Capturing the MidEast in short soundbites: poignant reflections by people who understand the complexities of the Middle East. My philosophy is: "less is more." You won't agree with everything that's here, but I'm confident you will find it interesting! Excepting the titles, my own comments are minimal. Instead I rely on news sources to string together what I hope is an interesting, politically challenging, non-partisan, non-ideological narrative.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Syrian Child Torture Ignites Protests
Torture of Boy Reinvigorates Syria's Protest Movement -Liz Sly
Hamza Ali al-Khateeb [pictured] was 13 years old. And since a video portraying the torture inflicted upon him was broadcast on al-Jazeera on Friday, he has rapidly emerged as the new symbol of the protest movement in Syria.
In Hama, thousands swarmed a central square holding pictures of the boy and chanting "Hamza, Hamza." In Aleppo, people climbed onto rooftops Saturday, chanting, "God is great. Hamza, Hamza." In Darayya, a suburb of Damascus, children took to the streets Sunday to denounce his torture.
(Washington Post)
*
UPDATE:
Assad Regime Will Eventually Succumb to Syria Protests -Amos Harel
The regime of Syrian leader Bashar Assad will not survive and will eventually collapse under the pressure of demonstrations. This is the assessment of Israel's military establishment - and this view is gaining strength.
A senior security source told Ha'aretz this week that "Assad is becoming weaker. It may take a few months, or a year or more, but the regime will probably fail to recover."
"Assad has lost his legitimacy in the eyes of his people and therefore his fate is sealed. Every week of demonstrations and deaths only makes things more difficult for him....I do not think he has a chance against the opposition."
(Ha'aretz)
*
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
This horrible, horrible tragedy will hopefully haunt Assad as his brutal regime crumbles, long after it should have-- when it was his father running the show. It was incredible to read yesterday that Syria's government claims that the boy was not tortured and murdered but actually just died from gunshot wounds!
I made the mistake of watching the video of his dead body...I had to stop before it was over. Horrible.
Post a Comment