The truth about Syria

[Yervant1]

09:53 12/12/2013 » INTERVIEWS

‘Syrian opposition days are numbered’

Press TV has conducted an interview with Michael Maloof, former Pentagon official, about the Syrian army capturing a key town near the Lebanese border from foreign-sponsored militants fighting against the government.
- A lot of people are now seeing these advances, Mr. Maloof, made by the Syrian troops as a major gain because they are saying Syria is getting closer to the aim of closing the Lebanon border to the militants.
Do you see this as a strategic achievement for Syria and is it going to affect the government’s position especially in the upcoming talks in Geneva?
- There is a very strategic development. It does bolster the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Also the key is going to be the hold of the presence there because what has effectively occurred is the cutting off the supply lines for the foreign fighters from Lebanon and also from Turkey for that matter.
This is very, very important and also helps to secure Damascus itself. But the key is going to be the counter insurgency initiatives to maintain and hold that area for as long as possible and not once you take it over and then leave. It has got to be maintained and the troops have got to stay there in order to ensure that the rebels no longer have the ability to acquire the supplies that they require and it cuts off supplies also to the rebels within Syria near Damascus and that is very, very important.
- So basically a lot of people have been saying, the question was how strong can we see now the Syrian government versus the insurgents, they are saying that because of the infighting that we are saying among the insurgents because of these kind of advances, that some are even going as far as saying that the insurgency is near its end, though that is not you know something that a lot of people would agree on. What is your idea?
- Well, my idea is that the insurgency is on the ropes in many respects, especially among the opposition. The concern will remain the foreign fighters. If Saudi Arabia is successful in developing the Islamic front by pulling together 75,000 fighters, foreign fighters as they have threatened to do, that then poses an additional problem.
I do not see any enthusiasm by the United States right now in supporting that but I think the United States sees that the opposition is completely infiltrated by these radical fighters and that you really cannot distinguish them even though they have changed their names, they talk about moderates, it is not just the case.
And I think that the al-Assad regime has got to remain strong and stay focused the way that they are and notwithstanding the fact that the Saudis are desperately trying to finance and continue to equip the fighters. But for the most part, the foreign fighters are feeling, particularly the opposition is feeling that the days may be numbered.

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

09:26 14/12/2013 » ANALYSIS

'For once the US is saying 'No' to the Saudis'

Saudis have always felt that the US is in their pocket, but by suspending aid to Syrian opposition Washington said 'No' to the Saudis, and the simple reason is a lessening of dependence on their oil, John Graham, former US diplomat told RT.
RT: The US and UK have now suspended non-lethal aid to rebels in Northern Syria, how big a change of policy do you think this is?
John Graham: The US was always a little bit wary that the armory supplies to the rebels would fall into the wrong hands. After all, we’ve paid a terrible price in Afghanistan - that was exactly what happened. So, when the news came out yesterday that there was proof that some of the arms we were supplying were going into the hands of Al-Qaeda, we immediately said “No”, we are not going to do that. We’ve pulled back... It doesn’t mean we are going to stop.
When it was simply obvious that the guns were falling into the hands of Al-Qaeda affiliates, even though those affiliates were fighting Assad just like the other rebels, nonetheless when he's forced out we don’t want those people in power.
RT: Will it impact American relations in the Arab world?
JG: Of course, it will. What happens in Syria will impact the Arab world and we've got our two steadfast allies in the region very upset with us - Israel and Saudi Arabia - for pulling back. There hasn't also just been an arms supply, remember that we were going to bomb and attack Bashar Assad just a few months ago when he crossed that red line president Obama put down about chemical weapons, and we instead decided to let diplomacy take its course and it looks like it may have succeeded. I think the American choices are good ones… of not doing anything where arms can fall in the wrong hands and relying on diplomacy to take care of chemical weapons. America is doing well.
For once American foreign policy in the Middle East is being made by Americans and not by Tel Aviv or Riyadh. This is the kind of things the America should be doing for its own self-interest and for the interest of peace in the region, not just because Israeli or Saudi Arabia wants us to do it.
RT: Both Saudi Arabia and Israel are against the Iran nuclear deal. Can Washington stand with a foot in both camps while still keeping those countries as allies?
JG: Both Saudi Arabia and Israel are very annoyed because of the American policy toward Iran. They are not the same. They have two different situations. What has happened to frighten both of them, is that first of all Obama called his counterparts by phone, something the American president hasn’t done for decades. Second, the meeting in Geneva actually produced an agreement which looks like Iran will make significant changes to its nuclear policy in exchange for lessening of sanctions. What Iran has agreed to do is really quite significant. For example it'll halt enriching uranium in about 5 percent. And it takes 90 percent for Iran to make nuclear weapon. And also Iran has a small supply of uranium already enriched to 20 percent and that would be taken care of either by diluting it and putting it to power plant supplies. Iran will also stop importing centrifuges and other things, all of which Americans have been asking them to do for years, and they now say they are going to do it. We’ll see but if they keep to the agreement, then we will be definitely lessening sanctions.
Now Israel and Saudi Arabia are mad for different reasons. For Israel what is going on in Iran presents an existential threat to Israel. Israel is a tiny little dot in the Middle East. And if Iran has nuclear weapons and is willing to use them then Israel security is greatly at stake. The Israelis are really sensitive and we can’t blame them.
It’s pushing us too far. The agreement that we struck in Geneva is all the Iranians have asked us to do; it does present a situation now, if the agreement is kept, in which Israel will be actually safer, even if Mr. Netanyahu doesn’t see it that way.
It seems to a lot of Americans, myself included, that Netanyahu is trying to bully us into going further than we should with Iran because what he sees is that there in Iran it hasn’t been attacked, the sanctions have been lifted. Iran is becoming cozy with the US, our ally, that could mean less support for us. Maybe you can blame them but the Israelis sort of want it all. We [the US] are saying, look, we are going to provide for your security. We always will, we are not abandoning you.
RT: Yet without Saudi Arabia and Israel, American influence in the Middle East would be greatly diminished. This is a huge risk for Washington, isn't it?
JG: No, I don’t think it’s a huge risk and I think we should stick by our policy. The key thing to keep in mind is a Sunni-Shia split across the Middle East. A huge power struggle has been going on for hundreds of years: Iran - Shia, Saudi Arabia – Sunni. The more that we seem to be supporting Iran, the Saudis really don’t like that. And in Syria of course if we pull back support for the rebels, it makes it harder to get Bashar Assad out. Anyway, they are still annoyed with us. The key thing which is important to recognize is that the Saudis have always felt that we are in their pocket. For once the American president and the secretary of the state are saying “No” to the Saudis. We’re going to do what we want to do in the Middle East, not because of your interest. The huge reason for that shift in policy is lessening dependence of America on Saudi Arabia oil.
RT: First, there was cooling relations between the White House and Netanyahu, then the nuclear deal with Iran, now the change of heart towards the rebels. Is the US going to use more soft power in future?
JG: The statistics are amazing. We are importing only 40 percent of our energy, that’s the lowest in decades and decades - only 14 percent comes from SA now. Less than half we get from Canada. America is becoming more energy independent. This continues to happen. The Americans tell the Saudis to take a flying leap. Americans are telling Saudis ‘No” as we are becoming less and less dependent on their oil. Of course, we are nerving Saudis for domestic reasons. The royal family of SA needs American support. And if we really get independent, we’ll start treating them like Yemen and so they are angry and annoyed with us. So both of our allies are upset at the moment.

