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The Armed Forces Continue Targeting Terrorists and Their Hideouts

Dec 10, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA)- A unit of the Armed Forces on Sunday carried out a qualitative operation against terrorists near the Feed Foundation in Aliramon in Aleppo city, killing 20 terrorists.

A unit of the Internal Security Forces charged with the protection of the Greek Hospital in Aleppo on Saturday clashed with an armed terrorist group attempting to attack the hospital.

An Interior Ministry source said that the clash resulted in the killing of one of the terrorists and the injury of two others.

The source added that a 7mm pistol, night vision surveillance camera and HYT wireless device were seized in the clash.

Meanwhile, a unit of the Armed Forces killed 29 terrorists in an operation in which they targeted a gathering for Jabhat al-Nusra members near Chicken Restaurant in Bustan al-Basha in Aleppo city.

The Armed Forces also targeted terrorists’ gatherings in Darat Izza, Qibtan al-Jabal, Handrat and al-Mislmyeh, killing and injuring scores of terrorists and destroying their weapons and ammunition.

Another army unit destroyed a terrorists’ hideout and destroyed weapons and ammunition inside it in Khanaser.

In Aleppo city, the army targeted terrorists’ gatherings near the mosques of Suhaib and al-Na’na’i, destroying a vehicle equipped with heavy machinegun.

Terrorists’ gatherings in Bustan al-Basha and Bani Zaid were targeted, heavy losses were inflicted upon terrorists in these areas.

SANA reporter said that two terrorist groups clashed with each others as there were disputes over money in Deir Hafer, adding that scores of terrorists were killed or injured in the clash.

Al-Bakkarah Area Cleared from Terrorist Groups

The Armed Forces completely cleared al-Bakkarh area in Aleppo countryside from the armed terrorist groups.

70 Members of so-called ‘Military Council’ of Jabhat al-Nusra Killed in Damascus Countryside

A unit of the Armed Forces killed an armed terrorist group from Jabhat al-Nusra in al-Hejjeira town in Damascus Countryside.

SANA reporter quoted an official source in the province as saying that a number of terrorists were killed, among them terrorists Wael Masri, Izzat Ibrahim, Ahmad Fuad and Imad Zarzour were identified.

The source added that another army unit killed and injured 70 terrorists in an operation in which it targeted a hideout for the so-called ‘Military Council’ of Jabhat al-Nusra in al-Dhyiabiyeh town.

SANA reporter said amounts of weapons and ammunition were destroyed in the operation.

In the meantime, the Armed Forces continued operations against Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in the city of Daraya.

An official source told SANA reporter that the army units inflicted heavy losses upon the terrorists in an operation it carried out in the area.

A warehouse including large amounts of weapons and ammunition used by the terrorists was destroyed in the operation.

A unit of the Armed Forces clashed with a terrorist group that attacked an army and law enforcement forces checkpoint on Daraa highway.

An official source told SANA reporter that the clashes resulted in leaving the group’s members dead and injured.

In the farms in Sheba’a area, an Armed Forces unit eliminated a number of terrorist group leaders, including Ahmad Mohammad Rajab.

An Armed Forces unit carried out an operation which resulted in the destruction of a number of terrorist hideouts along with the weapons and munitions inside them and elimination of a number of terrorists, including an Iraqi nicknamed Abu Omar al-Fallujah, in addition to Ala’a Zaher al-Khalaf, Adnan al-Awad, and Saleh al-Manzouri.

In al-Ziyabiye, another unit carried out an operation, destroying terrorist gatherings and hideouts along with the weapons, munitions and terrorists inside them, some of which were Tunisians and Jordanians.

The terrorists who were killed in the operation include Tunisian Ayman al-Hamadi and Jordanian Iyad al-Ala’ai, in addition to Fadi al-Hamdan, Farouk al-Sheikh, Mohammad al-Nader, Nasim al-Hamad, and a leader of a terrorist group known as Abu Ghadab.

Jabhat al-Nusra Terrorists Killed, their Hideouts Destroyed in Homs

A unit of the Armed Forces killed a number of al-Qaeda- affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in al-Haidariyeh town in the countryside of al-Quseir in Homs.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that a mortar used by the terrorists in attacking citizens and their properties was destroyed in the operation.

It added that another army unit destroyed a number of terrorists’ hideouts in al-Sultaniyeh farms and killed all terrorists inside.

The Armed Forces destroyed a terrorists’ hideout and a weapons’ warehouse in al-Rawsheh neighborhood in Homs.

An official source told SANA that 6 terrorists were killed and 4 were injured in Bab Hood neighborhood.

In al-Qseir countryside, an army unit killed and injured scores of terrorists and destroyed a vehicle equipped with rocket platform in the areas of al-Haidariyeh.

Terrorist Arrested, Weapons and Ammunition Seized in Salamyieh, Hama

Meanwhile, authorities on Sunday stormed a terrorist group’s hideout in Daher al-Mugher al-Gharbi neighborhood in Salamyieh in Hama and arrested one of the most wanted terrorists.

An official source in the province told SANA reporter that the authorities seized the terrorist weapons and ammunition.

The source added that citizen Ismael Mohammad al-Ziyab, who was kidnapped by an armed terrorist group, released in the operation.

Terrorists’ Hideouts and Vehicles Destroyed, 3 Explosive Devices Dismantled in Idleb

Units of the Armed Forces continued pursuing Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in the countryside of Idleb, killing and injuring many of them.

A unit of the Armed Forces destroyed a vehicle equipped with a heavy machinegun which the terrorists used in attacking the residents in Bsanqoul town in Ariha, killing scores of mercenary terrorists and injuring others.

The source added that the army also destroyed a number of terrorist groups’ hideouts and vehicles in Saraqeb and killed all the terrorists inside.

On the other hand, an army unit foiled terrorists’ attempt to detonate three explosive devices planted on al-Mastoumeh – Ariha road, weighed between 25 – 30 kg.

Armed Forces Destroy Pick-up with terrorists onboard in Jisr al-Shughour in Idleb

A unit of the Armed Forces targeted a pick-up loaded with munitions, weapons and military suits to terrorists in Jisr al-Shghour area in Idleb province.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the Armed Forces eliminated several terrorists who were using the car.

Foreign and Expatriates Ministry: Syria Won’t Use Chemical Weapons, If It Possesses Any, Whatever the Circumstances

Dec 10, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)- Syria on Saturday reaffirmed that it will not use chemical weapons, if it possesses any, whatever the circumstances as it is defending its people against terrorism supported by known countries, citing the USA on top.

Syria’s reaffirmation came in two identical letters addressed by the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry to the Chairman of the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary General.

“The U.S. administration has consistently worked over the past year to launch a campaign of allegations on the possibility that Syria could use chemical weapons during the current crisis,” said the Ministry.

It reiterated Syria’s openly repeated stress through the diplomatic frameworks that it “will not use chemical weapons, if it possessesany, whatever the circumstances because it is defending its people against terrorism supported by known countries, above all is the USA.”

“What raises concerns regarding this news circulated by the media is our serious fear that some of countries backing terrorism and terrorists might provide the armed terrorist groups with chemical weapons and claim that it was the Syrian government which did use the weapons,” said the Ministry in its letters.

It referred in this context to information revealed by the Turkish Yurt newspaper which said that members from al-Qaeda are manufacturing chemical weapons at a laboratory near the Turkish city of Gaziantep, and that they have threatened to use them against the Syrian civilians.

The letters also made reference to the Turkish newspaper indicating footages posted on the internet in which terrorists appear making poisonous gas from chemical materials which al-Qaeda got from a Turkish company and which were tested on living creatures.

“Those countries launching the campaign against Syria had better follow up on that act and hold those terrorists and the parties which helped them get the chemical materials to account,” the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said.

It pointed out that the Syrian government, out of its care for its people’s lives, had asked the UN Supervision Mission to visit, inspect and calculate the stocks of a private sector chlorine processing plant, located to the east of Aleppo city, after information that the terrorist groups were then planning to take hold of it.

The Supervision Mission however could not do this because the terrorists opened fire on its members as they were trying to visit the plant, the Ministry added.

“The terrorist groups recently took hold of the plant which includes tons of the poisonous chlorine following the latest U.S.-Western campaign, with all the risks this issue implies,” it said.

The Ministry expressed Syria’s warning that the terrorist groups might resort to using chemical weapons against the Syrian people, and its denunciation of the international community’s inaction to deal with the developments after the terrorist groups recently took hold of a Chlorine processing plant to the east of Aleppo city.

“Syria also denounces not holding the supporters of the terrorist groups to account according to the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” the letters added.

They slammed the hostile campaign against Syria as being characterized by the absence of the moral dimension, saying that “countries which used these or other similar weapons like the US, are not worthy to launch such a campaign, especially that [the US] used the pretext of Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to justify its invasion and occupation of this Arab country in 2003.

The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry highlighted that Syria has scores of times made it clear that it will not use chemical weapons, if they exist, against its people under any circumstance, and stressed its commitment to its legal obligations according to the agreements and protocols it signed.

“Moreover, the Ministry added, “Syria submitted by the end of 2003 a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC)Weapons.”

However, the Ministry said, the US and the countries following it hindered the draft resolution and prevented the Security Council from adopting it.

It went on saying that Syria was not surprised by the U.S. move a few days ago to foil the UN efforts to hold a conference to establish a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, which was due to be held by the end of 2012.

“All of that was in defense of Israel, the only party in the region which has not signed the WMD agreements,” it added.

The Ministry concluded its letters by saying that “such campaign doesn’t work with Syria which has always adhered to is independence and sovereignty,” stressing that these media campaigns cannot mislead the Syrian people or the international public opinion, which has started to realize the reality of the conspiracies hatched against Syria and the real reasons behind continuing the shedding of the Syrian blood for which the terrorist groups and those supporting them are responsible in front of history and the nations.

Saudi Arabia Sends Most Wanted Criminals to Syria, Yemeni Websites Reveal

Dec 10, 2012

SANAA, (SANA) – Yemeni independent news websites published on Sunday a Saudi secret official document confirming that the regime of al-Saud ordered the release of a group of hundreds of most wanted criminals who are sentenced to death on crimes related to drug smuggling, killing and rape to send them to Syria and join the armed terrorist groups.

