« SYRIA PRESS REVIEW » #58

CNS rejects UN and Arab League mediation

After the resignation of a senior official from the Oil Ministry, it is the mass resignation and flight to Turkey of a group of brigadier generals which captivates the attention of the Atlanticist and Gulf press. The decomposition of the system would thus appear to be confirmed. Alas! No one can give the names of the generals and no senior officer has arrived in Turkey.

Once again the hubbub is designed to boost the patience of Western public opinion, but discredits those who were predicting the imminent fall of the Syrian regime...like a ripe fruit.

On the diplomatic front, the head of UN humanitarian operations, Valerie Amos, struck an early agreement with the Syrian government. Russia announced that it rejected the latest draft resolution tabled by the West at the Security Council, for the same reasons as the previous one. China sent a special envoy to meet with various stakeholders, which irritated Paris. UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan started his round of consultations, but abetted by its sponsors, the Syrian National Council has already rejected his call for negotiations.

• As foreseen, the armed groups geographically dispersed are reassembling in the district of Idlib. It is not known whether their numbers will allow them to establish a stronghold similar to the Islamic Emirate of Baba Amr, but it seems unlikely. Georges Malbrunot of Le Figaro uses this opportunity to expound on the Sunni support of the Free "Syrian" Army and the Alawite opposition. This analytical framework is false, since the vast majority of Sunnis are opposed to their fringe extremists. However, it does suggest that the Free "Syrian" Army is indeed a faith-based organization.

• Iran Daily reported the remarks of the Iranian ambassador in Paris, Ali Ahani, alluding to ongoing transfer of arms and mercenaries to Syria. His remarks was echoed by the Russian ambassador in Beirut, who referred specifically to 15 000 foreign fighters in Syria. The press also reports on the Wikileaks emails allegedly hacked from Startfor, which mention the presence of Western troops in Syria.

Photo of the day

This widely-reproduced cartoon by Al-Hayat signifies the inadequacy of the UN response to the Syrian crisis: UN tosses a buoy to drowning people, who must first inflate it. But who is drowning?

A new caricature in the Saudi Gazette shows a blood-feeding Bashar al-Assad. This time, the Syrian president’s legs have taken root and he is sprinkling them with blood. Paradoxically, the drawing acknowledges that the regime is set to endure.