What is happening in Syria today?
Uploaded by VestnikKavkaza on 22.08.2011
Transcript:
What is happening in Syria today?
-
As a result of our discussion we would like to have some understanding of what is happening today in Syria and what are we to expect in the next future.
-
Ali Salim Asad, editor-in-chief of "Eastern Express":
-
At first, I would like to focus on one very important aspect: we cannot deny the existence of a number of reasons and origins of the unrest in the Middle East and in Syria in particular
-
which is not denied by the Syrian authorities. We observe the following picture:
-
a group of peaceful demonstrators with posters is joined by a group of armed men who assault the authorities and provoke them for response actions.
-
We observe a similar situation in Libya. It is different from situation in Tunisia, Egypt and even in Yemen in the beginning.
-
From the start there were attempts to create a base in Libya similar to the one in Benghazi in order to use it for the intervention in the country
-
which indicates to the trajectory of movement of this unrest along the borders of Syria with neighboring countries.
-
Libya used the inter-confessional confrontation and we the outer forces, international as well as regional, such as the countries of the Gulf States, played their role.
-
These countries are interested in demolishing the axis Tehran-Damask-Hezbollah.
-
They support certain forces which call for inter-confessional war and try to break the inter-confessional and inter-ethnic unity of peoples of Syria.
-
The unity which was intact in the country thanks to the lay government of the country, where a mosque and a church functioned side by side.
-
In turn, they want to establish in this country an Islamic caliphate by undermining the lay basis of the Syrian state.
-
They attempt to demonstrate to the whole world that they are the only true protectors of democracy and pursue a noble objective to democratize the Syrian society.
-
They claim that it is possible only after the abdication of the existing regime. They are supported by powerful media instruments.
-
I myself have counted about ten satellite channels which are financed mostly by the Gulf States.
-
We observe a process similar to the one which took place in Libya: a census was undertaken to investigate how many tribes there are in Libya, where they are located, etc.
-
In Syria a census was organized to count confessions in Syria and their location.
-
In case of country collapse, media channels showed a map dividing the country into future states with different confessions.
-
Last month I visited Syria. We see a different picture there; it is all viewed in a different manner.
-
Of course, there are centers of unrest, in every city, in poor areas, where armed people come out in streets to trouble the climate, assault police officers,
-
loot public buildings and therefore provoke response actions.
-
I would like to know, if any country sees people coming out in streets, fully armed who start shooting, how would it react?
-
The responsibility of every state is to protect its citizens, not to allow unrest in the country. Peaceful demonstrations are peaceful demonstrations. We have to protect them.
-
There is a law in Syria allowing peaceful demonstrations, but no one is asking for a permission, people are provoking greater unrest.
-
You have probably seen, and I am from the city of Latakia, all the media is now broadcasting...
-
I am calling my brother, my wife and my kids every hour, I just made a call before I came in here. I am very worried about them and call them constantly.
-
The media said that army forces of Syria launched a fire attack on the city and I think in every part of the city people could hear explosions.
-
They told me they could not hear anything, nothing at all. Even yesterday Al Jazeera interviewed eyewitnesses saying that the authorities were using chemical weapons.
-
Imagine the scale of it. I am very much familiar with my native city and I have studied various dialects in the city of Latakia.
-
There are five dialects in the town of Latakia and I perfectly know all of them. The witnesses who were interviewed by Al Jazeera did not speak in any dialect common to Latakia.
-
It can be heard very well, when they made a call. One of them said that she was calling from the place of action - so, imagine, she was calling from a military front, with alleged explosions.
-
I talked to my brother who knows many officers of Special Forces - seventeen officers died. Did they die at peaceful demonstrations?
-
Seventeen police officers - you can imagine how a group attacking policemen must look like.
-
There was a discussion whether to use mechanized forces but they were denied in it not to cause numerous deaths in the area.
-
It fact it is a very important factor: the army is trying to be very cautionary; it warns everyone to surrender and to give weapons.
-
We see these weapons in the city of Beirut it is not possible to buy a weapon. The prices on weapons have increased in times.
-
Al-Mustapha deals only with weapon trafficking and delivers weapons to Syria to assist in deposing the current government.
-
One can talk endlessly about this issue, but I would like to say, referencing Oleg Ivanovich, that we have established in Moscow a Committee for the Unity of Syria.
-
As patriots of our country we are convinced that the deposition of the governmental regime especially against the background of military intervention
-
of Western and other countries would lead to unacceptable repercussions down to civil war and collapse of country's unity.
-
We should not allow this to happen in any circumstances.
-
As I have noted at the beginning, the existence of problems accumulated in the country are caused by the absence of authoritative democratic institutions.
-
The only solution to the existing problem is the proclamation of political and economic reforms by the government, adoption of a bill on a multi-party system,
-
registration of parties and elections to local councils, bills on media, establishment of a Higher Electoral Commission.
-
We feel that Syrian authorities are ready to fully undertake the promised reforms and are open to new propositions such as introduction of amendments to the constitution
-
or even adoption of a new constitution, as well as securing transparent and just parliamentary and presidential elections.
