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05 Apr 12 - 07:05 PM (#3334247) Subject: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: gnu Kofi Annan : "Stop shooting or else?" (Paraphrasing, of course.) Anyone got any ideas where THIS one is going? |
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05 Apr 12 - 07:08 PM (#3334249) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: bobad Wherever it's going can't be much worse than where it is now. |
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05 Apr 12 - 10:38 PM (#3334314) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: bobad "Syria launched a blistering assault Thursday on the outskirts of its capital, shelling residential areas and deploying snipers on rooftops as international envoy Kofi Annan demanded every fighter lay down arms in time for a U.N.-brokered cease-fire. The bloodshed undermined already fading hopes that more than a year of violence will end soon, and France accused President Bashar Assad of trying to fool the world by accepting Annan's deadline to pull the army back from population centers by April 10." More |
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05 Apr 12 - 10:48 PM (#3334317) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: gnu Libya 2? It's frightening. It's sad. It's... real. |
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05 Apr 12 - 11:02 PM (#3334321) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: Beer I'm not very good at this political stuff, but if what i read is right , you can blame a lot of this continues massacre on russia and china. I'm not going to capitalize their countries. ad. |
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06 Apr 12 - 02:20 AM (#3334355) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: Keith A of Hertford Russia and China arm the regime, and have blocked UN response by using their veto. Some of the rebel groups are hard line Islamists, and minorities like the Christians are fearful of the regime falling. There are also more sectarian divides than in other Arab Spring countries. I have no notion of what should be done, but the blatant crimes against humanity should not go unpunished however long it takes. |
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06 Apr 12 - 03:08 AM (#3334359) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: akenaton Keith is correct, the problems are complex and not simply a battle by young idealists for "democracy" Just look how things are turning out in Egypt, Iraq, Libya,etc. The Islamist governments being ELECTED there, will not bring the type of "freedom" that we envisage. |
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06 Apr 12 - 03:37 AM (#3334364) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: Bonzo3legs Is there any oil there? |
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06 Apr 12 - 07:48 AM (#3334438) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: bobad Olive oil. |
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06 Apr 12 - 06:01 PM (#3334720) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: gnu My posts are merely to ponder about the posturing of the UN and the international "response" that may be imposed... that is, is it all a set up for more distabiliztion in the region by the west?... the oil companies? through the ultimate use of military force? We shall see. As I am of limited education in mid-east affairs and because I have an unsubstantiated biased opinion, I shant post much more to this discussion but I will follow it when I can to try to learn about the whole mess fronm people more in the know. |
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08 Apr 12 - 12:47 PM (#3335394) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: GUEST BBC today. As fighting raged, Damascus demanded written guarantees from the rebels to end attacks and a promise from foreign governments not to fund or arm them. As many as 160 people were killed on Saturday, many of them said to be civilian victims of shelling by government forces, and fierce new fighting was reported on Sunday (today). Damascus issued its two new demands just 48 hours before the deadline for the Syrian army to withdraw from towns and cities. In doing so, it has thrown the entire ceasefire deal into doubt, the BBC's Grant Ferrett reports. |
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09 Apr 12 - 04:29 AM (#3335600) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: Keith A of Hertford Me above. |
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09 Apr 12 - 03:35 PM (#3335877) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: gnu ANTAKYA, Turkey/BEIRUT (Reuters) - A military bombardment of a town in central Syria killed 35 people on Monday on the eve of a scheduled army withdrawal from urban areas, opposition activists said, dashing the prospects of a U.N.-brokered ceasefire taking hold. Troops and rebel forces also clashed near the border with Turkey, activists said. Two Syrian refugees and a Turkish translator were wounded by gunfire from Syria at a refugee camp inside Turkey territory, Turkish officials said, drawing an angry response from the Ankara government. Bloodshed also spilled into northern Lebanon, where a cameraman for Al-Jadeed television channel was shot dead in the border region between Syria and Lebanon's Wadi Khaled district, sources at the channel said. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he "deplored" the cross-border shootings. The unrelenting violence indicated that a peace plan promoted by international envoy Kofi Annan and initially accepted by both sides was in tatters. Syria was to have started pulling troops out of towns and cities by Tuesday, paving the way for a ceasefire to start 48 hours later. But President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday said his foes must give written guarantees they would stop fighting and lay down their arms - a demand they immediately rejected. Nor did government forces show any sign they were starting to pull back on Monday. "April 10 has become void," Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Koru said in Ankara, referring to the deadline. Washington said Syria's demand for written guarantees was a "stall for time" and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in Brussels that adding new conditions was totally unacceptable. China, which has supported Assad in his year-long effort to crush the uprising against his family's dynastic rule, called on both sides to honor the ceasefire and support Annan's efforts. |
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10 Apr 12 - 06:21 AM (#3336157) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: Jim Carroll Letter to Irish Times this morning: "Syria and crimes against children Sir, - The most shocking crimes being committed by President Assad and his regime in Syria must be the systematic and widespread detention and torture of children. So horrific and unimaginable are the nature of some of these crimes that if anyone other than the distinguished UN Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay had confirmed they were occurring, the more cynical might have been tempted to dismiss such statements as opposition propaganda. The idea that anyone in the 21st century could be allowed to systematically detain and torture hundreds of children in very cruel and brutal ways must rank as the ultimate indictment of the international community. However, it continues and nothing is being done to stop it. Most observers believe that Assad is only playing for time in appearing to support the Annan peace plan, and still the charade is allowed to continue, as crimes against humanity are committed with impunity. . Meanwhile, Ms Pillay has asserted that the UN Security Council has enough reliable information to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and still the Security Council fails to act, with Russia and China effec¬tively acting as protectors for the torturers in Damascus. At the very least, the Dail and Seanad should call for Syria's referral to the ICC and Assad's arrest for war crimes. - Yours, etc, RONAN TYNAN, Lower Kilmacud Road, Stillorgan, Co Dublin." And still the world stands by and watches because "minorities like the Christians are fearful of the regime falling." Jim Carroll |
