New Events

International

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Who?s Behind the Carefully Curated Global Climate Narrative? Sun Sep 07, 2025 09:00 | Chris Morrison
Why do media outlets the world over publish the same dubious climate scare stories? Daily Sceptic Environment Editor Chris Morrison peers behind the curtain to find out who's behind the carefully curated narrative.
The post Who’s Behind the Carefully Curated Global Climate Narrative? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen ? by Pretending She Was a Lesbian Who Was into Her Own Sister Sun Sep 07, 2025 07:00 | Steven Tucker
It's now 250 years since Jane Austen was born and assigned the arbitrary gender of?'female' by a bigoted 18th-century midwife. Inevitably, it's being marked by woke efforts to pretend she was a lesbian, says Steven Tucker.
The post Celebrating 250 Years of Jane Austen ? by Pretending She Was a Lesbian Who Was into Her Own Sister appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Sun Sep 07, 2025 00:53 | Will Jones
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Another 24 People Charged with Supporting Palestine Action Sat Sep 06, 2025 17:00 | Will Jones
A further 24 people have been charged for showing support for?Palestine?Action, bringing the total number to 138.
The post Another 24 People Charged with Supporting Palestine Action appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Labour Refuses to Reveal How Much Money Asylum Seekers are Getting Sat Sep 06, 2025 15:00 | Will Jones
Labour has refused to reveal how many top-up debit card payments have been made to asylum seekers after it emerged some were using the money for gambling.
The post Labour Refuses to Reveal How Much Money Asylum Seekers are Getting appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Real Syrian Opposition Condemns Syrian National Council

category international | anti-war / imperialism | news report author Sunday November 20, 2011 15:37author by pat c Report this post to the editors

Louay Hussein a former political prisoner in Syria has more than a few doubts about the Syrian National Council. Hussein, a writer and political prisoner from 1984 to 1991, explains: “People who took part in the protests during the first three months were different from the people now,” he says. The original protesters “had political ideas and values and called for liberty and equality. They were for positive action . . . During this stage, I was part of the movement in the street, as an organiser. But others joined the protests. They regard this regime as murderers rather than a tyranny or dictatorship and raise harmful slogans” by calling for external intervention or executing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

However, he observes that the “council has a lot of financial and diplomatic support. Many EU states give visas to its members but not to us.”

Hussein warns that it is “dangerous” for outside powers to rely exclusively on opposition groups “because they do not represent the will of all the people some support the regime”. Condemning escalating clashes between the army and armed opposition elements, Hussein insists that the uprising must be peaceful and hopes the Free Syrian Army formed by deserters will be marginalised.

“I don’t know anything about the origin of the Free Syrian Army. It has no political arm . . . Its members want to fight tyranny to bring tyranny. I’m afraid they will be freedom fighters like the Taliban of Afghanistan.”

Hussein is not trying to grab a leadership position by virtue of his years of involvement. He does not believe veteran leaders who have fought the regime in the past and served terms in prison can lead at this juncture. “We need new leaders to emerge from the street.”

His movement urges dialogue while the Syrian National Council rejects contact with the regime. He was the first to organise a meeting of opposition groups in Damascus. This took place at the end of June.

“There is always a possibility for dialogue,” he says, but dialogue can take place only “when the regime is ready for dialogue”. Unfortunately, he says, the regime “thinks dialogue is an exchange of points of view . . . not a means of reaching accommodation”.

“We tried many times to speak with the government. At first the regime did not acknowledge us, now it recognises us. Now that the time is ripe for dialogue, conditions do not give us a chance.”

Meanwhile the French lead the rush to war. The French foreign minister, Alain Juppe, called on the UN security council to strengthen sanctions against Assad's regime. However, Russia, which holds veto power in the council, urged caution in moving against Damascus.

Sanctions against Syria like those against Iran are war by another means.

The "Free Syrian Army" has upped the ante by launching  two rocket-propelled grenades at the offices of the ruling Ba'ath party in Damascus.

 

© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy