Save Syria Now! Press Release: Arab League Monitors are only bringing more deaths to the Syrian people by diverting attention from Assad’s killing machine in the streets of Syria
Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Arab League Monitors are only bringing more deaths to the Syrian people by diverting attention from Assad’s killing machine in the streets of Syria
Another 150 have died while farcical monitors give Assad a free pass by taking up what little bandwidth existed for Syria
PHOENIX (January 6, 2012) – Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a devout Muslim and the co-founder of the SaveSyria Now! issued the following statement regarding the Arab League monitors in Syria:
“Another week has gone by with the west abdicating its leadership role in Syria to a group of hapless monitors from the Arab League. While the media has regaled us almost daily with stories of attacks on these monitors, the real story of the struggle for the freedom of the Syrian people continues with another 150 dead in the streets.
Bashar Al-Assad is playing the free world as fools by standing in front of our media and agreeing to terms with the cabal of tyrants to end the violence, while in reality he continues to crush opposition beneath his boot. The protesters in the street know that settlement is not an option. Stepping out of the streets with Assad in power may as well be a death warrant for them.
The Arab League’s mission is beyond a farce. It is an inhumane travesty of global proportions run by a Sudanese agent of a genocidal regime whose President is wanted for war crimes committed in his own nation. The monitors have been told where to go by Assad’s drivers and used primitive means of documentation if any at all. They are autocrats trying to save face for themselves while their fellow autocrat Bashar Assad is finding himself closer and closer to the end of his tyrannical rule. The so called monitors have only afforded the Assad regime more time and sucked the bandwidth away from legitimate coverage of the atrocities that Bashar Assad has committed on his own people.
Instead of appeasing conferences with the OIC in Washington where America apologizes for OIC hyperbole over so called western islamophobia and tries to restrict free speech, the West must put an end to this farce, by demanding that Assad let UN observers and international media into the country to document his crimes. The United States must push harder on every front for the removal of Assad and step forward as a champion of freedom for the brutalized people of Syria and the free world.”
About Save Syria Now!
Save Syria Now! is a group of Americans of Syrian descent organizing to put pressure on the United States to call for immediate action to be taken against the regime of Bashar Assad of Syria and to bring true liberty to the people of Syria. We stand with the Syrians protesting in the streets to end the tyranny of the Assad family. For more information please visit our website at http://www.savesyrianow.org/.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Gregg Edgar
Gordon C. James Public Relations
602-690-7977
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‘American Taliban’ says prison restricts prayer
‘American Taliban’ says prison restricts prayer
By Chelsea J. Carter, CNN, Aug. 27, 2012
(CNN) — John Walker Lindh, who is serving a 20-year sentence for aiding the Taliban, heads to federal court Monday in Indianapolis in an attempt to overturn a prison ban that he says severely restricts Muslim prayer.
Lindh is scheduled to take the stand in a lawsuit he filed against the warden and the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, alleging the warden’s ban on daily group prayer violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The warden, according to court documents, has argued that the ban implemented after 2007 is necessary because of security concerns.
Lindh, 31, is serving his sentence in Terre Haute’s Communications Management Unit, which opened in 2006. The unit severely restricts the contact of prisoners with the outside and monitors conversations between the inmates.
Syria After Assad
Syria After Assad
Posted by Jamie Glazov Aug 24th, 2012 , Frontpagemag
Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Shekoh Abbas, the leader of the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria. He has joined with U.S. Syrian Sunni reformer Dr. M. Zhudi Jasser to advance the cause of Syrian democracy via the Syrian Democratic Coalition.
FP: Sherkoh Abbas, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
I would like to talk to you today about what might happen in Syria when and if Assad falls.
What do you see as following the overthrow of Assad?
Abbas: Thank you for having me, Jamie.
Basically if Assad goes, for sure it will be civil war, but if we wait too long there will be much more bloodshed or full-scale civil war. It has already started, in my opinion. There has been cleansing and fighting going on between Alawites and Sunni.
Compare the situation to Lebanon. Lebanon used to be a place for proxy war where the regimes would fight each other. However, the quicker we jump into an inclusive way out of what is going on, the better it is for Syrians and the international community. We see federalism in Syria as an inclusive way-out because it will address secular needs of stakeholders from Sunnis, Kurds, Alawites, Christians and other minorities, which will accelerate regime change in an orderly way.