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10 Apr 12 - 08:52 AM (#3336223) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: beardedbruce Jim, I agree with the posted letter. BEIRUT (AP) — Activists say Syrian forces have attacked two towns as a deadline passed for President Bashar Assad's troops to start withdrawing from populated areas in the kickoff to an internationally brokered truce deal. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it saw no signs of large-scale troop pullback Tuesday and that most areas of Syria appeared calm. This is a sharp contrast to heavy attacks by Syrian forces on restive towns in recent days. However, activists reported shelling in the northern village of Marea and mortar fire in the city of Homs. A collapse of the truce deal by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan could move Syria closer to an all-out civil war. A 13-month uprising has turned increasingly violent in response to a brutal regime crackdown. BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian activists reported military attacks on two towns Tuesday, even as the government claimed its military forces have begun pulling out of some towns in compliance with a U.N.-brokered truce deal. Syrian ally Russia said Damascus could have done better in implementing the cease-fire, which calls for troops to withdraw from towns and villages Tuesday. Syrian activists said they have seen no signs of a large-scale pullback. The cease-fire brokered by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan was widely seen as the last chance for diplomacy, and its collapse could push Syria even closer to an all-out civil war. http://news.yahoo.com/syria-claims-started-pulling-back-troops-092228905.html |
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10 Apr 12 - 11:38 AM (#3336271) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: beardedbruce GENEVA (AP) — Syria's main opposition group says 1,000 people have been killed by government forces in the last eight days. A spokeswoman for the Syrian National Council says troops loyal to President Bashar Assad have intensified their onslaught in opposition areas despite saying it would accept a U.N. peace plan. SNC spokeswoman Bassma Kodmani says 160 people were killed in Syria on Monday alone. Kodmani told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that regime forces have used heavy weapons including anti-aircraft guns against civilians in apparent defiance of an agreement to begin a cease-fire April 10. She says the humanitarian situation on the ground is "dramatically deteriorating" THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-opposition-says-1-000-killed-last-8-123740517.html |
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10 Apr 12 - 04:12 PM (#3336420) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: GUEST,Keith A o Hertford. And still the world stands by and watches because "minorities like the Christians are fearful of the regime falling." It is true that "minorities like the Christians are fearful of the regime falling." The quote was mine. It is not true that " still the world stands by and watches because " of that. The world stands by and watches because China and Russia vetoed every UN proposal to help. Also Britain and other countries have been very active despite the Russians and Chinese. |
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10 Apr 12 - 04:44 PM (#3336440) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: Keith A of Hertford Jim, I also agree with your letter writer. " Russia and China effectively acting as protectors for the torturers in Damascus." And I agree that "the Dail and Seanad should call for Syria's referral to the ICC and Assad's arrest for war crimes" as Britain has already done. |
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10 Apr 12 - 05:22 PM (#3336462) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 2012.04.05 From: Keith A of Hertford Daily Telegraph today. As regime forces continued to shell towns and cities, including allegations of aerial bombardment, Britain and other Western powers called for Mr Assad to be censured by the UN. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said he wanted the Security Council to refer Mr Assad to the International Criminal Court. "President Assad and his closest cronies should be under no doubt that they will be held to account for their actions," he said. |
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11 Apr 12 - 03:46 PM (#3336862) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 5 April 2012 From: beardedbruce "BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian forces opened fire across two tense borders Monday, killing a TV journalist in Lebanon and at least two people in a refugee camp in Turkey on the eve of a deadline for a cease-fire plan that seems all but certain to fail. Across Syria, activists reported particularly heavy violence with more than 125 people killed in the past two days. The Obama administration expressed outrage at the violence spilling over the frontiers, saying the Syrian government appeared to have little commitment to the peace plan that was negotiated by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan. The latest bloodshed was a sign of how easily Syria's neighbors could be drawn into a regional conflagration as President Bashar Assad's crackdown on a year-old uprising becomes increasingly militarized, despite desperate diplomatic efforts. Annan brokered a deal that was supposed to begin with Syria pulling its troops out of population centers by Tuesday morning, with a full cease-fire by both sides within 48 hours. But hopes for the plan collapsed after a fresh wave of violence and new demands by the regime for written guarantees that the opposition will lay down arms first." http://news.yahoo.com/syria-fires-over-borders-lebanon-turkey-202300722.html |
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12 Apr 12 - 02:01 PM (#3337344) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 5 April 2012 From: GUEST,Jim Knowledge I `ad that Assad from Syria in my cab the other day. `e`s quite tall you know. `e was over `ere on a whistle-stop tour to check out the Westfield Mall by the Olympic site. `e didn`t want `is wife to be dis-appointed when she went spending after watching the three legged race. `e said, " Morning Jim. Would you get me to the Olympic site please?". I said, "Sure thing Mullah but I `ope your lot aren`t gonna do what they done to the Marks and Spencer Emporium in Homz. It`s a pile of rubble now." `e said, "I know, Jim. It`s all down to `er indoors. She done `er big shopping there, shoes an`all, but they wouldn`t give `er a discount!!" Whaddam I Like?? |
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13 Apr 12 - 05:33 AM (#3337636) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 5 April 2012 From: Keith A of Hertford Did he leave you a decent tip? |
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13 Apr 12 - 11:27 AM (#3337769) Subject: RE: BS: Syrian crisis 5 April 2012 From: akenaton Jim...you should get a book printed....seriously. I really enjoy your "Little stories from a Black Cab". |