Syrian News on Jan 4, 2012
Masses Gather in Damascus and Deir Ezzour to Express Adherence to National Unity, Rejection of Foreign Interference.
DAMASCUS/DEIR EZZOUR, (SANA)- Stressing national unity and rejecting foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs, thousands of citizens on Tuesday gathered at Sabaa Bahrat Square in Damascus.
The participants chanted slogans reflecting adherence to the independent national decision and the comprehensive reform program led by President Bashar al-Assad.
They affirmed the importance of confronting the armed terrorist groups and the pressures facing Syria with the aim of dissuading it from its pan-Arab resistance track.
They held the national flag and banners expressing support to the reform process, chanting national songs which affirm their adherence to the national unity and their support to the Syrian army in face of the armed terrorist groups.
The participants also condemned the terrorist acts perpetrated by the armed terrorist groups who have intimidated the citizens and deprived them of security and stability.
They asserted their love to their homeland and the Syrian army who has restored peace and normal life to their city.
They expressed rejection of the foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs, stressing that the homeland will overcome the current crisis stronger than ever through the steadfastness and awareness of its people.
Citizen Jamil Ahmad Mohammd said that the Syrian people are able to foil all the conspiracies which aim at undermining Syria’s national and pan-Arab stances through their awareness and their adherence to the national unity.
He indicated that the process of reform will enhance Syria’s role in confronting all the suspicious plots which its enemies are trying to impose on the region’s nations.
For her part, Rasha al-Hafez affirmed the unity of the Syrian people in face of the conspiracy which tries to hinder the process of reform that would lead to more progress and prosperity.
She hailed the role of the army in protecting the citizens and the properties in face of the armed terrorist group.
Child Judi Subih said “We love our country and we hope that peace will prevail in it, expressing appreciation of the Syrian Arab which defends the homeland and its people.
Chinese Citizen Yusef Weal expressed love to Syria and support to its people in face of the conspiracy which aims at undermining their steadfastness and their national and pan-Arab stances.
In Deir Ezzor, Huge masses flocked to al-Qurieh City to express support to national unity and the independent national decision.
Participants in the rally voiced support to the comprehensive reform program led by President Bashar al-Assad and rejection of the foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs.
Terrorist Attack against Gas-pipeline Causing Loss of 4-megawatt per hour of Electricity
DAMASCUS/DARAA, (SANA)_ An armed terrorist group launched a sabotage attack against a gas-pipeline passing nearby al-Rastan City.
The pipeline, set ablaze and exploded by an explosive charge, feeds al-Zara and al-Zaizoun electricity generation stations.
An official source at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources stated to SANA that Zaizoun Electricity Generation Station was put out of service because the attacked pipeline, a 24-inch diameter, has no substitute.
The flow of gas in the pipeline was halted and all necessary measures as to repair it are underway, the source added. Meantime, an official source in the Ministry of Electricity stated that this terrorist explosion caused the loss of 4-megawatt per hour of electricity, which would lead to an increase of electricity rationalization by an additional hour.
Today’s terrorist attack against gas-pipelines is the fourth of its kind causing the loss of about 800 megawatt of electricity power.
Law-Enforcement Member Martyred, 5 Injured, Dentist Kidnapped
In Daraa, Majd Hashim Wanous, a Law-Enforcement member, was martyred and 5 others were injured as an explosive device blew up near Mihajja Bridge, Daraa Countryside.
SANA correspondent was informed that the bridge was badly damaged by the explosion. An official source told SANA correspondent that the explosion targeted a law-enforcement patrol, adding that the explosion was accompanied with heavy gunfire which led to the martyrdom of Sergeant Major Majd Hashim Wannous and injuring 5 other members.
In the same context, an armed terrorist group kidnapped Dentist Adnan Shhadeh in Maart al-Numan in Idleb.
An official source in the Province told SANA Correspondent that three gunmen driving a car and a motorcycle kidnapped Dr. Shhadeh while he was near his house which is located close to the Maart al-Numan Cultural Center and took him to unknown destination.
