available options. After all,
he has given everything, as he put it, in the past two years for the
sake of Hariri and his political project. On Saturday, Allouki’s brother
was shot with a bullet fired from Jabal Mohsen and on that same day,
his colleague, Amer Arish was stopped by the Lebanese army intelligence
for about half an hour. They cannot believe Hariri’s indifference
towards them.
The Future Movement leader can get away with not consulting his ally,
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, regarding his political moves and
perhaps not paying too much attention to his parliamentary bloc’s
opinion. But he cannot act without taking Rifi and the field commanders -
the “most honorable men” - into account. These fighters believe they
are waging a battle of survival. Hariri’s failure to provide a security
guarantee for them before discussing any political settlement with their
enemies is tantamount to public abandonment.
Rifi’s mistrust of Hariri began when the latter agreed to extend the
term of Lebanese army chief general Jean Kahwaji without requiring
Rifi’s own tenure as general director of the internal security forces
(ISF) be extended too. More disappointments followed when Rifi was not
named to head the forthcoming cabinet, when the Future Movement accepted
a veto on Rifi’s nomination to head the interior ministry, and when he
was categorically excluded from all possible cabinet lineups.
The fact that Allouki impetuously sat one day in the chair of the ISF
northern commander reflects what they are thinking. No journalist
called Rifi after Hariri’s latest position to listen to his point of
view so the general issued a statement in which he condemned “firing at
proud Arsal.” However, he did not issue similar statements when other
Lebanese areas were hit by Syrian bombardment. In addition, no political
or security need required him to jump to Arsal’s defense from Tripoli
and and to avenge the town by opening a battle with the army and Jabal
Mohsen. Therefore, Rifi’s escalation is not meant to put pressure on
Hezbollah or the Syrian regime, but rather to get Hariri’s attention
before he goes along with the new political settlement.
Experts on the nature of armed groups in Tripoli divide them into two
categories. The first category consists of the field commanders and
their spin offs whom Rifi managed to single-handedly control after a
long struggle with various parties. These groups will be pacified once a
governmental - political understanding is reached, as long as Hariri
takes them into account. This will solve a major problem in North
Lebanon because it is those groups and not the Islamists that have been
responsible for the major tensions in the area for over two years.
The second category consists of the Islamists; most of whom adopt al-Qaeda’s vocabulary and expressions in their discussions. The list is long. It includes Hussam al-Sabbagh who has become an important figure because he did not stick his nose in the small details, Shadi al-Mawlawi and other small-time militia commanders who partnered with some of the mushrooming armed groups in Syria that were looking for counterparts on the Lebanese side, Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal, Omar Bakri Fostok and Bilal Duqmaq who celebrated the firebrand cleric Ahmad al-Assir when he visited Tripoli and flocked to Martyrs’ Square when he called them to support the Syrian people. It also includes Sheikh Bilal Baroudy and his partner Salem al-Rafii who agrees with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) rhetoric justifying the nuns’ kidnapping in Syria and condemns the burning of al-Saeh Library not because he opposes book burning but because the charge against father Sarouj was not proven.
A security official who follows the latter group’s movements pointed
out that those who fly Jabhat al-Nusra’s flag, as they did last week
when they stormed mosques affiliated with al-Ahbash Movement in Tripoli,
are close to Mawlawi and the jihadi groups that are still very small in
Tripoli. Security sources expect this public affiliation with al-Nusra,
as al-Qaeda’s official arm in the region, to be restricted to these
people.
The same source believes that Hariri’s reconciliation with Hezbollah
will prompt him to instruct Rifi to deal only with militia commanders
who can be included in the political settlement and whose activities are
not seen as problematic by international parties.
In other words, to let go of the Islamists who can join, under
Rafii’s leadership, the Islamic Front. It is of interest to note that
Rafii followed with great interest the Islamic Front’s birth, continues
to closely follow the way it operates, and has connections with some of
its influential figures through his Saudi and Turkish relationships.
This way, the Future Movement would have washed its hands of those
who represented the core of its hardline devotees in the past three
years without completely abandoning them.
Tripoli’s battle today has no larger significance, according to one
politician. It is politically orphaned, nothing but an echo of Rifi’s
loud pleas not to be left hanging high and dry.