Source: Panorama.am

[Johannes]

ԱՄՆ-ն կվերսկսի ոչ մահացու ռազմական տեխնիկայի մատակարարումը Սիրիայի ընդդիմությանը. Ջոն Քերի

http://www.tert.am/am/news/2013/12/15/us-syria-military/

I told you Obama is a liar.

[Yervant1]

Armenian soldier reported killed in Syria

16:16 - 14.12.13


An Armenian soldier has been killed in the violent clashes in Syria,
the Arab-language website Khabara Armani reported.

The deceased, Hayk Okardeshyan, is said to have earlier asked friends
to cover his coffin with the Syrian flag and the Armenian tricolor.

A video footage on the website features friends condoling with the
soldier's mother and saying they are the mourning woman's sons.

The war in Syria has claimed 120,000 lives over the past 2.5 years,
including 65 Armenians and 15 Armenian servicemen


http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/12/14/syrian-armenian-soldier/

[Johannes]

Armenian soldier reported killed in Syria

16:16 - 14.12.13

An Armenian soldier has been killed in the violent clashes in Syria,

the Arab-language website Khabara Armani reported.

The deceased, Hayk Okardeshyan, is said to have earlier asked friends

to cover his coffin with the Syrian flag and the Armenian tricolor.

A video footage on the website features friends condoling with the

soldier's mother and saying they are the mourning woman's sons.

The war in Syria has claimed 120,000 lives over the past 2.5 years,

including 65 Armenians and 15 Armenian servicemenhttp://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/12/14/syrian-armenian-soldier/

I think he is martyred. He was volunteer Edited December 17, 2013 by Johannes

[Yervant1]

18:03 19/12/2013 » TOPIC OF THE DAY

SDHP: Some Turkish organizations offer reward for each Armenian killed in Syria

Chairman of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) Narek Galstyan met with Syrian Charge D’Affaires in Armenia Issam Nayal at the Syrian Embassy in Yerevan, the press service of SDHP reported.
Issam Nayal conveyed his gratitude to Armenia and the Armenian people for a balanced approach to the Syrian problem and stressed the role of Syrian Armenians in reinforcing peace in the country.
Narek Galstyan for his part stressed the importance of maintaining the territorial integrity of Syria as well as establishing peace in the fraternal country.
Referring to regional problems, Narek Galstyan said that Turkey hinders establishment of peace in Syria. He noted that the international media have repeatedly said that “Turkey does everything possible so that no Christians, particularly Armenians, will remain in Syria.”
Narek Galstyan also said that rumors circulate that “some Turkish organizations have offered a reward for each killed Armenian.”
Issam Nayal expressed hope that peace will be established in Syria soon and intensive political, economic and cultural ties will resume between Yerevan and Damascus.

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

10:00 19/12/2013 » COMMENTS

Syria: the end of Christian civilization?