Syria needs to be a workable state that is inclusive of certain stakeholders, not a failed state as it is now. This is an opportunity for the West to do things right, build a successful state, and assure that Syria doesn’t move into full scale civil war. Stakeholders may include Russia maintaining a presence in the coastal area, while the development ensues of an Alawite State, Kurdish State on the north side, and Aleppo and Damascus States for the rest of Syria. This will minimize or prevent proxy wars in our view because stakeholders will not be forced to submit to a strong central government that could oppress them.
The only way to remove support from the regime is to create an Alawite region or state and to separate the Alawites and their supporters as a people from their small presence in the regime. The solution is working with all groups in an inclusive approach and by promoting support for federalism or confederation for the above states/regions. Otherwise, we see there is a full civil war that can only get worse around the corner.
Folks from the U.S. State Department, Turkey, Qatar, and Gulf countries are currently supporting Islamist groups who seek another dictatorship, but this is not an option for Syria. These folks want a strong man and one address to go to for dealing with Syria, but the best thing is to find a way out that and address the interest of the Syrians, Russians, Europeans, the U.S., and regional counties, including Israel. Furthermore, there needs to be the inclusion of the interests of all minorities such as Kurds, Alawaite, Druz and Christians, otherwise it won’t work.
FP: Do you envision a takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood as in Egypt?
Abbas: The answer is not to bring Sharia Law into Syria. A dictator, theocrat, or someone who is an appointed or selected national leader is not acceptable for Syria. We can independently find our own secular leadership that allows the people to have more of a say over their states within the new Syria.
When Syria split from the United Arab Republic, the Kurds suffered under the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. And now in Egypt they are trying to control people like the Coptic Christians. They are immediately trying to Arabize and convert the Copts, who deserve to have their rights protected. The Muslim Brotherhood is trying to take over one institution at a time, to ultimately change things as they wish. Therefore, since Kurds are a part of Syria, they need to have a say over their own affairs.
In Syria, all the minorities constitute a majority, like Alawites who have a lot of weapons and Russian support. With the influx of Iran, Hezbollah, and related extremist forces, there is developing violence and risk for proxy wars.
It is important for the international community to address Syria and establish a compromise. Sunnis, Kurds, Russia, Europeans, everyone should have a piece of the pie through establishing law and joint leadership like any other inter-state alliance or confederation.
The State Department should consider that Syrians should have their own rights to have states, like the United States does. We have people on the ground who organize independently. We need to take responsibility for our own democracy and our own human rights issues, because if Islamic extremists take control of Syria, it will be worse than what is happening now.
FP: So there is a possible democratic alternative? A separate Kurdish state in Syria?
Abbas: Historically, Kurds have been presidents, prime ministers, and top ranking generals in Syria before Baath took over more than 4 decades ago. Looking back, Kurds have had their rights revoked, citizenship revoked, tortured, oppressed and killed. In short, we have no rights at all in Syria. We want to exercise our rights of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to decide for ourselves in our own area, and bring prosperity to our people and to Syria as a whole.
We should have federalism and nothing less, otherwise there will be no government. The current arrangement under Assad is unsustainable. We just need to have a say in the future Syria.
Alawites want more than Kurds, but they are afraid to speak up, because they will suffer more if they speak out. The Druze will also suffer if they speak out. We have been accused of being Zionist or of seeking to create a second Zionist state in the Middle East. We have learned to deal with it. Also, Iran and Turkey agree to keep Syria as a centralized state to avoid a domino affect within their own countries.
The current centralized government does not serve justice for all. We need a new form of checks and balances, where the people have their own identities and where federalism blocks Islamic extremism and dictatorships.
FP: What should U.S. policy be toward the current struggle?
Abbas: The U.S. is not taking sufficient action; it should address the removal of Iran’s influence.
The U.S. has a choice in using the international community to make a decision. It was successful in the past to lead, even during the era of the Soviet Union. Now, the U.S. does not want “regime change,” it is looking for a dictator, like the Muslim Brotherhood or a secular dictator for a continuation of a centralized Syrian government, while using Russia as an excuse.
But there is a better policy.
An easier way is to protect Russia’s interest to maintain control over their gas interests and ports in Syria, protect allies, have compromises, and bring international support for a new Syrian confederation.