Local Militia Leaders Scorned
Those who know Rifi and some of the local militia leaders, such as
Arish and Allouki, know that over the last year they have grown closer
to Islamists than politicians and war profiteers. They have started to
believe their own slogans and are willing to sacrifice their lives if
needed. These men who command the streets of their city do not come from
the same place that most members of the political class hail from. It
is true that Rifi has become rich and Arish is no longer a destitute
laborer in an auto body repair shop, but unlike Hariri they continue to
live amidst their people, see their neighbors everyday, wave to them
enthusiastically from the windows of their homes and cars, hear the old
womens prayers on their behalf and are intoxicated by their neighbors
inquiries about future regional developments.
These men feel Hariri is putting their dignity on the line, hanging
them out to dry in front of their neighbors, relatives, wives and
children. It is more personal for them than it is for Future Movement
MPs and officials. The least Hariri could have done was invite them for
coffee in the Champ Elysees so Arish could tell his groupies in his
neighborhood that the Future Movement leader consulted him before
proceeding with any political settlement. Now the least they can say to
Hariri before media outlets is that “he is a traitor to the Sunni
community.” The wound is real and deep this time.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
Syria army uproots scores of militants in several provinces
Wednesday, January
22, 2014 10:13 AM
http://en.alalam.ir/news/1557776
Syrian army troops
are jubilant for victories in several operations. (File photo)
The Syrian army has killed scores
of foreign-backed militants and seized their weapons during ongoing mop-up
operations across the Arab country.
Syrian government forces launched attacks against
the militants in the provinces of Damascus, Deir
Ezzor, Homs, Aleppo,
Idlib, and Daraa on Tuesday and killed a large number of them, the official SANA news agency
reported.
In addition, the Syrian armed forces captured a
large number of machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, mortar shells,
anti-tank missiles, night vision goggles, and explosive devices.
In northwestern Aleppo
province, “the army units killed dozens of terrorists in the areas of Erbeed,
Kweires, al-Jadida, al-Amryeh, Mayir, al-Baik Farms and near Aleppo Central
Prison and the Infantry School,” a military source told SANA.
In Aleppo
city, the army killed and injured several militants, who were trying to enter
the neighborhood of al-Sayyed Ali. A number of insurgents were also shot dead
in the neighborhoods of Salah Eddin and Bustan al-Qasr.
In the provinces of Homs, Daraa, Deir Ezzor and Idlib, the army
units killed dozens of militants and captured their weapons.
Meanwhile, the government troops seized a
warehouse full of weapons and ammunition used by militants near the capital Damascus.
The Syrian army has recently conducted successful
clean-up operations across the country, inflicting heavy losses on the
militants.
Al-Qaeda linked groups are also said to be using
stimulant drugs extensively as they launch many attacks at night and are
engaged in gruesome battles.
In an interview with Argentina’s Clarin newspaper in May
2013, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said militants from 29 different
countries were fighting against the government in different parts of the
country.
Syria
has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to reports, the
Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, and Turkey
-- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
NTJ/BA
- See more at: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1557776#sthash.np0wZ4hd.dpuf
Remembering Haret Hreik’s Victims: Loss, Tears, and Perseverance
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/remembering-haret-hreik%E2%80%99s-victims-loss-tears-and-perseverance
Maria
Jawhari, an 18-year-old resident of the area, posted on her Facebook
page: “This is the third bombing I escaped from, I don’t know if I’ll
die in the fourth.” (Photo: Facebook).
On 2 January, after a car bomb exploded in the Haret Hreik
neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs killing five people, Maria
Jawhari, an 18-year-old resident of the area, posted on her Facebook page: “This is the third bombing I escaped from, I don’t know if I’ll die in the fourth.”
More than two weeks later, her words would transform into a tragic reality.
On Tuesday, Jawhari died due to injuries sustained from a suicide attack that struck the same neighborhood, not far off from where the last bombing in the Beirut’s southern suburbs occurred.
Nusra Front’s Lebanon branch claimed responsibility for the blast that killed Jawhari, Ali Bashir, Ahmed Obaidi, and Khodr Srour, as well as wounding 31.
