Perilous
Times
Syrian rebels call for new wave of protests in Arab capitals
Syrian opposition groups are planning to ignite a new wave of
protests in Arab capitals to push President Bashir al-Assad from
power by harnessing international anger at the state's brutal
attack on demonstrators.
Supporters of President Bashir al-Assad display a 2,500-yard
Syrian flag on the streets of Damascus during a rally yesterday
Photo: EPA
By Richard Spencer, and Andrew Osborn in Khirbet el-Jos
7:56PM BST 15 Jun 2011
The Telegraph UK
The protests are planned for the first week of July in the hope of
persuading Arab governments to turn against the regime, Wissam
Tarif, a prominent activist said.
Meanwhile, refugees who have set up camps inside Syria near Turkey
are forming "people's committees" and arming against further
government retaliation.
The committees, each 10 men strong, will patrol the hills around
the camps, looking out for army snipers and other troops.
The move represents the worst fear of the Syrian government, that
opposition groups will be able to gain a foothold from which to
operate inside the country.
More than three months of protests have shocked the Syrian regime,
which until March thought it had escaped the "Arab spring".
While the uprising has not overthrown the country's leader, or
divided Syria like Libya, it has paralysed the nation.
The feared 4th Division of the army, led by the president's
brother Maher, has put down successive waves of protest in
individual cities, only for protests to resume when the military
move on.
Activists blame Russia and China for opposing resolutions to put
pressure on the regime at the United Nations, and the Arab League,
which has failed to condemn the regime's actions as it did with
Libya.
Mr Tarif, the director of the Geneva-based human rights group
Insan, said the opposition was now devising a new approach,
combining diplomatic approaches to Russia, which is concerned not
to lose its strategic influence in Syria, with increasing pressure
on Arab countries.
The protests in Arab capitals would encourage those still trying
to mount opposition inside Syria, he said. "It will make people
think the "Arab street" is with them," he added.
Events in Jisr al-Shughour, where the army moved in to crush
protests at the weekend, claiming that 120 soldiers had been
killed by "armed gangs", seem to have had some impact on the Arab
League. Amr Moussa, the secretary-general, said members were
"worried and angry" at events in Syria, and that the situation was
unsustainable.
But the army continued operations yesterday, surrounding the town
of Maarat al-Numan, sending more refugees towards the Turkish
border.
The new militias there, travelling in jeeps daubed with slogans
such as "Allahu Akbar", or "God is Great", said they had already
intercepted one group of Syrian snipers. But they laughed at
suggestions they might be the "armed gangs" the Syrian regime said
killed scores of its troops.
"It was difficult to even get a licence for a hunting rifle," said
a young man called Zikar. "This very area is teeming with wild
pigs but we cannot even kill them because we have no weapons."