The document showed that an agreement was reached between the Saudi authorities and a number of criminals from several Arab and non-Arab nationalities who were exempted from the death penalty and given monthly salaries for their families in Saudi Arabia and releasing them to go to Syria.

According to the document, the criminals are 105 Yemenis, 212 Saudis, 96 Sudanese, 254 Syrians, 82 Jordanians, 68 Somalis, 32 Afghans, 194 Egyptians, 203 Pakistanis, 23 Iraqis, 21 Palestinians and 44 Kuwaitis.

The document said that those criminals will be trained to be sent to ‘Jihad’ in Syria.

Four Citizens Martyred in Terrorist Missile Attack in Homs, Car Bomb Explodes in al-Fahhameh in Damascus

Dec 10, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)- An armed terrorist group on Sunday fired missile shells on the southern al-Arman neighborhood in the city of Homs, martyring a number of citizens, injuring others and causing considerable material damages.

An official source told SANA that an armed Terrorist group affiliated with Al Qaeda fired missile shells on the neighborhood, martyring four citizens and injuring others, in addition of causing grave material damages to shops, infrastructure, and water and electricity networks in the area.

Car Bomb Explodes in al-Fahhameh in Damascus, Injuring the Driver

Earlier on the day, terrorists detonated an explosive device attached to a private car in al-Fahhameh area in Damascus, causing severe injury of the driver.

SANA reporter said that the terrorist explosion resulted in complete destruction of the car in addition to material damage in a shop.

Brahimi: Efforts to find Political Solution to Crisis in Syria Possible

Dec 10, 2012

GENEVA, (SANA)-The UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, following talks he held with US and Russian officials, announced they agreed that efforts to seek political solution to the crisis in Syria are still possible

“The meeting was constructive and it was held within an atmosphere of cooperation.. we discussed means to go ahead in a peaceful process and mobilizing a greater international movement in order to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria,” Reuters quoted Brahimi as saying in a statement issued after a day-long talks in Geneva.

UN: Brahimi’s Talks with Russian and US Officials on Syria Constructive

The UN said in a statement the talks that the UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi held with Russian and U.S. officials in Geneva were constructive.

Participants in the talks said that a political process to end the crisis in Syria is necessary and still possible.

AFP reported the international organization as saying that the meeting was constructive and it was held in an atmosphere of cooperation, adding that the participants called for more international work for a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

Egyptians Continue Their Stage-In Before Presidential Palace

Dec 10, 2012

CAIRO, (SANA) – Egyptians demonstrators participated in a stage-in in front of the Presidential Palace (Kasr al-Ittihadia) in Cairo for the third consecutive day in condemnation of the decisions of the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

Thousands of demonstrators went to support the stage-in, while mass marches went off in several areas in the capital as to assemble before the palace.

Participants carried placards demanding the downfall of the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood, and subjecting the sides responsible for killing peaceful demonstrators last Wednesday to trials.

Political powers stressed the need to cancel the referendum call and resort to dialogue to overcome the current crisis.

Political sides said that the National Salvation Front will meet later to adopt unified stance on the Constitutional Declaration, adding that the Supplementary Declaration is a kind of prevarication policy.

The Front dismissed the calls to make a referendum on the new constitution draft, calling for mass marches on Tuesday in all Egyptian provinces.

Earlier, tens of demonstrators gathered in front of Morsi’s house in Sharkia province after the statement issued by the Egyptian Presidency. Police forces used tear gas grenades to disperse the demonstrators.

Follow-up Committee of Tehran National Dialogue Conference Calls for Finding Peaceful Solution to Crisis in Syria

Dec 10, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The follow-up committee on national dialogue emerged from Tehran Conference held its first meeting in Damascus on Sunday.

The Follow-up committee agreed on forming central committees and subcommittees to achieve the goals concerning launching the national comprehensive dialogue and specifying the inside and outside Syrian parties to encourage them and persuade them to the attend dialogue, pointing out that the most important goals of the newly formed committees will be working to hold a new national dialogue conference in Damascus.

The committee also agreed that its new name is “the Follow-up Committee on Comprehensive National Dialogue” and it is tasked with launching dialogue to get out of the crisis in Syria.

It called for broadcasting two TV programs on a daily basis on the work of the committee and the Syrian opposition.

Representatives of political and popular parties participated in the meeting which focused on means of expanding the committee’s work and role in launching the comprehensive national dialogue and finding a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria.

The participants also discussed establishing communication bridges among all political forces inside and outside Syria, preparing a national dialogue table based on firm principles, following up on the stages achieved by the National Dialogue Conference in Tehran and launching a Syrian national initiative for reconciliation away from foreign intervention.

They also called for holding an extended national dialogue conference in Syria and laying the foundation for ending all acts of violence.

Member of People’s Assembly, Faisal Azouz, expressed hope that this meeting will complete what was started at Tehran Conference “based on the participation of all parties and not excluding any political force that rejects violence.”

He called for making this conference the starting point to launch an expanded dialogue that includes all the Syrians to rescue Syria.

In turn, Chairman of the National Initiative for Syrian Kurds, Omar Ossi, called for forming a political office and a secretary for the follow-up committee representing all the participating popular and political spectrums to help permanently follow up the committee’s work.

Member of People’s Assembly, Khaled al-Abboud, said that this meeting constitutes a platform for an open dialogue among all political forces inside Syria and abroad.

He added that the follow up committee is open to all those who want to participate in it and contribute to reproducing the Syrian political scene to help solve the crisis in Syria.

For his part, Head of the National Youth for Justice and Development Party, Barwin Ibrahim, called for real work to combat corruption and find solution to the crisis, indicating that the Syrian media should be transparent in dealing with the events and give chance to all parties to express their viewpoints.

Representative of the opposition Third Movement, Mazen Mughrabiyeh, called for holding a serious national dialogue conference in Syria, considering that the problem currently facing Syria is a political one that should be solved.

Participants in Tehran Conference held on November 20 and 21 agreed on the formation of a follow-up committee to set the necessary preparations to follow up on the comprehensive national dialogue.

For his part, Fatih Jamous, leader of the Peaceful Change Path Movement, stressed that the impotence of finding a solution to the crisis in Syria is due to the absence of decisive parties from the negotiation table, highlighting the importance of these parties to be present at the table to launch dialogue and find specific axes to work for emerging from the crisis in Syria.

Founder of the Syrian Family Forum, Ahed Sharifeh, emphasized that the homeland is the compass for this joint work, calling for encouraging all sides to sit at the dialogue table to serve the interests of the Syrian people.

Chairman of the Secular Social Democratic Movement, Nabil Fayad, pointed out to the necessity of addressing decision-making centers abroad and the public opinion to clarify what is going on in Syria and the crimes committed by the armed groups.

He added that documented reports have been submitted to some U.S. Congress members on the violations committed by the armed groups against the Syrian people.

Secretary of the Popular Will Party Council, Alaa Arafat, highlighted the importance of finding a Syrian initiative to solve the crisis, adding that this initiative should be the task of the Follow-up Committee on National Dialogue.

Secretary-General of the Syrian National Youth Party, Maher Mirhej, pointed out to the efforts exerted by the party to communicate with armed opposition groups, adding that the armed groups which amounted to 175 groups expressed readiness to reject the Doha Coalition.

Lavrov: We Don’t Discuss the Destiny of Syrian Leadership with Any Party

Dec 09, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA)- Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, announced that the upcoming meeting on Syria which is to be held on the level of the deputy foreign ministers of Russia and the US, with the participation of the UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, will take place on Sunday and Monday. Speaking on the sidelines of the round table held under the title ‘Russia and the Changing World’, Lavrov pointed out that he met the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and Brahimi in Dublin and that they agreed on holding a special meeting for experts on the level of deputy foreign ministers to hold intensive talks.

He stressed that Russia is ready for such meetings if the Geneva Declaration is the basis for the talks without ultimatums or preconditions.

Lavrov revealed that there are unclean attempts by some countries known for distorting facts to portray Russia’s stance towards the situation in Syria contrary to the reality.

He stressed the need to force all sides to lay down arms and sit to dialogue table instead of the unavailing and endless talk about the departure of the Syrian leadership.

“My country doesn’t hold talks with any party on the destiny of the Syrian leadership and it is not clinging to anybody,” said the Russian Foreign Minister, considering that all attempts to portray the situation differently are unclean “even for the diplomacy of those countries that are known for attempts at distorting the facts.”

The Russian Foreign Minister said, “There are attempts to create an image that the Syrian Government is planning to use chemical weapons. We are dealing seriously with any rumors in this regard, and we are making sure of the truth through contacting the Syrian Government”.

He added, “According to our information which we present to the Americans in response to their demand and to the European colleagues, the Syrian Government does not have any intention to use chemical weapons”.

He went on saying that the greatest danger of chemical weapons is that they could go to gunmen, pointing out that currently there are organizations linked to al-Qaeda becoming active in Syria.

Body of Patriarch IV Hazim Arrives to Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus

Dec 09, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The body of Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Ignatius IV Hazim was laid out in the Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus on Sunday, where prayers were held presided upon by Archbishop Saba Esper, Archbishop of Houran and Jabal a-Arab.

Representatives of churches in Syria and citizens attended the prayers to pay their respects to the late Patriarch.

The body of Patriarch Hazim arrived at 3 PM on Sunday to the Syrian-Lebanese border crossing point, accompanied by Lebanese figures including former minister Yakoub al-Sarrab representing former Lebanese President Emil Lahhoud and former foreign minister Eli Salem.

In Damascus, the Patriarch’s convoy followed in footsteps of St. Paul the Apostle, crossing the Road Called Straight and arriving at the Mariamite Cathedral at 4:30 PM where the Syrian national anthem was played upon its arrival.

The funeral of Patriarch Hazim will be held at 2 PM on Monday at the Cathedral and he wil be laid to rest in the Patriarchs’ burial ground.