The ousting of Christians from the countries of the Middle East is a sore spot of the modern world. Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria are in the midst of a civil war – these are only some of the countries where Christian civilization is currently being destroyed. Experts contemplate the issue of who benefits from this and whether Christianity has a chance to survive in the Middle East.
The Syrian city of Homs, the third in the country in terms of population, has almost completely lost its Christian population. Thousands have been killed and about a million have fled. The situation is similar in Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and other cities. It is a real religious war, which is being carefully ignored by the world community, thinks Eugeniy Satanovsky, president of the Institute of Middle East:
"It is believed that religious wars are a matter of the past. But they have become a matter of the past only for those western politicians that are not paying attention to them. Religious wars are underway in Africa and in the Middle East. Syria is only one of the platforms of the rapid de-Christianization of that region. And since radical Islamists representing radical terrorist movements wage these wars, it is not in favor of the world community to interfere in them. Nobody has abandoned the double standards. Unlike the XIX century, when people in Europe were still worried about the genocide of Christians in Syria and Lebanon, today people just ignore it based on their economic and geopolitical interests."
Moreover, the open persecution Syria's Christian population is today more and more often becoming just a small coin in the civil war, which has been going on for three years. Last spring Islamists captured two high-ranking Orthodox metropolitans. One of them was a brother of the present Patriarch John X of Antioch. Up until now there is no clarity regarding the destiny of the two bishops. In early December some armed extremists took hostage Pelagia Sayyaf, the superior of the Saint Tecla Orthodox convent in Maaloula, together with several nuns. They are all still alive, but there are no guarantees of their release, says Nikolay Balashov, deputy chairman of the Department of External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.
"It turned out that the rebels captured no less than 16 nuns. A few days after their capture a video shot by their captors appeared on the internet, which was showed to the viewers of the Arab Al Jazeera TV channel. In that video the nuns claimed that all was well with them and that they hoped to be set free soon. However, their facial expressions strongly contradicted the words they uttered. As far as we know, the Syrian government institutions are still negotiating with the armed group, which kidnapped the nuns. But the rebels demanded that many prisoners convicted for their terrorist activity or being accomplice to terrorists were set free from the country's prisons."
In Syria, Christian holy places are being erased from the face of the Earth. According to specialists, over 60 churches and monasteries have already been destroyed, many of which had had a history of almost two thousand years and had been unique monuments of world culture. Heads of all Christian churches of the world, including Russian Orthodox Church, are now actively urging for stopping the genocide of Christians in the Middle East and saving the Christian culture. The Russian authorities are also paying special attention to this issue, the Orthodox priest continues:
"In July 2013 heads and representatives of all Orthodox churches of the world gathered together during the celebration the 1,025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus in Moscow. In a joint document they expressed their point of view on the issue of the preservation of Christians in the Middle East, specifically in Syria. That document was passed onto Vladimir Putin, Russia's president. The actions of Russia's authorities regarding the conflict in the Middle East, specifically regarding the situation in Syria, bear their fruit. They have already succeeded in preventing a large-scale foreign intervention into the country, which would undoubtedly have led to great losses among the Christian population".
Together with the Russian Orthodox Church the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, the oldest non-governmental organization in Russia, provides humanitarian aid to the citizens of Syria in need. Since the beginning of this year we have already sent over 70 tons of humanitarian cargo to the region, said Elena Agapova, vice president of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, in her interview to the Voice of Russia.
"In March this year our Society decided to respond to the problem and provide help to the suffering people of Syria. We have sent humanitarian aid eight times. This past summer with our help two airplanes with aid of the Russian EMERCOM were sent to Latakia. Just recently, on December 10, we collected and shipped 10 tons of baby food, glucose and medication."
In October 2013 the Saint Paul and George International Foundation installed an unusual sculpture at one of the highest mountains in Syria called "I Came to Save the World." People say that the bronze monument of Jesus Christ blessing the world can be seen from Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. It is a symbol of hope not only for peace in the entire Middle East region, but also for the salvation of the Christians and Christianity in that country.

Source: Panorama.am

[MosJan]

Russia condemns Adra massacre, calls on world community to react

 

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has condemned massacre in the town of Adra, 20 kilometers north of Damascus. Survivors say jihadist rebel groups executed dozens of civilians, including children, beheading them or burning them alive.

“Moscow is convinced that such acts have to be decisively condemned and the international community should actively confront the perpetrators and financers of those acts,” Aleksandr Lukashevich, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement.

While the Syrian army continues its broad push to get the insurgents out of Adra, RT Arabic has gathered eyewitness accounts of what happened in the town last week, when it was captured by Islamist rebels of the Al-Nusra front and the Army of Islam.

Those who managed to flee the violence in Adra and reach Damascus say they saw the militants slaughtering Alawites, Druze, Christians and Shiites indiscriminately. Fearing their interviews might do harm to their relatives still in the occupied town, the fugitive survivors asked not to reveal their identities.

The Syrian army on a mission to force rebels out of the town of Adra. Still from RT video

The Syrian army on a mission to force rebels out of the town of Adra. Still from RT video

One of them told RT that all of the officials in the town were killed “no matter what religious groups they belonged to.”

"Among them were people who did not support any of the warring parties – neither the opposition nor the government. Nevertheless, they have been abused – they were terrorized and used as human shields,” the witness said.

There’s no reliable way at the moment to communicate with the people trapped inside Adra, but RT Arabic’s Abutaleb Albohaya, reporting from Damascus, cites the country’s officials as saying that “the atrocities against the civilian population are continuing.”

“What is happening in Adra is unthinkable,” one of the Adra escapees told RT. “Children are being slaughtered and thrown out of the windows. But no one is doing anything. The crisis in Syria continues in an environment where there is no international law, including those relating to the paramilitary operations.”

 

Human Rights Watch has been evaluating the reports coming out of Adra.

“I am afraid we cannot comment at this stage, as our research is still ongoing and it has been very difficult to get accurate information about what is happening in Adra and who is responsible for the abuses,” Lama Fakih, the watchdog’s Syria and Lebanon Researcher told RT in an e-mail.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has complained that Adra is inaccessible to its experts.

"We don't have access to this area and can neither confirm nor deny any information circulating," the ICRC said in a reply to RT’s request for comment.

The government in Damascus, meanwhile, wants to draw the UN’s attention to events in Adra. The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent a letter of complaint to the United Nations on Monday, saying that more than 100 people were massacred by the al-Nusra Front and the Islam Brigade in a suburb of the capital.

“Adra has seen some horrific crimes,” Nizar Skif, chairman of the Union of Lawyers in Syria, told RT. Among the atrocities, the lawyer said were reports of “sadism,” of people being “thrown into the furnaces” and “houses burned with people inside.”

The Syrian army on a mission to force rebels out of the town of Adra. Still from RT video

The Syrian army on a mission to force rebels out of the town of Adra. Still from RT video

Speaking in Brussels on Monday, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, described the Adra massacre as outrageous. He said it was not the only evidence of brutality on the part of some of the rebel groups, which constitute the so-called Islamic Front, created as an alternative to the Free Syrian Army, which has positioned itself as a secular force, committed to keeping Syria a multi-religious society.

“The Islamic Front has proclaimed quite radical goals, although our western partners have been trying to establish ties with them and describe the front as an “acceptable power”, which possesses influence “on the ground,” Lavrov said at a press conference. “However, there’s some evidence which we consider reliable and which shows that when the front was being created, a possibility of Al-Nusra joining in was discussed. That did not happen only to save the front’s reputation, as Al-Nusra has been on terrorist organizations’ lists in the US and Europe.”

Lavrov expressed his concern over the possibility that the Islamic Front could be ideologically close to Al-Nusra, now that the US mediators of the Geneva-2 peace talks on Syria, set for January 22, have been meeting with the front’s representatives, trying to “somehow get them “under the umbrella” of the Free Syrian Army”.

