Syria & Egypt: A Tale of Two Presidential Coronations

The Guardian

Syria and Egypt's tale of two polls could end in the same old story

June 5, 2014

Ian Black   

A pair of presidential coronations have underlined the truth that it takes more than an election to make a democracy

No one was holding their breath for the results of Syria's presidential election, which was always certain to confirm that Bashar al-Assad has been given a third seven-year term by a grateful, or frightened, people.

Bleak jokes and cartoons have been circulating for weeks in the anti-Assad camp on the theme of barrel bombs serving as ballot boxes.

In 2007, when he faced a referendum with no rivals, he won with a whopping 97.6% of the vote. With two approved challengers giving this bizarre contest a veneer of competition, this time he achieved 88.7%

It was never going to be easy for Assad to credibly surpass the 96.1% officially attained by Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the latest general to become president of Egypt on a reported turnout of 47.5%

That, if true, compares favourably with the 52% who voted when the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi narrowly beat the ancien régime candidate in 2012.

Morsi may have been an unpopular failure, as his enemies say, but it bears repeating that he was still the country's only democratically elected president when he was overthrown a year ago.

Voting hours were extended in both Damascus and Cairo. But internationally, the contrast between the two elections could hardly be greater. The US, Britain and France all rushed to congratulate Sisi when the final results were published on Tuesday – though they did pay lip service to worries about human rights and accountability. The United Nations, to its credit, sounded much cooler.

Sisi's Saudi and other Gulf allies – blissfully untroubled by voters or lobbyists who might question their foreign policy – promised yet more cash support to bolster the creaking Egyptian economy.

The same countries that signalled business as usual with Egypt dismissed Syria's election as a farce or parody intended to bolster Assad's position at home and abroad and to ensure that any peace – a distant prospect – is on his terms.

Conversely, it was hailed by allies such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela, and given a clean bill of health by the observers they sent.

"Egypt's presidential elections were surreal enough," tweeted the blogger Mona Eltahawy. "No words can even begin to describe Syria's."

The coincidence of the two sets of results being announced within 24 hours or so of each other underlines the grim state of affairs in the wider Middle East.

With the exception of Tunisia, scene of the first Arab spring uprising, no government enjoys democratic legitimacy or pluralist politics as understood in the west.

Libyan politics is in permanent chaos and the central government has been unable to impose its authority or rein in independent militias. Conflict is simmering between Islamists of varying hues and a nationalist general in the Sisi mode.

The Gulf autocracies have been spending their way out of unrest while suppressing Islamists and others who might challenge them. Performance has been a little better in Morocco and Jordan, which at least have parliaments.

Algeria, scarred by its civil war in the 1990s, has just re-elected a president-for-life – and is casting itself as a new-old bulwark against Islamic extremism. Politics in Iraq and Lebanon are determined by sectarian allegiance. Yemen has undergone a "managed transition" but it is a deeply troubled one.

The lesson is the familiar one that elections alone do not make democracies.

Sisi faces enormous challenges and the turnout does not guarantee him the solid support he wanted as he is forced to tackle poverty and unemployment and attract foreign investment.

Hosni Mubarak repressed the Muslim Brotherhood but the new strongman is out not just to exclude but to eradicate them – hardly a basis for long-term stability.

Assad's future is less clear. Behind his inevitable victory lies the stark truth that votes were cast only in the 40% or so of the country he controls – which excludes large areas of the north and east.

The Saudis and other Gulf states still support rebel fighting formations – as much because of inertia and hostility to Iran as anything else – but western backing is on a downward trajectory as concerns mount about the risks of blowback from al-Qaida-linked groups.

Counter-terrorism, not Syrian regime change or Syrian freedoms, is at the top of the agenda in Washington, Paris and London these days.

"The US is reverting to the pre-Arab spring status quo," Shadi Hamid, author of an acclaimed new book on Islamist movements, told a Chatham House audience on Wednesday. "And democracy is being relegated to second-rate status." 

The question is whether, by the time Assad's new presidential term ends, it will be back to business as usual in Syria too. 

*Photo courtesy of REUTERS

Egypt: End deplorable detention & deportation of Syrian refugees

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Egypt: End deplorable detention and deportation of refugees from Syria

17 October 2013

The Egyptian authorities must end their appalling policy of unlawfully detaining and forcibly returning hundreds of refugees who have fled the armed conflict in Syria, said Amnesty International.

Following the deaths in recent weeks of refugees and asylum-seekers crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa, a short report published by Amnesty International today, ‘We cannot live here any more’: Refugees from Syria in Egypt, throws a spotlight on the tragic consequences of Egypt’s hardline stance towards refugees from Syria.

More and more refugees are risking their lives to make the treacherous journey by sea to Europe – often paying smugglers up to US$3,500 each to make the trip.

“The Egyptian authorities have a duty to provide protection to anyone who has fled the conflict in Syria and is seeking safe refuge in their country. At present Egypt is failing abysmally to meet its international obligations to protect even the most vulnerable refugees,” said Sherif Elsayed Ali, Amnesty International’s Head of Refugee and Migrants’ Rights.

“Instead of offering vital help and support to refugees from Syria the Egyptian authorities are arresting and deporting them, flouting human rights standards. Most refugees lost their homes and livelihoods when they fled Syria. Failing to help and protect them is a stain on the reputation of Egypt and could seriously damage its image as a key stakeholder in the region.”

Hundreds of refugees who fled Syria, including scores of children, many of them without their parents, face ongoing detention in poor conditions or deportation – in some cases separating family members. Amnesty International found two one-year-old twins among the refugees being indefinitely detained.

Several refugees told the organization that they felt compelled to leave Egypt due to the hostile conditions they face in the country.

The Egyptian navy has intercepted around 13 boats carrying refugees from Syria in their attempt to reach Europe. According to the latest figures from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, 946 people have been arrested by the Egyptian authorities while attempting the crossing and 724 – women, children and men – remain in detention.

In most cases, once arrested people are kept in continued detention under orders of Egypt’s National Security agency, even after the public prosecution has ordered their release.

In one case a nine-year-old boy from Aleppo was arrested on a boat with a family friend. He was detained and denied access to his mother for four days.

Last week 12 people drowned when a boat carrying refugees from Syria sank off the coast of Alexandria. Earlier in October more than 300 people, including several Syrians, died when their vessel capsized trying to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa.

One woman, interviewed by Amnesty International, whose husband was detained trying to reach Italy said:
“We live without hope as the days go past… All I want is to have my husband back. We want to be settled in any country where we can be safe… [or a] way to leave Egypt so that we don’t have to use the sea. We cannot live here anymore.”