Jawhari was at the cafe which bore the brunt of the explosion, taking a brief break from her work at a shoe store nearby.
One twitter user who knew her wrote:
“The martyred Maria loved the singer Najwa Karam and was aiming to be a caring [homemaker] and loved life.”
Like the previous bombings that struck Lebanon in the past few weeks, Jawhari’s tragic death resonated strongly with the public. As it was for previous victims before her such as Mohammed Shaar and Malak Zahwe, the social and mainstream media circulated her personal pictures, and mourned the loss of another Lebanese youth.
The same was true for 19-year-old Engineering student Ali Bashir, another young victim of Tuesday’s bombing who was at the same cafe Jawhari was at. He died soon after at the Bahman hospital from severe injuries.
As with Jawhari, his picture was actively passed around Facebook and Twitter, with many expressing utmost sorrow that his future potential was suddenly, and violently, snuffed out.
A third, older victim was Ahmed Obeidi, a 50-year old father of four children. He died in his car which was right next to the blast, his son was with him and survived.
Speaking to Lebanese channel New TV, Obeidi’s brother, Mohammed Obeidi, said of the victim:
"He was on his way to drop of some things in the neighborhood. This is his car here," the brother said as he gestured towards the smoldering, blackened vehicles. "I didn't think I'd ever lose my brother like this."
"We are from Tariq al-Jadidah," he said, referring to the the district just north of Haret Hareik.
"We come here all the time, we are open with everyone, Shias, Sunnis, Maronites, Christians, it doesn't matter. We are all families."
It was a sentiment shared by another twitter user:
“Ahmad Obeidi and Ali Ibrahim Bashir...Sunni blood mixed with Shia blood...O, terrorist, congratulations, you have failed and do not try again…”
The final victim was Khodr Srour. Not much is known of Srour at the moment and he was not killed by the blast itself, rather he died from a fatal heart attack at the scene. His loss is no less important, for his family, friends, and the country, than the three others that fateful morning.
The four victims will be buried. Eulogies will be made, tears will be shed, and politicians will likely use these deaths, as with others before, to further their own interests. And Lebanese society will endure, as it must, and continue to live life as normally as possible in circumstances that are painfully extraordinary.
More than two weeks later, her words would transform into a tragic reality.
On Tuesday, Jawhari died due to injuries sustained from a suicide attack that struck the same neighborhood, not far off from where the last bombing in the Beirut’s southern suburbs occurred.
Nusra Front’s Lebanon branch claimed responsibility for the blast that killed Jawhari, Ali Bashir, Ahmed Obaidi, and Khodr Srour, as well as wounding 31.
Jawhari was at the cafe which bore the brunt of the explosion, taking a brief break from her work at a shoe store nearby.
One twitter user who knew her wrote:
“The martyred Maria loved the singer Najwa Karam and was aiming to be a caring [homemaker] and loved life.”
Like the previous bombings that struck Lebanon in the past few weeks, Jawhari’s tragic death resonated strongly with the public. As it was for previous victims before her such as Mohammed Shaar and Malak Zahwe, the social and mainstream media circulated her personal pictures, and mourned the loss of another Lebanese youth.
The same was true for 19-year-old Engineering student Ali Bashir, another young victim of Tuesday’s bombing who was at the same cafe Jawhari was at. He died soon after at the Bahman hospital from severe injuries.
As with Jawhari, his picture was actively passed around Facebook and Twitter, with many expressing utmost sorrow that his future potential was suddenly, and violently, snuffed out.
A third, older victim was Ahmed Obeidi, a 50-year old father of four children. He died in his car which was right next to the blast, his son was with him and survived.
Speaking to Lebanese channel New TV, Obeidi’s brother, Mohammed Obeidi, said of the victim:
"He was on his way to drop of some things in the neighborhood. This is his car here," the brother said as he gestured towards the smoldering, blackened vehicles. "I didn't think I'd ever lose my brother like this."
"We are from Tariq al-Jadidah," he said, referring to the the district just north of Haret Hareik.
"We come here all the time, we are open with everyone, Shias, Sunnis, Maronites, Christians, it doesn't matter. We are all families."
