Geography Archives: Syria

The attempt by sectarian Syrian oppositionists to silence Bahraini and Palestinian voices documented below by Maath Musleh and Sara Yasin occurred at a demonstration ostensibly for all Arab revolts organized by Amnesty International at Trafalgar Square, London, 11 February 2011. (It is noteworthy, though, that Amnesty International itself gives top billing to Syria in its […]

Still stinging from the “travesty” of their defeat in the United Nations Security Council over the weekend, the United States and the “international community” have already begun to hatch their next ploy for intervention into Syria. On Monday — with the Security Council, and ostensibly diplomacy as well, having been deemed “neutered” by Secretary of […]

  Communiqué The heads of state and government of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) reiterate their condemnation of the systematic policy of interference in and destabilization of the brother Syrian Arab Republic, the aim of which is to impose, by force, regime change on the Syrian people. The ALBA member […]

  Jorge Insunza: Look, the Communist Party of Syria, which is a great, serious, and responsible Communist Party and which is not part of the Syrian government, says that it is necessary for Syria to make progress in the deepening of the real exercise of democratic rights.  That there have been flaws and errors is […]

  Excerpt: 26. In Homs and Dera’a, the Mission observed armed groups committing acts of violence against Government forces, resulting in death and injury among their ranks.  In certain situations, Government forces responded to attacks against their personnel with force.  The observers noted that some of the armed groups were using flares and armour-piercing projectiles. […]

Dear Amnesty (amnestyis@amnesty.org): “Russia’s threats to abort a binding UN resolution on Syria for the second time are utterly irresponsible,” said José Luis Díaz, Amnesty’s representative to the UN.  “Russia bears a heavy responsibility for allowing the brutal crackdown to continue.”1 With Libya still suffering the lethal consequences of western military “liberation,” with Iran gravely […]

  Jeremy Salt: I don’t think there’s any doubt at all that a large number of military, of civilians, have been killed by armed gangs and by defectors.  So, what we actually need to do is to disaggregate these (casualty) figures.  How many people have been killed by the Syrian Army?  How many of them […]

Communiqué The president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Comandante Hugo Chávez, in the name of the Venezuelan people and government, condemns the terrorist attack perpetrated today in Damascus, the capital of the brother Syrian Arab Republic, in the strongest and most unequivocal terms, and stands in solidarity with the brave Syrian people, in sending […]

Ibrahim Jaza is a Syrian cartoonist.  Note: “Ghalioun” means “pipe” in Arabic.  See, also: “Now, irresponsible people have taken over the leadership of the Syrian revolt. . . .  From the beginning the SNC was marching toward the UN Security Council.  The SNC wanted to exclude Syria from the Arab League and get the Arab […]

Ibrahim Jaza is a Syrian cartoonist.  See, also: “To those of you who don’t believe that the #Syria-n rebels have israeli arms, take a look.  Nothing’s hidden anymore.  pic.twitter.com/mOTfVyT4” (Joud, 25 December 2011); “الهيئة ” و “المجلس” يوقعان اتفاقا “مفخخا” يسمح ضمنا بتدخل عسكري عربي في سوريا لإسقاط النظام  (SyriaTruth.org, 31 December 2011). | Print

The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Cuba energetically condemns the criminal attacks by car bombs that took place in Damascus, Syria, causing dozens of dead and wounded.  Cuba condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and firmly opposes the attempts to undermine the stability of Syria, foreign interference, and the threats to its […]

Communiqué The president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Comandante Hugo Chávez, in the name of the Venezuelan people and its government, energetically condemns the terrorist attacks perpetrated today in Damascus in the Syrian Arab Republic, whose terrible result is at least 30 dead and hundreds of wounded. The Bolivarian government wishes to send the […]

  A flag of the Islamic State of Iraq sighted at a Syrian opposition demonstration in Khan al Sabl, Idlib, Syria, 23 December 2011 A jihadi flag sighted at a Syrian opposition demonstration in Binnish, Idlib, Syria, 21 December 2011 A jihadi flag sighted at a Syrian opposition demonstration in Maarat al Numaan, Idlib, Syria, […]

Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela.  Cf. Vitaly Churkin, “Russia Against Any Sanctions on Syria” (2 December 2011); “Done Deal: Russia Supplies Cruise Missiles to Syria” (RT, 2 December 2011). var idcomments_acct = ‘c90a61ed51fd7b64001f1361a7a71191’; var idcomments_post_id; var idcomments_post_url; | Print

Aijaz Ahmad: For one thing, Syria is the last remaining representative of Arab nationalism as it used to be understood historically.  It still calls itself socialist.  Even though it has implemented a great deal of neoliberal reform, the state sector is still dominant.  It bans, literally bans, religion from politics.  It will not recognize the […]

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “Syria is an internal affair for us!”Barack Obama: “What a smart little boy he’s become!” Barack Obama: “We have reached the end of our patience!”Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “We have reached the end of our patience!” The top cartoon was first published by Gırgır; the bottom cartoon was first published by Çizgice.  They […]

According to Le Canard enchaîné, French agents are now in Lebanon and Turkey “for the mission to build the first contingents of the Free Syrian Army.” French intelligence agents have been sent to northern Lebanon and Turkey to build the first contingents of the Free Syrian Army out of the deserters who have fled Syria, […]

  The text in the painting reads the lyrics of a traditional Iraqi folk song: “Those who have forgotten us, when will you remember us?  When will we cross your mind?  When will you help our situation?  Love, you have left us with no explanation; you shut the doors in our face and abandoned us.  […]

Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela.  Cf. “Given the impossibility of obtaining UN approval for an attack on Syria or Iran, it’s clear as the Qatar sky what’s going on.  Arm and finance a group of revolutionaries and get them to start an uprising.  When the state cracks down, get the opposition to call […]

The leader of al-Nahda movement, Rachid Ghannouchi, made his first visit to a foreign country after the first post-revolution Tunisian elections. His choice was the State of Qatar. Analysts see many messages in this gesture but some Tunisians are troubled by the invitation he had extended to the Emir of Qatar. Although many do not want any foreign leader present during the opening session of the constituent assembly, some Tunisians are singling out the ruler of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, as a persona non grata. They see him as a bully who is using Al Jazeera and his huge wealth to push an agenda that is not necessarily in the interest of their country.