With new groups within the Syrian opposition having lately “sprung up like mushrooms” according to Lavrov, Russia has been particularly concerned with who exactly is going to negotiate peace with the Syrian government at the so-called Geneva-2 peace conference.

 

http://rt.com/news/russia-condemns-adra-massacre-406/

[Johannes]

The film, King of the Sands, was screened in the Syrian capital last Friday after being denounced by Prince Talal Bin-Abd-al-Aziz for "distorting a great historical figure", the Arabian Business website reports. It tells the story of the rise of late King Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud, also known as Ibn Saud, and the foundation of the Saudi kingdom in early 20th Century. The film, directed by Syrian Najdat Anzour, had its first showing in London last September, and is one of the first feature films to tackle the character of Ibn Saud, played by Italian actor Fabio Testi.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-25401836

####

 

#‎Damascus, (#‎SANA)_ Syrian director, Najdat Anzour held the Saudi government and security responsible for any harm that might be caused to him and the staff who joined him in ''King of the Sands'' movie.

 

After the movie was screened in Damascus, a Saudi called ''Adnan al-Ayed'' issued a fatwa authorizing the killing of Anzour as it is "condonable and necessary."

 

"King of the Sands" is war declared on the Saudi Wahhabi regime that will not stop until it is removed from existence, Anzour said.

 

He hoped that the movie will open the door wide open to similar experiences, urging Syrian and Arab artists to follow in his footsteps and come up with works of art that divulge the Saudi takfiri project all over the world.

 

The movie, produced by Anzour, is a historical biopic on the founder of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Al Saud, depicting the deal between Abdulaziz and Britain in which he was supplied with weapons and funds to eliminate the Al Rasheed dynasty which was ruling Riyadh at the time and get rid of the Ottomans in a precursor to the Western occupation of the region and the Sykes-Picot agreement.

 

The movie also details the alliance between Al Saud and the Wahabis which allowed them to seize control of Saudi Arabia and rule by the sword and their interpretation of religion, setting the scene for the salafi, extremist and jihadist movements we see today.

http://sana.sy/eng/28/2013/12/19/518585.htm

 

#####

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3223362/synopsis?ref_=tt_ov_pl

[Arpa]

http://gulfnews.com/in-focus/syria/saudi-arabia-accused-of-trying-to-destroy-syria-1.1269392

 

 

Saudi Arabia accused of trying to destroy Syria Damascus: Syria now views Saudi Arabia as its number one enemy and accuses it of trying to destroy the country by arming jihadists and other rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Al Assad. The Gulf states have sided with the opposition from the start of Syria’s conflict in March 2011, with Riyadh leading calls for the fall of Al Assad. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad said last week that Saudi Arabia was providing unfettered support for “terrorist groups” in Syria, while other nations had reviewed their positions. “I think that all those who supported these terrorist groups have the feeling now that they have made big mistakes,” Muqdad said in an interview on Thursday, referring to the rebels seeking to topple Al Assad. “The only party who is declaring the full support to the terrorist groups, to Al Qaida, is Saudi Arabia,” he said. Muqdad urged the world to press Saudi Arabia to halt its support for the rebels, to prevent what he said was “another September 11 incident”. “I think that if the world wants to avoid another September 11 incident, they must start telling Saudi Arabia ‘enough is enough’,” he said, referring to Al Qaida’s 2001 attacks on the US. Earlier this month, Al Assad’s government urged the United Nations to take a stand against Saudi support for Islamist groups whose influence has grown on the battlefield. “We call on the UN Security Council to take the necessary measures to put an end to the unprecedented actions of the Saudi regime, which is supporting takfiri (Sunni extremist) terrorism tied to Al Qaida,” the foreign ministry said in a message to UN chief Ban Ki-moon. It was the first time the Syrian government has appealed to the international body to take action against Riyadh. “Saudi Arabia is not content to merely send weapons and to finance but also mobilises extremist terrorists and sends them to kill the Syrian people,” the Syrian message said. Saudi ‘not to stand idle’ Saudi officials have simultaneously chided the West for its reluctance to intervene militarily on the side of the armed opposition. On Tuesday, the Saudi ambassador to Britain, Prince Mohammad Bin Nawaf Bin Abdul Aziz, published in The New York Times a bluntly worded assessment of the West’s policies on Syria and Iran. “We believe that many of the West’s policies on both Iran and Syria risk the stability and security of the Middle East,” he wrote in the commentary. The senior diplomat said Saudi Arabia has “global responsibilities”, both political and economic, and vowed it will continue to support the rebel Free Syrian Army and opposition fighters. “We will act to fulfil these responsibilities, with or without the support of our Western partners,” wrote the ambassador. He also acknowledged the threat of Al Qaida-linked groups in Syria arguing, however, that the best way to counter the rise of extremists among the rebels was to support the “champions of moderation”. Muqdad on Thursday said that “Saudi Arabia should be put on the list of countries supporting terrorism.” Outside regime circles, there is also growing animosity towards Saudi Arabia. Earlier this month, a film, which depicts the Saudi royal family in an unflattering light was screened at the Damascus opera house. “It was important for me to show this movie,” said director Najdat Anzour of his The King of Sands movie, which opens with Al Qaida’s 9/11 attacks on the US. “Al Qaida didn’t come from Mars but from Saudi Arabia, from the Wahhabi, extremist way of thinking,” Anzour said. Anzour said a Saudi cleric has issued a fatwa, Islamic decree, authorising his killing.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Arpa

[Arpa]

More bad news from Aleppo. Seems like those saudi and furkish terrorist dogs are specifically aiming at the Armenian establishments. Do you think, Armenians in particular and the Christians in general should openly join the government forces and shoot those dogs down?

========

Yesterday Dec. 21 , the HOMENTMEN athletic complex in Aleppo was bombarded with rockets, the basketball and tennis courts were heavily damaged.

