Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on 60 Minutes Telling More Lies

Charlie Rose interviews the Syrian dictator as a four-year-old civil war drags on in which his regime has been accused of devastating attacks on civilians
March 29, 2014

The following is a script from “Bashar al-Assad” which aired on March 29, 2015. Charlie Rose is the correspondent.

Four years ago, the Obama administration declared that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad must go. Today, President Assad is still there, but much of the country has gone. Assad’s Syrian government has lost control over significant amounts of its territory — to either ISIS or Syrian rebel groups. Four million Syrian refugees have fled the country. More than 200,000 have died — most from Syrian military bombing of territory controlled by his opponents.

With the rise of ISIS in Syria, toppling Assad is no longer the highest priority there for the United States. And last month, Secretary of State John Kerry told CBS News, the U.S. is open to negotiating with Syria, something, we discovered, Assad wants.

We traveled to Damascus this past week and met with Assad for an interview, under the conditions that we use Syrian TV technicians and cameras. We begin by asking him about American airstrikes against ISIS in Syria.

Charlie Rose: How much of a benefit are you getting from American airstrikes in Syria reducing the power of ISIS?

President Assad: Sometimes you could have local benefit but in general if you want to talk in terms of ISIS actually ISIS has expanded since the beginning of the strikes. Not like some– American– wants to sugar coat the situation as the– to say that it’s getting better. As– ISIS is being defeated and so on. Actually, no, you have more recruits. Some estimates that they have 1,000 recruits every month in Syria. And Iraq– they are expanding in Libya and many other al Qaeda affiliate organizations have announced their allegiance to ISIS. So that’s the situation.

Charlie Rose: How much territory do they control in Syria?

President Assad: Sorry?

Charlie Rose: ISIS. Controls how much territory. 50 percent?

“…it’s not traditional war. It’s not about capturing land and gaining land. It’s about winning the hearts and minds of the Syrians. We cannot win the heart and minds of the Syrians while we are killing Syrians.”

President Assad: Yeah, it’s not regular war. We cannot– you don’t have criteria. It’s not an army that makes– it make the incursion. They go to infidels. They try to infiltrate any area when there is no army and we have– inhibitance. The question, how much incubator they have, that’s the question. How much heart and minds they won so far.

Charlie Rose: And how much of that? How do you measure that–

President Assad: You cannot measure it but you can tell that the majority of the people who suffered from ISIS, they are supporting the government and, of course, the rest of the Syrian people are afraid from ISIS and I don’t think they would– I think they lost a lot of hearts and minds.

Charlie Rose: They’ve lost a lot?

President Assad: They have lost. Except the very ideological people who have Wahhabi state of mind and ideology.

Charlie Rose: There is another number that is alarming to me. It is that 90 percent of the civilian casualties, 90 percent come from the Syrian army.

President Assad: How did you get that result?

Charlie Rose: That was a report that was issued in the last six months.

President Assad: OK. As I said earlier, the war, it’s not about– it’s not traditional war. It’s not about capturing land and gaining land. It’s about winning the hearts and minds of the Syrians. We cannot win the heart and minds of the Syrians while we are killing Syrians. We cannot sustain four years in that position as a government. And me as president, while the rest of the world, most of the world, the great powers, the regional power, are against me and my people are against me. That’s impossible. I mean this logic has no leg to stand on. So this is not realistic and this is against our interests as government is to kill the people. What do we get? What the benefit of killing the people?

Charlie Rose: Well, the argument is that you– there are weapons of war that have been used that most people look down on with great– one is chlorine gas. They believe that has been used here. They said there is evidence of that and they would like to have the right to inspect to see where it’s coming from. As you know, barrel bombs have been used. And they come from helicopters. And the only people who have helicopters is the Syrian army. And so those two acts of war, which has– society looks down on as–

President Assad: Let me fully answer this.

Charlie Rose: –barbaric acts.

President Assad: It’s very important. This is part of the malicious propaganda against Syria. First of all, the chlorine gas is not military gas. You can buy it anywhere.

Charlie Rose: But it can be weaponized–

President Assad: No, because it’s not very effective it’s not used as military gas. That’s very self-evident. Traditional arms is more important than chlorine. And if it was very effective the terrorists would have used this on a larger scale. Because it’s not effective, it’s not used very much.

Charlie Rose: Then why doesn’t somebody come in and inspect it and see whether it’s been used or not?

President Assad: Well, we– well, we– we–

Charlie Rose: You’d be–

President Assad: –we– we would–

Charlie Rose: –you’re happy for that?

President Assad: Of course. We all–we always ask a delegation, impartial delegation to come and investigate. But I mean logically and realistically it cannot be used as a military. This is part of the propaganda because, as you know, in the media when it bleeds it leads. And they always look for something that bleeds, which is the chlorine gas and the barrel bombs.

Charlie Rose: You do use barrel bombs? You’re just saying–

President Assad: No, no. There’s no such a thing called barrel bombs. We have bombs. And any bomb is about killing.

Charlie Rose: You have often spoken about the danger of a wider war in the Middle East.

President Assad: Yeah.

