CNN: Syrian opposition meets to put up united front

By the CNN Wire Staff

July 16, 2011 7:34 p.m. EDT

Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- Hundreds of exiled Syrian activists meeting in Istanbul on Saturday elected a 25-member council as they sought to declare unity in their intention to oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

The National Salvation Council, composed of independents, liberals, Islamists and members of other parties, will serve as an umbrella organization representing various factions of the Syrian opposition -- sometimes seen as fractured in their demands.

"Bashar al-Assad is finished," said Haitham al-Maleh, a political prisoner who was released from jail in March in an attempt to appease protesters. "He must leave the country, leave the power. We want to build our government, our regime, without them.

"We will move together to be one opposition ... because you know we spent 50 years under a dictatorship," he said. "The civil society in Syria is finished. Now we are building ourselves for the future."

The Syrian National Salvation conference -- attended by about 350 opposition members -- unfolded as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was also in Istanbul for meetings with Turkish officials, expressed support for the opposition.

"What's happening in Syria is very uncertain and troubling, because many of us had hoped that President Assad would make the reforms that were necessary without seeing what we're now seeing in the streets of Syria, which are government tanks and soldiers shooting peaceful demonstrators," she said.

"There must be a legitimate, sincere effort with the opposition to try to make changes," she said. "I don't know whether that will happen or not."

Some opposition members were frustrated at what they perceived as a lack of response from the international community and hoped that a united Syrian opposition would ratchet up pressure on al-Assad.

"The international community seems to be still dancing around the issue of the Assad regime losing legitimacy and that could be due to a number of reasons," said M. Yaser Tabbara, a Syrian-American human rights lawyer.

"I think what we're trying to do is send these reassurances to the international community that a credible, competent council or body is being formed, and that we do not have to worry anymore about a vacuum of power or a vacuum for an alternative."

He said the Syrian opposition wants world powers to choke the regime economically, politically and diplomatically "to achieve a point of no return."

A similar opposition meeting was to have taken place in Damascus but because of violence Friday, the meeting was canceled. However, two prominent activists were able to connect to Istanbul via Skype and telephone.

But despite efforts to maintain a united front, there was disagreement still over whether to push for the ouster of al-Assad or to work to promote reforms within the current framework. And a banner that read the "Syrian Arab Republic" drew the ire of the Kurdish delegation for the inclusion of the word, Arab.

Meanwhile in Syria, more violence erupted following a day of nationwide protests.

At least one person was killed Saturday when Syrian security forces opened fire on protesters in the eastern town of Albu Kamal, according to the activist group Local Coordination Committees in Syria.

State television said, however, that "armed groups" attacked a police station, a mayor's home and other government sites in Albu Kamal and that two policeman was killed. It said a number of guards were injured.

At least 21 civilians and one soldier were killed Friday in demonstrations. Sixteen of the fatalities occurred in Damascus and its suburbs, one in Homs, three in Idlib and one in Daraa, said Rami Abelrahman, director of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Videos that allegedly showed the funeral processions for those killed were posted Saturday on Facebook pages belonging to Syrian activists. They showed people marching on the streets, carrying coffins and chanting slogans against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

As of Friday, the death toll for civilians since the unrest began more than four months ago rose to 1,440, with an additional 353 deaths among army and security personnel, Abelrahman said.

Protesters echoed the demands for reforms that they have voiced for months.

Original post: Syrian opposition meets to put up united front

SYRIA: Some doubt explanation for mystery blast

An explosion echoed through the area of Tayana in the eastern Syrian province of Dair Azour late Tuesday night when a pipeline caught fire.

The incident, which occurred around midnight, may have been the result of a wildfire that reached the oil pipeline, said SANA, the official Syrian Arab News Agency, quoting an unnamed official. Syrian state officials said the fire was an accident caused by technical mishaps rather than sabotage.

But many doubted the official story.

According to Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the explanation provided by state officials was unlikely, owing in great part to the timing of the explosion.

"It is unlikely that a wildfire is going to start at 11 p.m. in the evening. How can grass surrounding the pipeline catch fire by itself? And if it was really just a fire, why did they wait till today to mention it?" he said.

The impoverished southeast region has been the scene of almost daily protests as Syrian security forces keep a close eye on the area from the outside, surrounding the city. Many are afraid the security forces will use the blast as an excuse to crack down harder.

"The implications of this event are dangerous, irrespective of whoever is behind it," said Abdel Rahman."One of the residents in Tayana heard the sound of a blast and hurried to the tribal chief there to notify him of what he had heard and to tell him that the residents had nothing to do with it."