It was a sentiment shared by another twitter user:
“Ahmad Obeidi and Ali Ibrahim Bashir...Sunni blood mixed with Shia blood...O, terrorist, congratulations, you have failed and do not try again…”
The final victim was Khodr Srour. Not much is known of Srour at the moment and he was not killed by the blast itself, rather he died from a fatal heart attack at the scene. His loss is no less important, for his family, friends, and the country, than the three others that fateful morning.
The four victims will be buried. Eulogies will be made, tears will be shed, and politicians will likely use these deaths, as with others before, to further their own interests. And Lebanese society will endure, as it must, and continue to live life as normally as possible in circumstances that are painfully extraordinary.
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Comments
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2014-01-22 09:23.
Me as Lebanese I love Sunni ,Shia, Druze, Alawi, Christians, because
we are all brothers. My deepest condolences to the families that have
lost the love once . As Lebanese it makes me very sad when my brothers
and sisters are dying for nothing. MY LEBANESE BROTHER AND SISTERS WAKE
UP AND WORK FORGIVE EACHOTHER START TO WORK FOR STRONG LEBANON , THAT
WILL BE FOOL OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS FOR ALL OF US LEBANESE.
NO LEBANESE SHOULD DIE FOR OTHER COUNTRIES INTERRESTS. I LOVE YOU ALL MY DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, SUNNI, SHIA, DRUZE, ALAWI, CHRISTIANS I LOVE YOU ALL YOU ARE ALL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS. YOUR PRESURES LIVES ARE WORTH A LOT DONT WASTE THEM!!!!!!!
NO LEBANESE SHOULD DIE FOR OTHER COUNTRIES INTERRESTS. I LOVE YOU ALL MY DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, SUNNI, SHIA, DRUZE, ALAWI, CHRISTIANS I LOVE YOU ALL YOU ARE ALL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS. YOUR PRESURES LIVES ARE WORTH A LOT DONT WASTE THEM!!!!!!!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2014-01-22 08:13.
Respects to you and all the martyrs. R.I.P Maria (+
Submitted by Ian from Australia (not verified) on Wed, 2014-01-22 07:44.
My heart weeps for all in Lebanon, and in Beirut particularly. I have such fond memories of a visit in 2011.
My prayers for peace, and comfort for those who have lost loved ones.
My prayers for peace, and comfort for those who have lost loved ones.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2014-01-22 05:33.
It is sad. That is radical Islam for you. The racial extremist
believe they are following the Quran the closest. You know I believe
they are.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 10:13 AM
Syria army uproots scores of militants in several provinces
Syrian army troops are jubilant for victories in several operations. (File photo)
The Syrian army has killed scores of foreign-backed
militants and seized their weapons during ongoing mop-up operations
across the Arab country.
Syrian government forces launched attacks against the militants in the
provinces of Damascus, Deir Ezzor, Homs, Aleppo, Idlib, and Daraa on
Tuesday and killed a large number of them, the official SANA news agency
reported.
In addition, the Syrian armed forces captured a large number of machine
guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, mortar shells, anti-tank
missiles, night vision goggles, and explosive devices.
In northwestern Aleppo province, “the army units killed dozens of
terrorists in the areas of Erbeed, Kweires, al-Jadida, al-Amryeh, Mayir,
al-Baik Farms and near Aleppo Central Prison and the Infantry School,” a
military source told SANA.
In Aleppo city, the army killed and injured several militants, who were
trying to enter the neighborhood of al-Sayyed Ali. A number of
insurgents were also shot dead in the neighborhoods of Salah Eddin and
Bustan al-Qasr.
In the provinces of Homs, Daraa, Deir Ezzor and Idlib, the army units killed dozens of militants and captured their weapons.
Meanwhile, the government troops seized a warehouse full of weapons and ammunition used by militants near the capital Damascus.
The Syrian army has recently conducted successful clean-up operations
across the country, inflicting heavy losses on the militants.
Al-Qaeda linked groups are also said to be using stimulant drugs
extensively as they launch many attacks at night and are engaged in
gruesome battles.
In an interview with Argentina’s Clarin newspaper in May 2013, Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad said militants from 29 different countries
were fighting against the government in different parts of the country.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to
reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants
operating inside Syria.
NTJ/BA
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