See photos and video;

http://www.yerakouyn.com/?p=46451

Related;

http://www.yerakouyn.com/?p=46460

Edited December 22, 2013 by Arpa

[Johannes]

Minister: damages of the terrorist attack on al-‪#‎Kindi‬ hospital estimated at 1.5 billion SYP

Dec 22, 2013

Damascus, (SANA)-Minister of Higher Education Malek Ali said on Sunday that the attack on al-Kindi hospital in Aleppo by armed terrorist groups is a condemned act which comes within a series of armed groups’ aggressions on the Syrian state capabilities and infrastructure.

 

“The attack on al-Kindi university hospital by terrorists, supported by regional, western powers is an attack on the humanity as it offers medical, health services to all cities for free,” the Minister said in a statement to SANA.

 

He added that the cost of the damage caused to the hospital is estimated at 1.5 billion SYP.

 

“Al-Kindi hospital is one of the educational hospitals affiliated to the Ministry of higher Education, since its establishment in 2003, it has offered thousands of different medical services to the citizens as it was equipped with the up-to-date medical sets,” the Minister said.

 

Terrorists attacked the hospital with two car bombs causing huge damages to the building and destroying its medical equipment.

http://sana.sy/eng/36/2013/12/22/518954.htm

[Johannes]

Santa in Syria...

 

 

http://en.alalam.ir/news/1547579

[Yervant1]

Nearly a century after the Armenian genocide,

these people are still being slaughtered in Syria

By: ROBERT FISK

And now, almost unmentioned in the media, these ghastly killing fields have become the killing fields of a new war. Upon the bones of the dead Armenians, the Syrian conflict is being fought. And the descendants of the Armenian Christian survivors who found sanctuary in the old Syrian lands have been forced to flee again – to Lebanon, to Europe, to America. The very church in which the bones of the murdered Armenians found their supposedly final resting place has been damaged in the new war, although no one knows the culprits.

Yesterday, I called Bishop Armash Nalbandian of Damascus, who told me that while the church at Deir ez-Zour was indeed damaged, the shrine remained untouched. The church itself, he said, was less important than the memory of the Armenian genocide – and it is this memory which might be destroyed. He is right. But the church – not a very beautiful building, I have to say – is nonetheless a witness, a memorial to the Holocaust of Armenians every bit as sacred as the Yad Vashem memorial to the victims of the Jewish Holocaust in Israel. And although the Israeli state, with a shame equal to the Turks, claims that the Armenian genocide was not a genocide, Israelis themselves use the word Shoah – Holocaust – for the Armenian killings.

In Aleppo, an Armenian church has been vandalised by the Free Syrian Army, the “good” rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad’s regime, funded and armed by the Americans as well as the Gulf Sunni Arabs. But in Raqqa, the only regional capital to be totally captured by the opposition in Syria, Salafist fighters trashed the Armenian Catholic Church of the Martyrs and set fire to its furnishings. And – God spare us the thought – many hundreds of Turkish fighters, descendants of the same Turks who tried to destroy the Armenian race in 1915, have now joined the al-Qa’ida-affiliated fighters who attacked the Armenian church. The cross on top of the clock tower was destroyed, to be replaced by the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Nor is that all. On 11 November, when the world honoured the dead of the Great War, which did not give the Armenians the state they deserved, a mortar shell fell outside the Holy Translators Armenian National School in Damascus and two other shells fell on school buses. Hovhannes Atokanian and Vanessa Bedros, both Armenian schoolchildren, died. A day later, a bus load of Armenians travelling from Beirut to Aleppo were robbed at gunpoint. Two days later, Kevork Bogasian was killed by a mortar shell in Aleppo. The Armenian death toll in Syria is a mere 65; but I suppose we might make that 1,500,065. More than a hundred Armenians have been kidnapped. The Armenians, of course, like many other Christians in Syria, do not support the revolution against the Assad regime – although they could hardly be called Assad supporters.

Two years from now, they will commemorate the 100th anniversary of their Holocaust. I have met many survivors, all now dead. But the Turkish state, supporting the present revolution in Syria, will be memorialising its victory at Gallipoli that same year, a heroic battle in which Mustafa Kemal Ataturk saved his country from Allied occupation. Armenians also fought in that battle – in the uniform of the Turkish army, of course – but I will wager as many dollars as you want that they will not be remembered in 2015 by the Turkish state which was so soon to destroy their families.

Beirut, Lebanon

[Yervant1]

ROBERT FISK:SYRIAN REBELS HAVE TAKEN ICONOCLASM TO NEW DEPTHS, WITH SHRINES, STATUES AND EVEN A TREE DESTROYED - BUT TO WHAT END?

Sunday 22 December 2013

Compared writing poetry to the sex act? May he be turned to dust!

Eccentricity marks the path to heaven or hell. Take the Takfiri rebels
trying to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. They have
chopped off the heads of their enemies, eaten a few human entrails,
massacred Christians and Alawites - the Damascus government, of
course, has done its share of civilian bloodletting and war crimes -
and even gone to war on the Kurds. But of all the activities of the
al-Qa'ida/al-Nusra/Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria insurgents
in Syria, surely the weirdest has been an iconoclasm worthy of both
Henry VIII and the Taliban: the destruction of shrines, tombs and
the statues of poets and caliphs.

Take, for example, Abu Tammam Habib ibn Aws who was born near Damascus
AD804. He was assistant to a weaver and the son of Christian parents
- an obvious provocation to the Nusra lads 2,213 years later - but
travelled to Egypt to study poetry. He went to Armenia and Iran,
and produced an anthology of other poets' work known as the Hamasah,
an anthology of bravery, courage in defeat and revenge.

A work, you might think, that could appeal to the Salafists anxious
to rid Syria of its infidel president. But no. In his native town of
Jasim in the countryside of Deraa this year, the Islamists destroyed
his statue. They simply blew it up with explosives. Was it because
he had Christian parents? Unlikely, surely, since some of the current
followers of al-Nusra are Muslim converts. Or was it because Abu Tammam
brazenly compared the composition of poetry to the sex act? May he
be turned to dust!