Salehi: Syria’s Enemies Started to Reconsider their Stances Realizing their Wrong Path

Dec 09, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA) – Iran’s Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said that targeting Syria is the targeting of the resistance in the region, stressing support to Syria’s government and people against the western-U.S. scheme which aims at undermining its key role in the region and its support to the resistance.

During a meeting with Syria’s Ambassador to Iran, Adnan Mahmoud, in which Salehi received his credentials, the Iranian Foreign Minister underlined the need for joint efforts to face the economic war against Syrian and Iran, pointing out to the strategic relations between the two countries.

He added that Syria’s enemies have started to realize that they were going in the wrong path and that the situation in Syria will not end up in a way that serves their interests so they have begun to reconsider their stances towards Syria.

Salehi reiterated his country’s stance towards the crisis in Syria based on the belief that the solution to the crisis should be through dialogue between the government and the national opposition which believes in dialogue and rejects foreign intervention and the armed groups’ terrorist acts.

He stressed the need for pushing the bilateral relations forward and overcoming all obstacles hindering trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Iranian Foreign Minister wished Ambassador Mahmoud success in his mission in a way that contributes to boosting bilateral cooperation in all fields.

In turn, Ambassador Mahmoud stressed the importance of making a qualitative leap in bilateral relations and preserving direct communication to overcome obstacles facing the implementation of signed agreements between both sides.

Terrorist Group Attacks ‘Qaboun 2’ Electricity Plant, Causing Outages in Several Areas

Dec 09, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)- An armed terrorist group attacked on Saturday night the Electric Power Transmission Plant ‘Qaboun 2’ in al-Qaboun neighborhood in Damascus, causing it to go out of service.

Minister of Electricity, Eng. Imad Khamis, told SANA reporter that the power transformers inside the plant were burned as a result of the attack, which caused power outages in the areas fed by the plant.

The Minister stressed that the repair workshops headed immediately to the targeted plant to fix the damage and restore service.

Khamis noted that the areas affected by the attack, including al-Mazra’eh, al-Qusour, al-Thawra Street, al-Qaboun and Barzeh, will be gradually fed by other sources until repair works are finished, which the Minister said will take a week.

Syria’s Ambassador in Algeria Refutes Media Claims of His Resignation

Dec 09, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Syria’s Ambassador in Algeria Dr. Numair al-Ghanem affirmed on Sunday that the claims by some media outlets which are complicit in the shedding in Syria blood on him resigning his post are baseless.

In a phone call with SANA, Ghanem said that these allegations are part of the psychological warfare that seeks to undermine Syrians’ confidence, affirming that such fabrications and rumors are proof the of the utter stupidity and failure of Syria’s enemies.

He said that this attempt will fail, and that he and his colleagues in the diplomatic corps will continue to work in Syria and abroad to follow the directives of President Bashar al-Assad, concluding by stressing that Syria will not break thanks to the Syrian Arab Army which is confronting the west’s mercenaries and minions in the region.

Stands in Solidarity with Homeland Held in South Africa, Slovakia, Russia, Czech and Spain

Dec 09, 2012

CAPITALS, (SANA)- Members of the Syrian and Lebanese community in South Africa reiterated their rejection of the aggression targeting Syria because of its national stances, stressing their support to Syria’s national and pan-Arab project led by President Bashar al-Assad.

During a stand of solidarity with Syria held on Saturday in front of the Syrian Embassy in Pretoria, the participants emphasized that Syria’s territorial integrity and the unity of its people are red lines.

They highlighted that the Syrian Arab Army is the only party responsible for protecting the homeland and getting it out of its crisis.

They affirmed that Syria’s security is the security of Lebanon and that the targeting of Syria is the targeting of the resistance project in the face of the imperialist schemes which the West is trying to bring life to.

Syrians in Slovakia Reiterates Adherence to Homeland

In the same context, Syrian students and community in Slovakia reiterated solidarity with their motherland in confronting terrorism and the global conspiracy hatched against it, expressing support to Syria and its leadership and people.

The National Union of Syrian Students, Slovakia Branch, organized a march in solidarity with Syria, in cooperation with the Syrian community in Slovakia with participation of Arab and Slovakian youth activists.

The participants in the march raised the Syrian flag and toured the streets of the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, including the Presidential Palace, the Parliament and the old City.

They thanked Russia and the friendly countries for supporting the Syrian people in confronting the conspiracy.

They also expressed complete rejection of all forms of foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs, voicing confidence that Syria will overcome the crisis due to the wisdom of its leadership, awareness of its people and sacrifices of its army.

They reiterated support to President Bashar al-Assad in facing the challenges that aim at undermining Syria’s unity, stability and security, hailing the reforms launched by the Syrian leadership.

Solidarity Stand for Syria Held in Russia

The Syrian community, the National union of Syrian Students Union in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, in cooperation with a number of active Russian organizations on Saturday staged a solidarity stand at the Martyrs Square in Moscow to express their support to Syria against the armed terrorist groups.

Participants reiterated their support to Syria’s leadership, army and people in face of the conspiracies hatched against it, stressing their readiness to exert all they can to defend their homeland and protect it in its battle against terrorist and extremist groups which are backed by western countries and their regional allies in Turkey and kingdoms and sheikdoms of the Gulf.

They hailed the firm and principled stances of the Russian and Chinese leaderships which prevented foreign military intervention in Syria’s internal affairs, expressing gratitude and support to these stances.

Representative of the Anti-Globalization Movement in Russia told SANA correspondent in Moscow that the movement’s participation in this stand is an expression of solidarity with Syria and rejection of foreign interference in its affairs.

On deploying Patriot missiles along the Syrian-Turkish borders, the representative said this issue is a flagrant provocation as Turkey is offering its territories for terrorist activities against Syria.

Speeches delivered at the event stressed that the US and its agents want to escalate tension to double up their presence in the region and hinder the efforts of the Syrian people to preserve independence and sovereignty.

Syrian Students in Prague Srtress Rejection of Foreign Interference in Syria

In the same context, Syrian students at the Czech universities reiterated their rejection of regional and international pressure and conspiracies against Syria.

Organizing a stand in solidarity in the Czech capital of Prague, the students stressed support to their homeland and rejection of any foreign intervention in Syria’s internal affairs.

They condemned the instigative and misleading media campaign launched by some channels and international organizations against their country, voicing support to the current reforms in Syria.

The participants stressed that the Syrians only have the solution, hailing the sacrifices of the Syrian Arab Army against terrorism and the foreign-backed terrorists.

They expressed gratitude to the countries and peoples who stand by Syria at the international forums to thwart the conspiracy, especially Russia and China.

Arab students, Czech citizens and representative from the Czech National Socialist Party participated in the stand.

Syrian Students in Spain Hold Rally in Support of Homeland

Syrian students and members of the Syrian community in Spain rallied in front of the Spanish foreign ministry in Madrid to voice their support for their homeland.

Participants denounced the countries that support armed terrorist groups and those who tamper with Syria’s security and shed blood in the name of Jihad.

They also saluted the Syrian Arab Army which managed to confront mercenaries and foiled the conspiracies against Syria.

Prime Minister Stresses Importance of Work with National Parties to Boost Unity

Dec 09, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)- Prime Minister, Wael al-Halqi, highlighted the importance of communication and coordination between the government and the representatives of the Syrian national parties to work as one team to boost steadfastness in the face of the conspiracies and consolidate national unity.

The Premier’s remarks came during his meeting with the Secretary General of the Syrian Communist Party (Unified), Hanin Nimir, and members of the Party’s politburo on Sunday.

Al-Halqi stressed the need for activating the role of the parties of the National Progressive Front and the popular, vocational and civil organizations in protecting the public and private properties and preserving the constructive diversity of the Syrian community.

For his part, Nimir said the battle which Syria is engaged in is a political, military, economic and social one, hailing the great efforts exerted by the government to strengthen the steadfastness of the national economy.

Nimir highly valued the role of the Armed Forces in confronting terrorism and restoring security and stability to Syria.

A Popular Walk in Honor of Martyrs in Sweida

Dec 09, 2012

SWEIDA, (SANA) – Youth and civil figures in Shahba city in Sweida organized a walk from al-Baath Arab Socialist Party headquarters in the city to the tombs of the martyrs who were targeted by the armed terrorist groups while carrying out their national duty.

Families of a number of martyrs participated in the event which aimed at honoring the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of defending their country.

USA Starts Arming Terrorist Groups in Syria

Dec 09, 2012

LONDON, WASHINGTON, (SANA) – After the failure of the tools of the US in the region and after Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia proved impotence in face of the Syrian people’s steadfastness, the US has started playing its last card which is arming the opposition which is under the control of al-Qaeda Takfiri minds, according to the New York Times Newspaper.

The Newspaper said that an armed group linked to al-Qaeda has become more effective in fights against the Syrian Arab army.

Meanwhile, the British Sunday Times Newspaper said that the US started an underground process to send weapons to the Syrian opposition, adding that the Syrian opposition has been acquiring weapons from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey with the blessings of the US since last Spring.

The Newspaper pointed out that the US will send mortars, missile launchers and anti-tank missiles through its allies in the Middle East.

It added that US President, Barack Obama, authorized the US Central Intelligence (CIA) to carry out an underground process to support the opposition forces earlier this year.

The Sunday Times noted that the Americans bought part of the weapons of the former Libyan Leader, Moammar al-Qaddafi’s arsenals, including SA 7 missils, Strela 2 missiles which can be used  to down aircrafts.

It pointed out that the US Department of State is contacting field commanders of the Syrian armed opposition forces.

US diplomats and CIA officials have established a channel for direct contact with the Syrian opposition military formations.

Turkey a Large Border Crossing to Jihadists Coming to Syria

Dec 08, 2012

ANKARA, (SANA) – After the US enlisted the terrorist organization of Jabhat al-Nusra on the international terrorism list, several western media outlets affirmed that Turkey is the main entrance for this terrorism into Syria.

Western media interviewed terrorists who spoke about the places they are coming from and the manner in which they enter Syria through Turkey.

A terrorist told the AFP that the journey of the extremists begin in Turkey, adding that they spare no effort to avoid journalists although they are spread all across the border areas between Turkey and Syria.

