Syria crisis: Assad regime forces issue 72-hour deadline for end to protests in Homs

[UndertheOcean]

Source: the telegraph

Syrian forces encircling the city of Homs have issued a 72-hour ultimatum for all protests against President Bashar al-Assad to stop, or a new offensive will begin.

The warning came as the regime's troops massed outside the city, apparently preparing for a major operation. Homs has been a centre of unrest since the onset of demonstrations against Mr Assad in March. The biggest protests have traditionally taken place on Fridays, the day of prayer in the Muslim world, when the mosques fill with worshippers.
On Friday, the security forces tried to curb the unrest by issuing an explicit threat. "We have been given 72 hours to stop protesting, or they are going to hit us hard," said an opposition activist in Homs going by the name Abu Rami.
Nonetheless, demonstrations swept across the city after prayers. People left the mosques and filled the streets, chanting "Syria wants freedom" and "Bashar is an enemy of humanity".

remaider at link

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8946861/Syria-crisis-Assad-regime-forces-issue-72-hour-deadline-for-end-to-protests-in-Homs.html

---

I am worried

[Arctic Dave]

1. Maybe it's not so much the protesting as much as its the killing and stuff.

It started with protest but that is not what it is now.

[tcaudilllg]

3. Your way is naive.

Protests rely on appeal to external force for interventions, primarily due to moral outrage. Now that Russia has intervened, there will be no external force. The only road aheads are violent revolution, or persecution. They have every right to kill Bashar al-Assad... if they can manage it.

[Arctic Dave]

7. Maybe that's that's why he is cracking down.

Could be?

[tcaudilllg]

14. He'll crack down no matter what.

Have you played Final Fantasy 12? The villain, Vayne? He's like that. He's exactly like that.

[joshcryer]

4. Some Egyptians burned several police stations and killed police officers...

...should all of the Egyptian protesters have been dismissed as "protest is not what it is now" after a few days?

Ridiculous logic.

[Arctic Dave]

8. Did they attack a base?

Did they kill soldiers?


Big difference.

[DetlefK]

5. "Stop shooting back! That's not fair!"

[Arctic Dave]

9. It is completely fair.

Just not smart when you are outgunned.

[pampango]

6. Violently repress peaceful protests for long enough and guess what happens.

Either you "win" and impose the "peace" of a dictator's security forces OR the months-long repression runs the risk that a small part of the opposition (largely defectors from Assad's own military, who got tired of shooting civilians) turns to violence out of frustration.

It's a good strategy for dictators. Repression of dissent comes naturally to them. When peaceful protests break out, they can assume that either violent repression will break the protests in fairly short order (and the world will look the other way) or violent repression fails and eventually creates a small minority of the opposition who to employ violence themselves.

Then the dictator can say, "I told you all along that I was simply trying to put down violent opposition to "legitimate" government." The strategy may not always work, but it often does. Opposing peaceful public pressure for more freedom is tough in the current atmosphere. But violent repression comes naturally to dictators rather than negotiation and accommodation which are bad for their job security, so it's not surprising that Assad would take a page of this play book.

[hack89]

11. It was bad form to actually fight back. How important can freedom really be?

they should just quietly accept the police state.

[Little Tich]

2. The people of Homs have a good reason to be afraid.

Assad will not hesitate to use violence against his own people, and a massacre with hundreds or thousands of dead would show the opposition that resistance is futile. The opposition is not very unified, some groups are coordinated by the Syrian National Council (SNC) in Turkey, while other groups are united in the National Co-ordination Committee for Democratic Change, which is based in Syria. A massacre could break up the cooperation between the different opposition groups, making things easier for Assad.

Unfortunately, the opposition can't expect much help from outside Syria. It's not because nobody cares,it's because an intervention would not be easy. The country is difficult to cross, with mountain ranges and rugged terrain. Maybe Turkey could do more than just providing a haven for refugees and armed opposition groups, and maybe NATO could provide a no fly zone over areas of Syria, but it would still be up to the Syrians to fight Assad. The only thing that could turn the tables would be to arm the opposition, which is morally a difficult choice, as it would lead to an escalation.

Russia has decided to throw a monkey wrench into the works by deciding to staunchly support Assad to the end. Putin & co will deliver weapons to Assad in order to prop him up, and resist sanctions against Syria. Even though Syria is one of Russia's best arms buyers, and also home to the only Russian naval base in the Med, the decision to back up Assad is morally repugnant, and will make Russia partly responsible for any bloodshed.

This is not going to end well, and what happened in Libya will be a picnic compared to Syria. Potentially, there could be thousands more of casualties, the war could spread into Lebanon or other countries nearby, and it could take years before the conflict is over.

[tcaudilllg]

16. Oh well.

I hope they kill him anyway. Though he's smart enough that he'd turn tail and run if he thought he'd lose.

[classysassy]

18. We never use violence against our citizens

Our government is as pure as new driven snow."Oh what fools we mortals be ".

[David__77]

10. That is entirely reasonable.

Criminals are using crowds as shields to attempt to replicate the "Libyan scenario" in Syria. Assad is indecisive - the Syrian authorities would be wise to declare martial law, seal the borders, occupy the centers of insurgent activity, and expel foreigners.

[hack89]

12. Are you saying the Syrian people do not have legitimate grievances?

and are being brutalized by the security forces for protesting?

As for martial law - what other kind of law has there been in Syria for the past decade. It is a police state run by a religious minority that suppresses the rights of the people.

[David__77]

13. Of course they have legitimate grievances.

My main concern is that the foreign countries should respect the sovereignty of Syria (and all other countries, whether Israel or Egypt or Iran or Russia).

But were I Syrian, I would definitely stand on the side of the current government, secularism, and modernity. What state would idly stand by while insurgents arm themselves, soldiers and police are killed dozens at a time, and infrastructure is destroyed?

And it is not just the Alawites that support the government, many other minorities do as well. The only way that women will continue to freely walk down the street, free of the veil and wearing what they choose, is if the Islamists' plans are defeated.

[tcaudilllg]

15. Assad is not the only way.

The people can take responsibility for their freedom and do the difficult things to their own people, when their people try to take away their freedoms.

[classysassy]

17. Freedom of the press to continue lying.

The wealthy criminals that own the media world wide continue to target Muslim countries with lies and deceit in order to justify an invasion so they can plunder and pillage the natural resources of those countries and we are to damn lazy to expose the scum.