Charlie Rose: Can you talk about the parties involved? And characterize how you see them. Let me begin with Saudi Arabia.

President Assad: Saudi Arabia is–an (unintel) autocracy. Medieval system that’s based on the Wahhabi dark ideology. Actually, say it’s a marriage between the Wahhabi and the political system for 200 years now. That’s how we look at it.

Charlie Rose: And what is their connection to ISIS?

President Assad: The same ideology. The same background.

Charlie Rose: So ISIS and Saudi Arabia are one and the same?

President Assad: The same ideology. Yes.

Charlie Rose: Same ideology.

President Assad: I don’t– it’s Wahhabi ideology. They base the–their ideology is based on the books of the Wahhabi and Saudi Arabia.

Charlie Rose: So you believe that all Wahhabis have the same ideology as ISIS–

President Assad: Exactly. Definitely. And that’s by ISIS, by al Qaeda, by al Nusra. It’s not something we discover or we try to promote. It’s very– I mean their book– they use the same books to indoctrinate the people. The Wahhabi books-

Charlie Rose: What about Turkey?

President Assad: Turkey– let’s say it’s about Erdogan. His Muslim Brotherhood fanatics.

Charlie Rose: And you–

President Assad: It doesn’t mean that he is a member. But he’s a fanatic.

Charlie Rose: President Erdogan is–

President Assad: Is a Muslim Brotherhood fanatic. And he’s somebody who’s suffering from political megalomania. And that he thinks that he is becoming the sultan of the new era of the 21st century.

Charlie Rose: You think he could stop the border if he wanted to?

President Assad: Yeah, of course. Definitely. He doesn’t only ignore the terrorists from coming to Syria. He support them, logistically and militarily. Directly. On daily basis.

Charlie Rose: Tell us what the Russians want. They are a strong ally of you.

President Assad: Yeah.

Charlie Rose: What do they want?

President Assad: Definitely they want to have balance in the world. It’s not only about Syria. And small country. It’s not about having a huge interest in Syria, they could have it anywhere else. So, it’s about the future of the world. They want to be a great power that– have– their own say in the future of this world.

Charlie Rose: And what do they want for Syria?

President Assad: Stability. They want–

Charlie Rose: Stability.

President Assad: –stability, and political solution.

Charlie Rose: And what does Iran want?

President Assad: The same. The same. Syria, and Iran, and Russia, see eye-to-eye regarding these conflicts.

Charlie Rose: And what is your obligation to both of them?

President Assad: What do you mean obligation?

Charlie Rose: What is your– what do you owe them?

President Assad: Yeah, I know. But, they didn’t ask me for anything. Nothing at all. That’s why what I said– they don’t do that for Syria. They do it for the region, and for the world. ‘Cause stability is very important for them.

Charlie Rose: You and your father have held power in Syria for how many years?

President Assad: Is it a calculation of years?

Charlie Rose: Yes.

President Assad: Or public support?

Charlie Rose: No, years. How long–

President Assad: There’s a big difference. It doesn’t matter, how many years, the question–

Charlie Rose: Well, it does matter. I mean–

President Assad: No, what’s matter for us, do the Syrians support, these two presidents, doesn’t matter is they are father and son. We don’t say–W- George W. Bush is the son of George Bush. It’s different. He’s president, I’m president, he has support from that generation, I have support from this generation now.

“…the West, and especially the United States, don’t accept partners. They only accept followers. Even Europe is not partner of the United States. That’s to be very frank with you. So, this is their problem with Syria. They need somebody to keep saying yes.”

Charlie Rose: But the question– how do you–

President Assad: Doesn’t matter how many. It’s not– it’s not the family rule, as you want to imply.

Charlie Rose: It’s not?

President Assad: No.

Charlie Rose: Why do you think that they– people in the West, question your legitimacy?

President Assad: This intervention in Syria matters. I don’t care about it, to be frank. I never care about it. As long as I have the public support of the Syrian people. That’s my legitimacy; legitimacy comes from the inside, but why? I will tell you why. Because the West used to have puppets. Not independent leaders, or officials in any other country. And that the problem with Putin. They demonize Putin because he can say no, and he wants to be independent. Because the West, and especially the United States, don’t accept partners. They only accept followers. Even Europe is not partner of the United States. That’s to be very frank with you. So, this is their problem with Syria. They need somebody to keep saying yes. Yes– a puppet. Marionette. And so on.

Charlie Rose: What circumstances would cause you to give up power?

President Assad: When I don’t have the public support. When I don’t represent the Syrian interests, and values.

Charlie Rose: And how do you determine that?

President Assad: I have daily contact with the– with the people. How could any–

Charlie Rose: So, you’re– you determine whether they support you?

President Assad: No, no, no. I don’t determine. I sense. I feel. I’m in contact with them. I’m a human. How can a human make that expectation of the population? I mean, the war was very important lab for this support. I mean, they could have– if they don’t support you, they could have– go and support the other side. They didn’t. Why? That’s very clear. That’s very concrete.

Charlie Rose: I came here after Secretary Kerry had made his remarks. My impression once I got here is that when you heard those remarks you were optimistic. The state department backed– back a little bit, and said we still think there needs to be a new government. But you were optimistic after you heard that. You believe there is a way for your government and the American government to cooperate?

