RSS Feed
January 11th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda The UN estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed in the uprising.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Assad joined thousands of his supporters in an
extremely rare public appearance, telling a pro-regime rally in the capital
that the “conspiracy” against his country will fail.
Dressed more casually than usual in a jacket but no tie, the president told
the cheering crowd that he wanted to draw strength from them. Security
guards surrounded him as supporters waved his portrait and raised Syrian
flags.
“It is important that we maintain our faith in the future,” said
Assad, 46, who has made very few public appearances since the uprising
against his regime began 10 months ago. “I have that faith in the
future and we will undoubtedly triumph over this conspiracy.”
Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000, has blamed the revolt on
foreign-backed terrorists and conspirators. On Tuesday, he gave his first
speech since June and said he would strike back at those who threaten his
regime with an “iron hand.”
In both appearances, Assad appeared determined to show strength and confidence
as the conflict in Syria is entering a new and heightened phase, with army
defectors and some members of the opposition increasingly turning weapons on
government targets.
Opponents say Assad is dangerously out of touch.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said Syria had stepped up
killings of opponents since Arab monitors arrived in the country in late
December to assess whether the government is abiding by its agreement to an
Arab League plan to end the military crackdown on dissent.
On Tuesday, diplomats quoted U.N. political chief B. Lynn Pascoe as saying
about 400 people have been killed in the last three weeks alone, on top of
an earlier U.N. estimate of more than 5,000 dead since March. Rice said that
rate was even higher than before the monitors arrived and a clear indication
the Syrian government was stepping up the violence.
Also on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fresh
violence in Syria. The group said soldiers and army defectors were fighting
on Wednesday in central Hama province. There was no immediate word on
casualties.
The group also said regime forces fired on students demonstrating in Daraya in
Damascus province.
The Arab League mission came under fresh scrutiny on Wednesday after a former
monitor said he quit in disgust because the regime was committing “war
crimes” against its own people.
“The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled,” Anwer
Malek told Al-Jazeera in an interviewed broadcast late Tuesday. “The
regime orchestrated it and fabricated most of what we saw to stop the Arab
League from taking action against the regime,” Malek said, still
wearing the orange vest used by monitors.
According to Al-Jazeera’s transcript of the interview, Malek said the regime
is committing “a series of crimes against its people.”
“The regime didn’t meet any of our requests, in fact they were trying to
deceive us and steer us away from what was really happening toward
insignificant things,” he said in the interview. “They didn’t
withdraw their tanks from the streets they just hid them and redeployed them
after we left.”
There was no immediate comment from the Arab League. But Malek’s name was on a
list of the observers who were sent to Syria last month. He was identified
as a Tunisian working for the Paris-based Arab Committee for Human Rights.
According to an Arab League official, three observers declined to complete
their mission and returned, citing health problems. The official, who spoke
on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the
media, didn’t identify the three.
Opposition groups have been deeply critical of the Arab League mission, saying
it is giving Assad cover for his ongoing crackdown. The observer mission’s
Sudanese chief has raised particular concern because he served in key
security positions under Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted
for crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Critics also say the mission is far too small – and too dependent on
government escorts – to be effective. The regime says the escorts are vital
to the monitors’ personal safety.
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