"There are so many stories. What if it's not an explosion of an oil pipeline? No one buys the narratives propagated by state media and state officials," said Ahed el Hindi, prominent Syrian dissident based in Washington. "But still, it does not suit the regime to look weak at this time."

Protesters have largely observed peaceful protest in the 4-month-long uprising that has consumed various provinces, towns and villages throughout Syria.

"Faced with the question of who was more likely to have done something like this, my answer would be the Syrian regime," said Yaser Tabbara, Syrian lawyer, activist and executive director of the Syrian American Council. "I don't put it beyond the regime to have done this to distract."

-- Roula Hajjar in Beirut

Original post: SYRIA: Some doubt explanation for mystery blast

The World Today: Syrian reformer turned prosecutor fears retaliation

Eleanor Hall reported this story on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 12:42:00

ELEANOR HALL: To Syria now where international tensions have soared over an assault by regime loyalists on the US and French embassies in Damascus, which the regime's security forces failed to prevent.

The US secretary of state Hillary Clinton responded by declaring that president Bashar al-Assad was not indispensable and that the US had nothing invested in him remaining in power.

But the Syrian president said he was still working for a political solution to the crisis, convening a reform dialogue in the capital.

A short time ago I spoke to a Syrian-American who was working with the Syrian government on democratic reform until the protests began.

Yaser Tabbara is the executive director of the Syrian American Council. He says he was horrified by president Assad's response to the protests and since March has been helping to build a crimes against humanity case against the regime for the International Criminal Court.

He spoke to me this morning from Chicago.

Yaser Tabbara, the US secretary of state said today that the Syrian government failed to protect US diplomats from pro-government demonstrators and that the US now has nothing invested in Bashar al-Assad remaining in power, that he is not indispensable.

Is the Syrian leader likely to be alarmed by this?

YASER TABBARA: Oh absolutely. I think that what the Syrian revolution has done is put pressure on the international community to declare Assad to be an illegitimate leader of Syria and it is the action of Bashar al-Assad and his cohorts and his regime that has escalated the rhetoric of the international community more and more.

I think that the lack of action on behalf of the security forces in Syria to protect American diplomats and Western diplomats is a clear indication that it's not orchestrated, it's clearly something that is condoned by Bashar al-Assad and his security thugs to send a message to the world that he does not care about being an outlaw.

ELEANOR HALL: And yet at the same time the Assad government is right now convening a dialogue on political reform in Damascus. Is there any chance of a political settlement at this stage?

YASER TABBARA: Unlikely, very highly unlikely. You have to realise that this so-called dialogue that has been commissioned by the Syrian government and the regime is basically a sham. This dialogue that they called for was boycotted by all major opposition figures in Syria and outside of Syria. It's basically a dialogue with the regime. It's a monologue.

ELEANOR HALL: Yaser Tabbara, you're clearly now a critic of the regime but you worked with Bashar al-Assad on democratic reform right up until these protests began. Why did you work for him and were you surprised at the way he responded to the protests?

YASER TABBARA: Just a point of clarification, I did not work for Bashar al-Assad, what I, I have always been a true believer in gradual democratic reform and I was among those who really had been calling on Bashar al-Assad to move forward and lead this country, lead your people into a peaceful, democratic transition.

A lot of free-thinking Syrians have been engaged with the Syrian government in the past to help on programs of development, long term development. My focus was on reforming the higher education system in Syria but again I made up my mind on March 15th and after I saw that they have demonstrated the most and utmost inhumanity in their bloody crackdown.

And that was the turning point for me and many, many free thinking Syrians that do not necessarily belong to an opposition movement pre-March 15th, which is the date that the Syrian revolution took place.

There was a measure of surprise, I'm not going to deny that. I think that yes he had a reputation of being a reasonable man, he had a reputation of being someone who is concerned of reform and he had a reputation of being somewhat civil, but he decided to shoot to kill protesters.

So far since March 15th, 1,500 people have been killed in cold blood, 20,000 people have been arrested. We have 1,000 forced disappearances. We have reports of mass graves. I mean this is, you know, has risen to a level of crimes against humanity. That is the sort of, you know, bloody dictator that Bashar al-Assad turned out to be.

ELEANOR HALL: Well you're now helping to build the case against the Assad regime at the International Criminal Court. Do you think Bashar al-Assad will take any notice of it?

YASER TABBARA: Look as late as last Friday there have been reports of about 3 million people on the streets of Syria. The situation has gotten to the point of no return, especially as the regime has its tanks and its guns pointed to the heads and chests of the Syrian people.