President Assad: Yeah.

Charlie Rose: And coordinate?

President Assad: That’s not the main point– after– I mean– regarding that statement. I think– I think the main point we could have feeling, and we hope that we are right, that American administration started to abandon this policy of isolation. Which is very harmful to them, and to us. Because if you isolate country, isolate yourself, as the United States, from being influential, and effective, and the course of events, unless you are talking about the negative influence, like make embargo, that could kill the people slowly. Or launching war and supporting terrorists that could kill them in a faster way. So, our impression is that we are optimistic, more optimistic, I wouldn’t exaggerate. That at least when they’re thinking about dialogue, doesn’t matter what kind of dialogue, and what the content of the dialogue. And even doesn’t matter for the real intentions. But the word dialogue is something we haven’t heard from the United States on the global level for a long time.

Charlie Rose: But you just did, from the secretary of state. We need to negotiate.

President Assad: Exactly, that’s–

Charlie Rose: That’s a dialogue.

President Assad: That’s what I said. I mean, that’s why I said it’s positive. That’s what I said, we are more optimistic. I mean, when they abandoned this policy of isolation, things should be better. I mean, when you start the dialogue things will be better.

Charlie Rose: Why don’t you reach out to Secretary Kerry and say, “Let’s talk.”

President Assad: Are they ready to talk?

Charlie Rose: Let’s talk.

President Assad: We are always open. We never close our doors. They should be ready for the talk, they should be ready for the negotiation. We didn’t make an embargo on the United States. We didn’t attack the American population. We didn’t support terrorists who did anything in United States. Actually, the United States did. We were always– we always wanted to have good relation with the United States. We never thought in the other direction. It’s a great power. Nobody– no– not a wise person think of having bad relation with United States.

Charlie Rose: Yeah, but can you have good relationship with a country that thinks you shouldn’t be in power?

President Assad: No, that’s not going to be part of the dialogue that I mentioned earlier. This is not their business. We have Syrian citizens, who can decide this. No one else. Whether they want to talk about it or not. This is not something we’re going to discuss with anyone.

Charlie Rose: This cannot end militarily. Do you agree with that?

President Assad: Yeah, definitely. Every conflict, even if it’s a war, should end with a political solution.

SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON MASS ATROCITIES IN SYRIA

SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON MASS ATROCITIES IN SYRIA
Feb 12, 2014

Syria Assad regime torture center

Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today delivered the following remarks on the floor of the U.S. Senate regarding mass atrocities perpetrated by the Assad regime against the people of Syria:

“Mr. President, I rise today to appeal to the conscience of my colleagues and my fellow citizens about the mass atrocities that the Assad regime is perpetrating in Syria. When the images and horrors of this conflict occasionally show up on our television screens, the impulse of many Americans is to change the channel. But we must not look away. We must not avert our eyes from the suffering of the Syrian people, for if we do, we ignore, we sacrifice that which is most precious in ourselves – our ability to empathize with the suffering of others, to share it, to acknowledge through our own sense of revulsion that what is happening in Syria today is a stain on our the collective conscience of moral peoples everywhere.

“I appeal to my colleagues today not to look away from the images I will show you. And I want to warn all who are watching: These are graphic and disturbing pictures. But they are the real face of war and human suffering in Syria today – a war that our nation has the power to help end, but which we are failing to do.

“These images are drawn from a cache of more than 55,000 photographs that were taken between March 2011 and August 2013 by a Syrian military policeman, whose job it was to document the horrors that the Assad regime committed against political prisoners in its jails. This individual eventually defected to the opposition along with his photographs, which were meticulously reviewed and verified by three renowned international war crimes prosecutors and a team of independent forensic experts. They compiled their findings in a report late last month that provides direct evidence that the Assad regime was responsible for the systematic abuse, torture, starvation, and killing of approximately 11,000 detainees in what amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity. These are just a few of those pictures, and far from the most disturbing.

“I urge every member of Congress and the American public to read the full report, which can be found on the websites of CNN and The Guardian. Although only a handful of these gruesome images have been released publicly, the authors have provided their own startling commentary on what they reveal:

“David Crane, the first chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the man responsible for indicting former Liberian President Charles Taylor for crimes against humanity, stated that many of the photographs show groupings of bodies in ways that, quote, ‘looked like a slaughterhouse.’ Crane characterized the Syrian government as a ‘callous, industrial machine grinding its citizens’ that is guilty of ‘industrial-age mass killing.’

“Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice, lead prosecutor in the case against former Yugoslav President Milosevic at the Hague, reported that the systematic way the bodies were catalogued, and the effort given to obscure the true causes of death leads one to ‘reasonably infer that this is a pattern of behavior’ for Assad’s forces.

“But perhaps most chilling of all, Sir Desmond de Silva, who also served as a chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, stated that the emaciated bodies revealed in these pictures are ‘reminiscent of the pictures of those who were found still alive in the Nazi death camps after World War II.’