During a visit to a police station in Alexandria last week Amnesty International found approximately 40 refugees from Syria unlawfully and indefinitely detained there, including 10 children. The youngest of these were two one-year-old twins who had been held there since 17 September.

Lawyers also told Amnesty International they had been prevented from representing refugees detained in police stations along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. UNHCR does not have access to the detained refugees.

Refugees arrested face a choice between accepting deportation or prolonged and unlawful detention. Dozens of families have been forcibly separated as a result. Lawyers told Amnesty International that in at least two instances refugees were collectively deported back to Damascus, Syria.

“Sending refugees back to a bloody conflict zone is a serious violation of international law. Refugees who have fled are at an obvious risk of human rights abuses,” said Sherif Elsayed Ali.

Most recently a group of 36 mostly Palestinian refugees from Syria were deported to Damascus on 4 October. Many are believed to have been detained at the Palestine Branch of Syrian Military Intelligence in Damascus.

Syrian and Palestinian refugees were accused of being supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and being complicit in political violence in Egypt following the deposition of President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July. They face deep stigma and have been subjected to xenophobic attacks in the media.

In recent months, the Egyptian authorities have also imposed new restrictions on Syrian nationals entering Egypt requiring them to obtain visas and security clearance before they arrive. Amnesty International calls upon countries in the region to keep their borders open to those fleeing the conflict and upon the international community to increase the opportunities for vulnerable refugees to be resettled outside the region.

“Introducing restrictions that effectively seal off borders to refugees fleeing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria sends an entirely wrong message. Egypt should be helping Syrians get back on their feet, not hindering them at every turn,” said Sherif Elsayed Ali.

Egypt: Boat sinking underlines wider tragedy for Syrian refugees

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Egypt: Boat sinking underlines wider tragedy for refugees from Syria 

11 October 2013

Today’s shipwreck off the coast of Alexandria that drowned at least 12 people, many believed to be refugees from Syria, highlights the crushing life-and-death decisions facing many who fled to Egypt to escape Syria’s armed conflict, Amnesty International said.

The organization is due to launch a briefing next week on the plight of refugees from Syria in Egypt, and currently has a delegation on the ground researching the situation.

“Our research has shown how the backdrop to today’s terrible boat accident is a much wider tragedy. Refugees from Syria are compelled to risk life and limb yet again in Egypt after facing arbitrary arrests, detentions and increased hostility,” said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty International's Head of Refugee and Migrants' Rights.

“Refugees from Syria have fled the depths of despair to seek safety in Egypt. But instead of providing shelter and hope for a new life, the Egyptian authorities’ actions are compelling many refugees from Syria into life-threatening situations, including entrusting their lives to smugglers in order to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.”

According to media reports, at least 100 people were rescued from today’s shipwreck and taken to a naval base and then to a police station in Alexandria. It is unknown what will happen to them next.

A second boat carrying migrants from Tunisia to Italy also reportedly sank off the coast of the island of Lampedusa today.

The shipwrecks come just a week after another tragic sinking off the coast of Lampedusa in Italy, in which more than 100 migrants and asylum-seekers – mainly Eritreans and Somalis – were killed when the overcrowded vessel carrying them sank after reportedly catching fire.

Egypt: Authorities crack-down on Syrian refugees

TIME

Egypt’s Military-Backed Government Cracks Down on Syrian Refugees

As Egypt's new government solidifies its power, Syrian refugees face growing vitriol and arrests

Aug. 24, 2013

 

Sam Kimball

 

 

In his small flat in the Masaken Uthman neighborhood on the desert outskirts of Cairo, Hamid pulls prayer beads tensely through his dry fingers, his legs folded beneath him on the living room floor. A flickering television illuminates the walls and a rotating fan beats the hot air. “It was night,” he says, recounting his recent arrest. “Two friends and I were in the apartment. There was a pounding on the door.” It was an investigator, Hamid recalls. “Evening, boys,” the officer said. “Your passports.”

Two months before, when Hamid’s residency had expired, Mohamed Morsi was still in the presidency, and Hamid wasn’t worried about being deported from Egypt, where he’d found a sanctuary from the war in his native Syria. But in the xenophobic atmosphere following Morsi’s ouster, overstaying one’s papers has taken on a new danger. “Come with me,” the investigator said, and he took Hamid into the night.

On July 25, the night before Egyptians took to the streets to support military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s “war on terror,” Qasim, who fled from Dara’a in southern Syria in early March of this year, was also detained by Egypt’s Homeland Security forces.

Along with his elderly father, he was taken from their home in Masaken Uthman by a security officer wearing civilian clothes. Qasim’s yellow card, which guarantees protection by the U.N. Refugee Agency, did nothing to help him. Waiting for them below their dilapidated apartment tower were five security cars and a troop of Homeland Security officers.

Hamid (who asked that TIME not use his real name), Qasim, and 17 others were arrested in one fell swoop on July 25 and accused of meddling in Egyptian affairs. The Homeland Security agency, successor of the Mubarak-era state-security body that was abolished after the 2011 revolution, questioned them aggressively about demonstrations at a former Muslim Brotherhood sit-in in northeastern Cairo. Exasperated, Qasim told them that most of the Syrians living in Mesekeen Uthman didn’t even know where the sit-in was.

“Too bad. Some of you have been going to protests with weapons and causing trouble,” a Homeland Security officer told Qasim. “Those people have ruined everything for the rest of you.”

Hamid and Qasim’s experience has become commonplace among Syrians in Egypt since the military-backed ouster of Morsi in early July. Mohamad Elmasry, a professor of journalism and mass communication at the American University in Cairo, says Syrian refugees are being scapegoated by the military-backed regime, part of a larger campaign to criminalize the Muslim Brotherhood.

“According to coupist logic, since the Muslim Brotherhood had been generally supportive of Gazans and Syrian refugees, it must follow that Gazans and Syrian refugees are harmful to Egypt,” Elmasry says. “Syrian refugees have been blamed for Egypt’s worsening economy, among other things.”

Media praise for the military and demonization of the Brotherhood and minority groups is nothing new in Egypt. What is shocking, Elmasry says, is how many Egyptians have accepted the disparaging stories about Syrians and been willing to participate in acts of repression. “The past few weeks have witnessed civilian arrests, violence against Syrian refugees and destruction of businesses and other property owned by Syrians,” Elmasry says.