So let's move on to Abu al-Ala Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Ma'arri, who
was born almost 170 years after Abu Tammam near Aleppo, the ancient
city currently split between rebel and government fighters.

Like Milton, al-Ma'arri was almost blind, but produced a popular
collection of poetry called The Tinder Spark and later, in Baghdad
- where he was adored by writers but lived in almost hermit-like
isolation on a vegetarian diet - wrote Unnecessary Necessity, which
complained about the rhyming scheme of poetry. More dodgy, however,
al-Ma'arri also described a Dante-like visit to heathen poets in
paradise. And a later work was described as a parody of the Koran. He
believed, so we are told, in "social justice" - whatever that was in
the 9th century - but thought a world without children would spare
future generations the pain of life.

Well, you can understand why the al-Nusra boys scratched their heads
when they saw al-Ma'arri's turbaned statue. For the poor chap is also
credited with telling his readers: "Do not suppose the statements of
the prophets to be true... The sacred books are only such a set of idle
tales as any age could have..." So off with his head! The al-Nusra guys
decapitated the statue in al-Ma'arri's home town of Maarat al-Numan.

Then we come to Harun ar-Rashid himself, the fifth Abbasid caliph of
One Thousand and One Nights fame, who ruled Islam's greatest empire,
putting down revolts - Assad-style - in Syria, Egypt and Yemen, even
bringing Tunisia under his rule. He became an immensely wealthy man
whose wife insisted that only gold and silver would hold food on the
family table. The palace was packed with singing girls, concubines
and servant girls. But... word had it that he maintained a homosexual
relationship with Jafar, one of his principal administrators, who
was later executed. Luxury, concubines, vice. No chance, then, for
Harun's statue in the city of Rakaa - the only town in Syria currently
under total Islamist control. His image, in the city's Ar-Rashid Park,
no less, was destroyed.

Need one go on? The shrine of the Prophet's companion Hujr ibn Adi has
been destroyed in Rif Damascus (the countryside around the capital) and
a shrine to a Sufi sheikh in Busaira has been blown up. The Islamists
have even announced the cutting down of a 150-year-old tree in the
town of Atmeh - next to another shrine which the Salafists had taken
over. "Thank God Almighty, the tree... has been removed, after people
were worshipping it instead of God," an Islamist informed a French
news agency.

But what's new? Didn't the Taliban destroy the Buddhas of Bamiyan,
just as the Saudis have reduced every old building in Mecca to rubble
and the Islamists hundreds of shrines in Pakistan? Not to mention the
destruction in Timbuktu. Think Henry VIII. Think Oliver Cromwell -
who would surely have understood the cruelty of the Syrian war. And
beware graven images. Pity about the tree.

[Johannes]

Because it's the blessed land and because its people demonstrated tolerance throughout their 12,000 years of civilization, and because its people refuse to bow, you see all the evil dogs wanting to attack her. It's Syria, the oldest civilization on the planet which gifted the human kind the Alphabet and to leave in peace, which never attacked any other country and was attacked by each other country, which hosted millions of refugees coming from horror caused upon them by all the evil forces on the planet, because all of that, they attack it now and punish its people and bring the hatred filling their hearts over the Syrians.

 

If Wahhabis managed to take over Syria, there will be instead of the Grand Mufti leading a Christian mass with respect and love, their Wahhabi Mufti, as he stated from Saudi, will persecute any non-Wahhabi and will slay them and destroy their houses of God, and the evil powers NATO terrorist organization and its stooges will praise them.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtD3pkWL8Fo

 

[Johannes]

The U.S. government this week said the head of a human-rights organization working on behalf of Islamist political prisoners was also a financier for al Qaeda.

Read more...http://friendsofsyria.co/2013/12/25/terrorists-for-human-rights-watch/

[Yervant1]

Turkey builds new wall along Syrian border

11:52 ¢ 04.01.14


Turkey is building a four-meter high wall along part of its border
with Syria to try to stop people from illegally bypassing its
checkpoints, France 24 reported.

The construction in the KarkamıÅ? district of southeastern province of
Gaziantep will continue for some time, officials said. The wall will
span just a fraction of the 900-kilometer border, but highlights
Ankara's growing concern about the spillover of violence from northern
Syria.


Armenian News - Tert.am

[Yervant1]

Klichdar: Erdogan's government provides weapons to al-Qaeda and Jabhat
al-Nusra in Syria

http://sana.sy/eng/22/2014/01/04/520650.htm
Jan 04, 2014


Istanbul, (SANA) - The leader of the Republican People's Party of
Turkey, Kemal Klichdar, stressed that the government of the Justice
and development Party is providing weapons to al-Qaeda and Jabhat
al-Nusra in Syria, considering the confiscation of the truck, which
was loaded with weapons and ammunition set to be sent to the
terrorists in Syria recently, has made turkey lose its legitimacy on
the international arena.

Turkish Cumhuriyet newspaper reported Klichdar as saying to reporters,
"Erdogan's government is interfering in the domestic affairs of Syria,
and it is providing weapons to al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra as it was
revealed by jurisdiction."

Hurriyet newspaper revealed that the security forces seized a Turkish
truck loaded with large amounts of weapons on its way to Syria.

Tens of media reports pointed out that Turkish sides which are
supporting the armed terrorist groups in Syria are using the pretext
of humanitarian pretexts as a cover for smuggling weapons shipments to
the terrorists in Syria.

F.Allafi

[Yervant1]

18:16 07/01/2014 » SOCIETY

Two more Azerbaijani terrorists killed in Syria

Two more Azerbaijani citizens who participated in the fighting on the side of the terrorists have been killed in Syria. According to the Azerbaijani news agency "APA", two sites belonging to terrorist groups fighting against government forces in Syria extended this information.

It is reported that Namik Askerov, who fought with "Frente al Nusra" group associated with "Al-Qaeda" was killed. Someone called Soltan Azeri Seifullakh was killed too. Sites also spread photographs of murdered Azerbaijani terrorists.

According to "APA" in battles against Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria hundreds of Azerbaijanis are involved in various groups, dozens of them have been killed.