FP: What are your thoughts on how the Obama administration has handled it thus far?
Abbas: The administration has failed in leadership, and failed in preventing human lives from being saved by doing nothing, and has instead enabled more violence, and has encouraged the regime to slaughter and kill more people. The regime has killed the Syrian people, and the administration should have been more proactive in supporting regime change while finding true groups that can work together and in working with Russia on protecting its interests after Assad. The Syrian regime learned that the U.S. was all talk and not action-oriented. It is a disaster for the Syrian people.
In 2003 when Saddam was gone, Assad was so afraid of the U.S., and then the Kurds and others in Syria stood up and protested in the 2004 Kurdish uprising, while a few people were killed and injured compared to now. The Syrian people want change, and hopefully the U.S. will provide leadership. But until then, thousands of people are getting killed.
FP: Shed some light on the Obama-Erdogan Alliance and the dangers it poses.
Abbas: Obama and Erdogan show a lot of public respect for each other in Istanbul and Ankara, which promotes their concept of “moderates,” but it’s not moderate when a system is slaughtering Kurds and others. Their relationship does not serve the Kurdish people nor democracy.
The PKK is not the answer, but 25-30 million Kurds don’t have rights in Turkey. Erdogan managed to purport to Europeans that he is a moderate; he tried to use the Turkish platform, but the people deserve their rights and Kurds in Turkey have no rights and he is threatening Syrian Kurds.
Sunni-Arabs are being supported as a result of the alliance, but their interest is energy in Syria and the Middle East so that they can dictate oil or energy prices and distribution into Europe.
President Obama shouldn’t be enabling them in these areas. Obama does believe that they are moderate Muslims, but they are not. A true moderate treats fellow people right, and doesn’t slaughter minorities like Kurds.
The best thing is for the U.S. to divest from this relationship, and put down a road-map to federalism that will not show any threats to Turkey, does not support Iran, and does not support the Muslim Brotherhood. In other words, don’t subcontract American foreign policy to Turkey, instead institute a new democratic policy for Syria.
FP: Crystallize for us the problems of a unified Syria and what Syrian Kurdish autonomy would look like.
Abbas: The Syrian Kurdish region is not like Iraq, because Iraq did not solve the Kurdish problem until now. The Kurdish region of Syria is not necessarily under Kurdish control. There are parts that have been Arabized, the northwest coastal region/Kurdish Mountain area, but should be part of the Kurdish region. If you refer to the demographic map (above), the north up to the coast is our area. We want federalism, as in a federal government of Syria involving multiple federations as Sunni, Alawite, and Kurd. The Kurds would also be part of the central government with joint leadership.
The U.S. should not falsely talk about developing a coalition, as it cannot bridge gaps by selecting Syrian leaders that Americans want. Coalition is about finding people who work together based on what they want and a workable solution. Sometimes not all sides will agree, but it’s important to see a compromise for all. If all the groups want a decentralized government, then it is important for Kurds to be vocal in support of their fellow Syrian compatriots. We suffered too much for too long and cannot wait 50 more years to find out that we have a failed state again.
FP: Sherkoh Abbas, thank you for joining Frontpage Interview.
Syrian Opposition Speaks
By Adam Kredo, October 27, 2012
Read the article at The Washington Free Beacon
Failure of U.S. to provide direct aid demoralizing anti-Assad forces, opposition leader says
President Barack Obama’s administration has continued to turn its back on Syrian opposition fighters, refusing to provide not only critical weaponry but also direct humanitarian aid to those fighting a bloody battle against embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to an opposition leader who just returned from the battle’s front lines.
The dearth of direct support has enabled Assad to continue slaughtering citizens and opposition forces, prolonging a civil war that has claimed thousands of lives since it broke out over a year ago.
“I saw no support for the armed rebels by the U.S.,” Mouaz Moustafa, political director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF) and United for a Free Syria (UFS), said Friday afternoon during a conference call with reporters.
A lack of sophisticated weaponry has allowed armed terrorist groups, such as Iran-funded Hezbollah, to infiltrate Syria and stir chaos that could spill across the region, said Moustafa, who recently spent time in Syrian cities that have been decimated by Assad’s forces.
“There needs to be more serious arming of the [opposition] efforts,” he concluded. “That would greatly help depose the regime.”
