Syria's Day of Rage v.2 (15 March)

So, the Syrian Day of Rage v2 actually delivered something. However, quite what this thing is remains a little uncertain. Reports about demontrations in Aleppo, Qamishle and even Latakia, that Deir Az-Zur and towns in the Hauran (south of Damascus) had been cut-off and surrounded by security forces, or that gunfire could be heard in Aleppo tonight, all these remained mostly unverified (and several of them are patently nothing more than rumours). All we really had to latch onto were two short mobile phone video uploads showing dozens, maybe hundreds (one eye witness said 150-200) marching in souq al-Hamidiyya and Hariqa in Old Damascus.


[The main chant is "God, Syria, Freedom, that's all!". They also chant "Peaceful"]

The demonstration in Damascus was reportedly broken up very quickly by plainclothes security (characterised by the trusty leather jacket and mustache combo). Nevertheless, and certainly after the damp squib of Feb 4th, the fact that small groups of protesters actually managed to simultaneously gather in several cities across Syria will be seen as a success by the organisers.

So, if the Syrian government really has been backing Gaddafi (with pilots and weapons, something the Syrians deny doing) in an effort to halt the spread of pro-democracy protests we can somewhat cautiously say that this policy has failed regardless of whether the Libyan uprising is ultimately successful or not.

It's possible that as news spreads that a small but important group had the courage to demonstrate today it will embolden many more to join them. But it will also probably spur the regime to adopt a more robust response too. Nevertheless, protest organisers are promising a turn-out tomorrow and every subsequent day until their (still somehwat unclear) demands are met...

There is the additional problem that there are plenty of shady characters waiting in the wings and getting ready to steal some of the nascent protest movement's thunder, like former Vice President Khaddam and Rifaat al-Assad (Bashar's uncle). The children of shady characters are also now getting in on the act, with Rifaat's son, Ribal al-Assad (director of the Organisation for Democracy and Freedom in Syria), lobbying British government officials and publishing articles outlining the need for democratic reform in Syria. To borrow a phrase which Robert Fisk employed in a recent interview: It's interesting to hear the "son of a war criminal" calling for human rights and freedom. Every Syrian I have ever spoken to about these so-called 'opposition figures' in exile is very suspicious of them and their motives. Nevertheless, if the protests are seen as in any way affiliated with the opposition in exile (which also includes the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood), they will quickly lose credibility.

So, quite where all this is heading I cannot say at the moment. Calls in the protest literature for young people to build a new Syria, free from fear, unemployment or sectarianism, will have resonance. But, I would imagine that some of the protest pages which talk about an uprising (intifada) AGAINST Bashar al-Assad, may be going too far for many who would otherwise give their support to a reformist agenda.

I'm watching this space...

In the meantime, O Sham, I love you and I wish you a positive future. Allah m3kum.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 16/3: The families of 27 political prisoners and their supporters had planned to stage a sit-in in front of the Ministry of the Interior in Merjeh Square, Damascus today. Apparently about 150 protesters gathered, including many elderly people and children. They were surrounded by hundreds of police and plainclothers security and within minutes had been forcibly dispersed. Many protesters had their mobile phones taken from them, at least 30 people (and rising) were arrested and several others were injured. Some of those who were arrested were bystanders who had rushed in to try to stop female protesters from being beaten.

Amnesty International's press release can be read here.


Here is video footage of a man (identified as a recently released prisoner of conscience) being dragged away and beaten by plainclothes security armed with sticks.

Supposedly the video was filmed in Damascus on 16th March (uploaded on 17th).


Meanwhile, protesters say that across the whole of Syria about 300 people have been arrested. There are also some more reports emerging about yesterday's protests, including the use of tear gas to break up a demonstration in the countryside near Aleppo. Meanwhile, it is reported that the internet in the whole eastern province of Deir Az-Zur has been cut-off. This, coupled with reports and rumours about security crackdowns in the Hauran, the Jazeera region (north-eastern Syria), and in Aleppo province suggest that perhaps the most significant demonstrations are actually happening outside the capital.

My twopence worth on the Syrian protest (17/02/2011)

I like this article by Qandaz: Syria speeding up.

Just to add my twopence worth (why not?):
I think Syrians do, ultimately, want democracy, but not at any price. Bashar is relatively popular (or at least not too unpopular!), and people are very wary of the alternative leadership (in particular, the opposition in exile has almost no credibility inside the country). I agree that Syrians have more of a problem with the corrupt system than with the leadership itself. So, at present there is a much stronger desire for reform rather than revolution.

Secondly, there is a fear of sectarianism but I personally find this a little paradoxical. Paradoxical because almost every Syrian seems to view their country as a potential sectarian powder keg (they look at Lebanon and Iraq and are scared they might go the same way) and yet I have not seen evidence of any serious sectarian chauvinism in personal dealings between Syrians. In the main urban areas most people live, work, study and socialise in mixed groups, especially the younger people. It is only in matters of marriage that Syrians tend to be much more endogamous and even then I personally know of quite a few marriages that cut across sectarian boundaries (e.g. Sunni-Ismaili, Sunni-Druze, Muslim-Christian). Cautiously, I would suggest that younger Syrians are becoming more relaxed about this than their elders. Perhaps the group that is most fearful of sectarianism is the Alawi because they have potentially the most to lose, and they fear the accumulated resentment that has built up against them over the last 40+ years. However, I tentatively suggest that Syrian national pride is strong enough to overcome sectarian divisions.

Finally, it was very interesting that the recent demo in Damascus (17 Sep 2011, Hariqa) did not come via the over-hyped Facebook/Twitter/etc (which may be important tools for spreading information but don't really explain WHY any of these Middle Eastern protests are happening) but instead from a single tightly-knit group with shared interests (the souq shopkeepers) protesting a specific issue (police brutality).

Was It Really 3 Years Ago?

Was it really 3 years ago? I remember standing in Bab Touma square, on the edge of the Old City of Damascus, saying goodbye to a group of friends at the end of a pleasant evening spent in one of the city's many restaurants. It was about 11.00pm when a loud bang came echoing towards us from the direction of Mount Qasioun. Our conversation abruptly halted, everyone was momentarily shocked, looking at each other for some kind of clue about how to react to what had just happened. "That didn't sound like thunder"