Syria faces condemnation but the killing continues

As the first day of Ramadan unfolds (August 1, 2011), the news outlets are brimming with reports of the brutal crackdown which took place on Sunday, July 31. The Assad government launched a major offensive against protesters in the city of Hama by sending in tanks against the civilian population. Estimates of the number of dead vary from 70 to as high as 150 but there can be no doubt the scale and the excessive force used to clamp down on this movement which has been voicing their discontent about the regime for the past four and a half months.

The international reaction has been labelled as "withering condemnation" however such criticism of Assad’s government is doing little for those who are faced with tanks in their front yards.

The Turkish newspaper Anadolu Agency quoted Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul as saying, "Beginning the holy month of Ramadan within a bloody environment is unacceptable." However, the Wall Street Journal goes on to point out that Turkey has so far not imposed any sanctions feeling they are ineffective. Turkey has bitter memories of international economic sanctions against neighboring Iraq after the first Gulf War, which significantly damaged Turkish businesses and failed to bring then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to heel.

The head of NATO condemned the crackdown but said no intervention in the country is planned. NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen reportedly said, “In Libya, we’re carrying out an operation based on a clear UN mandate. We have the support of countries in the region. These two conditions are not met in Syria.”

The current crackdown in Hama recalls the 1982 massacre, when Hafez Assad, the current president’s father, launched a bloody attack on Hama to quell protests. Estimates set the dead count at ten thousand. Now, people no longer need to talk about 1982; they can talk about 2011.

Reuters has a telling article titled "Arabs angry over Syria crackdown but governments silent" in which various Arabs condemn the violence in Syria but their governments remain muted.

"The world is watching the slaughterhouse in Syria. Shame on us," Egyptian presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei said in a well-received message on social media site Twitter on Sunday. "The peace of God be upon Syria’s martyrs. Shame on every Arab and every human being," he also wrote in Arabic.

"What happened yesterday in Syria is terrifying. If the international community is silent then many of the Arab rulers could commit similar massacres," said Jalal Shujja, a Yemeni activist at Change Square where activists have been demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule since January.

In the newspaper asharq alawsat, columnist Hussein Shobooski on July 21/2011 in the article "Al-Assad: More dangerous than Gaddafi" writes

More than 2,000 innocent civilians have been killed so far in Syria, whilst around 20,000 citizens have been arrested. Reports also indicate that around 18,000 Syrian citizens have been injured in the fighting, whilst 19,000 Syrians have fled the country, seeking refuge in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq.

He goes on to express both surprise and disgust at the silence of other governments about the events going on in Syria.

Uploaded by Syria2011archives on Jul 31, 2011

Hama – Buildings Bombed and on Fire – Unarmed City attacked by Dictator’s Army

Buildings being bombed and fires in the streets as Gunfire and Explosions rock the City and kill hundreds of unarmed Civilians – 7-31-11 Hama, Syria

Hama is being destroyed today by the army of shiite Alawite baath party Military Dictator Bashar Assad. The Assad Army is shooting artillery fire and machine gun fire at random at hundreds of buildings and apartment buildings throughout this City. Hama is the 3rd largest city in Syria and it has declared its Independence from the alawite baath party Assad family military dictatorship. The Dictator, in response, launced a Ramadan Massacre today in which he had his tanks surround the City of Hama and then attack it. Bashar’s army killed upwards of 200 people that we know about so far today in his rampages through Hamaa and other Syrian Cities and Towns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAwI8rKb7nM

Update: Monday, August 1, 2011

The Telegraph is reporting today that tanks have renewed their assault on the city of Hama. Syrian security forces are supposedly bombarding Hama while reportedly shooting at anyone who ventures out onto the streets and shelling the homes of those who do not. Pacify Hama and the protests at any cost seems to be the order of the day.

References

Oye! Times – July 31/2011

Syria: 150 killed in pre-Ramadan crackdown (videos)

News outlets are reporting that President Bashar al-Assad has decided to follow in his father’s footsteps by sending in tanks to crush the uprising in the central city of Hama. Hama was the scene of a notorious massacre in 1982 when the Ba’ath regime crushed an Islamist uprising that challenged the rule of the president’s father, Hafez al-Assad. At least 10,000 were killed then.

Wikipedia: 2011 Syrian uprising

The 2011 Syrian uprising is an ongoing internal conflict, occurring in Syria since March 2011. Protests began on 26 January 2011, and escalated to an uprising by 15 March 2011. The uprising is influenced by concurrent protests in the region, and has been described as "unprecedented."

Wikipedia: Timeline of the 2011 Syrian uprising

The following is a timeline of the 2011 Syrian uprising, a series of major protests and unrest taking place in Syria, which began on 26 January 2011, influenced by concurrent protests in the region.

YouTube channel: Syria2011archives

Interests: Primary Mission is to Translate Syria Video Clips into English for Outreach to English Speaking You Tube Viewers and to counter the lies of the Assad Regimes’ internet trolls who are spreading disinformation and confusion on social media sites.. Goals; Topple Syria Regime and help to bring Democracy to Syria; help to Outlaw Syria Baath Party and to Sieze Assad Family Fortune and Use it for Families of the Martyrs (Shuhada); Help to encourage initiation of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity trials for Assad Regime members,

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