“Yesterday, in a hearing of the Committee on Armed Services, I asked the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, whether these photographs, which clearly depict ghastly crimes against humanity, are authentic. Director Clapper said he has, quote, ‘no reason to doubt’ their authenticity. The United Nations is now doing its own assessment of these images, and all of us should fully support that. It is important to have the broadest possible validation of these images, and I am confident the U.N. team will validate them. After all, does anyone seriously believe the Assad regime does not have the means, motive, and opportunity to murder 11,000 people in its prisons?

“Indeed, this kind of inhuman cruelty is a pattern of behavior with the Syrian government. According to a detailed U.N. report issued at the end of January, Assad’s forces have systematically, as part of their doctrine, used children as human shields and threatened to kill the children of opposition members if they did not surrender. The U.N. also detailed the arrest, detention, torture, and sexual abuse of thousands of children by government forces. I will spare you the remaining details, as they are unspeakable, but again I urge you to read the entire report which can be found on the United Nations’ website.

“I also recommend that my colleagues read of the war crimes that Human Rights Watch has been documenting. They have reported, for example, on how Syrian authorities have deliberately used explosives and bulldozers to demolish thousands of residential buildings, and in some cases entire neighborhoods, for no military reason whatsoever, just as a form of collective punishment of Syrian civilians.

“Human Rights Watch researchers have also documented the toll of the Syrian government’s airstrike campaign against Aleppo and Damascus, and in particular, the regime’s use over the past few months of what has become known as ‘barrel bombs.’ For my colleagues who are not aware of them, barrel bombs are oil drums or other large containers packed with explosives, fuel, shrapnel, glass, and all manner of crude lethal material. Their sole purpose is to maim, kill, and terrorize as many people as possible when they are indiscriminately dropped from Syrian government aircraft on schools, and bakeries, and mosques, and other civilian areas. In one stark video of a barrel bomb’s aftermath, a man stands in front of a child’s body and cries out, ‘Oh God, we’ve had enough. Please help us.’

“These are just some of the many reasons why our Director of National Intelligence referred to the Syria crisis yesterday as ‘an apocalyptic disaster.’ And with more than 130,000 people dead, after more than one-third of the Syrian population has been driven from their homes, no truer words were ever spoken. But this ‘apocalyptic disaster’ in Syria is no longer just a humanitarian tragedy for one country; it is a regional conflict and an emerging national security threat to us.

“The regime’s war crimes are being aided and abetted by thousands of Hezbollah fighters and Iranian agents on the ground, as well as Russian weaponry that continues to flow into the Assad government, even as Russia works with us to remove the Assad regime’s chemical weapons – a truly Orwellian situation.

“The conflict in Syria is devastating its neighbors. Lebanon is suffering from increased bombings and cross-border attacks by both the Syrian government and opposition fighters in response to Hezbollah’s role in the fighting. Unofficial estimates suggest that half of Lebanon’s population will soon be Syrian refugees. Similar estimates suggest that Syrian refugees now represent 15 percent of the population in Jordan, which is straining to manage the social instability this entails. Turkey has been destabilized. And perhaps most worrisome of all, the conflict in Syria is largely to blame for the resurgence of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has grown into the larger and more lethal Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which now possesses a safe haven that spans large portions of both countries. Nowhere is this more threatening, or more heartbreaking, than in Fallujah – the Iraqi city where hundreds of U.S. troops were killed and wounded fighting to rid of terrorists and extremists, but where the black flags of Al-Qaeda now hang above the city.

“The sanctuary that Al-Qaeda now enjoys thanks to the crisis in Syria increasingly poses a direct threat to U.S. national security, and that of our closest allies and partners. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Mr. Jeh Johnson, has said, quote: ‘Syria is now a matter of homeland security.’ The Director of National Intelligence has referred to the Al-Qaeda sanctuary in Syria and Iraq as ‘a new FATA’ – the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan where Al-Qaeda planned the September 11 terrorist attacks.

“Indeed, Director Clapper has warned that Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in Syria now aspire to attack the homeland. If the September 11 attacks should have taught us anything, it is that global terrorists who occupy ungoverned spaces and seek to plot and plan attacks against us can pose a direct threat to our national security. That was Afghanistan on September 10, 2001. And that is what top officials in this administration are now warning us that Syria is becoming today.

“The conflict in Syria is a threat to our national interests, but it is more than that. It is, and should be, an affront to our conscience. Images like these should not just be a source of heartbreak and sympathy. They should be a call to action.

“It was not too long ago, just a few months after the revolution in Syria began, that President Obama issued his Presidential Study Directive on Mass Atrocities. In it he stated: ‘Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States.’ He went on to say: ‘Our security is affected when masses of civilians are slaughtered, refugees flow across borders, and murderers wreak havoc on regional stability and livelihoods.’

“Last year, speaking at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, the President said, ‘Too often, the world has failed to prevent the killing of innocents on a massive scale. And we are haunted by the atrocities that we did not stop and the lives we did not save.’

“And just last September, in his address to the U.N. General Assembly, President Obama said this, and I would like to quote him at length: ‘[T]he principle of sovereignty,’ he said, ‘is at the center of our international order. But sovereignty cannot be a shield for tyrants to commit wanton murder, or an excuse for the international community to turn a blind eye. While we need to be modest in our belief that we can remedy every evil, while we need to be mindful that the world is full of unintended consequences, should we really accept the notion that the world is powerless in the face of a Rwanda, or Srebrenica? If that’s the world that people want to live in, they should say so, and reckon with the cold logic of mass graves.’

“That was our President, and I agree with every word of what he said. But how are we to reconcile these stirring words with the reality of these images from Syria? How are we to explain how the leader of the free world, who says that it is a moral obligation of the United States to do what we can to prevent the worst atrocities in our world, is not doing more to stop the atrocities that are occurring every single day in Syria?

“Where is that President Obama today? Where is the President Obama who has spoken so movingly of the moral responsibilities that great power confers? Where is President Obama who has said he refuses to accept that brutal tyrants can slaughter their people with impunity while the most powerful nation in the history of the world looks on and stands by? Where is the recognition that ‘the cold logic of mass graves’ is right there – right there in front of us, in Syria today?

“And yet our government is doing what we have sadly done too often in the past. We are averting our eyes. We try to comfort our guilty consciences by telling ourselves that we are not doing nothing, but it is a claim made in bad faith, for everyone concedes that nothing we are doing is equal to the horrors we face. We are telling ourselves that we are too tired or weary to get more involved – that Syria is not our problem, and that helping to resolve it is not our responsibility.

“We are telling ourselves that we have no good options, as if there are ever good options when it comes to foreign policy in the real world. We are telling ourselves that we might have been able to do something at one point, but that it is too late now – as if such words from the leaders of the world’s only global power will be any comfort to the Syrian mother who will lose her child tomorrow. We are telling ourselves what Neville Chamberlain once told himself about a different problem from hell in an earlier time – that it is ‘a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing.’ Where is our outrage? Where is our shame?

“It is true that our options to help end the conflict in Syria were never good, and they certainly are worse and fewer now. But no one should believe that we are without options, even now. And no one should believe that doing something meaningful to help in Syria requires us to rerun the war in Iraq. That is an excuse for inaction. This is not a question of options or capabilities. It is a question of will.

“These images of the human disaster in Syria haunt me. And they should haunt all of my colleagues and all Americans. But what haunts me even more than the horror unfolding before our eyes in Syria is the thought that we will continue to do nothing meaningful about it, and how that deadens our national conscience, and how it calls into question the moral sources of our great power and the foundations our global leadership – and how, many years from now, an American president will stand before the world and the people of Syria, as previous presidents have done after previous inaction in the face of mass atrocities in faraway lands, and that president will say what all of us know to be true right now: that we could have done more to stop the suffering of others, we could have used the power we possess, limited though it may be, we could have exercised the options at our disposal, imperfect though they may be, and we could have done something, and it is to our everlasting embarrassment that we did not. And that future president will apologize for our current failure.

“Shame on us if we let history repeat itself that way.”

THE SPIRIT OF THE REVOLUTION

Video by Day of Solidarity with Syria
After a Break, this is Nr. 7
with English subtitles
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solidaysyria/timeline

1925 Geneva Protocol Ban Use of Chemical Weapons

No outrage for Assad’s latest use of Chemical Weapon “Chlorine gas” attacked on Sarmin city near Idlib on March 16, 2015! World is used to Assad’s way of killing!

1925 Geneva Protocol
Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare

The 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons in war. The Protocol was drawn up and signed at a conference which was held in Geneva under the auspices of the League of Nations from 4 May to 17 June 1925, and it entered into force on 8 February 1928.

#HowManyMore #WhatDoesItTake #AssadWarCrimes #SyriaCrisis #SyriaConflict #SyrianRevolution
#Syria

UN Security Council action on Syria exposes its failings

Four resolutions directly addressing the conflict have been blocked; and those adopted fell short of having any substantial effect on the country’s civil war.

***Assad regime’s latest Chlorine Chemical attacked on Sarmin city near Idlib in Syria on March 16, 2015.***

Human has no rights in Syria! Russia and China don’t care about Syrians!

18 March 2015
By Mustafa Caglayan

NEW YORK

As the Syrian civil war entering its fifth year this month, the international community’s lack of reaction has become almost commonplace.

The longer the fighting drags on, the more complex the conflict becomes, but the world’s response continues to fall short.

The conflict, which started in March 2011 when the regime responded to anti-government protests with a violent crackdown, has left more than 200,000 people dead and nearly half of the country’s population displaced.

It has also metastasized into an inextricable quagmire, with extremist movements such as Daesh exploiting a power vacuum and gaining foothold in the region.

Most emblematic of the international community’s inability to act is the UN Security Council, where national interest so regularly trumps action in humanitarian crises. The Syrıan conflict is the latest, if perhaps not the most telling, proof of gridlock at the head of the UN.

The following is a chronological list of previously vetoed and adopted Security Council resolutions on Syria:

Vetoed: Oct. 4, 2011
Russia and China vetoed a European-backed resolution threatening sanctions against Syrian officials if they did not halt military crackdown on protesters. It would have condemned “grave and systematic human rights violations” in Syria.

