CIVIL WAR IN
From Protest to Persecution:
01 Feb 2011, 6pm:
# Egypt crisis: Israel
The Egyptian crisis is ringing alarm bells in Jerusalem
By David Horovitz, editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.
The Middle East is in ferment at the moment – but despite the general excitement, the outcome could be a grim one for Israel
In the past few weeks, we have seen a president ousted in Tunisia Yemen Iran essentially take control of Lebanon Syria Egypt
It is tempting to be smug. Egypt 's blink-of-an-eye descent into instability underlines afresh the uniqueness of Israel Israel , but because their countries are so unlike Israel
for granted.
Yet the country is deeply concerned. The main worry is over a repeat of the events in Iran Iran Egypt Israel Gaza
The danger for the Egyptians is that, when the protests are over, their brave efforts will have replaced Mubarak not with a leadership more committed to freedom and democracy, but quite the reverse. Yet for Israelis, it underlines the challenges we face when it comes to peacemaking.
Our country, it is often forgotten, is 1/800th of the size of the Arab world, only nine miles wide at its narrowest point. We are not some territorial superpower that can afford not to care if there is hostility all around: we desperately need normalised relations with our neighbours. But if we do a lousy deal, with a regime that is either unstable or not genuinely committed to reconciliation, the consequences could be fatal.
Israelis, I believe, would make almost any territorial compromise in the cause of genuine peace.
But where both the Palestinians and the Syrians are concerned, we're far from certain that we have a dependable partner. And as the Egyptian experience is demonstrating, even our most concrete certainties can turn fluid overnight.
For half of Israel 's lifespan, our alliance with Egypt Israel Egypt under Mubarak has been less critical of Israel than most other Arab states, gradually intensifying the effort to prevent the smuggling of missiles, rockets and other weaponry into Hamas-controlled Gaza
Over the past two years, as Turkey Egypt could also be lost – at a time when Iran and its nuclear ambitions cast an ever greater shadow over the region, and over Israel
But perhaps the most profound concern is over the reversal of momentum that the Egyptian protests could come to represent. For a generation, Israel Egypt , then with Jordan Morocco
Now, for the first time in more than 30 years, we see that momentum reversing. We wonder whether Egypt Jordan
We had hoped that the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979 would come to be the defining event of the modern era. Now, we fear that our world will be defined by another event from that year: Iran
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16 Mar 2011, 1:00am :
Rare political protest held in Syria
About 40 people joined a rare Syrian protest on Tuesday, briefly chanting political slogans in central Damascus
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said there was no chance the political upheaval shaking the Arab world would spread to Syria
Civil unrest has swept countries across the Arab world, overthrowing the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia and leading to bloody confrontations in Libya , Bahrain and Yemen
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who succeeded his father 11 years ago, has said there was no chance the political upheaval shaking the Arab world would spread to Syria
The witness said the protest occurred shortly after noon prayers.
A short YouTube video showed a few dozen people marching down Hameediyeh, near the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus ' old city, clapping and chanting "God , Syria
The crowd also chanted "Peaceful, Peaceful", heard in protests that brought down Egypt
A voice in the background said: "The date is (March) 15 ... This is the first obvious uprising against the Syrian regime ... Alawite or Sunni, all kinds of Syrians, we want to bring down the regime".
Since mass uprisings overthrew Mubarak and Tunisia
New York-based Human Rights Watch has said Syria
Earlier this month the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 13 political prisoners had gone on hunger strike to protest against "political detentions and oppression" in their country.
One of the prisoners, 80-year-old former judge Haitham al-Maleh, was later released under an amnesty marking the anniversary of the 1963 coup which brought the Baath party to power.
Officials say political prisoners in Syria have violated the constitution and that outside criticism of the state's human rights record is interference in Syria
President Assad said in an interview published in January that Syria
12pm: Syrian security disperses protests
Syrian security forces have dispersed about 150 demonstrators who had been demanding the release of political prisoners in front of the interior ministry.