Those crimes we are saying amount through the international criminal law to crimes against humanity and as such we're asking the Security Council to refer the case of Bashar al-Assad and his regime to the International Criminal Court and we believe that that will put even more pressure on Bashar al-Assad and his regime to again minimise the casualties and shorten the period of that crackdown.

ELEANOR HALL: You think that he will actually listen?

YASER TABBARA: Well it's definitely a method of deterrence. I think that, you know, if it gets to the point where he will be looked at as an international outlaw and as someone who is wanted by international justice, I think he will come to his senses hopefully and realise that this is not going to only affect his grasp on power but is going to affect him personally and it's going to affect his future and the future of those around him.

In fact we feel that international criminal law and, you know, the tools that it employs are there to deter dictators such as Bashar al-Assad from committing these sort of crimes.

ELEANOR HALL: Now Yaser Tabbara, you worked with the regime until just before the protests began on reform from within. Now you're working against it. Do you feel personally in danger because of your involvement in this International Criminal Court case?

YASER TABBARA: Absolutely, without a question I feel in danger. In fact I have received a number of notifications that my name is on some sort of a black list and I've also received reports that my name has been reviewed and reported on in Syrian TV as one of these political traitors of Syria and the Syrian people.

I mean this is a reality that we are living through and I think we will continue to live through it until we see a free democratic Syria.

ELEANOR HALL: What do you fear that the regime could do to you?

YASER TABBARA: I do not put it beyond this regime to do anything. I mean we've just witnessed so much instability and brutality by, on behalf of this regime since March 15th and so again, this is the sort of regime we're dealing with.

ELEANOR HALL: Yaser Tabbara, thanks very much for talking to us.

YASER TABBARA: Thank you for having me.

ELEANOR HALL: Yaser Tabbara is the executive director of the Syrian American Council and you can listen to a longer version of that interview on our website.

Original link: Syrian reformer turned prosecutor fears retaliation

SA on Syria: Erring on the side of caution?

A delegation of Syrian civil society and human rights activists spent last week in South Africa trying to persuade the government that a condemnation of the military crackdown on anti-government protesters in Syria is needed.

The United Nations Security Council resolution 1973 (2011), which includes an asset freeze, a no-fly zone and arms embargo, has not been backed by South Africa, and the delegation believes this view needs to change if the Syrian people are to be spared.

The delegation met with some success among local organisations, but said the South African government itself was unwilling to change its stance.

The aim of the meeting was to convince government to "condemn gross human rights violations" in Syria, said Najob Ghadbian at a press conference on Thursday.

A member of the newly-formed Syrian Opposition Consultative Council, Ghadbian said 1 350 people had been killed since demonstrations started on March 15. Human rights groups have said a further 15 000 have been detained, tortured or have disappeared.

The Syrian delegation met numerous people in government and civil society, including Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ebrahim Ebrahim.

Afterwards, they said: "Minister Ebrahim expressed concerns that the UN Security Council has been misused by Western powers as a tool for hegemony, and therefore South Africa was sceptical about supporting another resolution concerning an Arab regime."

The group noted that "the Syrian people should not be made to pay the price for international politicking and grandstanding. It is disappointing that the South African government does not seem to be reflecting the values and experiences of its nation."

Attempts to obtain comment from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation by the Mail & Guardian were unsuccessful.

A member of the delegation, Syrian-American human rights lawyer Yaser Tabbara, last week warned that a post-revolutionary Middle East could forget South Africa if it did not act now. "The Syrian revolution doesn't have any particular loyalties. However it will have loyalties [after the revolution succeeds] to the friends that come now," he said.

On the 'wrong side of history'
As a way to address South Africa's uncertainties with a UN resolution, the delegation has been insistent about the differences between Libya and Syria.

"This has been an overwhelmingly peaceful revolution that has been remarkable in its non-use of weapons," said Tabbara. He pointed out that the rebels in Benghazi had asked for military assistance, but in contrast Syrians "do not want any form of military intervention".

Peter Bouckaert, the emergency director of Human Rights Watch, said South Africa should use its "leadership of the global South" to put pressure on the other members of Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China) to pass the resolution.

By taking a "clear moral stance", he said the government would be able to press for a resolution that condemned the crackdown, as well as place sanctions on specific people in the regime.

Christina Abraham, civil rights director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, added that these actions would speed up the process of overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad and would "lessen the human and economic costs of our struggle".

Iyas Maleh, a Syrian human rights activist, said sanctions "targeting specific individuals" would put pressure on the Syrian leadership, while giving moderates support to do more. His father, Haytham al-Maleh, became a prominent revolutionary when he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for criticising the Syrian regime on television.

A crackdown on free speech has led to the banning of Facebook and other social media websites. As a result, the youth pushing the revolution have turned to YouTube, becoming journalists in the process, said Ghadbian. Some have died capturing footage of military atrocities and others have been tortured, he added.