The resolution was defeated although its wording had been heavily watered down in order to avert the veto. Non-permanent members Brazil, India, Lebanon and South Africa abstained from the vote.

Vetoed: Feb. 4, 2012
Russia and China blocked a Western- and Arab-drafted resolution, which backed an Arab League plan for President Bashar al-Assad to cede power to his vice president in order to make way for a unity government to lead Syria to democratic elections.

The veto came on the heels of a government attack on the city of Homs in what was described at the time as the deadliest assault in the conflict to date.

Adopted: Apr. 14, 2012
The council unanimously authorized that a team of up to 30 unarmed observers monitor a shaky truce. This was the first time since the onset of the civil war that the 15-member body put its weight behind a resolution.

However, the draft text had been heavily watered-down over Russia’s demand that the Assad regime not be obliged to comply with the resolution.

As a result, the final resolution merely “called upon” the regime to take its forces off the streets and initiate dialogue with the opposition.

The cease-fire was over by June that year.

Adopted: Apr. 21, 2012
The Security Council unanimously adopted a Russian-European drafted resolution clearing way to send 300 observers to Syria for three months.

The resolution gave UN chief Ban Ki-moon the power to decide when to deploy the monitors based on his assessment of relevant developments on the ground.

It also called on the government to halt all violence and to honor a previous commitment to the council to withdraw heavy weapons.

Vetoed: July 19, 2012
Russia and China vetoed another resolution threatening the Syrian regime with sanctions should it not cease resorting to violence.

The blocking of the British-sponsored resolution was considered as a potentially fatal blow to diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the conflict.

The resolution would have allowed economic sanctions to be imposed on the Syrian government under chapter 7 of the UN Charter for failing to execute a peace plan.

Adopted: July 20, 2012
The Council unanimously adopted a resolution to extend the monitoring mission in Syria for a final 30 days.

Adopted: Sept. 28, 2013
The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution demanding that the Syrian regime dismantle its chemical weapons arsenal, without threatening further action if it did not comply.

The resolution, which Ban Ki-moon described as “historic” and “the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time,” came in response to an Aug. 21, 2013, poison gas attack near Damascus that killed more than 1,400 people.

Although the resolution was binding and referred to chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows use of military force, it made clear a second resolution would be needed to such a move.

Russia, however, had already declared it would not green-light the use of military force against Assad.

Adopted: Feb. 22, 2014
The Council unanimously adopted a resolution to increase humanitarian aid access in Syria, calling on the Syrian government to allow aid agencies to enter the country.

Although it was legally binding, the resolution did not the present an immediate threat of punishment.

The resolution denounced the barrel bomb attacks by government aircrafts and sharply condemned terror attacks.

Vetoed: May 22, 2014
Russia and China vetoed a resolution that would have referred the Syrian conflict to the International Criminal Court.

The French-drafted resolution would have called for an independent inquiry into alleged war crimes committed in the country.

France’s permanent UN representative said the veto “would cover all crimes,” while Russia called the attempt a “publicity stunt.”

It was the fourth time Russia and China blocked Western-backed resolutions on the situation in Syria.

Adopted: July 14, 2014
The Security Council voted 15 to 0 to authorize cross-border and cross-line access for the UN and its partners to deliver humanitarian aid in Syria without the government’s consent.

The measure strengthened the provisions of the last adopted resolution and established a monitoring mechanism for 180 days.

Adopted: Aug. 15, 2014
The resolution condemned the recruitment by Daesh and other groups of foreign fighters and listed six individuals affiliated with those groups under the 1267/1989 Al-Qaida sanctions regime.

Adopted: Sept. 24, 2014
The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution addressing the “growing threat” posed by foreign terrorist fighters.

It expanded the counter-terrorism framework by imposing obligations on member states to respond to this threat.

Adopted: Dec. 17, 2014
The resolution renewed a previous authorization for cross-border humanitarian access until Jan. 10, 2016.

Adopted: Feb. 12, 2015
The council unanimously adopted a resolution aiming to block Daesh’s illicit funding via oil exports, traffic of cultural heritage, ransom payments and external donations.

Adopted: Mar. 6, 2015
The Security Council adopted a resolution strongly condemning the use of any toxic chemical, such as chlorine, as a weapon in Syria and calling for those who use such weapons to be held accountable.

The resolution was approved by all members except non-permanent member Venezuela.

The resolution threatened further action under chapter 7 of the UN Charter should chemical weapons, including chlorine, be used again.

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/480165–un-security-council-action-on-syria-exposes-its-failings

#HowManyMore #WhatDoesItTake #SyrianRevolution #AssadWarCrimes

‘I was being shot at by snipers’: Filmmaker risks his life to tell Aleppo’s story

Published on Mar 17, 2015

“In the media, the conflict is portrayed as a Syrian uprising, focusing on acts of terrorism. I believe this portrayal obscures the true nature of the conflict. That is why I want our film to be seen by people – to give the Syrian people a voice. No one else is speaking for them. We want this film to give Syrians a chance to speak to the world.”

We speak with Polish director Wojciech Szumowski who spent the summer of 2013 in #Aleppo, documenting how #Syria’s largest city was turned into rubble and abandoned of life. Szumowski tells us the people of Aleppo were not afraid, and if they were not afraid, he was not afraid. They were his strength while filming.

“I know that my friends from Aleppo haven’t lost hope yet, however, it’s getting much more difficult for them to hold onto that hope.
If the world doesn’t help them take down the regime of Bashar al-Assad, their hope will turn into just a dream.”

Syria Assad Regime Used Chlorine Bombs on Sarmin Idlib

Syria Assad regime's helicopter gunships dropped four barrel bombs of which two had chlorine gas on Sarmin in northwestern Idlib province on March 16, 2015.

The attack came nearly two weeks after the U.N. Security Council approved a United States-drafted resolution that condemns the use of toxic chemicals such as chlorine in Syria, while threatening militarily enforced action in case of further violations.

Published on Mar 16, 2015
Victims of Assad regime chemical attacks of the City of Sarmin in Syria.

The barrel bomb contained several cooking-gas cylinders (filled with Chlorine gas)
Published on Mar 17, 2015
ادلب سرمين:إحدى براميل الكيماوي التي تم إلقائها على مدينة سرمين من قبل قوات الاسد والتي راح ضحيتها عدد كبير 17_3_2015

Syrian troops attacked town with chlorine gas
http://nypost.com/2015/03/17/syrian-troops-attacked-town-with-chlorine-gas-killing-6-activists/

#WhatDoesItTake #HowManyMore #Syria4YearsOn #chemical #chlorine #SyrianRevolution #KerryNoNegoWithKiller #PrayForSyria #childrenofsyria #childrenincrisis #TheRevolutionContinues #Syria4YearsOn #WithSyria #SaveSyria #SaveSyriasChildren #Assad #AssadCrimes #AssadWarCrimes #Aleppo #Damascus #Raqqa #Homs

Generation in Crisis: Voices of Zaatari

Published on Mar 11, 2015

For many, this is stability in Zaatari, home to about 83,000 people, making it one of the most concentrated settlements of Syrian refugees in the world. In light of the number of men who have been killed or captured or are still fighting in the Syrian war, about 80 percent of refugees are women and children. Fusion’s Alicia Menendez travels to Jordan to speak with some of these refugees.

U N Refugees Chief slams lack of leadership on Syria

U.N. Refugees Chief slams ‘lack of leadership’ on Syria

Click the below link to watch the video:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/tv/2015/03/12/intv-amanpour-antonio-guterres-zeid-raad-al-hussein-human-rights.cnn

Syria 4 Years Revolution Anniversary Rally Around the World

From “The Syrian Campaign”

Dear friend,

Syria needs all the support we can give it!

I’m not Syrian but I share the Syrian dream for change. Four years ago it didn’t begin with guns and mortars. Four years ago it began with peaceful calls for freedom.

I watched grainy YouTube footage of protests uploaded by citizen journalists with shaking voices. Hundreds of thousands of people were standing in places like Assi Square in Hama chanting for freedom and holding the longest flags you’ve ever seen in your life [1]. I saw footage of tanks rolling in to crush the protests and bullets entering protesters’ chests.

I heard the stories of amazing women who would bake sweets to give to army soldiers, coaxing them not to jail their sons and daughters.

I heard the stories of activists who formed underground committees to organize protests every Friday, using pseudonyms on Skype to avoid getting caught by the regime. So many of them were hunted down by the security forces and disappeared or killed. Like Ghiath Matar, or “Little Ghandi” who used to hand out roses and bottles of water to armed soldiers who came in to crush the protests. Ghiath was 24 and expecting his first child when he was abducted by the regime. A few days later, his lifeless body was returned to his family, bearing marks of torture [2].

What does it mean for our world when people are silent after thousands of activists like Ghiath meet their end this way? I don’t know, but it’s not a world I want to live in. What happens in Syria is a part of our shared struggle for a better world.

That’s why this Sunday I’m going to Martyrs Square in Beirut to attend a demonstration in solidarity with Syrians on the 4th anniversary of their uprising. I’ve added a list of events below marking this moment around the globe. Please join one this weekend if you can.

We can’t bring back any of the beautiful humans who died for their desire to be free. But we can honor them and make sure their aspirations live on forever. Let’s stand up and be counted this weekend for a peaceful and dignified future for our Syrian sisters and brothers.

No one is free until we’re all free!

Bissan

P.S. If you’ve organized an event and it isn’t listed, please reply to this email – it will be updated on this page.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwUrpE9zKFw
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/syrian-activist-ghiyath-matars-death-spurs-grief-debate/2011/09/14/gIQArgq8SK_story.html

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Belgium – Antwerp
Sunday 15 March, 7:30 PM
Groenplaats, 2000
https://www.facebook.com/events/784782701616129

Belgium – Brussels
Sunday 15 March, 6:30 PM
Place Flagey – Bruxelles – 1050 Région de Bruxelles-Capitale
https://www.facebook.com/events/884301298258436/

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Canada – Montreal
Sunday 15 March, 12:00 PM
Meet at Norman Bethune Statue (Rue Guy & De Maissonneuve)
https://www.facebook.com/events/396166310564006/