At least four protesters were arrested, according to reports, after the demonstrators gathered in a public square near the ministry in central Damascus
Dozens of supporters of President Bashar al-Assad held a counter-demonstration in the same square, they added.
The families of 21 jailed human rights activists in Syria
"We have decided to give the interior minister next Wednesday at noon a letter outlining our complaints and suffering," the families said in the statement posted online.
"After a long wait and rumours of an impending release of prisoners of conscience in Syria
The detainees, some of whom have spent several years behind bars, include human rights lawyers Anwar Bunni and Muhannad al-Hassani as well as engineers, doctors and writers.
Rights groups have repeatedly urged Syrian authorities to free "prisoners of conscience" and to "stop using the politics of arbitrary detention against political opponents and civil society activists."
Wednesday's protest came a day after dozens of Syrians demonstrated for liberty and political reforms, according to videos posted on opposition websites and witnesses.
On Tuesday Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said that political reforms would be implemented this year.
"God, Syria, liberty" and "Syrians, where are you?" chanted men and women inviting their compatriots to join a "peaceful march" which set off from the landmark Al-Hamidiyeh souk in Old Damascus, online videos showed.
Witnesses and a human-rights activist said five young men near the Omayyad mosque started shouting the slogans, despite a 1963 emergency law that bans demonstrations in Syria
The young demonstrators marched through Al-Hamidiyeh and the Hariqa souk, drawing dozens of other Syrians with them. But security forces broke up the group and arrested two of its members, witnesses said.
18 March 2011, 6pm:
Syrian security forces intervened against a rally in Daraa, south of Damascus
Dozens of security agents who had gathered outside the mosque during the prayers, pulled out batons as soon as the chants broke out and detained at least two people, beating one who resisted and kicking him in the nose.
At least 200 people immediately rallied in a square outside the mosque, chanting support for President Bashar al-Assad and waving Syrian flags. Some carried portraits of his late father and predecessor Hafez al-Assad.
Terrified families could be seen fleeing the square, with many children in tears.
It was unclear what sparked the chaos, but a Facebook group The Syrian Revolution 2011 had called for demonstrations after Friday prayers during a "Day of Dignity."
A video posted on the group's Facebook page showed a crowd of men inside the mosque chanting "there is no God but God," while a few calls of "freedom" could be heard before being drowned out.
Another video showed one man being dragged out of the mosque by other men who had attended the prayers.
The Facebook group also posted a video of a rally outside a landmark mosque in the city of Homs, 150 kilometres (about 100 miles) north of Damascus, where dozens of protesters marched, chanting "God, Syria, freedom."
Another video showed hundreds of protesters, mainly men, chanting in a city the Facebook group identified as Daraa, some 100 kilometres south of the capital.
The page said clashes had occurred between protesters and security forces in Daraa while video footage showed fire trucks turning their hoses on a procession to disperse demonstrators.
Two other videos, allegedly from the coastal city of Banias
"Infiltrators took advantage of a gathering of citizens near the Omari Mosque in Daraa ... to provoke chaos through acts of violence which resulted in damage to private and public property," SANA
"The infiltrators also set cars and shops on fire, which obliged security forces to intervene in order to protect citizens and property," it added. "They were also attacked by the infiltrators before the latter dispersed."
AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.
Small impromptu protests have erupted for three days in a row in the Old City of Damascus, demanding political reforms in the country amid a wave of popular protests across the Middle East .
Syrian authorities on Thursday charged 32 activists with attacking the reputation of the state, a day after a rally outside the interior ministry, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The protesters, including high-profile rights activist Suhair Atassi, were detained at Wednesday's rally organised by the relatives of political prisoners to petition for their release.
Human Rights Watch has called for the release of all detained demonstrators, and independently confirmed that 18 people had been arrested.