In the last period of time the media reported about a number of deaths of Azerbaijani terrorists in Syria. In early April, the Turkish sites have reported that about 30 terrorists from Azerbaijan have already been killed in Syria. According to the Azerbaijani conflict scientist Arif Yunus more than 300 Islamists from Azerbaijan are fighting in Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, according to Arif Yunus and the "Facthaber” portal, over 100 Azerbaijani terrorists are fighting in Syria. Azerbaijani terrorists had even placed an online video-record calling for "jihad.

The relationship between international terrorist groups and Azerbaijan originated in the early 1990s. That time, the Azerbaijani army, having failed in the aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), retreated with losses. Trying to save the situation, the Azerbaijani leadership, headed by Heydar Aliyev attracted to the war against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh international terrorists and members of radical groups from Afghanistan (groupings of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar), Turkey ("Grey Wolves", etc.), Chechnya (groupings Basayev and Raduyev etc.) and some other regions.
Despite the involvement in of thousands of foreign mercenaries and terrorists in the Azerbaijani army during the war, the Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh Republic failed, and the Baku authorities were forced to sign an armistice with the NKR and Armenia. However, international terrorists found ties in Azerbaijan, and used them in the future. Recruitment was conducted among Azerbaijanis, who then were sent to Afghanistan and the North Caucasus, where participated in the battles against the forces of the international coalition and Russian organizations.
In recent years, the citizens of Azerbaijan are actively involved in terrorist and extremist activities in Russia, Afghanistan and Syria. In Azerbaijan the citizens are brought to criminal liability for participating in "illegal armed groups" in Afghanistan, sentenced to minor terms of imprisonment.

Source: Panorama.am

[Johannes]

What about French, Dutch, german, American, Chechen and other m...f..ers?

This is international war against an independent country.

 

Up to 11,000 fighters from more than 70 nations have joined the terrorism in Syria against Syrian people, almost doubling estimates made earlier this year.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10523203/Number-of-foreign-fighters-in-Syria-nearly-doubles.html

Edited January 7, 2014 by Johannes

[Yervant1]

09:35 11/01/2014 » COMMENTS

Tables turning: Al-Qaeda pushing Syrian opposition back to Assad?

With Al-Qaeda’s and Al-Nusra’s growing influence in the region, Syrian opposition is having second thoughts about being opposed to Bashar Assad, security analyst, Michael Maloof,told RT.
RT: The US and Iran have been propping up different sides in the Syrian conflict but there is a chance that they actually could be working on the same side in Iraq. Is there any possibility of them actually working across the table this way?
Michael Maloof: I think it is going to increase because of what we would refer to as a ‘common enemies’ approach. The common enemy would be the foreign fighters, the Sunni Islamist militants who are fighting in Syria and that is spilling over into Anbar, a predominantly Sunni-controlled area in Iraq. And this has been a problem with, I think, the US, as well as Iran [who] recognize that if Bashar Assad did not stay in power or if he is weakened, then Syria could become another base like Pakistan and Afghanistan before, to be used as a springboard to go to the other countries.
Iraq is certainly now under siege once again by Al-Qaeda; and they have made it quite well-known, their element out there is of course ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), which is actually an invention of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. They have been fighting in Syria, now they are coming back to Iraq and they are beginning to spread. And we can also see now the spread of ISIL alongside Al-Nusra that has been shooting and blowing car bombs in Lebanon. The branch now is not only in Iraq but in Lebanon, and as long as they can use Syria as a base, they are going to do this. They are also going to Turkey. This portrays a very serious problem. If go back to the original question, the US is now beginning to see Iran as an element here; they are going to need help from not only in Iraq, but once the US troops pull out of Afghanistan, Iran’s presence and influence is going to be extremely important to US interests.
RT: Let's go back to the situation in the region. Since at least 2001, Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda-linked groups have been a kind of public enemy number one in the US. Why now we see that resurgence more than ten years later?
MM: I think it’s because of the instability that was produced when we left Iraq. We basically created another power vacuum that they have just swooped right back in. Once we leave Afghanistan, the Taliban, which is related to Al-Qaeda, will be doing the very same thing. They are actually growing, the whole Taliban, the whole Al-Qaeda movement is stronger than it has ever been, contrary to what President Obama initially said that they were on the ropes, that they decimated. That’s not true. And when you look at over time the extent to which Al-Qaeda has branched up from the Arabian Peninsula to Northern Africa, to the Maghreb, and also now into Russia using the Chechens there, it’s a very serious development in terms of their growth over time and because it’s evolutionary we don’t see it; it’s not a one big event. So this is emerging as an increasingly serious problem in terms of Al-Qaeda spread and it’s getting worse. It is all done at the behest of the Saudis, they are controlling all of this. It is well-known that Prince Bandar can switch them on and switch them off like a light switch.
RT: Surely all these Al-Qaeda linked groups can't be rising on their own, without some power supporting them. So who are their backers?
MM: Well, the rise is due primarily to the fact that the opposition that we were supporting just was not strong enough and we did not give them the weapons they needed. So consequently, the foreign fighters came in and basically took over the opposition. So now you have Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia pushing the US to back its Islamic Front, which is comprised of some 75,000 troops and have about a dozen different Islamist, extremist groups within Syria.
What’s ironic is that that’s not just the Saudis who are pushing the US to support this so-called moderate group, but also the Israelis. But what we’ve discovered is that in most cases these groups aren’t at all moderate. They were actually involved in attacking the Free Syrian Army's depots recently and taking all their weapons. They have actually been battling with FSA as a consequence.
So the US and the Europeans are basically backing off from a little bit of support for the opposition and certainly because of inability to distinguish the different elements within the opposition. And what will happen if we start to pass weapons to the opposition? They inevitably would fall into the hands of extremists because in addition that they are more radicalized, they are also more fierce fighters and that they have shown against the original Syrian opposition.
RT: Have you seen US policies having an effect on the now-flourishing Islamist movement in Syria and Iraq?
MM: Yes, I do. Because we didn’t go after the real threat. And the real threat is these foreign fighters that Prince Bandar and the Saudis have introduced into Syria. I know that Bashar Assad has many issues and many problems but he was also for reforms. He is also the only individual who could actually protect the minorities that we have in the country. Even the Syrian opposition now is having second thoughts about being opposed to him. And some in the US are even suggesting that the Free Syrian Army should rejoin the Syrian Army and fight Al-Qaeda because Al-Qaeda along with Al-Nusra is regarded now as the main threat not just to Syria but to the region. And I think the US also views Al-Qaeda as the main threat. That’s why the US is no longer pushing for regime change in Syria. And I think that’s an important development.
RT: How do you see the situation evolving? Is there a danger of a much bigger conflict for the whole region?
MM: It’s a never ending battle because Al-Qaeda has now become stronger. The fact that we pulled out entirely and the fact too that the Iraqi government was never capable of fighting the foreign fighters, the Al-Nusra types and the ISIL types, I think is indicative of the problem that we are seeing today. We are going to see this in Syria as well if Assad is overthrown. They just don’t stop, their goal is to set up Caliphates, strict Sharia law on anyone who is not with them, they are infidels and they are going to kill them. That’s what we are seeing. And certainly this is a further manifestation of the Saudi-proxy war with Iran, not only in Syria what we’ve seen but now we can see this in Iraq. I think the Iranians see that as a major threat. And the US is realizing the same thing. This is actually why they are giving assistance to the government of Iraq, whose Prime-Minister is a Shi’a and has close ties with Iran.
RT: How did it happen that extremists become so strong and well-equipped?
MM: It’s an indirect form of support that has led to this because the US provided little assistance through Jordan, through the CIA and through Turkey. But the opposition is fragmented, incapable and what’s happened is that the more radical elements, principally the foreign fighters, have taken over the opposition in terms of the fighting and consequently they got better weapons into their hands, they got surface-to-air missiles, they got RPGs and as a result it gave them a force multiplayer to be able to fight successfully not only against Bashar Assad, but now to extend itself back into Iraq, whose forces are not capable of withstanding the onslaught of Al-Nusra and ISIL. That's why you see the US providing renewed assistance to the Al Maliki government in Iraq, but it is probably going to be too little too late. It may mean that the US is going to have to introduce some US troops back in order for training, and so we may begin to see the evolutionary process of the US beginning to move back into Iraq at least for a period of time.
And that’s only because of the way events are evolving, it’s pushing US policy. The US is no longer in control of its own foreign policy. The fact that we just pulled out and did not keep troops there to train and maintain their presence is what led to that power vacuum and the ability of Al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda to be able to move back into Iraq successfully, particularly into Anbar province, which is a Sunni-dominated area, so that’s all is going to be controlled. And they also use that province as a springboard to launch attacks back in Syria. So it’s going to be a problem worse that we have seen in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Source: Panorama.am