The AFP said it interviewed terrorists of several nationalities in Turkey and Syria, including Egyptians, Saudis and Algerians.

International Crisis Group stressed that there are foreign extremists who are directly involved in the fighting along with the armed groups in Syria.

The Group added that majority of these extremists are within the Salafi organizations, adding that the ambiguity circling their movements and locations made it so difficult to know their numbers and influence.

 

 

By Robert J. Burrowes

10 December, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

Amid the ongoing sequence of horrendous news articles reporting one environmental disaster after another, with dire consequences for the planet and all its species (see, for example, ‘Global Extinction within one Human Lifetime as a Result of a Spreading Atmospheric Arctic Methane Heat Wave and Surface Firestorm’ –

http://climatesoscanada.org/blog/2012/04/30/global-extinction-within-one-human-lifetime-as-a-result-of-a-spreading-atmospheric-arctic-methane-heat-wave-and-surface-firestorm/),

I can now read accounts of the recent and predicable catastrophe that took place in Doha, where the 18th UN Climate Summit was held (see, for example, ‘A Carbon Tsunami in Doha’ – http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/12/06-0). I can also read many articles by people who respond to the ongoing climate catastrophe by urging us to lobby governments, UN organisations or others to change their policies and practices in one way or another.

In my experience, organisations such as the United Nations and governments cannot respond meaningfully to any of the major crises we face as a species for the simple reason that they are controlled by elite interests, including those multinational corporations that profit from wars, the use of fossil and nuclear fuels, the destruction of ecosystems and the exploitation of indigenous peoples (see, for example, ‘The Global 1%: Exposing the Transnational Ruling Class’ – http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=32356). Consequently, lobbying these organisations is more than a waste of time; it is an act of disempowerment (because you have submitted to ‘participation’ in a process that they already control). Of course, these institutions are also the ones that tell us that lobbying is ‘your democratic right’ and thus they encourage us to lobby them as the most effective way of absorbing and dissipating our dissent. They also have many agents, including some that are called ‘activists’ and ‘activist groups’ that encourage us to lobby as well.

But if lobbying to change the behaviour of the elite and its agents is ineffective, what can I do instead? Well, I devote considerable time to changing myself and, in doing so, give others the opportunity to consider my example. In addition to this, I take principled and strategic nonviolent action to directly confront those elites who are harming constituencies, including nonhuman species, which I love. This means that I cop a lot of criticism, some prison time and other forms of violence.

But I am far more powerful and effective than I would be if I spent my time lobbying someone who is paid well to ignore me.

One way in which I take action is by participating in ‘The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth’ – http://tinyurl.com/flametree. The Flame Tree Project outlines a fifteen year strategy during which participating individuals are encouraged to reduce their consumption in each of seven vital resource areas by 10% per year for each of 15 successive years while increasing their self-reliance in sixteen key areas by 10% per year for 15 successive years. By doing this, participants automatically noncooperate, in a strategic manner, with elite-controlled structures and processes while simultaneously creating alternative, local structures that allow them to self-reliantly meet their own needs, at a much lower level of consumption. This provides a basis for sharing the world’s resources equitably with the peoples of Africa, Asia and Central/South America while living in an ecologically sustainable manner. Moreover, individuals can participate as part of their household, street, neighbourhood or community but powerful individuals also have the option of setting an example when others they know are not yet ready to respond.

The Flame Tree Project also identifies action that can be taken by businesses, community groups, farmers, scientists and governments but it does not depend on the participation of any of these for the scheme to succeed. The scheme depends on powerful individuals. And because it depends on powerful individuals, participants are given the option of ignoring any aspect of the project with which they do not agree.

A second feature of The Flame Tree Project is that it offers the option for individuals and groups to participate in the planning and implementation of sophisticated campaigns of nonviolent resistance to prevent/end wars, end economic exploitation and save threatened ecosystems, as well as strategies of nonviolent defense to liberate Palestinians, Tibetans and other oppressed populations in those circumstances in which elite violence must be directly confronted (see Robert J. Burrowes ‘The Strategy of Nonviolent Defense: A Gandhian Approach’, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996 and Gene Sharp ‘The Politics of Nonviolent Action’, Boston: Porter Sargent, 1973). Not everyone will choose to participate in this way but, again, this is a choice for powerful individuals to make.

A third feature of The Flame Tree Project is that it challenges participants to ask searching questions about the nature of human society: for example, why are human beings violent? If we do not understand, and address, the fundamental cause of violence, then all of our efforts to survive by tackling the symptoms of our violence – including those that impact on our planetary environment – will ultimately fail. Understanding the cause of violence has profound implications for the nature of the institutions we must create if violence, including ecological violence, is to be eliminated. How do we raise our children? How is their education undertaken? How do we respond to dysfunctional (including violent) behaviours? Do police, legal and prison systems have any role to play in creating and developing cultures in which violence simply has no part? How do we defend ourselves without using military violence (which kills people, consumes vast quantities of natural resources and generates vast quantities of radioactive and other toxic wastes)? And what of structural violence? What organisations and institutions, of what size, are best able to meet the biologically inherent needs of humans?

Fundamentally, The Flame Tree Project is an invitation to ask the deep questions about how we go about creating a new and higher phase of life on Earth: a shift from violent civilization to nonviolent planetization. You are welcome to consider joining.

Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?’ – http://tinyurl.com/whyviolence. His email address is flametree@riseup.net and his website is at http://robertjburrowes.wordpress.com

By George Monbiot, Monbiot.com

10 December 12

@ readersupportednews.org

Neoliberalism is not the root of the problem: it is the ideology used to justify a global grab of power, public assets and natural resources by an unrestrained elite.

Humankind’s greatest crisis coincides with the rise of an ideology that makes it impossible to address. By the late 1980s, when it became clear that manmade climate change endangered the living planet and its people, the world was in the grip of an extreme political doctrine, whose tenets forbid the kind of intervention required to arrest it.

Neoliberalism, also known as market fundamentalism or laissez-faire economics, purports to liberate the market from political interference. The state, it asserts, should do little but defend the realm, protect private property and remove barriers to business. In practice it looks nothing like this. What neoliberal theorists call shrinking the state looks more like shrinking democracy: reducing the means by which citizens can restrain the power of the elite. What they call “the market” looks more like the interests of corporations and the ultra-rich(1). Neoliberalism appears to be little more than a justification for plutocracy.

The doctrine was first applied in Chile in 1973, as former students of the University of Chicago, schooled in Milton Friedman’s extreme prescriptions and funded by the CIA, worked alongside General Pinochet to impose a programme that would have been impossible in a democratic state. The result was an economic catastrophe, but one in which the rich – who took over Chile’s privatised industries and unprotected natural resources – prospered exceedingly(2).

The creed was taken up by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. It was forced upon the poor world by the IMF and the World Bank. By the time James Hansen presented the first detailed attempt to model future temperature rises to the US Senate in 1988( 3), the doctrine was being implanted everywhere.

As we saw in 2007 and 2008 (when neoliberal governments were forced to abandon their principles to bail out the banks), there could scarcely be a worse set of circumstances for addressing a crisis of any kind. Until it has no choice, the self-hating state will not intervene, however acute the crisis or grave the consequences. Neoliberalism protects the interests of the elite against all comers.

Preventing climate breakdown – the four, five or six degrees of warming now predicted for this century by green extremists like, er, the World Bank, the International Energy Agency and PriceWaterhouseCoopers( 4,5,6) – means confronting the oil, gas and coal industry. It means forcing that industry to abandon the four-fifths or more of fossil fuel reserves that we cannot afford to burn( 7). It means cancelling the prospecting and development of new reserves – what’s the point if we can’t use current stocks? – and reversing the expansion of any infrastructure (such as airports) that cannot be run without them.

But the self-hating state cannot act. Captured by interests that democracy is supposed to restrain, it can only sit on the road, ears pricked and whiskers twitching, as the truck thunders towards it. Confrontation is forbidden, action is a mortal sin. You may, perhaps, disperse some money for new energy; you may not legislate against the old.

So Barack Obama pursues what he calls an “all of the above” policy: promoting wind, solar, oil and gas( 8). Ed Davey, the British climate change secretary, launched an energy bill in the Commons last week whose purpose was to decarbonise the energy supply. In the same debate he promised that he would “maximise the potential” of oil and gas production in the North Sea and other offshore fields( 9).

Lord Stern described climate change as “the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen”( 10). The useless Earth Summit in June; the feeble measures now being debated in Doha; the energy bill( 11) and electricity demand reduction paper( 12) launched in Britain last week (better than they might have been but unmatched to the scale of the problem) expose the greatest and widest ranging failure of market fundamentalism: its incapacity to address our existential crisis.

The 1000-year legacy of current carbon emissions is long enough to smash anything resembling human civilisation into splinters( 13). Complex societies have sometimes survived the rise and fall of empires, plagues, wars and famines. They won’t survive six degrees of climate change, sustained for a millennium(14). In return for 150 years of explosive consumption, much of which does nothing to advance human welfare, we are atomising the natural world and the human systems that depend on it.

The climate summit (or foothill) in Doha and the sound and fury of the British government’s new measures probe the current limits of political action. Go further and you break your covenant with power, a covenant both disguised and validated by the neoliberal creed.

Neoliberalism is not the root of the problem: it is the ideology used, often retrospectively, to justify a global grab of power, public assets and natural resources by an unrestrained elite. But the problem cannot be addressed until the doctrine is challenged by effective political alternatives.

In other words, the struggle against climate change – and all the crises which now beset both human beings and the natural world – cannot be won without a wider political fight: a democratic mobilisation against plutocracy. I believe this should start with an effort to reform campaign finance: the means by which corporations and the very rich buy policies and politicians. Some of us will be launching a petition in the UK in the next few weeks, and I hope you will sign it.

But this is scarcely a beginning. We must start to articulate a new politics: one that sees intervention as legitimate, that contains a higher purpose than corporate emancipation disguised as market freedom, that puts the survival of people and the living world above the survival of a few favoured industries. In other words, a politics that belongs to us, not just the super-rich.