Armed Group Targets Bridge between Rastan and Highway
An armed terrorist group exploded the bridge linking Rastan City in Homs Countryside with the highway as the bridge was severely damaged.
SANA Correspondent said that the aforementioned bridge was exploded through using a bomb at about 03:45 am and no human casualties were reported while the material causalities are estimated at SYP 20 million.
The Correspondent added that a team of the Arab League Observers inspected the damages caused by the explosion.
Freeing Kidnapped Citizen after being abducted for Week
The competent authorities in Homs freed citizen Samira Ibrahim who has been kidnapped for about a week near Kreash Resturant in al-Dablan Neighborhood in the City.
Citizen Samira resides in al-Walid Suburb in Homs and she works at Firzat Company for Private Development.
Armed group kills a driver in Hama
Driver, Ahmad al-Hamroush, was martyred on Tuesday in Hama countryside after an armed terrorist group fired at him.
SANA correspondent was informed that the armed terrorist group opened fire at the car on the high way which led to wounding the driver. The driver works for al-Baath Arab Socialist Party sub-division in Hama countryside.
Three Army and Police Martyrs Laid to Rest
HOMS, (SANA)- Three army and police martyrs were escorted from Homs Military Hospital to their final resting place after they were targeted by armed terrorist groups in Homs and Idleb while they were in the line of duty.
Solemn processions were held for the martyrs as they were carried up on the shoulders of their colleagues covered with the national flag while the Military Band was playing the music of the “Martyr” and the “Farewell.”
The martyrs are:
-Sergeant Conscript Ahmad Hasan Gharbi, from Homs.
-Conscript Mohammed Alaa-Eddin Mohammed Kheir Ballour, from Damascus Countryside.
– Policeman Rami Sami Khallouf, from Homs.
Families of the martyrs expressed confidence that the Syrian people will overcome the crisis through adhering to the national unity, stressing that their son’s sacrifices will fortify Syria in face of the challenges.
Cabinet Approves Executive Instructions of Media Law
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – During a session chaired by Prime Minister Adel Safar, the Cabinet approved on Tuesday the executive instructions of the media law issued in 2011.
The instructions include clarifications on some articles of the decree and the mechanisms to implement it such as the rights of journalists and the mechanisms of the National Media Council.
The Cabinet also approved the plan of the Tourism Ministry for the coming stage which aim at enhancing tourism to support the national economy and create job opportunities.
Arab League Observers Continue Visits and Tours, Al-Khudeir Calls for Not Making Hasty Judgment over Work of Observer Mission
GOVERNORTAES/ CAPITALS, (SANA)_Teams of Arab League observer mission on Tuesday continued tours and visits to the Syrian Cities.
A team of observers visited Salqin Village in Idleb and met with citizens. Another group visited Baba Amro neighborhood, al-Rastan in Homs and al-Sabeel neighborhood in Daraa and met locals there.
Earlier, teams of Arab League Observer mission on Monday visited al-Rastan, Baba Amro neighborhood in Homs and continued tours in Daraa al-Balad.
Another group of observers visited al-Hamidiyyah and al-Andalus neighborhoods , Ma’r Shehur Village in Hama.
In Idleb, observer mission teams visited the areas of Harem, Salqin, Armanaz and Kafr Takharim and met locals.
Another team toured the town of Daraya in Damascus Countryside.
Al-Khudeir Calls for Not Making Hasty Judgment over Work of Observer Mission
Head of the Arab League observer mission to Syria operating room Ambassador Adnan al-Khudeir voiced the League’s commitment to carrying out the mission protocol, calling on all sides to not make hasty judgment over the results of the mission before it completes its tasks.
In a statement on Tuesday, al-Khudeir said that a team of Arab observers will join the mission in Damascus according to the agreed-upon plan for increasing the number of areas in which observers will be deployed, adding that efforts have started to bear fruit.
On a relevant note, the Arab League announced that the Arab Ministerial Committee will convene on Saturday at the League headquarters to study the preliminary report of the head of the observer mission.
