Saturday, July 28, 2012

"The presence of President Bashar al-Assad is currently the safety valve for the country"

Nabil Fayyad is a Syian intellectual who was mentioned on this blog before. He is a Syrian government opponent who lives in Syria. He was recently quoted on the 9:00 PM Nightly News of Syrian radio station Sham FM in their July 25, 2012 edition. His quotes were said to be in a television interview with  him on a channel that they did not specify. They played clips by him saying the following (translated  below verbatim):
"لدينا وثائق هائلة .. لدي وثائق هائلة حول تورط القاعدة في جرائم القتل في سورية .. القتل الطائفي .. من يقوم بالقتل الطائفي غير القاعدة .. يعني اسمح لي شويّ .. إنّه أسماء الكتائب التي تُطلق الآن في الجيش الحر .. كلّها أسماء طائفية سلفية منفّرة .. لماذا يريدون العودة بنا إلى البسطار السلفي المنفر القاتل الدموي .. أنا لا أفهم هذا الشيئ .. على كل حال، وجود الرئيس بشار الأسد حالياً هو صمام الأمان للبلد ولا أعتقد أن غالبية السوريين .. الغالبية الصامتة من السوريين تريد تنحي الرئيس بشار الأسد لأن وجوده هو صمام الأمان لانتقال البلد إلى بلد ديمقراطي حقيقي." 
"أنا أعرف قيادات الجيش وأعرف قيادات البلد جيداً .. لا يمكن للقيادات أن تستخدم السلاح الكيماوي وغير الكيماوي .. أي سلاح فتاك ضد شعبها. صدقني أنهم مجبرون الآن على خوض هذه المعارك .. لا أعتقد أن جيشاً في العالم يتمنى هذا الذي حصل للجيش السوري .. هم مجبرون تماماً على المسار الذي أُدخِلوا فيه. لا أعتقد أن الجيش السوري والقيادة السورية على استعداد لاستخدام القدر الأدنى من السلاح الكيمياوي ضد شعبها. صدقني المعارك إعلامية قبل أن تكون على الأرض. المعارك إعلامية. تعال إلى دمشق. الآن دمشق انقلبت ١٨٠ درجة ولم يعد هنالك أي شيئ مما سُمّي تحرير دمشق والعصابات المسلحة التي انتشرت في كل مكان. الدولة تستعيد سلطتها شيئاً فشيئاً."
"We have a huge amount of documentation .. I have a huge amount of documentation about the involvement of al-Qaeda in the killings in Syria .. sectarian killings .. who is committing sectarian killing other than Al Qaeda? .. I mean, please allow me .. the names of the brigades that are being used now in the Free [Syrian] Army .. all those names are sectarian, salafist and repulsive .. Why do they want to take us back to the repulsive bloody and murderous salafist domination .. I do not understand this thing .. In any case, the presence of President Bashar al-Assad is currently the safety valve for the country and I do not think that the majority of Syrians .. the silent majority of Syrians want President Bashar al-Assad to step down .. because his presence is a safety valve for the country's transition to a truly democratic country." 
"I know those in leadership positions in the army and in the country well .. those leaders can not use the chemical or non-chemical weapon .. any destructive weapon against their own people. Believe me, they are forced now to fight these battles .. I do not think that any army in the world wishes for itself what has happened to the Syrian Army .. They are totally forced to take the course they were made to take. I do not think that the Syrian Army and the Syrian leadership are willing to use the least amount of chemical weapons against their own people. Believe me, the battles are media battles more than being battles on the ground .. the battles are media battles .. Come to Damascus .. Damascus has now changed 180 degrees .. there is no longer anything of what was called the "Liberation of Damascus" and the armed gangs that have spread everywhere .. the state is regaining its authority little by little."

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

"Had you been Alawite, I would have slaughtered you"

In one of his posts on his facebook page, Syrian journalist and writer Bassam al-Kadi (who we mentioned on this blog before) wrote about a message he received from a Syrian regime opponent friend of his who is in Syria's northern region:

A letter from a regime opponent friend of mine in the northern region, written in my own words to ensure the confidentiality of his name: 
When one of my relatives was released after being detained by the "Free [Syrian] Army", he told us about what he saw by saying that the smell of slaughtered human bodies was everywhere in the place where they were being held. The voices of the terrified children and adult hostages is undescribable. They [i.e. the FSA rebels] themselves had a very filthy smell. 
In the same week, it happened that one of my relatives was forced to travel on a road that is frequently blocked by the terrorists. And as excepted, the "Free [Syrian] Army" stopped the bus she was on. There were two women on board who were unveiled [i.e. they did not have their head covered]. The terrorist asked them, "Are you Alawites?". "No!", they replied. And after he confirmed that they were not "Alawite", he said to them: You have just been born again. Had you been Alawite, I would have slaughtered you both.
Citing some people who have been through the experience of having their neighborhoods occupied by the terrorists militia, they've confirmed that the "Free [Syrian] Army" mercenaries break into homes after crashing the doors, kick families out of the homes and force them to flee, occupy the buildings that they're able to occupy and go out to the rooftops and balconies with sniper rifles. And this forced the Army to use helicopters to hunt the terrorists.