In a recent incident, a 13-year-old boy was taken by authorities and tortured. His body was returned to his family after it had been shot, stabbed and mutilated. After being asked to film it, a neighbour put the footage on YouTube. With no independent media allowed in the country, Ghadbian said, this was the only way of getting their story out and was a way of recording every atrocity, he said.

The main Syrian ally in the Brics block, Russia, is already changing its stance, said Bouckaert. Its president, Dmitry Medvedev, has publicly condemned Assad's violent suppression of protests. Given this, Bouckaert said, it would be a great tragedy if South Africa found itself on the "wrong side of history" as democratic governments took over in the Middle East.

Testimony
Human Rights Watch supplied testimony of soldiers who defected from al-Assad's forces.

A member of Syria's security agencies, referred to locally as Mukhabarat, who was deployed in Syria's third-largest city, Homs, explained his scenario: "The protesters had sat down in the square. We were told to disperse them with violence if needed. We were there with air force security, army, and shabbiha [armed supporters of the government who do not belong to security forces].

"At around 3.30am, we got an order from air force security to shoot at the protesters. We were shooting for more than half an hour. There were dozens and dozens of people killed and wounded. Thirty minutes later, earth diggers and fire trucks arrived. The diggers lifted the bodies and put them in a truck. I don't know where they took them. The wounded ended up at the military hospital in Homs. And then the fire trucks started cleaning the square."

A conscript doing his military service in Damascus told Human Rights Watch: "Every night they used to summon us to a stadium-like place in the military barracks and made us watch Dunya TV [Syria's state channel] from a big TV screen. It was all scenes from Dara'a showing people killed by what they reported as foreign armed groups.

"Officers would repeatedly tell us that there is a 'foreign plot' going on in Dara'a. Watching Dunya TV every night between 8pm and 10pm, we had the firm belief that there is a foreign conspiracy against which we needed to fight and protect our people."

View YouTube videos of the Syrian protests here: video one, video two. WARNING: Videos contain explicit imagery.

Original post: SA on Syria: Erring on the side of caution?

Syrians plead with SA to condemn human rights violations: Video

The South African government continues to oppose a UN Security Council resolution aimed at condemning the suppression of anti-government protests in the Arab Republic of Syria. South Africa, along with Brazil, Russia, India and China, are the only nations of the 15-member peace organisation who remain unconvinced that condemnation is necessary.

Original post: Syrians plead with SA to condemn human rights violations

NGOs want world prosecutor's "preliminary analysis" on Syria

Syrian non-governmental organisations and lawyers Tuesday formally asked the International Criminal Court for a "preliminary analysis" of what they described as "crimes" committed in their country.

"We ask the prosecutor to lead a preliminary analysis of the crimes committed by the Syrian regime," said Yaser Tabbara, a lawyer and member of the US-based Muslim civil rights organisation CAIR.

Tabbara was part of a delegation which travelled to The Hague to drop off a message at the prosecutor's office.

More than 1,100 Syrian civilians have been killed by the Syrian regime since protests started in the country in March, Tabbara added, saying "murders and tortures, that is, crimes against humanity," have been committed.

"We have well and truly received the communication," Florence Olara, spokeswoman for the ICC prosecutor's office, told AFP.

"Now we have to see whether we have the jurisdiction on those crimes, which would be surprising, since Syria is not a State party to the Rome Statute," the ICC's founding treaty.

About 50 Syrians living in The Netherlands on Tuesday gathered before the ICC office, an AFP journalist saw.

The protesters, some carrying Syrian flags on their backs, demanded and end to violence in their home country as well as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's arrest: "We want Bashar in The Hague now!" and " Stop the butcher!" read some of their placards.

"The goal of our move here in front of the ICC is to put pressure on the regime," said Kawa Rashid, 38.

"If the prosecutor leads a preliminary analysis, the pressure will be there," he added.

Since Friday, at least 40 people have been killed in Syria, including 35 in a security sweep in Jisr al-Shughur, which was a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s and borders Turkey, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

But Syria's opposition movement keeps swelling despite the regime's repressive measures which have left more than 1,100 people dead, according to rights groups, and sparked worldwide condemnation and sanctions against key regime figures, including the president.

Established in 2002, the ICC is the world's first permanent, treaty-based court set up to try those accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide if the accused's own country cannot or will not do so.

Original post: NGOs want world prosecutor's "preliminary analysis" on Syria

Syrian Opposition Remains Divided on Engagement

By Samer Araabi

WASHINGTON, Jul 5, 2011 (IPS) - Despite countless attempts by the Bashar al-Assad regime to subdue the sporadic protests that have appeared across Syria since February, the demonstrations have consistently grown in both size and intensity.

