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12 Nov 2011 13:12

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World: Ten days after peace agreement, Arab League boots Syria out

  • Nov. 2 Syria, facing mounting criticism over its conduct in the wake of the Arab Spring protests, agrees to an Arab League plan to end the violence against protesters in the region. Despite this, little actually changes in the country.
  • Nov. 12 The Arab League suspends Syria from the organization after the violence against protesters continues despite the agreement. The country will remain out of the Arab League until it makes changes that respect the opposition. source
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30 Oct 2011 11:56

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World: Bashar al-Assad: Western intervention in Syria “will burn the whole region”

  • Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region.
  • Syrian President Bashar al-Assad • Discussing the situation in Syria, and in the process discouraging Western intervention in the region. While admitting that he expected pressure from the West, he tried in the process to paint a line between his country and other Arab Spring countries.  “Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen. The history is different. The politics is different,” he noted. Think he’s right? source
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29 Sep 2011 11:28

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World: U.S. ambassador to Syria pelted with tomatoes, stones in protest

You might remember the assault against U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford, who’s been critical of Assad’s regime, from about a month ago. That one didn’t involve stones and tomatoes. This one did. source
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01 Sep 2011 11:11

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World: Syrian political official steps down via YouTube video

  • Adnan Muhammad al-Bakkour, the Attorney General of the Syrian province of Hama, resigned in protest of the bloodshed being perpetrated by the Assad government. Via YouTube. He’s a translation of his video. He’s the highest-ranking official to resign amidst the crackdown. source
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29 Aug 2011 20:27

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World: VIDEO: U.S. ambassador to Syria gets assaulted by pro-Assad demonstrator

  • Note: The clip above is not in English. One thing the highly-produced clip does show,, though, around the two minute mark, is the assault of Robert Ford, the Damascus-based U.S. ambassador to Syria, who was ambushed by pro-Assad demonstrators. One of the protesters tried to wrap him up in a posters that features the Syrian leader’s face. So the real question, of course, is, how did he allow himself to get into such a situation? Just in case you’re wondering since you don’t understand Arabic — the clip they show is something of the Syrian equivalent of a Nancy Grace report, and is totally stilted and biased. “[The clip is] a weak, banal, laughable attempt by the Syrian thugs to have the international community focus on anything but the real story,” a State Department official said, “which is the government’s continuing campaign of terror on its own people through torture, murder and illegal imprisonment.” source
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18 Aug 2011 10:49

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U.S., World: Delayed reaction of the day: U.S. wants Bashar al-Assad to step down

  • For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside.
  • A statement from president Barack Obama • Revealing that the U.S. wants Bashar al-Assad out as Syrian leader. It’s clear that Assad has been a leader unworthy of U.S. support for a while. Why did it take so long for the Obama administration to flat-out say it? That’s the real question, and one that could’ve crystalized diplomatic opposition against the Syrian leader much sooner. source
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07 Aug 2011 11:52

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World: Syria: Bashar al-Assad defends violent, deadly crackdown on opposition

  • Dealing with the outlaws who block the roads and the cities and terrorize the people is the duty of the state.
  • Syrian President Bashar al-Assad • Validating his country’s stance against opposition in Syria, in the wake of violence that killed dozens yesterday alone. Question: What happens when the “outlaws who block the roads and the cities and terrorize the people” and “the state” are one in the same? Because in Syria, they are. source
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02 Jul 2011 12:50

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World: Another governor sacked in Syria after massive protests

  • Yesterday, large protests like this one took place in Hama province in Syria. Today, Bashar al-Assad’s reaction appears to involve sacking the region’s governor in an effort to retain a handle on the situation. No details were given on Ahmad Khaled Abdulaziz’s sacking, though you can probably guess that this large protest, at the same site where Assad’s father led a bloody crackdown 30 years ago, probably had something to do with it. (And it isn’t even the first sacking of its kind, either; two other governors have already lost their gigs.) This is just one sign of the grinding gears of change in Syria — things could get interesting this month. Assad plans meetings with opposition leaders on the 10th; and the opposition plans a large conference of their own on the 16th. source
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20 Jun 2011 10:25

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World: Syria’s Assad makes baby steps towards reform in major speech

  • We meet today in a defining moment in the history of our country, a moment we wish to be a turning point from a yesterday when innocent blood was shed to a tomorrow when we restore the picture of serenity, freedom, integrity and solidarity. We have seen many grave hours; we have paid a grave price.
  • Syrian President Bashar Assad • During a somewhat rambling 70-minute speech — his first in two months —where he promised to allow for political parties in the country, but offered none of the concrete reforms that many hoped for. The speech was occasionally conspiratorial in nature, but less so than many of the president’s previous speeches. Large protests reportedly followed the speech in cities throughout the country. source
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13 Jun 2011 10:49

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World: That “A Gay Girl in Damascus” hoax enrages Syrian activists

  • I say shame on you!!! There are bloggers in Syria who are trying as hard as they can to report news and stories from the country. We have to deal with more difficulties than you can imagine. What you have done has harmed many, put us all in danger, and made us fearful about (pursuing) our…activism. Your apology is not accepted, since I have myself started to investigate Amina’s arrest. I could have put myself in a grave danger inquiring about a fictitious figure.
  • GayMiddleEast Damascus blogger Sami Hamwi (who works under a pseudonym) • Expressing rage over the finding that the blogger behind “A Gay Girl in Damascus” was actually a middle-aged dude from the States. Tom MacMaster says that he used the pseudonym to focus the attention not on the person writing the blog, but on the information itself. Good to see that one worked out for you. Now you’ve instilled doubt into every true story that’s out there. Nobody would’ve been upset had you admitted you were just a middle-aged white guy who felt the political situation in Syria was worth keeping an eye on. source
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