Change in Syria leads to same old killing and oppression
Image via WikipediaTheoretically, yesterday was the first day that Syrians had the right to demonstrate without arrest and im prisonment under a State of Emergency imposed 48 years ago. It was also the first test of President Bashar al-Assad's televised promises of a "serious process of reform."There is more.
By evening in Damascus, it was clear that the dreaded State of Emergency is more firmly in place than ever and that Assad's promises weren't worth the TV time spent on them.
Worse still, the day ended with the death of 67 demonstrators, most of them shot by government snipers from the ruling Alawite minority. According to human-rights groups, at least 300 others were injured and hundreds more arrested.
The day began with the state-owned media repeating Assad's warnings that no more demonstrations would be "tolerated under any circumstances." Government television kept beaming images of military units taking positions in the capital and other major cities -- including Homs and Banias, where an atmosphere of popular insurrection has reigned since last week.
According to Syrian sources, some of the units brought in to crush the uprising had been withdrawn from the ceasefire line with Israel just outside the Golan Heights. For the first time in four decades, the Assad clique concluded that it needed its troops more for killing Syrians than threatening the Israelis.
Formally ratified by Syria's fake parliament 48 hours earlier, the lifting of the State of Emergency was instantly accompanied with the passage of new laws imposing even more draconian limits on freedom of expression.
To demonstrate, people now have to apply for a special permit from the Ministry of the Interior in consultation with security services. Since no limit is put on the length of time the ministry can take to deliver a permit, an application might remain "under consideration" forever.
Under another new measure, anyone "suspected of undermining national security" can be arrested and held indefinitely. This makes things worse than under the State of Emergency -- which, in theory at least, stipulated that those arrested be charged within a maximum of one year.
...
The Syrian uprising comes from a broad cross section of religious and ethnic groups including the Christians who emphasized the connection to Good Friday. The Damascus entity has tried to tie the uprising to al Qaeda, but that is not the style of the Islamic religious bigots and certainly the call for freedom and democracy is not what they want. Assad has just traded one form of Draconian rules for another and the change is a distinction without a difference for the most part.
If the Syrians are pulling troops off the Golan heights it shows how much stress the security forces are in their attempts to control the people of Syria. With the snipers targeting non combatant protesters, the subsequent funerals will become another occasion for more demonstrations. The government is trying to reinstate fear, but it is not working.
In my opinion, Syrian protests are a disgrace to the whole country. People of Syria are destroying their own country without any good reason. I hope they grow up soon!
ReplyDeletehttp://eseaf.com/blog/7216-protests-in-syria-a-disgrace-for-the-country.html
Eagle