« SYRIA PRESS REVIEW » #54

NATO backs off while London and Paris still scheming

Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Reuters that NATO will not intervene in Syria, even if the UN Security Council were to change its mind and give him the green light. In doing so, the Secretary General of NATO feigns to walk away from war not because of the double veto by Russia and China, but due to technical obstacles.

Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron have signed new treaties in Paris to strengthen their countries’ mutual defense. The date of the ceremony was officially chosen to commemorate the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in Benghazi. But, in reality, it marked the fulfillment of the Lancaster House Treaty, which included a secret annex with the plan for the Benghazi uprising and regime change in Libya. Therefore, it is legitimate to ask whether the Paris summit may not also have involved the signing of a secret annex, planning for the overthrow of the Syrian regime. The final communiqué of the meeting smacks of Franco-British machinations.

The Western news agencies reported a protest attended by some 15 000 to 30 000 people against the Syrian regime, during a funeral in a bourgeois neighborhood of Damascus. They claim that the army fired on the crowd leaving dozens dead.
In reality, the event was held at the exit of the Sheikh Zaad mosque and could not have gathered more than 3,000 people in view of the exiguity of the space. Participants were all men who were strangers to the neighborhood, as averred by the merchants. The rally was the largest that the opposition could mobilize in Damascus, a city of over 1.5 million inhabitants.
Above all, far from alluding to democracy, the protesters chanted exclusively anti-Shiite religious slogans. They were dispersed by the police as they started heading for the Iranian embassy to attack it. Contrary to Western accusations, the police did not fire on the crowd and it was easy to see, once the dust had settled, that the fighting had been very circumscribed and caused no damage.

• To impose its narrative of events in Syria, NATO has resorted to novelists. The fictional piece by Tahar Ben Jelloun, as well as the pseudo-documentary by Jonathan Little, have been translated into various European languages. After France and Spain, they appeared today in the Italian press.

• ABC devotes three pages to the key figures of the Assad clan. Each personality is thoroughly denigrated, then the family is equated with the Alawite religion which is also denigrated. The purpose is to give the impression of a family that leans on sectarian blindness to appropriate a country.

• In the Independent, Charlotte McDonald-Gibson argues that it is the Alawites who feel most at risk and are trying to flee the country. Like the other minorities, Christian, Druze, Ismaili, etc.., they fear that a victory by the rebels may give the signal for their slaughter.

• The Mail on Sunday tells us that Naomi Campbell wanted to organize a charity event for victims of violence in Syria, but was advised against it by her entourage. The famous model holds annual charity events during London Fashion Week and the Cannes Film Festival. She would have liked to deal not only with victims of natural disasters (Haiti, Japan), but also of oppression.
It’s trendy, but her endeavour could have turned sour in case of a political reversal.

• The Washington Post editorial bemoans that there is no way of forcing Bashar al-Assad to end the repression. All the options considered by the State Department are either unviable or inappropriate. We’ll simply have to get used to the idea that the regime will still be around for some time to come.

• In the Jerusalem Post, Yaakov Katz is curious about Ehud Barack’s motives for announcing on a regular basis since 20 June that al-Assad only has a few weeks left. The statements of the Israeli defense minister are all the more peculiar and reckless that U.S. military leaders have stated instead that the regime is stable and will not fall.

Cartoons of the day

Cartoonists reacted belatedly to Syria’s condemnation by the United Nations General Assembly.

In Le Monde a Blue Helmet soldier invites the peace dove to join in the celebration with UN officials. But the dove attaches no importance to the General Assembly vote and asks the soldier to awaken her only when the Security Council gets a move on.

In The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a UN Blue Helmet arrives with a resolution from the Security Council, but it’s too late...Syria has died.

Conversely, the Times of Oman dredges up the past. It depicts a United Nations proud to be fighting against the dictatorship of Muammar el-Gaddafi in the name of a consumerist dictatorship, one of erotic business, of global culture etc.. While on the square, Western flags are waving: the snake, shark, the devil, etc.

titre documents joints

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You may complement this press review by looking up the daily bulletin of the Syrian Center of Documentation, Updated Syrian Crisis. You will find an accurate and intersected account of military events. This publication is available in English and Arabic.