Last week, a march in the town of Hama may have attracted over 100,000 protestors, quite likely the largest anti-Assad demonstration in Syria thus far.

While the opposition grows, however, its leadership remains bitterly divided, geographically disparate, and unable to agree on tactics to oust the Assad regime or a collective political vision for a post- Assad future.

As another round of crackdowns broke out this week, opposition figures in Syria and abroad have continued to battle one another on the central question of how to engage with the regime.

At a meeting last week in Washington hosted by the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the New American Foundation, policy analysts and international advocates met with Syrian American figures involved in the opposition movement to discuss the role of the international community in resolving the Syrian crisis.

A particularly passionate debate raged around the role of the United States in assisting the Syrian opposition movement. Some, such as international human rights lawyer Yaser Tabbara, argued that Washington was purposely pulling its punches, and could be doing much more to help.

Over the course of the morning, Tabbara called for tighter sanctions, stronger condemnations of government heavy-handedness, more international political leverage, and a direct appeal from President Barack Obama for a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the Syrian government.

Others, including author and historian Mark Perry, gave words of support for the Syrian people, but asked the audience, "What should we do? Nothing. This is a revolution in the hands of the Syrian people."

Perry was confident in the "inevitability" of the revolution, but maintained that "a revolution is very difficult to stop, to influence, or to make succeed. They have their own internal dynamic."

Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, a professor at the College of William & Mary and the former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, agreed that the U.S. had very limited leverage, and a very low willingness to use it.

He reminded attendees that all policy decisions "have to be considered in a bigger tapestry than just Syria", adding that "the U.S. strategic interests in the region are significant in other countries where there's turmoil going on. We have to handle this with finesse, in the scope of U.S. national interests, against a fiscal backdrop that's absolutely frightening. To ask [the Assad regime] for some kind of deadline without backing it up with the threat of force, or to ask for any more adamant position of the United States, is not useful."

Many others took a middle road, recognising that U.S. leverage was minimal at best, but certain small steps could be taken to assist the Syrian resistance without overextending Washington's reach.

Nuh Yilmaz, director of the Foundation for Political, Economic, and Social Research, tried to demonstrate Turkey's inclination to take a middle path by refusing to "have a civil war on its border" while trying to maintain relationships with both the Assad regime and the protest movement.

Yilmaz argued that it was in Turkey's strategic interest – and consequently, regional strategic interest – to ensure that Assad produces real reforms and that the opposition moderates their demands.

He emphasised the "need to be strategic" and make better use of the international community's limited leverage, but others were less willing to recognise any legitimacy for the Assad regime.

"The regime is inflexible, and therefore irredeemable," said Louay Safi, a member of the Syrian American Council. He urged the international community to "choke the security apparatus in Syria, make sure they're not getting any outside funding…and take legal action."

The disagreement on the fundamental question of foreign intervention comes as U.S. diplomats have struggled to chart a strategic course in Syria, often deciding on a middle ground that neither side finds particularly satisfying.

Last week, the State Department was rumoured to have put forward a "roadmap" for Syrian reforms that would allow Assad to remain in power while overseeing a number of democratic reforms in the country. The roadmap calls for the Syrian government to appoint a "transitional assembly" to oversee the instatement of open elections, the legalization of political parties, and the loosening of media restrictions.

Though Washington has denied pushing for the roadmap, a number of Syrian opposition members have claimed that official sources, including U.S. ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, have been encouraging the opposition to seek common ground with Assad.

Many figures, however, have openly condemned the roadmap, reiterating the idea that such reforms are "too little, too late", and calling for nothing less than the downfall of the regime and its Ba'ath party supporters.

These overtures for compromise, emanating from Turkey, and to a lesser extent, the U.S., may be beginning to have an effect on Assad. A large opposition meeting held in Damascus, with the permission of state authorities, was held last week at the Semiramis hotel, the first of its kind in decades.

More recently, government figures have openly invited representatives of the opposition for talks, another first.

The reaction to these developments has underscored the tension between those willing to work with the regime and those who have rejected it categorically.

Though many elements of the opposition blasted the Damascus meeting as a "government sanctioned-ruse", others hailed the gathering as deeply significant.

The divisions within the opposition have shown few signs of easing. Though many signs point to a significant weakening of the Assad regime, no movement as yet appears ready to replace it.