Washington Anticipates Events regarding Work of AL Monitors Mission in Syria
In a flagrant ignoring of the Arab League (AL) General Secretariat’s repeated calls for not making hasty judgment over the work of the AL observer mission, the White House on Tuesday accused Syria of not respecting the commitments it made to the League regarding its mission.
Such an accusation, the like of which was not made by the monitors who are working on the ground, constitutes clear evidence on Washington’s hostile intentions against Syria in terms of targeting its security and stability.
The AFP quoted the White House spokesman Jay Carney as saying “it is clear that the requirements of the Arab League protocol have not been met,” after 16 days since Syria’s signing of the protocol and the arrival of the monitors.
Carney referred to the continuation of what he called “sniper fire, torture, and murder in Syria”, without even mentioning anything about the crimes being perpetrated against the Syrian citizens and the public and private properties by the armed terrorist groups that his country called for not handing over their weapons.
The White House Spokesman’s accusation of Syria of failing to comply with the requirements of the protocol came a day after the AL Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi stated that the Arab observers have made some achievements and called for not anticipating the events.
US State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in November advised the gunmen in Syria not to turn themselves in to the Syrian authorities in response to an offer of amnesty issued by the Syrian Interior Ministry.
Egypt’s Permanent Representative to AL: We Reject any Foreign Interference in Syria’s Internal Affairs
CAIRO, (SANA)- Egypt’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League Afifi Abdul Wahab stressed his country’s rejection of any foreign interference in the Syrian internal affairs.
In a press statement on Tuesday, Abdul Wahab said that Egypt supports Arab consensus to resolve the crisis in Syria, as was earlier confirmed by its foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr that Egypt backs the Arab solution to the crisis, rejects any foreign interference or resorting to a military solution and considers the political solution that is based on dialogue under the umbrella of the Arab League as the right way to solve the Syrian crisis.
The Egyptian Representative pointed out that the priority for the Egyptian diplomacy now is the necessity of preventing more bloodshed, ending all forms of killing and violence, preserving the unity and sovereignty of the Syrian state and its people’s resources and supporting the Syrians’ right to freedom and reform.
Abdul Wahab noted that Egypt is participating in the Arab League observer mission to Syria with a 10-member delegation and was the first Arab country to present a list of the names of its delegation to the League.
Canadian Researcher: US Targeting Syria to Change Region’s Geo-Political Reality
OTTAWA, (SANA) – Canadian writer and researcher Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya said that the encirclement of Syria has long been in the works since 2001, and that the permanent NATO presence in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Syrian Accountability Act are part of this initiative, adding that this roadmap is based on a 1996 Israeli document aimed at controlling Syria. The document’s name is “A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm.”
In an article published on the Canadian website globalresearch.ca, Nazemroaya said that the 1996 Israeli document, which included prominent U.S. policy figures as authors, calls for “rolling back Syria” in 2000 or afterward. The roadmap outlines pushing the Syrians out of Lebanon, diverting the attention of Damascus by using an anti-Syrian opposition in Lebanon, and then destabilizing Syria with the help of Turkey and other Arab countries, in addition to creating the March 14 Alliance and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
He said that the first step towards this was the war on Iraq and its balkanization, fomenting sectarian divisions as a means of conquering Syria and creating a regional alliance against it.
Nazemroaya noted that the US initiated a naval build-up off the Syrian and Lebanese coasts, which is part of Washington’s standard scare tactics that it has used as a form of intimidation and psychological warfare against Iran, Syria, and the Resistance Bloc, all while the mainstream media networks controlled by Arab clients of the US are focusing on the deployment of Russian naval vessels to Syria, which can be seen as a counter-move to NATO.
He also said that the city of al-Ramtha in Jordan is being used to launch attacks into Daraa and Syrian territory, adding that Turkish and Lebanese media said that France has sent its military trainers into Turkey and Lebanon to prepare conscripts against Syria, and that the so-called Free Syrian Army and other NATO-GCC front organizations are also using Turkish and Jordanian territory to stage raids into Syria, and Lebanon is also being used to smuggle weapon shipments into Syria.
Nazemroaya that there are companies that have not left Syria and are actually used to siphon money out of Syria, with the goal of preventing any money from going in, while they want to also drain the local economy as a catalyst to internal implosion in Syria.