“It’s true that security measures have been tightened in Egypt, but the basic policy remains the same,” Nasser Kamel, the Assistant Minister for Arab Affairs in Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, says of Syrian refugees. “I do recognize that some media outlets do not make the distinction [between average Syrian refugees and Brotherhood supporters],” he says. Regarding claims of cooperation between authorities and the media to vilify Syrians and deflect attention from the military’s crackdown, Kamel dismisses them categorically as “totally false and wrong.”

According to rights workers, the scapegoating of Syrians began almost immediately after calls for Morsi’s removal. “After the 30th of June, I am afraid to leave my apartment because the Egyptian media is saying that Syrians support Morsi,” Amin Kazkaz, a Syrian rights activist in Cairo working with a local refugee-assistance organization, tells TIME.

Since Morsi’s ouster, pro-military television hosts like Lamis El Hadidi from Egypt’s CBC channel regularly spout anti-Syrian vitriol, likening them to the Muslim Brotherhood. “She says things like, ‘I support Assad because he’s killing you and you deserve it,’” says Kazkaz, noting that the Egyptian authorities often tolerate this kind of hate speech. In a statement in July, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information condemned the rhetoric against Syrians and Palestinians, declaring that El Hadidi, among several others, were the worst purveyors.

An accurate number of Syrians arrested is hard to determine. Kazkaz says that hundreds of Syrians have been arbitrarily detained over the past month and a half. Mohamed Dayri, from the U.N. Refugee Agency’s Cairo office, puts the figure at 160 arrested since early July.

Nathaniel Kim, assistant director of the Tadamon Council, Egypt’s largest refugee-serving organization, asserts that the number is far higher. He says that since June 30, there have been more than 500 Syrians arrested in Cairo and Alexandria, but there are likely hundreds more arrests outside of the major cities going unreported. He notes that the U.N. Refugee Agency’s numbers are lower because they only track those registered with the U.N.

The targeting of Syrian refugees has raised concerns that Egypt might return to a Murabak-style security state. Elmasry thinks that is a real possibility. “I don’t think there’s any question that what has happened in Egypt is part of a larger counter–Jan. 25 revolution,” he says.

“The constitution has been suspended; numerous media outlets have been shut down without due process; there have been numerous political arrests, also without due process. Mubarak’s notorious state-security apparatus has been reintroduced.”

If the persecution of vulnerable Syrian refugees is an indicator of political trajectory, Egypt’s future may well be grim. Elmasry worries about the future for Syrians if the military-backed regime continues to solidify its power. ”Policies forcing them out of Egypt are likely, and I would not be surprised to see more anti-Syrian vigilante violence, particularly if media rhetoric continues to be as hysterical as it is,” Elmasry says. “I hope I am wrong.”

*Photo courtesy of the Associated Press

Omar Aziz, Syrian anarchist's impact on self-organization in the revolution

Tahrir-ICN

The life and work of anarchist Omar Aziz, and his impact on self-organization in the Syrian revolution

August 23, 2013

Leila Shrooms

Omar Aziz (fondly known by friends as Abu Kamal) was born in Damascus. He returned to Syria from exile in Saudi Arabia and the United States in the early days of the Syrian revolution.

An intellectual, economist, anarchist, husband and father, at the age of 63, he committed himself to the revolutionary struggle. He worked together with local activists to collect humanitarian aid and distribute it to suburbs of Damascus that were under attack by the regime.

Through his writing and activity he promoted local self-governance, horizontal organization, cooperation, solidarity and mutual aid as the means by which people could emancipate themselves from the tyranny of the state. Together with comrades, Aziz founded the first local committee in Barzeh, Damascus.

The example spread across Syria and with it some of the most promising and lasting examples of non-hierarchical self organization to have emerged from the countries of the Arab Spring.

In her tribute to Omar Aziz, Budour Hassan says, he “did not wear a Vendetta mask, nor did he form black blocs. He was not obsessed with giving interviews to the press …[Yet] at a time when most anti-imperialists were wailing over the collapse of the Syrian state and the “hijacking” of a revolution they never supported in the first place, Aziz and his comrades were tirelessly striving for unconditional freedom from all forms of despotism and state hegemony.”

Aziz was encouraged by the revolutionary wave gripping the country and believed that “ongoing demonstrations were able to break the dominance of absolute power”. But he saw a lack of synergy between revolutionary activity and people’s daily lives. For Aziz it didn’t make sense to participate in demonstrations demanding the overthrow of the regime  whilst still living within strict hierarchical and authoritarian structures imposed by the state.

He described such division as Syria being subject to the overlapping of two times “the time of power” which “still manages the life activities”, and “the time of Revolution” belonging to the activists working to overthrow the regime. Aziz believed that for the continuity and victory of the revolution, revolutionary activity needed to permeate all aspects of people’s lives.

He advocated for radical changes to social organization and relationships in order to challenge the foundations of a system based on domination and oppression.

Aziz saw positive examples all around him. He was encouraged by the multiple initiatives springing up throughout the country including voluntary provision of emergency medical and legal support, turning houses into field hospitals and arranging food baskets for distribution.

He saw in such acts “the spirit of the Syrian people’s resistance to the brutality of the system, the systematic killing and destruction of community”. Omar’s vision was to spread these practices and he believed the way to achieve this was through the establishment of local councils. In the eighth month of the Syrian revolution, when wide-spread protests against the regime were still largely peaceful, Omar Aziz produced a discussion paper on Local Councils in Syria where he set out his vision.

In Aziz’s view the Local Council was the forum by which people drawn from diverse cultures and different social strata could work together to achieve three primary goals;  to manage their lives independently of the institutions and organs of the state; to provide the space to enable the collective collaboration of individuals; and activate the social revolution at the local, regional and national level.