(END)

Original post: Syrian Opposition Remains Divided on Engagement

A Syrian-American in Chicago Fights for Democracy in his Homeland

This Fourth of July, as Americans across the country celebrate the country’s freedoms, Syria’s government is cracking down on its citizens’ democratic rights. Syria’s government has sent tanks into the city of Hama, two days after tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated there, and called for an end to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The Government has cut off power and telephone lines, and arrested scores of people, in an attempt to suppress a movement that mirrors the upheaval in Tunisia and Egypt.

Original post: A Syrian-American in Chicago Fights for Democracy in his Homeland

Chicago Tribune: Chicago protesters rally against Syria's government

By Dawn RhodesTribune reporter

8:40 p.m. CDT, July 3, 2011

A crowd of about 500 gathered in a downtown Chicago parking lot this afternoon to support anti-government protesters in Syria, just as worldwide media reported that military action in a western city stoked fears of more violence.

Leaders from Syrian and Islamic organizations in Chicago urged people to continue their stance against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which has been widely criticized for brutally quashing anti-government movements throughout the country.

“Bashar Assad is at war with his own people. He is at war with Syria. He is at war with Syrians,” said Yaser Tabbara, executive director of the Syrian American Council. “We are here to tell the world that we stand behind our brothers and sisters on the ground in Syria.”

Protesters lined the sidewalk holding signs that read “Stop Genocide” and “Assad = Hitler.” Young children stood alongside parents and friends, proudly waving the Syrian flag and chanting in Arabic.

“It’s not just a Syrian cause, it’s a cause for everyone who seeks freedom and equality,” said Kifah Mustapha, associate director of the Mosque Foundation. “It’s an Arab Spring, but it’s a righteous cause.”

The Syrian revolution follows in the footsteps of other popular uprisings in northern Africa and the Middle East. Thousands in Syria have been killed or wounded since protests began in March, according to the Syrian American Council.

In the past several weeks, dozens of people were reportedly killed in various cities as military forces opened fire on crowds. On Sunday, troops and tanks were reportedly surrounding the western city of Hama, the site of another violent crackdown when President Assad’s late father spearheaded an attack to crush an uprising in 1982.

“There’s always sacrifice for freedom. It’s not easy,” said Ahmad Jajeh, 53, of Lincoln Park who hails from Hama. “It’s time for us to live like the other free countries in the world.”

“We’re living in a world now where there is no room for totalitarianism, dictatorships and oppression,” said Christina Abraham, civil rights director for the Council of American-Islamic Relations in Chicago. “When we see these movements happening, we need to support them. We don’t give leeway to governments that violate human rights, like the Assad government is doing right now.”

While most protesters were focused on ousting Assad, Sherry Alhayek, 23, of Schaumburg said that getting new leadership was only half the battle.

“For me, the point is to get Syria to a higher point and not just getting rid of the regime,” she said. “I want a better future.”

Tabbara also took the time to imagine a post-Assad future as a CTA Brown Line train passed above.

“One day, we’re going to have a train like that in Syria, in Damascus. We’ll call it the Freedom Train,” he said to the crowd’s roaring approval.

“Once we get rid of this regime, we’re going to develop this country like we should.”

cdrhodes@tribune.com

Original post: Chicago protesters rally against Syria's government

Fighting the Syrian Regime From a Chicago Office

Yaser Tabbara may live half a world away from Syria, where he grew up. But as the uprising there continues, the Chicago lawyer has mounted a one-man legal and diplomatic assault against the Syrian regime to highlight the brutality of its response and help depose President Bashar al-Assad.

In recent weeks, Mr. Tabbara, 35, attended opposition conferences in Turkey and Belgium, and spoke at policy forums in Qatar and Washington. He also built a case for the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to charge the Syrian government with crimes against humanity, and he helped draft a letter to the United Nations Security Council calling for urgent action -- all while communicating with protesters inside Syria and occasionally representing his law firm's clients in Chicago courts.

Few people would seem better qualified to lend external support to the uprising. A human rights lawyer born in Chicago and raised in Damascus, Mr. Tabbara has a long history of activism and is practiced in Western justice as well as in the ways of international courts and Syrian politics.

Since mid-March, Mr. Assad has turned his security and military forces loose on the protesters; activists say some 1,400 Syrians have been killed. Watching from afar, Mr. Tabbara said he had been motivated by "a very objective sense of outrage and a sense of responsibility that this country cannot be led by this Mafia-esque gang."

Such views represent a shift for a man who last year worked with an international organization to improve Syria's judicial and legal systems. Just months ago, he had been scheduled to meet with Asma al-Assad, the president's wife, to discuss the creation of a Syrian version of Teach for America, which trains prospective teachers who commit to spending two years in classrooms in cities and rural communities.