References:

1. See Colin Crouch, 2011. The Strange Non-Death of Neoliberalism. Polity Press, Cambridge.

2. Naomi Klein, 2007. The Shock Doctrine: the rise of disaster capitalism. Allen Lane, London.

3. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/24/us/global-warming-has-begun-expert-tells-senate.html

4. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics, November 2012. Turn Down the Heat: why a 4C warmer World Must be Avoided. Report for the World Bank.

5. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/11/09/364895/iea-global-warming-delaying-action-is-a-false-economy/

6. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, November 2012. Too late for two degrees? Low carbon economy index 2012.

7. http://www.monbiot.com/2011/07/19/an-underground-national-park/

8. http://www.barackobama.com/energy-info/

9.http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121129/debtext/121129-0002.htm

10. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2012-2013/0100/130100.pdf

11. Nicholas Stern, 2006. The Economics of Climate Change.

12. http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/electricity-demand-reduction/7075-electricity-demand-reduction-consultation-on-optio.pdf

13. Susan Solomon, Gian-Kasper Plattner, Reto Knutti, and Pierre Friedlingstein, 10th February 2009. Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions. PNAS, vol. 106, no. 6, pp1704-1709. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0812721106.

14. I’m speaking loosely here, as Solomon et al propose that not 100% but around 40% of the CO2 produced this century will remain in the atmosphere until at least the year 3000. On the other hand, unrestrained emissions and global warming will not stop of their own accord in 2100: temperatures could rise well beyond 6C in the following century: without sharp mitigation now, we’re setting up 1,000 years of utter chaos.

09 December, 2012

Countercurrents.org

Dear Sisters,

We are writing again to you for the 6th time. We realize that all over our country and the world people are speaking for us. As you know the present phase of the struggle that started in August 2011 against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant has gone through so many special and intense moments. Some of which has reached the world, some have not. But for us living in Idinthakarai and Koodankulam villages, we have not respite till we hear that the KKNPP has been shelved. We would also like to see that transparency in decision making and also participation in development programs become part of the democratic process in India. This we have learnt by being here and listening to so many learned thinkers and leaders who have come with support to us. We know that the Nuclear Industry is one ridden with secrets and lies, swamped in corruption and fraud. For this, our own tryst with the implementation of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant is enough testimony.

We write this to share with you a matter that has reached our ears recently and which is troubling us no end. Our three dear sisters who were taken away by Police on September 10, 2012 are in Trichy jail. Now we hear that the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has denied them bail. They have been charged with unlawful assembling, shouting abuses and carrying deadly weapons. We cannot even think for a moment like this about our gentle sisters. We are sure that you remember Xavier Amma lamenting at the Police from the sandy beach drenched in sea water, Sundari shouting slogans in her cracked voice after days of traveling and talking to villagers, Selvi being pushed around. We rub our eyes and pinch ourselves to make sure that these are sights not seen in mindless sleep. No, these are real as the attached photos will not lie. These are images , live and real from a day taken by friends who shared our anguish by being with us. These are images, not worked on in photoshop software or manipulated to prove some vested interest. These are honest copies of our life that speak for themselves.

We are afraid that the trio will be kept indefinitely in captivity so that the morale of all of us here can be broken and trampled upon. While we want to say aloud that we are still strong and convinced, we would also like to convey that we are worried about the future of the 3 sisters. We see their families, pining for them, anxious and restless. We see the faded smiles on the faces of Sundari’s children, the weak but sensitive son of Selvi’s the pain in Xavierammal’s aged mother’s eyes. We all miss them too. If anyone thinks that by treating them like criminals or anti-national suspects, the determination of the women in the movement can be suppressed, they are mistaken.

We have gained strength and energy as we hear from people who have visited them in jail.We are proud that they are holding on conveying to all their companions in the prison the cause they are fighting for. We are inspired by their steadfast courage and will power. We feel that it is permeating through the concrete walls and iron bars of the prison and reaching us.

We wish that all of you would think of the 3 in your prayers. Please come together even as small groups and demand their release. Now it is Sundari, Selvi and Xavierammal. Tomorrow it could be you, me and us.

Do convey this message to the world

With love

Sisters from Idinthakarai

( Conveyed to Anitha.S on 9.11.2011)

 

 

By Richard Falk

9 December 2012

@ Palestine Update Edition 2 No 56

CAIRO (5 December 2012) – Concluding his week-long mission to the region, Mr. Richard Falk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, called on Israel to abide by and fully implement the cease fire agreement that ended the recent crisis with Gaza.

“The initial purpose of my visit was to assess the overall impact of Israel’s prolonged occupation and blockade against the Gaza Strip, which is an integral part of Palestine,” Mr. Falk explained, “however there arose an urgent need to investigate Israel’s seemingly deliberate attacks against seemingly civilian targets during recent hostilities. We visited the sites of attacks and spoke with surviving family members. It is clear that some attacks killed and harmed civilians in a grossly disproportionate manner and thus clearly appear to violate international law.”

The Special Rapporteur continued, “There is a widespread feeling among Palestinians that Israel is above the law, and that Israel is likely to continue to have the benefits of impunity even when it flagrantly violates international humanitarian law. Experience has shown that Israel fails to meet its international obligation to promptly and impartially investigate its own actions. Experience has also shown that Israel is not likely to carry out its obligations under the cease fire agreement; indeed during our visit we heard Israeli warplanes flying directly overhead and received reports of Israeli military incursions into the Gaza Strip.”

For the Special Rapporteur, “Sustained pressure from the international community, including both Governments and civil society, is essential to secure Israel’s the full implementation of the cease fire agreement, without which it is extremely unlikely to hold. Worldwide support for the recent General Assembly resolution that made Palestine a non-Member observer State should serve as a starting point for the more concerted international protection of Palestinian rights.”

The Special Rapporteur stressed that talks to clarify how certain aspects of the cease fire agreement will be implemented, in particular with regard to access to maritime and agricultural resources, must be swiftly concluded. “Every day Palestinian fishermen and farmers risk being shot at or detained by Israeli forces. Already since the agreement was reached, Israel has detained 13 fishermen, confiscated 4 fishing boats and sank another fishing boat. Such actions signal an Israeli intention to maintain the continuity of its coercive style of occupation rather than explore whether implementing the ceasefire, agreement might not lead toward a more relaxed atmosphere and a more hopeful future.”

“At the same time, Palestinians and the international community are confronted with huge challenges to address underlying problems that have been severely aggravated by Israel’s occupation and blockade.” The Special Rapporteur pointed to the urgent need for access to clean water and sanitation, productive agricultural land, and new infrastructure. “We received extensive briefs on what could be done if sufficient resources and political will are made available. One example is the construction of a desalinization plant to meet urgent water and agricultural needs, but in many such cases funding is not forthcoming as donors are reluctant to invest in infrastructure projects that Israel is likely to bomb in one of its periodic large-scale attacks against Gaza.”

According to Mr. Falk, “Unless these underlying problems are addressed soon, it appears that Gaza will be uninhabitable by 2020, as predicted by a recent United Nations report. Some of the experts with whom we spoke actually believe that 2016 is a more reasonable assessment. This indicates the gravity of the human rights crisis in the Gaza Strip.”

The Special Rapporteur noted that his visit to the region consisted of meetings in Cairo and the Gaza Strip, with Governmental, inter-governmental and civil society representatives, as well as victims and witnesses. He received helpful briefings from UNRWA and other United Nations agencies, which provided an in-depth picture of the magnitude of the challenges in Gaza and the difficulties of addressing such challenges in a situation of occupation and blockade. He expressed his special appreciation to the people of Gaza and those international civil servants with whom he spoke for their support and engagement.

Mr. Falk’s next report to the Human Rights Council, which he intends to present in June 2013, will fully address the many concerns that were raised during the mission.

By Ismail Salami

09 December, 2012

@Countercurrents.org

As part of the sinister plan for Syria at work, French military agents have recently held face-to-face meetings with the foreign-backed militants inside the country in a bid to “assess the situation on the ground.”

A report carried by French paper Le Figaro on Friday indicates that “Their main task was to know who controls the battlegrounds around Damascus.”

It seems that a West-orchestrated plan to invade the country is under way and that they are teaming up and gearing up for united military action against the country.

The report adds that the meetings were held last month with the full knowledge of the French government and that the French government wants to know the “operational capacity of each group” and their “political colors.”

To make matters worse, NATO has agreed to deploy Patriot missiles on the Syria-Turkey border under the pretense of defending Turkey as Britain has warned Syria of ‘serious consequences’ if the regime used chemical weapons. All the pieces of the puzzle are being meticulously put together by the ‘foes of Syria’ to lend a cloak of legitimacy to an imminent invasion of the country: that Syria mulls using chemical weapons against its own people and the militants, that the war may spill over into Turkey and that Turkey should be able to defend herself against any potential attacks.

While in Brussels for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting, William Hague, British foreign secretary, said that Britain had delivered a stark message to President Bashar al-Assad, echoing the words of the Obama administration on Monday.

“We are worried about chemical weapons,” said Mr. Hague. “We have become more concerned about them in recent days for the same reasons the US has. We have already sent our own, clear, private message directly to the Syrians about the serious consequences that would follow from the use of those weapons.”

Syria has blasted NATO’S decision to deploy Patriot missiles as “psychological warfare,” saying the new deployment would not deter it from seeking victory over the militants it views as terrorists.

Despite some western countries claiming that NATO’s decision to deploy the missiles shows a low appetite on their part for military intervention, it is to be seen as a strong naked message that the West is indeed gearing up for military intervention.

Syria said the NATO deployment shall not make Assad change course, calling the talk of chemical weapons part of a conspiracy to justify future intervention.

“The Turkish step and NATO’s support for it are provocative moves that constitute psychological warfare,” Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said in an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Manar TV. “But if they think this will affect our determination and work for a decisive victory in this fight against terrorism, they are very wrong.”

He added, “In the event that [foreign powers] actually considered an aggression, they should consider the consequences. I believe the cost will be high…. They need to understand that they are putting the entire region and its environs to danger, if they tried to commit such a folly.”