He said that Turkey ” Ankara has been playing a dirty game,” as Turkey initially pretended to be neutral during the start of NATO’s war against Libya while it was helping the Transitional Council in Benghazi, stressing that Erdogan’s government does not care about the Syrian population but rather wants Syria to submit to Washington’s demands, adding that Turkey has been responsible for recruiting fighters against Syria.
“For several years Ankara has been silently trying to de-link Syria from Iran and to displace Iranian influence in the Middle East. Turkey has been working to promote itself and its image amongst the Arabs, but all along it has been a key component of the plans of Washington and NATO. At the same time, it has been upgrading its military capabilities in the Black Sea and on its borders with Iran and Syria,” Nazemroaya wrote, adding that Turkey also agreed to upgrade Turkish bases for NATO troops.
He affirmed that it’s no mere coincidence that Senator Joseph Lieberman started demanding at the start of 2011 that the Pentagon and NATO attack Syria and Iran, nor is it a coincidence that Tehran has been included in the recent Obama Administration sanctions imposed against Damascus, saying that Damascus is being targeted as a means of targeting Iran and, in broader terms, weakening Tehran, Moscow, and Beijing in the struggle for control over the Eurasian landmass.
Nazemroaya said that the US leaving Iraq will cement the Resistance Bloc, dealing major strategic blows to Israel and the US, stressing that Washington is working to creare a new geo-political reality by eliminating Syria, in addition to activating the so-called “Coalition of the Moderate” that it created under George W. Bush Jr. and directing it against Iran, Syria, and their regional allies.
“For half a decade Washington has been directing a military arms build-up in the Middle East aimed at Iran and the Resistance Bloc,” he said, noting that the US sent massive arms shipments to countries in the region including Israel Israel and started to openly discuss murdering figures, all of which constitutes a pathway towards possible military escalation that could go far beyond the boundaries of the Middle East and suck in Russia and China, and their allies.
Candlelight Sit-in in front of Turkish Consulate in Aleppo
ALEPPO, (SANA) – A group of Syrian youth in Aleppo on Tuesday evening staged a candlelight sit-in in front of the Turkish Consulate in the governorate under the title “A Stand in Honor of Victims of Erdogan’s Missiles”.
The founders of Aleppo’s Youth Gathering said that the sit-in conveys a message to the Turkish people that Syria’s youths stand by them against the injustice of Premier Rejeb Tayyip Erdogan, adding that the one who takes freedom away from his people has no right to demand freedom from others.
The participants said that the sit-in is a message that the Syrians are free and proud people who reject servility and give lessons in freedom to the whole world.
Syrian Human Rights Network Condemns Terrorist Attacks against Gas Pipeline and Bridge in Homs
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The Syrian Human Rights Network condemned the two sabotage acts, carried out by armed terrorist groups on Tuesday morning, that targeted the gas pipeline which feeds al-Zara and al-Zaizoun electricity generating stations near al-Rastan City in Homs Countryside and the bridge linking al-Rastan City with the highway.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Network considered the two acts as violation of the Syrian citizens’ rights and breach of the international legitimacy and human rights, stressing that such attacks are condemned by all international laws.
The network criticized the silence of the human rights organizations towards such acts, saying that this silence comes in line with the instigation of violence and enhances the double standards policy on one hand and exposes these organizations’ mixing of the legal and political aspects on the other hand.
Terrorist Confesses to Planting Explosive Device under a Private Car in Damascus
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Terrorist Mohammad Habbal confessed on Tuesday to planting an explosive device under a private car in Damascus city, however, security forces managed to dismantle it.
Habbal told the Syrian TV that he and his friend went to Nahr Aisha suburb in Damascus city and planted an explosive device under a Peugeot car under the pretext that the owner of the car used to fire at protesters.
He added that his friend told him to wait for the car to move and then use the remote control to make it explode, but he did not accept to do that.
He said that he went back along with his friend who called a person with a Chana car to take them away, adding that the car broke down on the way as security forces saw them, asked them for their IDs and found out the remote control.