That meeting was canceled after the protests began, and Mr. Tabbara said he had changed his mind about trying to reform the system after he saw Syrian security forces shoot peaceful protesters and listened to the "insulting, conspiracy-minded" speeches of Mr. Assad.

"I've always been a firm believer that democracy doesn't happen overnight," Mr. Tabbara said. But the uprising in Syria, coming on the heels of the more peaceful regime-toppling revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, has convinced him that the process can be expedited.

"A lot of these gradual reforms, which had never been fulfilled, now have a chance," he said.

Ammar Bayrakdar, a Syrian physician who moved to the United States in 1990 and has been active in the sizable Chicago-area Syrian community, approves of the shift.

"Now he's trying to organize the opposition effort, and we support him," Dr. Bayrakdar said. "He's very knowledgeable and eloquent, and a sincere individual."

Local Syrian groups have organized forums, protests and rallies, and have backed e-mail campaigns to the White House, the Syrian ambassador and representatives in Congress.

Such activism is old hat for Mr. Tabbara, who moved back to the United States to attend college in the mid-'90s. After earning his law degree from DePaul University, he provided legal representation to Chicago-area Muslim and Arab communities after 9/11. He also spent a year teaching international human rights law at the University of Kalamoon in Damascus and working with local organizations to improve education in Syria.

Back in Chicago, in 2008, Mr. Tabbara was a founder of Zarzour, Khalil & Tabbara, a law firm started with fellow DePaul alumni that mainly assists nonprofit organizations and immigrants with legal issues. Last year he rolled out Project Mobilize, an organization that supports Muslim political candidates in the Chicago area.

Since the antigovernment protest began in Syria on March 15, the movement has spread across the country and has faced increasingly bloody suppression. Mr. Tabbara said he had been in regular contact with the leaders of groups organizing protests, as well as with friends, family and former students. Some among the latter three groups have been wary about supporting the movement, in part because many middle-class families have long relied on the regime for their welfare.

But that may be changing. "These groups will join the movement in large numbers soon," Mr. Tabbara predicted. "I know people that belong to that class who have been working very hard trying to mobilize people."

Some analysts believe that with dwindling financial resources and increasing international pressure, the Assad regime may be teetering.

At a news conference on Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, "It is absolutely clear that the Syrian government is running out of time."

Mr. Tabbara said he is confident the rebels will succeed. "These are not people willing to back down," he said. "They will not accept anything but a complete regime change."

He added that he is unsure of the impact he and others have had on the movement for change in Syria but that the effort is nonetheless worthwhile.

"I'd like to think we are raising awareness, spreading correct information about the revolution, informing governments and officials about what's taking place on the ground," Mr. Tabbara said. "It definitely counters the diplomatic activism the regime has been engaged in."

By David Lepeska
New York Times

Original post: Fighting the Syrian Regime From a Chicago Office

Fighting the Syrian Regime From a Chicago Office

By DAVID LEPESKA

Published: July 2, 2011

Yaser Tabbara may live half a world away from Syria, where he grew up. But as the uprising there continues, the Chicago lawyer has mounted a one-man legal and diplomatic assault against the Syrian regime to highlight the brutality of its response and help depose President Bashar al-Assad.

In recent weeks, Mr. Tabbara, 35, attended opposition conferences in Turkey and Belgium, and spoke at policy forums in Qatar and Washington. He also built a case for the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to charge the Syrian government with crimes against humanity, and he helped draft a letter to the United Nations Security Council calling for urgent action — all while communicating with protesters inside Syria and occasionally representing his law firm’s clients in Chicago courts.

Few people would seem better qualified to lend external support to the uprising. A human rights lawyer born in Chicago and raised in Damascus, Mr. Tabbara has a long history of activism and is practiced in Western justice as well as in the ways of international courts and Syrian politics.

Since mid-March, Mr. Assad has turned his security and military forces loose on the protesters; activists say some 1,400 Syrians have been killed. Watching from afar, Mr. Tabbara said he had been motivated by “a very objective sense of outrage and a sense of responsibility that this country cannot be led by this Mafia-esque gang.”

Such views represent a shift for a man who last year worked with an international organization to improve Syria’s judicial and legal systems. Just months ago, he had been scheduled to meet with Asma al-Assad, the president’s wife, to discuss the creation of a Syrian version of Teach for America, which trains prospective teachers who commit to spending two years in classrooms in cities and rural communities.

That meeting was canceled after the protests began, and Mr. Tabbara said he had changed his mind about trying to reform the system after he saw Syrian security forces shoot peaceful protesters and listened to the “insulting, conspiracy-minded” speeches of Mr. Assad.