A level of “military intervention to end the blood being spilled” would help rebel forces speed up Assad’s ouster, said Moustafa, who also serves as a board member for the Coalition for a Democratic Syria (CDS). “That’s something we’ve been very slow to move on.”
“The risks of not doing anything, not bombing … are far outweighed by the risks of letting these [attack on civilians] go on,” he added.
The United States also has failed to take a lead on the humanitarian front, Moustafa explained.
Currently, the U.S. sends aid to Syria via several United Nations bodies and other “middle men,” he said.
“It doesn’t have the stamp of the U.S.,” he said. “There’s middle men.”
It would send a “huge” message to the Syrian people if the U.S. were to take a more direct approach, Moustafa explained.
“We’re hoping to see it as more direct so Uncle Sam gets the credit,” he said. “It’s much needed.”
There are huge risks associated with the Obama administration’s continued passivity on the Syrian front, Moustafa said, including the rampant destruction and violence that continues to devastate towns along the Syria-Turkey border.
That violence could spread further into Turkey, potentially leading Saudi Arabia or even Jordan to get involved in what could become a regional conflict.
Additionally, if Assad falls, a power vacuum could allow militants and Islamic extremists to gain a foothold in the nation, as they have done in other Middle Eastern countries that have experienced tumult.
If the U.S. and other Western nations fail to prepare and organize local governments for the toppling of the Assad government, the situation in Syria could become “ten times more complicated and worse for the U.S.,” Moustafa said.
“We really have to take advantage because if we don’t … then we’ll end up with problems.”
There is growing evidence that Hezbollah and other extremist groups have been waging deadly cross border raids aimed at murdering Assad’s enemies.
Free Syrian Army fighters have recounted tales of being targeted by Hezbollah, according to reports.
Hezbollah has provided arms to pro-Assad forces, which routinely engage in the mass slaughter of innocent Syrian civilians.
Saudi Arabia has also reportedly armed opposition fighters in an effort to counter Iran and Hezbollah in Syria.
“Sectarian divisions driven by the war are sowing political instability outside of Syria, alongside the unstable security situation introduced by the fighting itself,” The Israel Project, a D.C.-based organization, wrote in a recent analysis of the conflict.
Moustafa reported seeing evidence of “spill over” from the conflict during his time in Syria.
“We see it already happening in certain places” such as Lebanon, he said.
Armed fighters have entered the conflict from Iraq, Moustafa said.
“There’s potential to have chaos in the entire region,” which is exactly what Assad is “banking on.”
To protect its borders, Turkey has established a de facto green line replete with artillery and soldiers. Government leaders have hoped to formalize this line, but it has yet to get explicit support from the Obama administration.
“The Turks are very much exposed,” Moustafa said. “There are no talks of formalizing this buffer zone ,though the Turks would like to see it.”
However, “it can only happen if the U.S. is at the table,” he added.
Violence has become so rooted in Syria that even a cease-fire during the Islamic religious holidays was short lived, according to reports.
Moustafa speculated that Assad has no reason to observe a temporary cease-fire and even less motivation to enact a long-term plan.
“I don’t think it could hold,” he said. If Assad ends the violence, “he will fall.”
Moustafa outlined the horrors the war has brought to areas of Syria such as Khirbet al-Joz, a Syrian border town that was razed by pro-Assad forces.
“The conditions of everyone in the village were horrendous,” Moustafa said, recalling “the smell of burning.”
Moutafa interviewed several pro-Assad prisoners of war who were being held captive by opposition forces in several warehouse-like structures in the town.
Some of them explained the reasons they were aiding the regime.
“Many of them are young men,” Moustafa recalled, “and they are stuck in this game being played by Assad.”
Are Syria’s Rebels Getting Too Extreme?
Are Syria’s Rebels Getting Too Extreme?
The Daily Beast, Aug 24, 2012
Syria’s 18-month-long conflict is deepening sectarian divisions, breeding more and more openly Islamist Sunni rebels talking about the rebellion ushering in Sharia law—and raising the prospect of an ungovernable postwar nation.
While the international media focuses on whether al Qaeda has latched onto the escalating Syrian conflict, opposition activists and human-rights observers are less alarmed than the Pentagon about the trickle of foreign fighters arriving in the war-torn country than about the home-grown hardening of sectarian attitudes among Syrians and the adoption by rebels of more muscular Islamist views.