Canada – Ontario
Sunday March 15th 4-7pm
2233 South Millway, Mississauga, ON L5L 3H7
https://www.facebook.com/events/1412859885677082/

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France – Lyon
Sunday 15 March, 2015, 3:00 PM
Place de Terreaux
https://www.facebook.com/events/419582521544468/

France – Paris
Saturday 14 March, 3:00 PM
Place de la République
https://www.facebook.com/events/863608670347595/

France – Bonson
Sunday 15 March, 4:00 PM
Place François-Mitterrand – (face à la Mairie)
http://souriahouria.com/15032015-bonson-rassemblement-la-paix-et-pour-laccueil-de-refugies-syriens/

France – Bordeaux
Saturday 14 March, 4:00 PM
Place de la Comédie, devant le Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux
https://www.facebook.com/events/386141388231848

France – Bourges
Saturday 15 March
“La Quinzaine Syrienne” – Rassemblement & Vernissage d’oeuvres syriennes
https://www.facebook.com/events/678102245631806/

Thursday 19 March
Conférence & Débat Animée par Hala Kodmani
https://www.facebook.com/events/861008467276071

France – Strasbourg
Saturday 14 March, 3:00 PM
Place Kléber
http://souriahouria.com/14032015-strasbourg-marche-en-solidarite-avec-le-peuple-syrien/

France – Toulouse
Saturday 14 March, 1:30 PM
Place du Capitole de 13h30 à 15h30

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Germany – Berlin
Sunday, 15 March, 3 PM – 6 PM
Alexanderplatz (an der Weltuhr)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1563941367180354/

Germany – Frankfurt
Saturday, 14 March, 2 PM – 6 PM
Kundgebung & Livemusik/Poetry-Slam/Infostand
Frankfurt Hauptwache
https://www.facebook.com/events/823007787772477/

Germany – Hamburg
Saturday, 14 March, 2 PM
Jungfernstieg am Flaggenmast
https://www.facebook.com/events/829826210399329/

Germany – Köln
Saturday, 14 March, 2 PM – 6 PM
Am Kölner Dom / Hauptbahnhof
https://www.facebook.com/events/919808194720810/

Diskussionsveranstaltung & Poetry/Musik
Samstag, 21.03.2015, Modemann Str. 3, 51063 Köln, 17:00 Uhr
https://www.facebook.com/events/740430326076781/

Germany – Stuttgart
Saturday, 14 March, 3 PM – 5 PM
Mahnwache & Infostand
Schlossplatz/Denkmal
https://www.facebook.com/events/401052140053906/

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Italy – Rome
Saturday 14 March, 2:30 PM
Piazza del Campidoglio
https://www.facebook.com/events/1684292321798001/permalink/1684672541759979/

Italy – Milan
Sunday 15 March, 3 PM
Via dei Mercanti
https://www.facebook.com/events/1552002118416159/

Italy – Genoa
Sunday 15 March, 3:30 PM
Genova Centro Storico, Porto antico

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Lebanon – Beirut
Sunday 15 March, 3 PM
Martyrs Square
https://www.facebook.com/events/795735293813777/800850396635600/

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Spain – Barcelona
Sunday 15 March, 12 PM
Pl. Catalunya
https://www.facebook.com/events/409697645859608/

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Switzerland – Berne
Saturday, 14 March, 2:00 PM
Waisnhausplatz, Berne

Switzerland – Lausanne
Conférence/Débat, 19 mars, 17h15
Lausanne, UNIL Bâtiment Geopolis, salle 2227
https://femmesdemoc.wordpress.com/2015/02/21/conference-debat-le-point-sur-4-ans-de-revolution-en-syrie/

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United Kingdom – London
Saturday, 14 March, 12:30 PM
March begins at Marble Arch, Hyde Park and end point is 10 Downing Street
https://www.facebook.com/events/720078538106887/

Buses available from Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, Bradford, Swansea, Southampton, Cardiff, Glasgow

Thursday, 12 March, 3:00 PM
DocHouse: Syria Double Bill
Birkbeck Cinema
http://www.dochouse.org/film-screening/Best-of-DocHouse-SYRIA-DOUBLE-BILL/422

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United States – Arlington, Virginia
Friday 13 March, 6 PM
“An Evening of Art & Revolution”
Crystal Gateway Marriott
https://www.facebook.com/events/380023718843275

Saturday 14 March, 9 AM – 5 PM
“The Road Forward” Conference
Crystal Gateway Marriott
https://www.facebook.com/events/1382653072047778

United States – Washington, DC
12 March to 15 March: #TheRevolutionContinues
Full schedule: https://www.facebook.com/events/937170359641360

11 March to 15 March
200,000 Names – An Oral Memorial #HowManyMore
The White House
https://www.facebook.com/events/1400799146895472/

Sunday, 15 March, 11 AM to 2 PM
“United Against Assad & Isis” Rally
White House, Lafayette Park
http://www.mar15th.com/rally

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The Syria Campaign is building an open, global movement working for a peaceful future for Syria. We are people from all over the world who are coming together to tackle what the UN has described as “the greatest humanitarian tragedy of our time”.

Syria needs all the support we can give it!