That Assad will use chemical weapons against his own population or even the militants is a threadbare claim and a feeble excuse concocted by the West to embark on their initial militaristic voyeurism and eventual military expedition. In fact, it is very much reminiscent of Washington’s claim that Iraq was in possession of Weapons of Mass destruction before it launched a military invasion of the country and brought about a human loss of inconceivable degree. Sadly some realities are soon forgotten. An opinion conducted by Opinion Research Business (ORB) on August 12–19, 2007, indicated a human loss of 1,033,000 in Iraq War. Although the range varies between 946,000 to 1,120,000 deaths, the sheer idea of such colossally disastrous human loss is beyond imagination. According to ORB, “48% died from a gunshot wound, 20% from the impact of a car bomb, 9% from aerial bombardment, 6% as a result of an accident and 6% from another blast/ordnance.”

Russia’s new ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko, has de plano perceived some pernicious amount of threat in the move and said, “This is not a threat to us, but this is an indication that NATO is moving towards engagement and that’s it. We see a danger of further involvement of NATO into the situation in Syria as a result of provocation or some border incidents.”

It is cruel but highly likely that West may provide the militants with chemical weapons so they may use them against the Syrians and shift the blame on the Syria government so that they can carry on with their long-though-out plan of invading the country. This idea is further consolidated when we focus on the attention recently accorded to this issue by the US and some western countries. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama have for their parts vowed to take action if Syria uses chemical weapons in the country. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned on Tuesday that any use of chemical weapons by Syria against gunmen would prompt an immediate military response.

The sad truth is that they have already formed their coalition against Syria with even Israel being part of this coalition. According to Hebrew-language Maariv newspaper, Tel Aviv is preparing for such a scenario amid increasing speculation that the US military will intervene in Syria “within days” if chemical weapons are used.

The ‘chemical weapons’ scenario seems to be the best cue for Washington and their western allies in order to gorge the international community on a tacit consent to another military adventurism in the Middle East.

Dr. Ismail Salami is an Iranian writer, Middle East expert, Iranologist and lexicographer. He writes extensively on the US and Middle East issues and his articles have been translated into a number of languages.

By Raghavan Srinivasan

09 December, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

Twenty years back, on the 6th of December, the historical monument called Babri Masjid was destroyed by an armed mob. Developments leading to the destruction were orchestrated by the BJP government of Kalyan Singh in Uttar Pradesh with tacit support from Narasimha Rao’s Congress government at the centre. The criminal act of demolition was followed by widespread and large scale communal violence. The demolition symbolised a turning point in the Indian polity, for the worse.

Historical Context

The demolition had a historical and political context. The Babri Masjid dispute was a Machiavellian creation of the British colonialists who erected a fence in 1859 around the monument, and ordered that Hindus are to enter from the East gate and Muslims from the North gate. For the following 90 years, the British colonial courts allowed petitions from so-called Hindu and Muslim leaders, keeping the dispute smouldering, to be re-ignited whenever required.

After the partition, in the dark night of 22nd December, 1949, an idol of Ram was installed surreptitiously inside the mosque. The interim Government of Nehru immediately proclaimed the premises as a disputed area and locked the gates. The gates remained locked for the next 40 years, until Nehru’s grandson, Rajiv Gandhi, ordered it to be reopened in 1989.

The next three years witnessed a shrill campaign to build a temple for Lord Ram at the site where the Babri Masjid stood. The BJP built up a frenzied atmosphere through Rath Yatras demanding that the Ram temple should be built exactly where the 400-year old monument stood. The Central Government acted as the mediator between self-styled leaders of Hindus and Muslims, purportedly to strike a negotiated deal, but really keeping the dispute alive.

The Political Turning Point

The reason why the gates of the Babri Masjid were reopened after a 40-year hiatus can only be understood in the specific political context of the time. The decade of the eighties was tumultuous. The deepening economic and political crisis stared at us in the face. The old Nehruvian model had run its course and the decade ended with an acute crisis of government finances and external balance of payments. It was a period of intense conflicts and rivalries among different parties and the sectional interests they represented. There was tremendous pressure to push the country onto a path of economic reforms that would launch India into the superpower orbit and acquire world class status for India’s business houses.

The Congress Party headed by Rajiv Gandhi had come to power in 1985 on a communal platform, after the sacrilege of the Golden Temple and the genocide of Sikhs in November 1984. The next five years witnessed two important movements which prepared the political climate for a minority government to push through far-reaching policy reforms while people were otherwise preoccupied. Competing sectarian campaigns provided the justification for the law and order machinery to resort to blatant terror in the name of restoring order. There were agitations for and against the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations on caste-based reservation quotas for the “other backward classes” or OBCs. And in the midst of the ensuing chaos, the vehicle of Rath Yatras was used to launch a campaign for erecting a Ram Mandir at the site where the Babri Masjid stood.

It was a time when major and abrupt changes were taking place across the world, culminating with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the bipolar division of the world. In the new dispensation, with the US pushing for a unipolar world, certain prescriptions were laid down for all countries to follow. It was made clear that there was simply no alternative to liberalisation and privatisation and to multi-party representative democracy. Any country which did not follow these prescriptions would be liable to be branded as a rogue state.

These developments created a conducive atmosphere for a section of the powerful business houses in our country to seize the initiative and launch the liberalisation and privatisation program, aimed at getting India a seat at the high table of major imperialist powers of the world. This was accompanied by diversionary and divisive campaigns to neutralise the growing opposition to the aggressive drive of India Inc.

The BJP harped on the pseudo-secularism of the Congress Party and its “appeasement of Muslims” as being the main problem faced by the country. The Congress Party blamed the religious chauvinist outlook of BJP as being the main danger. The activities of these two parties, who were apparently at loggerheads with one another, tended to polarise public opinion into the Hindutva camp and the Secularist camp. While these camps seemed to have irreconcilable differences, they vied with each other to support the reforms platform.

Political Impact

The demolition of Babri Masjid typified the growing rot in the Indian polity. It meant that the two biggest parties in Parliament could get away with any sort of crime to expand their vote banks. The genocide against Sikhs in 1984, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, had already confirmed the fact that the new economic offensive required a new method of governance as well. The communal violence of 1992-93 marked the institutionalisation of this criminal method of governance.

The Liberhan Commission, which was appointed by the Narasimha Rao government to investigate the destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992, submitted its report after 17 years, in 2009! The report described how the Uttar Pradesh government of Kalyan Singh and top leaders of the BJP were directly involved in the destruction of the monument. But the equally shameful role of the Narasimha Rao government at the centre was downplayed by the Commission. In any case both the Congress and the BJP made sure, through a barrage of accusations and counter-accusations in Parliament at each other — after the Commission released (or rather leaked) its report — that the guilty at the highest levels went scot free.

The fall of the Babri Masjid symbolised not only the mindless destruction of a historical monument but a turning point in the Indian polity for worse. In the new system of governance ushered in by the economic reforms, political parties representing big moneyed interests increasingly resort to criminalisation and communalisation to capture or to retain power. They remain unaccountable to the voters who elected them. They fight proxy battles in Parliament for various business interests and are steeped in corruption.

For all men and women of conscience, the 20th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid is an occasion to dedicate ourselves to see that justice is done; that the guilty of communal violence are punished; and that our polity is cleansed of communalism and communal violence, through radical political reforms to empower the people.

(The author is the President of Lok Raj Sangathan and a political commentator and writer, email: lokrajsangathan@yahoo.com)

US Officials: Washington Decided to Include Jabhet al-Nasra in Terrorist Organizations List

Dec 05, 2012

WASHINGTON DC, (SANA) – US officials said on Wednesday that the US Administration decided to include Jabhet al-Nasra, which is affiliated with Al Qaeda, on the list of terrorist organizations.

Associated Press quoted the officials as saying that this step entails freezing the funds and assets of Jabhet al-Nasra in the US and bodies that are under US judicial jurisdiction, in addition to preventing US citizens from providing this terrorist group with financial supports.

The officials who requested that their names be withheld said that the US Administration hopes that this step would encourage other countries to take similar steps and prevent people from joining this blacklisted group.

The officials said that the US Administration planned to announce this officially this week, but decided to postpone the announcement until it reassures Syrian opposition leaders that this action isn’t directed against them.

Armed Forces Eliminate Jabhat al-Nusra Terrorists, Destroy 23 Caliber Gun-Equipped Vehicle in Damascus Countryside

Dec 05, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA) – Units of the Armed Forces continued on Wednesday pursuing Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists and destroyed a vehicle equipped with 23 caliber cannon, three motorcycles and a van and eliminated all terrorists onboard in al-Ateibeh town in Damascus countryside.

An official source told SANA reporter that a unit of the Armed Forces eliminated terrorists in Zamalka town as they were perpetrating acts of killing and sabotage.

Terrorists Hassan Bakir, Milad Khallaq, Mohammad Maghmoumeh, Khaled Abdul-Aziz and Yehya al-Iassa were identified among the terrorists who were killed.

The source said that the Armed Forces clashed with terrorist groups near al-Zaiytoun roundabout and the Finance Building, al-Kournish Square in Aqraba town.

It added that the clashes resulted in killing many terrorists, including Abdullah al-Naqib, Mahmoud Khoulani, Mohammad Ibrahim Ma’atouq and Anas Abdul-Razzaq al-Naqqab.

The source indicated that the armed forces restored security to Aqraba town and its surrounding after dealing a series of painful blows to the terrorist gatherings in the area.

In a relevant context, an army unit killed a number of terrorists in Shabaa. Terrorist Ahmad Abboud Mashhadani, Khaled Eido Shammout, Abdullah Ammouri, Zaher Abdel-Qader Diab and Yehya al-Zain were identified among the dead.

In Beit Sahm, terrorists Adel al-Asali, Samer al-Sukkari and Bassam al-Barbari were killed.

A unit of the armed forces killed all members of an armed terrorist group at al-Kshak Street in al-Hejjeira town in al-Sayyeda Zainab area, including non-Syrians.

Jabhat al-Nusra affiliated terrorist Mohammad Mustafa and another terrorist called Abu Huzaifa, from Libya, and terrorists Mahmoud Khalili, Nasr Khalifeh and Khaled al-Ajrami, the leader of the so-called “al-Golan Battalion” were killed.