In his paper Aziz lists what he thinks the core concerns of the local councils should be:

1. the promotion of human and civil solidarity through improving living conditions especially through provision of safe housing to the displaced; providing assistance, both psychological and material to the families of the wounded or detainees; providing medical and food support; ensuring the continuity of educational services; and supporting and coordinating media activities. Aziz notes that such acts should be voluntary and should not be a substitute for family or kin support networks. He believed it would take time for people to feel comfortable outside of the provision of state services and adjust their social behavior to be more cooperative. Aziz believed the council’s role should be kept to a minimum allowing for the development of unique community initiatives.
2. the promotion of cooperation including building local community initiatives and actions and promoting innovation and invention which Aziz saw as being stifled by half a century of tyranny. The local council would be the forum through which people could discuss the problems they face in life and their daily conditions. The local council would support collaboration and allow people to devise appropriate solutions to the problems they faced including on issues relating to infrastructure, social harmony and trade, as well as issues that required solutions external to the local community. Aziz also saw a key role as being the defense of territory in rural and urban areas that had been subject to expropriation and acquisition by the state. He rejected the urban expropriation of land and marginalization and displacement of rural communities, which he saw as a method used by the regime to enforce its policy of domination and social exclusion. Aziz believed it necessary to ensure access to land which can satisfy the necessities of life for all and called for a rediscovery of the commons. He was realistic but optimistic. He noted that “it is clear that such acts apply to safe locations or areas quasi- ‘liberated’ from power. But it is possible to assess the situation of each area and determine what can be achieved.” Aziz advocated for horizontal linkages to be made between councils to create linkages and interdependence between different geographic regions.
3. the relationship with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the interrelation between protection and defence of the community and the continuity of the revolution. Aziz believed that it was essential to coordinate between the popular civil and popular armed resistance. He saw the role of the FSA as to ensure the security and defence of the community particularly during demonstrations, support securing lines of communications between regions, and provide protection for the movement of people and logistical supplies. The role of the council would be to provide food and housing for all members of the FSA and coordinate with the FSA on security for the community and the defence strategy for the region.
4. the composition of local councils and organizational structure. Aziz saw a number of challenges facing the formation of multiple local councils. The first was the regime, which repeatedly stormed cities and towns in order to paralyze the movement, isolate the people in enclaves, and prevent cooperation. Aziz argued that to respond to such onslaughts by the state, mechanisms of resistance needed to remain flexible and innovative. Councils would have to scale up or down according to need and adapt to power relations on the ground. He believed this flexibility was essential for the community’s desire for freedom to be realized. He also saw the challenge in encouraging people to practice a way of life and social relationships which were new and unfamiliar. Also service provision needed to be maintained and it was necessary to find a way to get an independent source of power in the face of cuts, as well as supporting the development of economic and social activities. For this reason he believed local council members should include social workers and people with expertise in various social, organizational and technical fields who have both the respect of the people and a potential and desire to work voluntarily. For Aziz the organizational structure of the local council is a process that begins with the minimum required and should evolve depending on the level of the transformation achieved by the revolution, the balance of power within a given area, and relationship with neighboring areas. He encouraged local council’s to share knowledge, learn from the experience of other councils and coordinate regionally.
5. the role of the National Council is to give legitimacy to the initiative and gain the acceptance of activists. It should seek funding in order to carry out necessary work and cover expenses which it may not be possible to be cover at the regional level. The National Council would facilitate coordination between regions in order to find common ground and foster closer interdependence.[5]

Omar Aziz’s work has had a huge impact on revolutionary organization in Syria. Whilst the mainstream political opposition failed to achieve anything of note in the past two years, the grassroots opposition movement, in the face of violent repression, has remained dynamic and innovative and has embodied the anarchist spirit.

The core of the grassroots opposition is the youth, mainly from the poor and middle-classes, in which women and diverse religious and ethnic groups play active roles (see here and here ). Many of these activists remain non-affiliated to traditional political ideologies but are motivated by concerns for freedom, dignity and basic human rights. Their primary objective has remained the overthrow of the regime, rather than developing grand proposals for a future Syria.

The main form of revolutionary organization has been through the development of the tansiqiyyat; hundreds of local committees established in neighborhoods and towns across the country. Here, revolutionary activists engage in multiple activities, from documenting and reporting on violations carried out by the regime (and increasingly elements of the opposition) to organizing protests and civil disobedience campaigns (such as strikes and refusing to pay utility bills) and collecting and providing aid and humanitarian supplies to areas under bombardment or siege.

There is no one model but they often operate as horizontally organized, leaderless groups, made up of all segments of the society. They have been the foundation of the revolutionary movement creating solidarity amongst the people, a sense of community and collective action. See here  about Yabroud’s (Damascus suburb) efforts to organize in the absence of the state. Some local committees have elected representatives such as in Kafranbel Idlib, where a committee of elected representatives have made their own constitution (see here).

Youth activists from Kafranbel keep the popular protest movement alive and have gained world wide fame for their use of colorful and satirical banners at weekly protests (see here). They also engage in civil activities such as providing psychosocial support for children and forums for adults to discuss issues such as civil disobedience and peaceful resistance.

At the city and district levels revolutionary councils or majlis thawar have been established. They are often the primary civil administrative structure in areas liberated from the state, as well as some areas that remain under state control. These ensure the provision of basic services, coordinate the activities of local committees and coordinate with the popular armed resistance.

Undoubtedly as state provision of services has disappeared from some areas, and the humanitarian situation has deteriorated, they have played an increasingly vital role. There is no one model for the Local Councils, but they mainly follow some form of representative democratic model. Some have established different administrative departments to take over functions previously held by the state. Some have been more successful and inclusive than others which have struggled to displace the bureaucracy of the old regime or have been plagued by infighting.

Whilst the main basis of activity is very much at the local level, there are a number of different umbrella groups which have emerged to coordinate and network on the regional and national level.

These include the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), National Action Committees (NAC), the Federation of the Coordination Committees of the Syrian Revolution (FCC) and the Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC). None represent the totality of local committees/councils and they have different organizational structures and differing levels of engagement or non-engagement with the formal political opposition. See here  for an interactive map which shows the coordinating committees and councils, as well as the flourishing of many other civil initiatives and campaigns in a country where such activity was previously brutally repressed.

A major threat facing these diverse initiatives has not only been the persecution of activists by the regime, lack of resources, the onslaught of the state’s attack of civilian areas and increasingly deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions. Some local councils have been hijacked by reactionary and counter-revolutionary forces.

For example, in Al Raqqa non-local rebel groups with salafi/takfiri leanings took much of the power away from the local council. As they have tried to impose an Islamic vision which is alien to almost everyone, the people of Raqqa have been holding continuous protests against them. In this video here from June 2013 people are demonstrating against arrests of family members by Jabhat Al Nusra. The women are shouting “shame on you! You betrayed us in the name of Islam”.

Throughout August 2013 the people of Al Raqqa have been protesting almost daily against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) demanding the release of hundreds of detainees, abductees and missing persons. Likewise in Aleppo revolutionaries launched the ‘enough is enough’ campaign calling for an end to rebel abuses and for accountability.

This demonstration from June 2013 was held in front of Sharia Court in Aleppo after the killing of a child for allegedly insulting the prophet Mohammad. The people here are calling for the murderers to be brought to justice saying “”The Sharia Committee has become the Air Force Intelligence!” (the most brutal security branch of Assad regime). In Idlib people have also been protesting against a Sharia Committee which has been established, here they say “we are against the regime, against extremist killing and oppression” and are calling for the return of professional lawyers (independent judiciary) to the court (instead of religious men).