Participants in Wednesday's rally said 34 activists had been detained by authorities in Syria
20 March 2011, 5pm:
Syrians demand end to 48 years of emergency law
Thousands of Syrians demanded an end to 48 years of emergency law on Sunday in a third consecutive day of protests.
"No. No to emergency law. We are a people infatuated with freedom," marchers chanted as a government delegation arrived in the southern town of Deraa
Security forces fired tear gas at the protesters and there were reports that one protester had been killed. Around 40 people were taken to be treated for gas inhalation at the main Omari mosque in the old city, residents said.
"The mosque is now a field hospital. The security forces know they cannot enter the old city without spilling more blood," one resident said.
Security forces opened fire on Friday on civilians taking part in a peaceful protest in Deraa. An official statement said "infiltrators" claiming to be high ranking officers had been visiting security stations and asking security forces to fire at any suspicious gathering.
Citizens should report anyone suspected of trying to fool the security apparatus "into using violence and live ammunition against any suspicions gathering", the statement said.
The government sought to calm popular discontent in Deraa by promising to release 15 schoolchildren whose arrests for scrawling protest graffiti had helped fuel the demonstrations. The children who had written slogans on walls inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt
21 March 2011, 3pm
Thousands march in Syria
Thousands of Syrians have staged protests in the southern town of Daraa
Local residents said protesters marched towards the al-Omari mosque after the burial of Raed Akrad, who was shot dead on Sunday when security forces used live fire to dispersea demonstration.
"Revolution, revolution" chanted the demonstrators, according to a witness
"There was a massive deployment of security forces to block protests but thousands gathered anyway," the witness said. There were also reports of large-scale protests in Jassem, near Daraa.
Inspired by the regime-changing revolts in Tunisia and Egypt
Five people have been killed in the crackdown on protests which began on Friday, human rights organisations and activists have estimated.
Protests organised on Facebook by Syrian dissidents living in the West early in February fizzled earlier this year.
But a fresh round of protests began on March 15, when a small group of protesters gathered in the famous Souk al-Hamidiyeh market. "God , Syria and Freedom – that's enough," they chanted, a play on the ruling Baath party's slogan, "God , Syria
The next day, relatives and friends of jailed political activists gathered in front of the Interior Ministry to demand their release, while businessmen in the old – city al-Hariqa area took to the streets to complain about police brutality. Later, groups held vigils outside the Libyan embassy in solidarity with the rebellion there.
Protests were also reported in the northwestern city of Banias , the western city of Homs and the eastern city of Deir
President al-Asad's Baath party has ruled Syria Hama
The protests are small, compared with those seen elsewhere in the Middle East : Mr al-Asad's authoritarian but secular regime appears to enjoy the support of many who fear the kind of upheaval taking place elsewhere in the region, as well as religious minorities.
Mr al-Asad has promised political reforms, but the state-run media has claimed that Israel
25 March 2011, 6pm
Syrian protests spread throughout country
The situation in Syria
Tens of thousands responded to a call by internet activists for a "Day of Dignity" as cities and towns that had been quiet until now rose up to express their solidarity with the inhabitants of Daraa, where dozens of people were shot dead earlier this week.
Once again, President Bashar al-Assad's security forces responded with merciless force, in spite of his pledge not to use live ammunition on his own people. Human rights activists in Daraa claimed that up to 20 people had been killed as they tried to march into the city, which lies on Syria 's border with Jordan
There was no way of confirming the reports. The few journalists in the city had been forced to leave the city just before protests were due to begin after Friday prayers, with government officials claiming that calm had been restored.
Yet, throughout the afternoon, gunfire echoed through Daraa as up to 50,000 people – a sixth of its population – defied every attempt by the regime to cow them into submission.
In almost every major city, there was mounting evidence that the people's fear of one of the world's most repressive governments was dissipating. Some protests drew hundreds, others thousands. Each was put down with varying degrees of violence. In the capital Damascus and the second city of Aleppo port of Latakia , where protesters overturned four police cars, while a second was shot dead in the city of Homs
With demonstrations reported in at least 10 cities and towns, Mr Assad is no longer facing a local revolt in an isolated city, but a challenge from across the country. There were even protests in Hama
Mr Assad has already been forced to promise some political reforms. Yet, as has been the case in Egypt and Tunisia
Editorial: 28 March 2011
As its planes and submarines destroy Col Muammar Gaddafi's ability to kill his own people, Britain is naturally preoccupied with Libya Syria Israel and Iran , Syria is at the core of conflict in the Middle East . By comparison, Libya
The unrest understandably worries Western governments. Will President Bashar al-Assad and his fellow Alawites cling grimly to power, possibly seeking to divert attention from domestic affairs by picking a fight with Israel Israel , or rejecting its very existence, like Iran
It is best countered by looking at the record of the Syrian government over the past 10 years. As is the case in most Arab countries, it has failed dismally to create jobs for an overwhelmingly youthful population and has squashed any signs of political dissent. In addition, it has sought to acquire nuclear weapons. Abroad, it has continued to support groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbollah, thus remaining on the State Department's list of regimes that sponsor terrorism. It has undermined the government of Saad Hariri in Lebanon , to the advantage of Hizbollah, and, despite appeals from Washington , has moved closer to Iran
1 April 2011, 6pm:
Syrians march in tens of thousands against president
Syrian protesters braved renewed bloodshed and an unprecedented security presence across the country as they marched in their tens of thousands to denounce their increasingly intransigent president.
Opposition activists claimed that as many as 25 people were killed as violence flared across the country despite Bashar al-Assad' attempts to suffocate the widening insurrection against his 11-year rule through sheer force of numbers as part of a plan to terrify his restive people into staying at home.
But the campaign of intimidation, designed to terrify people into remaining at home, was only partially successful. Fewer responded to calls to take to the streets in the numbers organisers might have hoped, but the number still willing to risk the wrath of a regime that had threatened to show no mercy will be deeply troubling for Mr Assad.
Amateur video footage from the town of Douma , 10 miles north of the Syrian capital Damascus
Residents said the shots were fired by plainclothes civilians, possibly members of an unofficial militia controlled by members of the Assad family, who had earlier broken down the doors of houses to take up sniper positions on rooftops and balconies.
Witnesses said between four and 15 people in Douma were killed. Another 10 were said to have been killed as thousands of protesters marching between the villages of Erikel and Sanamayn came under fire.
Even Damascus
Yesterday was widely expected to be a day of reckoning between protesters in the regime after the president caused widespread anger on Wednesday with a television address that proved uncompromising rather than conciliatory, as many had hoped.
Although scores of protesters had already died at the hands of pro-regime forces, he threatening undertone of Mr Assad's address led many to believe that his regime intended only to escalate its use of force.
But only in the southern city of Deraa
Residents who crossed the border into neighbouring Jordan
"Inside Deraa there are many soldiers," one said. "People there are very scared."
After watching fellow Arabs offer concessions that only emboldened protest movements, Mr Assad's policy of intransigence was meant to crush the spirit of the uprising.
But even within his government there is growing evidence of disquiet at his hardline approach, particularly the manner in which he appeared to renege on a promise to lift Syria
There is also unease over the scale of retribution planned if Mr Assad succeeds in putting down the revolt.
"The speech was a big mistake and an attempt to buy time," a long serving member of Mr Assad's ruling Ba'ath Party told the Daily Telegraph. "They are creating blacklists of opponents to their rule and I fear that if things calm down many people will disappear quietly."
There was also a massive security presence in Yemen
A past master at organising public displays of devotion, Mr Saleh succeeded in achieving a turnout of loyalists that matched the size of the protests against him, but the president remains severely weakened by mass defections to the opposition from senior politicians and army officers.
The spectacle of rival protests was repeated in Jordan
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