-
There is no alternative to the solution of existing problems in Syria.
-
-
As a result of our discussion we would like to have some understanding of what is happening today in Syria and what are we to expect in the next future.
-
Ali Salim Asad, editor-in-chief of "Eastern Express":
-
At first, I would like to focus on one very important aspect: we cannot deny the existence of a number of reasons and origins of the unrest in the Middle East and in Syria in particular
-
which is not denied by the Syrian authorities. We observe the following picture:
-
a group of peaceful demonstrators with posters is joined by a group of armed men who assault the authorities and provoke them for response actions.
-
We observe a similar situation in Libya. It is different from situation in Tunisia, Egypt and even in Yemen in the beginning.
-
From the start there were attempts to create a base in Libya similar to the one in Benghazi in order to use it for the intervention in the country
-
which indicates to the trajectory of movement of this unrest along the borders of Syria with neighboring countries.
-
Libya used the inter-confessional confrontation and we the outer forces, international as well as regional, such as the countries of the Gulf States, played their role.
-
These countries are interested in demolishing the axis Tehran-Damask-Hezbollah.
-
They support certain forces which call for inter-confessional war and try to break the inter-confessional and inter-ethnic unity of peoples of Syria.
-
The unity which was intact in the country thanks to the lay government of the country, where a mosque and a church functioned side by side.
-
In turn, they want to establish in this country an Islamic caliphate by undermining the lay basis of the Syrian state.
-
They attempt to demonstrate to the whole world that they are the only true protectors of democracy and pursue a noble objective to democratize the Syrian society.
-
They claim that it is possible only after the abdication of the existing regime. They are supported by powerful media instruments.
-
I myself have counted about ten satellite channels which are financed mostly by the Gulf States.
-
We observe a process similar to the one which took place in Libya: a census was undertaken to investigate how many tribes there are in Libya, where they are located, etc.
-
In Syria a census was organized to count confessions in Syria and their location.
-
In case of country collapse, media channels showed a map dividing the country into future states with different confessions.
-
Last month I visited Syria. We see a different picture there; it is all viewed in a different manner.
-
Of course, there are centers of unrest, in every city, in poor areas, where armed people come out in streets to trouble the climate, assault police officers,
-
loot public buildings and therefore provoke response actions.
-
I would like to know, if any country sees people coming out in streets, fully armed who start shooting, how would it react?
-
The responsibility of every state is to protect its citizens, not to allow unrest in the country. Peaceful demonstrations are peaceful demonstrations. We have to protect them.
-
There is a law in Syria allowing peaceful demonstrations, but no one is asking for a permission, people are provoking greater unrest.
-
You have probably seen, and I am from the city of Latakia, all the media is now broadcasting...
-
I am calling my brother, my wife and my kids every hour, I just made a call before I came in here. I am very worried about them and call them constantly.
-
The media said that army forces of Syria launched a fire attack on the city and I think in every part of the city people could hear explosions.
-
They told me they could not hear anything, nothing at all. Even yesterday Al Jazeera interviewed eyewitnesses saying that the authorities were using chemical weapons.
-
Imagine the scale of it. I am very much familiar with my native city and I have studied various dialects in the city of Latakia.
-
There are five dialects in the town of Latakia and I perfectly know all of them. The witnesses who were interviewed by Al Jazeera did not speak in any dialect common to Latakia.
-
It can be heard very well, when they made a call. One of them said that she was calling from the place of action - so, imagine, she was calling from a military front, with alleged explosions.
-
I talked to my brother who knows many officers of Special Forces - seventeen officers died. Did they die at peaceful demonstrations?
-
Seventeen police officers - you can imagine how a group attacking policemen must look like.
-
There was a discussion whether to use mechanized forces but they were denied in it not to cause numerous deaths in the area.
-
It fact it is a very important factor: the army is trying to be very cautionary; it warns everyone to surrender and to give weapons.
-
We see these weapons in the city of Beirut it is not possible to buy a weapon. The prices on weapons have increased in times.
-
Al-Mustapha deals only with weapon trafficking and delivers weapons to Syria to assist in deposing the current government.
-
One can talk endlessly about this issue, but I would like to say, referencing Oleg Ivanovich, that we have established in Moscow a Committee for the Unity of Syria.
-
As patriots of our country we are convinced that the deposition of the governmental regime especially against the background of military intervention
-
of Western and other countries would lead to unacceptable repercussions down to civil war and collapse of country's unity.
-
We should not allow this to happen in any circumstances.
-
As I have noted at the beginning, the existence of problems accumulated in the country are caused by the absence of authoritative democratic institutions.
-
The only solution to the existing problem is the proclamation of political and economic reforms by the government, adoption of a bill on a multi-party system,
-
registration of parties and elections to local councils, bills on media, establishment of a Higher Electoral Commission.
-
We feel that Syrian authorities are ready to fully undertake the promised reforms and are open to new propositions such as introduction of amendments to the constitution
-
or even adoption of a new constitution, as well as securing transparent and just parliamentary and presidential elections.
-
There is no alternative to the solution of existing problems in Syria.
-