Omar Aziz did not live to see the often seemingly insurmountable challenges that would beset Syria’s revolutionaries, or the successes and failures of experiments in local self-organization. On 20 November 2012, he was arrested from his home by the mukhabarat (much feared intelligence service). Shortly before his arrest he said “We are no less than the Paris Commune workers: they resisted for 70 days and we are still going on for a year and a half."

Aziz was held in an intelligence detention cell of 4 by 4 meters which was shared with 85 other people. This likely contributed to the deterioration of his already weak health. He was later transferred to Adra prison where he died from heart complications in February 2013, a day before his 64th birthday.

Omar Aziz’s name may never be widely known, but he deserves recognition as a leading contemporary figure in the development of anarchist thought and practice. The experiments in grass roots revolutionary organization that he inspired provide insight and lessons in anarchist organizing for future revolutions across the globe.

Egypt: Do Not Return Asylum Seekers to Syria

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Egypt: Do Not Return Asylum Seekers to Syria 

Syrians Summarily Returned; Registered Asylum Seekers Denied Reentry

July 10, 2013

(New York) – Egypt should allow those fleeing Syria full access to the UN refugee agency to have their asylum claims properly examined, and should also allow Syrians already registered with the UN body to reenter the country after periods abroad, Human Rights Watch said today.

Without prior warning, on July 8, the Egyptian government changed its entry policy for Syrians arriving in Egypt by requiring them to obtain a visa and security clearance before arriving in the country. According to media reports, on the same day Egypt denied entry to 276 people arriving from Syria, including a plane with Syrian nationals on board, who were then flown back to the Syrian town of Latakia.

The new policy has also left several Syrians stranded in Alexandria’s international airport, including at least three people already registered as asylum seekers with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Egypt, who say the authorities plan to return them to the countries from which they arrived.

“Egypt may be going through tumultuous times, but it must not return anyone, including Syrians, to somewhere threatening their life or freedom,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “While the Egyptian government can require foreign nationals to obtain visas before arriving in Egypt, it must properly protect them. Egypt should continue to allow those fleeing from Syria to lodge asylum claims with UNHCR and receive protection.”

To date, UNHCR in Egypt has registered, or is in the process of registering, some 90,000 asylum seekers from Syria.

On its official Facebook page, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that a new visa policy had been implemented but said the decision was temporary, and a result of the current unrest in the country. According to one media account, airport officials also said that the new requirement followed reports that Syrians in Egypt were supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, and that some had participated in violent protests following President Mohamed Morsy’s removal from power.

Under international refugee and human rights law, the Egyptian government may not send anyone back to a place threatening their life or freedom, or where they risk inhuman or degrading treatment or torture. Before deporting anyone to Syria, Egypt should therefore guarantee all asylum seekers from Syria access to UNHCR which, under a 1954 agreement with Egypt, conducts refugee status determination procedures in the country.

Egypt should also guarantee the right of all Syrians already registered as asylum seekers in Egypt to freely move in and out of the country. Human Rights Watch said that refusing such people reentry into Egypt after travel abroad would expose them to the risk of getting stuck in limbo, with no country allowing them entry.

Two Syrians told Human Rights Watch that they’ve been trapped at Alexandria’s international airport since July 8, despite being registered as asylum seekers with UNHCR in Egypt.

One woman who spoke to Human Rights Watch explained that she’d been residing in Egypt with her family for nearly six months, but that she recently had to travel with her mother to renew their passports in Amman, Jordan. After renewing their passports, they returned to Egypt from Amman. But when they arrived at the airport in Alexandria on July 8, an airport official informed them they would not be allowed into the country because of the new visa rules – despite the fact that they are registered asylum seekers.

In addition to her fear of being separated from her family, including her three daughters and husband who reside in Alexandria, the woman told Human Rights Watch that she was concerned about her mother’s health. She said her mother suffers from diabetes and that she was running out of the medication she needs to manage her condition. According to the daughter, her mother requested to see a doctor in the airport, and while one was provided for her, he was not able to give her the medication she needs.

Under international human rights law, Egypt is obliged to protect the right to health of everyone within its territory, including ensuring, as a core minimum obligation, access to essential medication.

A Syrian man, who also told Human Rights Watch that he is registered as an asylum seeker with UNHCR in Egypt, was also being held in Alexandria airport. He said he came to Egypt from Saudi Arabia, where he works, to see his family members who have resided in Egypt for the past seven months. He said airport officials told him that he would not be allowed entry because of the new visa rules, and that he would be returned to Saudi Arabia.

“While Egypt is going through a very difficult period, it simply should not strand Syrians this way, especially those who have fled such a devastating conflict at home,” Houry said.

4 people arrested after shoe-attack on Ahmadinejad

RT News

Four people arrested after Ahmadinejad shoe-attack in Cairo 

Three Egyptians and a Syrian were arrested for trying to attack Iranian President Ahmadinejad in front of Al-Hussein mosque in Cairo. The leader is in the Egyptian capital on a visit.A video shot by a Turkish cameraman shows a young man shouting at Ahmadinejad and trying to hit the president's head with a shoe, instead striking one of his bodyguards.

Security sources told Reuters that the three Egyptians were all members of al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, a hardline Islamist group.

The four men were detained on suspicion of trying to attack the President, the security sources said. The men were held overnight but released on bail of 500 Egyptian pounds ($75) each on Wednesday.

The Syrian attacker was heard chanting anti-Iranian slogans for supporting the Syrian government, Turkey's Anatolia news agency reported.

The Iranian leader’s three-day visit has been described as the latest sign of improved relations between the Tehran and Cairo after the 2011 uprising that ousted Egypt's longtime ruler, President Hosni Mubarak and brought an Islamist government to power.

Following his arrival, the Iranian president and his Egyptian counterpart held a 20-minute talk focusing on the civil war in Syria, AP reported quoting unnamed security officials. Historically, both countries have stood opposed on the question of Syria, with Iran being Damascus' closest regional ally and Egypt supporting calls for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.

Mahmud Ahmadinejad arrived in protest-stricken Cairo to attend the Islamic Solidarity Organization conference. It’s the first visit of an Iranian leader to Egypt since 1979.

Egypt: Don't force Palestinians back to Syria

Human Rights Watch

Egypt: Don’t Force Palestinians Back to Syria

Two Syrian Refugees Unlawfully Returned to Syria Last Week

January 18, 2013

Two Palestinians being held at the Cairo airport, apparently refused entry to Egypt, are at risk of deportation to Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. The man and his son would face indiscriminate violence and possible persecution if returned to Syria. The Egyptian authorities should not to return anyone to Syria at this time.