In al-Tadamun neighborhood in Damascus, a unit of the Armed Forces clashed with a terrorist group, killing and injuring many of its members.

Terrorist Attack against Aleppo Gas Station Puts 1,050 Megawatt out of Service

Terrorists attacked Aleppo gas station which feeds turbines to generate electric power in the city, putting 1,050 megawatt out of service.

In a statement to SANA, Minister of Electricity, Imad Khamis, said the terrorists fired shells on the fuel depots at the station, adding that the terrorist attack led to power outage in a number of areas in Aleppo city.

He said that the power outage will continue around the clock in some areas in the city.

The Army continues its national Duty in Aleppo and its Countryside

The armed forces today continued their pursuit operations against terrorists of al-Qaeda-liked Jabhat al-Nusra and their gatherings in Aleppo and its countryside, carrying out qualitative operations leading to the killing of tens of terrorists.

An official source told SANA reporter that units of the armed forces targeted terrorists in Darert Ezza, Handarat, Banes Village, Tal Shaer in Aleppo countryside , killing tens of terrorists and injuring many others in addition to destroying their cars.

In Assfeira area, a unit of the army destroyed a number of dens for terrorists and three cars equipped with weapons and munitions in addition to destroying terrorists’ gatherings in Kfar Naha.

In the city of Aleppo, the Army destroyed gatherings of terrorists in al-Shaar, Vegetable market , Masaken Hananou, Bustan al-Qasr, al-Kalasa and Antayia Door.

Meanwhile, the armed forces pursued terrorists in Bustan al-Basha, killing tens of terrorists and injuring many others, destroying their gatherings.

Armed Forces Kill leader of an armed terrorist group and a number of terrorists in Homs

The Army today carried out qualitative operations against terrorists of Jabhat al-Nusra in Homs and its countryside, inflicting heavy losses upon them.

An official source told SANA reporter that a unit of the Army eliminated tens of terrorists in Jisr al-Qantara in in al-Qseir.

The source added that another army unit killed leader of an armed group and all its members at Jourat al-Shaiyah in Homs.

A citizen Martyred, his Son Injured by Terrorists’ Gunfire in Hasaka

Citizen Abdel-Ahad Bashoura was martyred while his son Yousef was injured by terrorists’ gunfire in Masaken al-Mahatta area in Hasaka city.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that Abdel-Ahad died of a gunshot wound to the head while his son was admitted to hospital, adding that the child is in a critical health condition.

The locals said that the terrorists blocked the way of Bashoura and his son while on their way home, opened fire on them and fled away.

The Army destroys cars carrying a group of terrorists on Qastal Maaf road in Lattakia

A unit of the Army today destroyed 4 cars carrying a group of terrorists on Qastal Maaf road in Lattakia countryside.

A source in Lattakia told SANA reporter that ten terrorists were killed in the operation.

Al-Moallem: Syria Defends its People against Armed Terrorist Attacks

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Walid al-Moallem, stressed that Syria is defending its people against the armed terrorist attacks and the terrorists who come from several countries.

Meeting Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Filippo Grandi on Wednesday, the two sides reviewed cooperation between Syria and the organization in light of the attack launched against Syria.

Minister al-Moallem stressed that Syria will not delay in providing help to the UNRWA.

Al-Moallem briefed Grandi on the conspiracy hatched against Syria, indicating that the armed terrorist groups are destroying the infrastructure of the Syrian economy, terrifying civilians, killing them and committing crimes against them in line with the war they waged against the Syrian Arab Army.

He referred to the terrorist attack against al-Bteiha School in al-Wafideen Camp in Damascus Countryside on Tuesday which led to the martyrdom of nine students and a teacher.

In turn, Grandi expressed appreciation for the aid provided by the Syrian government to the Palestinian refugees.

He stressed that the UNRWA is still working in Syria, rejecting all attempts to get the Palestinian refugees involved in the crisis in Syria.

Grandi added that the Palestinians’ main cause is their adherence to the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights.

Earlier, Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad met Grandi. Mikdad stressed the importance of preserving the UNRWA services provided to the Palestinian refugees.

Information Minister: Escalation of Media Campaign against Syria is due to Armed Terrorist Groups’ Defeat

Dec 05, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Minister of information, Omran al-Zoubi, stressed that the escalation of the frantic media campaign launched by the conspirators against Syria is because their armed terrorist groups are being defeated under the strikes of the Syrian Arab army which is making progress in all areas.

Al-Zoubi’s remarks came as the Balance and Budget Committee at the People’s Assembly was discussing the Information Ministry’s report on its investment plan for the year 2013 which amounts to SYP 1,986 billion.

He pointed out to the necessity of supporting the various establishments affiliated with the Information Ministry in light of a plan to establish media centers in cooperation between the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) and the General Establishment of Radio and TV and supporting the media center in Moscow.

Al-Zoubi noted the importance of moral and financial support given to the Ministry through the People’s Assembly in spite of the economic challenges and their repercussions on the budget.

The Minister added that the Information Ministry needs more expenses currently due to the enormous damages which hit its establishments and infrastructure as a result of the armed terrorist groups’ attacks on the Syrian Arab TV and al-Ikhbariya channel, in addition to the need to produce films that suit the current stage.

He pointed out that the Government Statement concerning the Information Ministry focuses on working to change the conception of media to become “the media of the state, institutions, citizens and genuine issues of the people.”

Al-Zoubi added that the media should express the reality and aspirations of the citizens, pointing out that the current crisis imposed new standards to deal with corruption.

He reiterated that there is no ‘veto’ against anyone to appear in the public media, calling on all members of the People’s Assembly to be guests on the national media.

The Minister stressed that Syria has never been fragmented or changed throughout history, adding that the new attempts of the conspirators against Syria will not succeed in spite of the high cost of destruction and sabotage.

He pointed out that the Ministry has alternatives in case Eutelsat ceased transmission of the Syrian channels because of the sanctions imposed on the national media means, explaining that the Russian satellite EM44 will broadcast the Syrian channels without changing the dish.

Interpositions of the Balance and Budget committee members focused on the necessity of producing TV programs that face the conspiracy hatched against Syria and supporting the Syrian drama morally and financially.

They called for training media staff and increasing the number of reporters and extending TV and radio centers.

Directors of media institutions reviewed the work situation of their institutions and the challenges they are facing.

Director-General of the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) stressed that the Agency has field reporters who accompany the Syrian Arab army units in all provinces to relay the true image of what is happening.

He pointed out that the agency is working on new projects to be implemented next year concerning launching a satellite channel in cooperation with the Information Ministry and the Syrian Arab TV, in addition to establishing a new website.

For his part, Director-General of the General Commission of Radio and TV said the ministry and the commission are working to update news programs, pointing out that the sabotage which hit the radio and TV centers hindered the flow of information from these centers.

UN Secretary General Calls for Political Solution in Syria and Ending Violence and Battles in It

Dec 05, 2012

KUWAIT, (SANA) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for reaching a political solution in Syria and ceasing violence immediately in it.

In a press conference in Kuwait on Wednesday, Ki-moon said that violence and battles must stop immediately in Syria, and that the military option cannot be a sure solution, affirming that all unresolved issues must be dealt with through political means.

He said that the continuation of the crisis in Syria is utterly unacceptable, voicing concern over the escalating situation in it.

Ki-moon is visiting Kuwait as part of a tour in the region. He is due to visit Bagdhad on Thursday.

 

UN: Armed Opposition in Syria Pose Threat to Peacekeeping Forces in the Golan

Dec 05, 2012

NEW YORK, (SANA) –United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, said that the armed opposition in Syria pose a threat to the safety of the international forces stationed in the occupied Syrian Golan.

In a press conference held on Wednesday in Paris, Ladsous said that the situation in Syria “sparked a cascade of insecurity which has had consequences highlighted by the presence of armed groups belonging to the Syrian opposition in the disengagement zones.”

He added “we will reinforce security, most notably with armored vehicles and we plan to send more political advisers to analyze the situation on the ground.”

Larijani: Solution in Syria Should be through Dialogue, Halting Terrorism

Dec 05, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA) – Speaker of Iranian Shura Council, Ali Larijani stressed that the solution in Syria should be through national dialogue among the Syrians, in addition to halting terrorism and stopping the arms and money supply to the terrorists.

Larijani remarks came during a meeting with the Syrian Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Subhi al-Abdullah, in Tehran.

He stressed that Syria is facing a huge conspiracy and it is paying the price of its stances in support of the resistance, adding that “we should support Syria because it is in the front line.

Larijani asserted the need for conducting the national dialogue away from foreign intervention, reiterating the Shura Council’s support to the Iranian government’s decisions in support of the Syrian government and people.

He pointed out to the enemies’ frustration over the steadfastness of the Syrian people in the face of the western-U.S. targeting of their country.

In turn, Minister al-Abdullah stressed the Syrian government’s determination to carry out reforms and confront terrorism which targets the Syrian people and their properties and infrastructure, adding that the government has called for holding a dialogue under the umbrella of the homeland.

Al-Abdullah reviewed what has been achieved over the past two days in terms of cooperation with Iranian institutions in the field of agriculture, food industries and livestock.

He underlined the importance of unifying efforts to push bilateral cooperation forward and strengthen Syria’s steadfastness against what it is facing.

Minister al-Abdullah and the accompanying delegation held several talks with his Iranian counterpart Sadeq Khalilian, with the two sides stressing the need for activating trade exchange in the field of agricultural fertilizers, olive oil and citrus.

Rahimi: Dialogue is the Only Way to Resolve Crisis in Syria

In a speech during the 11th meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said that the crisis in Syria can only be solved through political methods and dialogue.

Rahimi warned against the consequences of arming terrorist groups in Syria and the militarization of the crisis, affirming that is doesn’t help resolve the situation; rather it makes the situation in the region more complicated and expands violence.

Russian Foreign Ministry: Targeting Children in Syria Unjustified, Terrorists and Foreign Powers are Responsible

Dec 05, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – The Russian Foreign Ministry said targeting children at school in Syria is unjustified and terrorists and the foreign powers which support them are to blame for this.