[Johannes]

"Syrian opposition" is also al-Qaeda.

 

"Jubhat al nusra" and "Islamic front" (updated free Syrian army) are fighting against "Islamic state of Iraq and levant".

USA is supporting now the first side.

Happy new year and Allah u Akbar.

[MosJan]

Armenian Christians Pressured to Convert to Islam
By Raymond Ibrahim on January 8, 2014 in Muslim Persecution of Christian

 

Arabic language websites reported earlier this week that the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant—which, throughout the course of the war against the Assad government has committed any number of atrocities, from decapitating “infidels” to burning churches—has successfully “forced” two Armenian Christian families to convert to Islam.

DAASH: For some reason, winning “willing” converts to Islam

A video accompanies some of these reports. In it, what appears to be an elderly Armenian man stands alongside an Islamic cleric who announces the Christian man’s conversion to Islam—to thunderous cries of “Allahu Akbar!” In his exultation, the cleric makes exuberant statements like “You see, we have no honor without Islam—without proclaiming aloud that “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet!” (Without the religious jargon, this is simply another way of saying, “Only by joining our team can you ever escape dishonor,” the lot of all non-Muslim, subhuman “infidels.”)

The cleric also adds that, because the man is the head of his household, his Christian wife and children are all now Muslim as well—“all praise to Allah!” Naturally, if they reject their new Islamic identity, they become “apostates,” a crime punishable by death.

The rather flippant and sarcastic text that accompanies this video points out the obvious:

After decades of peaceful coexistence between the various religions of Syria, and after decades of living under the moderate form of Levantine Islam … these two Armenian families were none too keen on entering Islam or learning of its eminence—except at the hands of DAASH [al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant], which has been presenting a “rosy” picture of Islam and Muslims, by way of chopping heads, whipping people, and general repression. Thus did these two Christian Armenian families finally enter Islam, “willingly”—but only at the hands of DAASH.

In other words, it’s “curious,” to say the least, that Christians who for generations lived amid moderate Muslim majorities in Syria but opted to remain Christian, are now “suddenly” attracted to Islam—and at the hands of a jihadi organization that has been bombing churches, kidnapping and beheading Christians, and even teaching children to slaughter Christians wherever they may be found.

Sound like genuine conviction to you? Maybe things like the 2012 news that “a family of Armenian Christians was found murdered, and all members of the family horribly decapitated” in Syria is compelling these Armenian families into seeing the “wisdom” of embracing Islam?

Here we reach an important but overlooked historical point. While many Christians, past and present, have indeed willingly embraced martyrdom—the sword, death—rather than recant Christ for Muhammad, the majority of born Christians, when faced with converting to Islam or dying, have opted for the former. Indeed, call it a lack of idealism or a lack of faithfulness, when faced with converting to the “winning team” of Islam or simply being third-class subjects (dhimmis), countless nominal Christians throughout the centuries have opted for the former.

That is precisely how and why the so-called “Islamic world”—the majority of which was almost entirely Christian before the Islamic conquests—came into being: a fact Western people were once well acquainted with, before the current age of political correctness and alternate realities fell upon us

[MosJan]

Dern Voghormya..

Astvts hogin lusavori..

 

 

 

xosqer chunem