It appears that some asylum seekers arriving from Syria in Egypt are at risk of refoulement, forced return to Syria, Human Rights Watch said.  Egyptian airport officials deported two Syrian men back to Syria on January 13, 2013, in violation of Egypt’s non-refoulement obligations. In mid-December, immigration officials halted an attempted deportation of 13 Syrians at the last minute.

“Egypt may have a right to detain people temporarily or investigate them on grounds of false documentation but it may not under any circumstance return them to Syria,” said Bill Frelick, Refugee Program director at Human Rights Watch. “Egypt is obligated under international law not to return anyone, regardless of status, to a place where they would be persecuted.”

The authorities should allow representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to visit the two men, Human Rights Watch said. The Palestinians told credible sources that they had entered Egypt from Syria using their official Palestinian refugee travel documents with the rest of their family.

Subsequently the man travelled to Turkey using his travel document and from there attempted to travel to a European Union country using improper documents, Turkish officials said. Turkish officials deported them to Egypt, where airport officials detained them on grounds of having attempted to travel using false documents and told them they would be deported.

UNHCR’s latest guidance on Syrian refugees calls on all countries to “maintain a moratorium on all returns to Syria for the time being, pending an assessment of when the changed situation in the country would permit return in safety and dignity.”

Both the Convention against Torture and the African Refugee Convention forbid Egypt from sending people to countries where they face a serious risk of persecution or torture. The African Refugee Convention calls on member states to use their “best endeavors” to receive refugees and provide them asylum.

Egypt is also a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which, under article 13, prohibits arbitrary expulsion and entitles foreigners to an individual decision on their removal/expulsion. The UN Human Rights Committee has interpreted article 7 of the ICCPR to forbid refoulement – or forced return – of people to places where they would be at risk of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Egypt is bound to apply the ICCPR to anyone in its territory.

On January 13, Cairo airport officials deported two other Syrian men, ages 20 and 22, to Damascus on January 13. The two had landed in Egypt on December 12 from Syria with valid passports. When they attempted to travel to France13 days later, airport immigration officials detained them on the grounds that their visas to France were forged, credible community sources told Human Rights Watch.

In the week of December 13, immigration officials transferred 13 Syrians who had been in detention in Qanater prison after their arrest in Salloum to Cairo airport for deportation. Airport security officials released 6 of them on January 16 after their lawyer intervened, and the other 7 remained in the airport for another day. They were released after UNHCR intervened. It is unclear what prompted this attempted deportation, and what stopped it.

Egypt has provided protection for more than 13,000 refugees from Syria, a positive development, Human Rights Watch said.  And most refugees have been able to enter at the Cairo airport without difficulty.  But the two cases of refoulement raise concerns that, going forward, airport officials might use improper documents as grounds to deport to Syria, Human Rights Watch said.

Egypt is party to the 1951 Refugee Convention but has turned over responsibility for determining refugee status to UNHCR. Interior Ministry immigration officials have in the past ordered deportations that amount to refoulement, most notoriously in 2008 with the deportation of 1,200 Eritreans. But until the past two months Egypt had not attempted refoulement of Syrians.

Interior Ministry deportation orders may be challenged before Egypt’s administrative courts. In 2010, an Egyptian administrative court ordered immigration officials to halt an attempted deportation of two recognized Sudanese refugees on the grounds that their deportation would violate Egypt’s obligations under the Refugee Convention and the ICCPR.

“At a time of great conflict and tragedy in Syria, we call on Egypt and all countries not to return any residents of Syria, including Palestinians, to Syria,” Frelick said.

Egypt's cluster bombs allegedly used by Syrian regime

Daily News Egypt

Egyptian cluster bombs allegedly used in Syria

January 14, 2013

Basil El-Dabh 

HRW publishes report saying cluster munitions produced in Egypt have been used on Syrian rebels by Assad’s forces

Government forces in Syria are using cluster bombs manufactured in Egypt in its civil war, claims Human Rights Watch (HRW). In a report on Monday, HRW claimed that Syrian forces had used cluster munitions near the city of Idlib in December and in the town of Latamneh on 3 January.

Some of the found cluster munitions were reportedly labeled with the Arab Organisation for Industrialization (AOI), a state-owned venture, and the Sakr Factory for Development Industries.

AOI produces a long line of military vehicles and arms including rockets, missiles, armoured vehicles and aircraft parts.

HRW said the Egyptian-made arms were 122mm munition rockets. Each rocket contains Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) submunitions. These type of cluster bombs are both used for antipersonnel and anti-vehicle purposes.

Cluster munitions are explosive weapons that eject smaller submunitions or bomblets when they near their targets. They pose a significant risk to civilian populations due to the wide area affected by the bomblets.

Due to the urban settings in which much of the Syrian conflict has taken place, cluster munitions risk hitting not just rebel targets but the surrounding housing and civilians in the area.

Due to their indiscriminate nature the use of cluster munitions during armed conflict is controversial in the international community. The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which prohibits the use, transfer, or stockpile of cluster bombs, is observed by 111 countries.

Egypt has neither signed nor ratified the convention. The only countries in MENA that agreed to adopt the convention in 2008 were Bahrain, Lebanon, Morocco and Qatar.

Egypt is one of 35 countries that produce cluster munitions and one of 86 countries that stockpile them. 

According to the Cluster Munition Coalition, Egypt and Israel are the only countries in the region that have exported cluster munitions. Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Israel have produced cluster munitions, while many more countries in the MENA region import and stockpile them, including Syria. Egypt also imports cluster munitions from the United States.

HRW condemned President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces for using cluster bombs, especially in heavily-populated areas where they are most likely to injure and kill civilians.

 

*Photo courtesy of AFP/ JOHN MACDOUGALL

Anonymous threatens Morsi & party with cyber-warfare

Foreign Policy

Anonymous threatens Morsy with cyberwarfare

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Sulome Anderson 

 

Members of the amorphous hacker collective known as "Anonymous" released a video on YouTube Tuesday warning Egyptian president Mohamed Morsy that he risks cyberwarfare unless he relinquishes his claim to extrajudicial powers.