The Russian Ministry’s remarks came in a statement commenting on the armed terrorist group’s firing shells on a school in al-Wafideen Camp in Damascus Countryside yesterday.

The statement pointed out that there is no justification whatsoever for killing children and destroying schools and hospitals, adding that those who carry out these terrorist acts are criminals and deserve the harshest penalties and the foreign sides which support the terrorists are to blame.

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed condolences to the families of all children who were martyred and condemned all forms of terrorism.

9 children and a teacher were martyred as terrorists targeted with shells a school in al-Wafideen Camp in Damascus Countryside

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Chris Marsden

05 December, 2012

@ WSWS.org

Protests Tuesday against the dictatorial powers assumed by Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on November 22 and his efforts to ram through a new constitution via a referendum scheduled for December 15 culminated in a massive march on the presidential palace.

Outside the presidential palace protesters cut through a barbed wire and police fired tear gas in response. Mursi quit the palace amid fighting between protesters and hundreds of police.

The march began from several mosques and converged towards the Itihadiya palace in Heliopolis. “Freedom or we die,” chanted protesters. Others chanted, “Mohammed Morsi! Illegitimate! Brotherhood! Illegitimate!” Still others shouted, “Down with the sons of dogs. We are the power and we are the people,” and “The people want the downfall of the regime.”

Large numbers also gathered in Tahrir Square and a major protest was held in Egypt’s second city Alexandria.

Earlier protests had mobilised over 200,000 on Tahrir Square on November 27 and November 30. In addition, thousands of workers from Misr Spinning in Mahalla al-Kubra protested last week along with local residents in a 5,000-strong demonstration that ended in pitched battles with supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood responded with a national mobilisation on December 1, followed by a siege of the Supreme Constitutional Court December 2. That body, dominated by Mubarak-era loyalists, was expected to declare the constitutional assembly that passed the pro-Islamic draft charter illegitimate and disband the Shura Council, parliament’s upper house. The judges responded by declaring a strike.

Mursi’s November 22 decree placed his decisions beyond judicial oversight and barred any judicial body from dissolving the Islamist-dominated body that drafted and approved the new constitution.

On Monday, a rift emerged within the judiciary when top judges on the Supreme Judicial Council said they would ensure judicial supervision of the referendum. This was against demands for a boycott by a thousand judges, members of the Egyptian Judges Club, who had declared a boycott of the referendum Sunday. Al Zind from the Judges Club countered claims that the statement of the Supreme Judicial Council was proof of acceptance of Mursi’s move by insisting that 90 percent of judges were refusing to participate “but there are also Muslim Brotherhood judges.”

The Egyptian and world media also reported as a significant breakthrough for Mursi a meeting Sunday of the electoral commission, also led by senior judges. But Yousseri Abdel-Karim, a former spokesman of the electoral commission, said the meeting had to take place for legal reasons and did not mean that judges would oversee the referendum. “Judges don’t retreat and we fear nothing, and we will not change our position,” he said.

Protests were also mounted involving the refusal of at least 12 major independent newspapers and four television stations to publish or broadcast Tuesday and/or today. Article 48 of the draft constitution supports freedom of the press, but adds the caveat that “there may be an exception in times of war or national mobilization.”

The protest also spread to state-controlled media, with staff of the Internet edition of al-Ahram marching Monday to the journalists’ union in central Cairo. On Sunday, state television presenter Hala Fahmy carried a white shroud while hosting a current affairs program and was taken off the air. She told viewers, “We have to tell the truth whatever the price is.”

Despite the scale of popular opposition, Mursi has been emboldened by calculations that his liberal and secular opponents are unwilling to risk escalating a conflict that could get out of their control and threaten the interests of the entire Egyptian bourgeoisie. The eruption of an insurgent movement of the working class of the type that brought down Hosni Mubarak in 2011 is anathema to both sides of the bitter factional conflict that has erupted within ruling circles.

In a piece written for the Financial Times, Mohamed ElBaradei, the coordinator of the opposition National Salvation Front, insisted that Mursi had to rescind his decree, drop plans for the referendum and agree on a new, more representative constituent assembly to draft a democratic constitution. But ElBaradei added a warning: “If they [the Muslim Brotherhood] continue to try, they risk an eruption into violence and chaos that will destroy the fabric of Egyptian society.”

The National Salvation Front was formed by ElBaradei along with the Nasserist Dignity Party leader and presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi and the former Mubarak-regime stalwart Amr Moussa.

Emad Gad, a leader of the Social Democratic Party, spoke of plans for “a permanent coalition” of opposition groups, but added, “I’m afraid of a confrontation. I do not want to use the term civil war.”

The opposition’s official statement on yesterday’s marches stressed that their aim was confined to sending “a message to President Mohammad Mursi that he has to listen to the national opposition, who is keen to fulfil the objectives of the revolution.”

The Islamists ultimately base themselves on the tacit backing of the United States and other imperialist powers, who view the Brotherhood as a vital regional ally in Tunisia, Libya, Syria and elsewhere, as well as in Egypt, where they expect it to safeguard their substantial investments from any threat from below. To this end they all want Mursi’s constitution, with its measures safeguarding military rule and allowing for repression, to be passed, whatever their pro-forma concerns about sharia law, women’s rights, separation of powers and the like.

Even as the Supreme Court was being surrounded by protesters Sunday, Prime Minister Hisham Qandeel was announcing his policies to enhance “the business environment in the coming period and its commitment to all international agreements in all areas… thus making Egypt an ideal destination for foreign direct investments.”

He spoke by video to the National United States-Arab Chamber of Commerce, insisting that trade with the US “will be crucial for all world countries in the coming period.” He boasted that the trade exchange between Egypt and the US reached $8.2 billion in 2011 and US investments in Egypt reached $14.5 billion.

The Cairo stock market made gains on news that the referendum would go ahead despite what Mohamed Radwan at Pharos Securities derided as “all the noise and demonstrations that might take place until then.”

For its part, the mouthpiece of the British liberal bourgeoisie, the Guardian, urged the opposition parties to act in accordance with the essential requirement to return Egypt to political stability so that social unrest can be quelled and profits restored.

It called on Mursi’s opponents, “secular, liberal and Christian,” to recognise that, for all its faults, the draft constitution was “a mixed bag” that did not merit “walkouts, months of paralysis.” The commentary continued: “Both sides have forgotten what happened 22 months ago when Egyptians put aside their sectarian identities on entering Tahrir Square and waved the national flag instead. In the name of that flag, those who claim to be democrats need to rediscover the long forgotten art of compromise.”

Compromise is not what motivates the hundreds of thousands of working people who took to the streets of Cairo yesterday. Still less does it motivate Mursi and his supporters. What is urgently required is a socialist political leadership that articulates the independent interests of workers and youth rather than those of rival factions of the capitalist class, all of which seek to exploit the workers and hide their own aims behind hollow democratic and nationalist rhetoric.

Now that the explosions have stopped, we are obligated to delve into the truth behind Operation Pillar of Defense.

By Reuven Pedatzur

4 December, 2012

@ www.haaretz.com

The real story behind Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza has not yet been investigated, but now that the explosions have stopped, we are obligated to delve into the truth. The decision to kill Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari, which was the opening shot of the operation, was made even though he was involved in negotiations on signing a long-term cease-fire agreement.

A few hours before he was assassinated, he had received a draft of an agreement for a permanent cease-fire with Israel, and he was apparently expected to reply to it affirmatively. The indirect contacts with Jabari had taken place over the course of months via Hamas’ deputy foreign minister, Ghazi Hamad, with the knowledge and consent of Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

These contacts with Hamas were conducted by Gershon Baskin, who served as an intermediary in the deal for the return of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Baskin had reported his progress toward a draft agreement to the members of a special committee appointed by Barak back in May, a panel that also included representatives of other government ministries.

In other words, our decision makers, including the defense minister and perhaps also Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, knew about Jabari’s role in advancing a permanent cease-fire agreement. Jabari was the strongman of the Gaza Strip – Israel’s “subcontractor,” as Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn characterized him – so Hamad submitted each draft prepared with Baskin to Jabari for approval.

Also party to the negotiations on a permanent cease-fire were Egyptian intelligence officials. Some of the meetings between Baskin and Hamad took place in Cairo. These Egyptian intelligence officials were in constant contact with Barak’s envoys, so one would assume that in addition to Baskin, they too were informing Israel of their impressions of the progress in the talks on a draft agreement.

At no point in the negotiations between Baskin and Hamad was the former ever told to stop.

Moreover, about a week before Jabari’s assassination, Israeli military officials asked permission from their commanders to meet with Baskin and get a briefing. This permission was denied.

Thus the decision to kill Jabari shows that our decision makers decided a cease-fire would be undesirable for Israel at this time, and that attacking Hamas would be preferable. It seems a view had developed that Israel needed to strengthen its deterrence against Hamas rather than reach agreement with it on a period of calm. In the view of the defense establishment and the prime and defense ministers’ bureaus, a cease-fire agreement might have undermined Israel’s deterrence and weakened its image of resolve. Bolstering its deterrence, in this view, would be achieved by killing Jabari, who was liable to respond affirmatively to the offer of a long-term cease-fire.

In this way, Israel’s leaders killed three birds with one stone: They assassinated the man who had the power to make a deal with Israel; they took revenge on someone who had caused more than a few Israeli casualties; and they signaled to Hamas that communications with it will be conducted only through military force.

Quite aside from the fact that the results of Operation Pillar of Defense didn’t meet the expectations of those who launched it, the decision makers must answer one important question: If they knew it was possible to reach a cease-fire agreement (whose provisions, incidentally, were better than those of the agreement reached after the operation ) without going to war, why did they assassinate Jabari, and thereby also assassinate the chances of achieving calm without shooting? Is it possible, heaven forbid, that Barak and Netanyahu feared the opportunity to conduct a military operation at the end of their government’s term would elude them, and that’s why they ordered Jabari’s liquidation?

To keep us from suspecting their motives, the prime minister and defense minister must explain their considerations and decisions in the Jabari affair.