In the video, titled Anonymous #OpEgypt, a figure wearing the group's signature Guy Fawkes mask threatens cyberattacks against the Egyptian government as well as Morsy personally:

"Dr Morsy has repeatedly shown his lack of care about the core values of democracy...Now, he is gradually grasping more and more authoritarian power in his hands...To Dr. Morsy: Anonymous will not sit by and watch you washing away what thousands of Egyptians got killed and injured for...when you ignore this message, not only will we attack your organizations and websites; Anonymous will make sure you stand exposed against your people as well as the international community...we are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive, we do not forget. Expect us."

This isn't Anonymous' first warning to the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Egyptian government. In a video released on Nov. 7, the group announced that it would shut down the official Brotherhood website; a threat which was carried out a few days later.

Anonymous played an important role in the original 2011 Egyptian uprising against then-president Hosni Mubarak, when it successfully targeted a number of government websites and provided technical support to activists during a government-instituted Internet blackout.

Anonymous' other recent notable attempt at targeted "hacktivism" in the Middle East occurred during the conflict in Gaza earlier this month, when it claimed to have defaced 10,000 Israeli websites and released the personal data of 5,000 Israeli government officials in a press statement. Israeli officials confirmed that the government had deflected over 44 million cyberattacks, but maintained that only one website was briefly shut down.

Cyberattacks have emerged as a popular form of activism in recent Middle Eastern conflicts, especially the Syrian uprising, which has prompted hacking attempts by pro and anti-regime groups. In August, hackers loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad targeted Reuters and Al Jazeera, while an opposition group released what they claimed were over 3,000 personal emails between Assad and his wife in March. 

Although it's unclear how much damage Anonymous and other cyberactivists have actually inflicted on the governments and institutions they target, anyone who has ever had their computer freeze at an inconvenient moment can sympathize with what's potentially in store for Morsy. Given the protests currently blazing across Egypt, it's hard to imagine a more inopportune time for him to experience technical difficulties.

Egypt: Police forcefully disperse anti-Assad protest

Ahram Online

Egyptian police forcefully disperse anti-Assad protest 

Tuesday 4 Sep 2012

Police forces clash with dozens of protesters at an anti-Assad protest in front of the Syrian Embassy in Cairo

Clashes erupted between Egyptian police and dozens of protesters in front of the Syrian embassy in Downtown Cairo during an anti-Assad protest Tuesday evening.

Clashes started when protesters attempted to break through the cordon in front of the embassy, with the aim of taking down the Syrian flag, according to an Ahram Online correspondent at the scene.

Police chased protesters away from the embassy building as Molotov cocktails and rocks were thrown.

Activists have organised several demonstrations at the embassy to protest the mass killings of Syrian citizens by the forces of the Assad regime since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011.

The last major anti-Assad protest in Cairo in front of the Syrian embassy was in July, when violent clashes also broke out between protesters and police forces as hundreds of protesters attempted to storm the Syrian embassy to seize the flag.
 

*Photo courtesy of REUTERS

Arab states amongst the worst violators of press freedoms

AlBawaba

Worst countries for censorship: Syria, Saudi, Eritrea

May 3, 2012

Eritrea experiences the worst censorship in the world, while Equatorial Guinea is among the five most heavily-censored countries, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

In a report released ahead of World Press Freedom Day, the committee also notes that Ethiopia and Sudan only just escape being named in the world's "10 most censored countries".

The respected, New York-based lobby names the 10 countries, in order of appearance on the list as: Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, Iran, Equatorial Guinea, Uzbekistan, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Belarus.

Of Eritrea, the CPJ says: "Only state news media are allowed to operate in Eritrea, and they do so under the complete direction of Information Minister Ali Abdu. Journalists are conscripted into their work and enjoy no editorial freedom; they are handed instructions on how to cover events."

It quotes an exiled Eritrean journalist as saying: "Every time [a journalist] had to write a story, they arrange for interview subjects and tell you specific angles you have to write on... We usually wrote lots about the president [Isaias Afewerki] so that he's always in the limelight."

Also noting that Eritrea shuts out the international media, the CPJ adds: "Journalists suspected of sending information outside the country are thrown into prison without charge or trial and held for extended periods of time without access to family or a lawyer. The government expelled the last accredited foreign correspondent in 2007."

Access to the Internet is also restricted in Eritrea: all service providers have to connect to the world through a state-operated company, access is affordable only to a few, and a plan to introduce mobile Internet connectivity was abandoned after the Arab Spring uprisings.

In Equatorial Guinea, the CPJ says the government of Teodoro Obiang Nguema "tightly controls all news and information over national airwaves. Technically, some outlets are privately owned, but none are independent, as Obiang and his associates exert direct or indirect control. State media do not provide international news coverage unless Obiang or another official travels abroad. Censors enforce rigid rules to ensure the regime is portrayed positively; journalists who don't comply risk prison under criminal statutes including defamation."

Here too, the government controls information conveyed abroad: "Security agents closely shadow foreign journalists and restrict photography or filming that documents poverty. The government paid three Washington-based public relations firms a total of US$1.2 million between April and October 2010 to produce positive news about Equatorial Guinea, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice."

Although Ethiopia and Sudan escape mention in the top 10 list of offenders, the CPJ notes that in the former, censorship has become tighter in recent years, and that the government appoints media managers and licenses media. Also, "anti-terrorism legislation criminalizes any reporting that the Ethiopian government deems favorable to opposition movements designated as terrorist".

In Sudan, "authorities... frequently confiscate newspapers, which are the widespread form of media. This year, security forces have increasingly adopted the technique of confiscating newspaper editions wholesale to inflict financial losses on publishers".

The CPJ used 15 criteria to make its judgements, including "blocking of websites; restrictions on electronic recording and dissemination; the absence of privately owned or independent media; restrictions on journalist movements; license requirements to conduct journalism; security service monitoring of journalists; jamming of foreign broadcasts; blocking of foreign correspondents."

Syria: One year into uprising, death toll at 8,000+

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Syria: Witnesses Describe Idlib Destruction, Killings
One Year On, Indiscriminate Attacks Inflicting Heavy Toll

March 15, 2012


(New York) – Accounts from witnesses reveal significant destruction and a large number of deaths and injuries of civilians in Syria’s bombardment of the city of Idlib, Human Rights Watch said today. On the anniversary of the Syrian uprising, Human Rights Watch urged Russia and China to agree to a UN Security Council resolution calling on Syria to halt the indiscriminate attacks on cities and demand access for humanitarian workers, journalists, and human rights monitors.

Idlib is the latest opposition stronghold to come under attack by the Syrian security forces attempting to rout the armed opposition. Syrian activists have compiled a list of 114 civilians killed since the current assault there, which began on March 10, 2012. Five witnesses, including three foreign correspondents, gave separate accounts to Human Rights Watch that government forces used large-caliber machine-guns, tanks, and mortars to fire indiscriminately at buildings and people in the street. After they entered Idlib, government forces detained people in house-to-house searches, looted buildings, and burned down houses, the witnesses said.

“City after city, town after town, Syria’s security forces are using their scorched earth methods while the Security Council’s hands remain tied by Russia and China,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “One year on, the Security Council should finally stand together and send a clear message to Assad that these attacks should end.”

The attacks on Idlib follow months of atrocities that both the United Nation’s Commission of Inquiry and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have described as crimes against humanity.

The large-scale military operation on Idlib on March 10 began at around 5 a.m.

“Michael,” an international journalist who was in the city, told Human Rights Watch:

The army started shelling the city in the morning with tanks and continued until the night. They were shelling everywhere. In the morning we could hear shells every two minutes. There was a short pause in the middle of the day before they started again. They were not shelling anything in particular. They were just trying to scare the population. The rebels were trying to fight, but it was impossible. After the shelling, the army started to move into the city.

“Maria,” another international journalist who was there that day, said that when the army opened fire from an armored personnel carrier on a building close to her, she ran to help people who had been wounded:

[After I heard about the attack] I ran to the building with a group of Syrians to help the people there. Some of the Syrians running to the building had weapons and cell-phones, but they were not taking active part in the fighting. There was a helicopter flying above us and it seems like the attack was well coordinated. Just before I reached the building – I was about 10 meters away – the government forces attacked again. It seems like they were shooting from the gun on an armored personnel carrier. If they had been shooting with anything bigger I would have been dead.

There were no weapons in the building and, although there was fighting in the vicinity, nobody had been shooting from that building. They were just attacking places where they could see groups of people, not caring at all whether the people were actually part of the fighting.

Maria, who like some of the others interviewed asked that her name not be used for fear of reprisals, told Human Rights Watch that at least five people were wounded and two killed in that attack.

Government forces also used mortars during the attack on the city. “Wasim,” an Idlib resident, described to Human Rights Watch what he saw when he went to a building on Ajama street in the northwestern part of the city that had been attacked around 6 a.m. on March 10:

Half of the building was destroyed. Three children – two girls and one boy – and their father had been killed. One of the girls had fallen from the building so she was lying in the street. The other members of the family were injured as well. It looked like the building had been hit from the roof. There was no particular reason for the army to attack this building. They just shot at everything. They are crazy. They have no particular targets.

“Hassan,” a journalist with significant experience working in war zones, told Human Rights Watch that one of the people extracting the wounded and killed from the building on Ajama street brought him remnants of the shell used to attack the building. Hassan identified the remnant as a mortar.

Another international journalist, who was just outside the city, said that shelling was continuing on March 12, and to a lesser degree on March 13.

Many of the wounded and killed were brought to a hospital in the old city, which was quickly overwhelmed by the number of casualties. Michael told Human Rights Watch:

At least 20 killed people were brought to the hospital the first day. There were more the second day – at least 30. The third day was terrifying. I don’t think anybody was keeping lists at that point. Wounded people kept arriving all the time. Medical personnel were trying to revive and attend to the wounded on the floors in the corridors because there was no space. Doctors were doing surgery without the proper equipment. They were doing their best, but they were really exhausted.

Hassan described the same hospital in similar terms:

The hospital was in total chaos. They couldn’t cope with the number of killed and injured. The dead were buried right away in a nearby park. But by Sunday [March 11] they had run out of space in the park and the park and school behind it were also being attacked so they had to bury the dead wherever they could.

Four witnesses among those Human Rights Watch interviewed who visited the hospital during the onslaught said that many of the killed and injured had clearly not taken part in any fighting. Michael told Human Rights Watch:

I would say that about half of the casualties were clearly civilians. There were women, children and elderly among them. Most of the civilians were wounded or killed because of shelling.

As government forces moved in to occupy areas of the city, they frequently looted shops and apartments, and deliberately burned down houses of suspected activists, the witnesses said. Wasim told Human Rights Watch that after he left the city on March 12, his father called him to tell him that the forces had destroyed many of the shops in their street and that they had torched the building on the opposite side of the street.

Another Idlib resident, “Mustafa,” told Human Rights Watch:

I have a list of almost 30 houses that have been burned down. At least some of them belonged to activists. On certain streets all the stores and shops have been looted. They even took the safe from some of the stores.

Government forces also detained scores of people during the offensive, both in Idlib and in surrounding towns. Some were released, while others are still in detention.

The witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that it is very difficult for people to leave the city as the highway encircling Idlib, forming a belt around the city, is controlled by the Syrian army. Landmines planted by government forces along the border with Turkey have made it even more difficult for people to flee the government’s onslaught. Hassan estimated that 85 percent of Idlib’s population is still in the city.

“The army controls the highway,” Hassan said. “The only way to get out is to sneak through the olive trees at night and try to cross the highway without the army noticing.”

Mustafa said that he had walked through fields in the dark for 15 kilometers to get out of the city.

The witnesses told Human Rights Watch that city residents had been killed by sporadic shelling and sniper fire before the March 10 offensive, but on a smaller scale.


One year after the uprising began in Syria, security forces have killed at least 8,000 civilians according to lists compiled by local activists. Vetoes by Russia and China have prevented the Security Council from taking any action on Syria despite evidence that crimes against humanity are being committed.

The UN secretary-general’s special envoy, Kofi Annan, will brief the Security Council on his efforts on March 16. Human Rights Watch urged Russia and China to support a United Nations Security Council resolution that would give Annan’s efforts the strongest possible backing as well as demanding that the Syrian government end the indiscriminate shelling of cities and allow access to affected areas for humanitarian workers, journalists, and human rights monitors.

The resolution should also provide for targeted sanctions against officials involved in the abuse and an embargo on arms delivery to the Syrian government, and refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has, on multiple occasions, recommended that the Security Council refer the situation to the court. Similarly, a growing number and wide range of countries have voiced their support for an ICC referral. On March 13, during a session at the UN Human Rights Council, Austria delivered a cross-regional statement on behalf of 13 countries supporting the High Commissioner’s call for a referral.

Human Rights Watch urged others to join the mounting calls for accountability by supporting a referral to the ICC as the forum most capable of effectively investigating and prosecuting those bearing the greatest responsibility for abuses in Syria.


*In Arabic:
سوريا: شهود يصفون أعمال التدمير والقتل في إدلب

**Photo courtesy of REUTERS
***Map & statistics issued by Syrian Martyrs