“I’ve always been a firm believer that democracy doesn’t happen overnight,” Mr. Tabbara said. But the uprising in Syria, coming on the heels of the more peaceful regime-toppling revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, has convinced him that the process can be expedited.

“A lot of these gradual reforms, which had never been fulfilled, now have a chance,” he said.

Ammar Bayrakdar, a Syrian physician who moved to the United States in 1990 and has been active in the sizable Chicago-area Syrian community, approves of the shift.

“Now he’s trying to organize the opposition effort, and we support him,” Dr. Bayrakdar said. “He’s very knowledgeable and eloquent, and a sincere individual.”

Local Syrian groups have organized forums, protests and rallies, and have backed e-mail campaigns to the White House, the Syrian ambassador and representatives in Congress.

Such activism is old hat for Mr. Tabbara, who moved back to the United States to attend college in the mid-’90s. After earning his law degree from DePaul University, he provided legal representation to Chicago-area Muslim and Arab communities after 9/11. He also spent a year teaching international human rights law at the University of Kalamoon in Damascus and working with local organizations to improve education in Syria.

Back in Chicago, in 2008, Mr. Tabbara was a founder of Zarzour, Khalil and Tabbara, a law firm started with fellow DePaul alumni that mainly assists nonprofit organizations and immigrants with legal issues. Last year he rolled out Project Mobilize, an organization that supports Muslim political candidates in the Chicago area.

Since the antigovernment protest began in Syria on March 15, the movement has spread across the country and has faced increasingly bloody suppression. Mr. Tabbara said he had been in regular contact with the leaders of groups organizing protests, as well as with friends, family and former students. Some among the latter three groups have been wary about supporting the movement, in part because many middle-class families have long relied on the regime for their welfare.

But that may be changing. “These groups will join the movement in large numbers soon,” Mr. Tabbara predicted. “I know people that belong to that class who have been working very hard trying to mobilize people.”

Some analysts believe that with dwindling financial resources and increasing international pressure, the Assad regime may be teetering.

At a news conference on Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “It is absolutely clear that the Syrian government is running out of time.”

Mr. Tabbara said he is confident the rebels will succeed. “These are not people willing to back down,” he said. “They will not accept anything but a complete regime change.”

He added that he is unsure of the impact he and others have had on the movement for change in Syria but that the effort is nonetheless worthwhile.

“I’d like to think we are raising awareness, spreading correct information about the revolution, informing governments and officials about what’s taking place on the ground,” Mr. Tabbara said. “It definitely counters the diplomatic activism the regime has been engaged in.”

david.lepeska@gmail.com

Original post: Fighting the Syrian Regime From a Chicago Office

WKSU: Kucinich: a matter of interpretation

Syrian American Council says it finds it hard to believe that the representative's quotes about Syria were simply mistranslated
Story by Anna Staver

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich is saying that Syria’s official government news agency mistranslated his comments that appeared to praise Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Kucinich has been visiting Syria and Lebanon this week, and the Syrian Arab News Agency quoted him Tuesday as saying that Assad is beloved by his people and committed to reforms. More than a thousand Syrians have been killed since protests erupted in March. Yaser Tabbara is the executive director of the Syrian American Council, and he says he is not buying Kucinich’s explanation.

Tabbara explains Other options: Windows Media / MP3 Download (0:22)

Tabbara says he and others in his community were shocked by the Cleveland congressman’s comments given what he calls Kucinich’s outstanding record on human rights issues. Kucinich has said he believes that a diplomatic solution is possible in Syria.

Original post: WKSU: Kucinich: a matter of interpretation

Syrian opposition blasts Rep. Dennis Kucinich

By REID J. EPSTEIN | 6/29/11 12:26 PM EDT

The head of the largest U.S.-based Syrian opposition group on Wednesday accused Rep. Dennis Kucinich of grandstanding by meeting with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus and charged he was making “irresponsible, brash” statements about the situation in the country.

“Mr. Kucinich is jumping on the bandwagon of a hot issue right now without having the background information,” Yaser Tabbara, executive director of the Syrian American Council, told POLITICO.

He is, perhaps, taking a public relations opportunity, and unfortunately, despite his record of standing up for what’s principled and what’s right in terms of human rights abuses, he has gotten it severely wrong on Syria,” Tabbara added.

While Kucinich described his trip as a “fact-finding mission,” Tabbara, a Chicago attorney, said the situation in Syria is well known and called such a trip unnecessary.

“There is an international consensus as to what’s taking place in Syria constituting crimes of an international and grave nature of the Syrian regime,” Tabbara said. “Yet he makes these irresponsible, brash statements in support of the dictator ruling Syria and the person deemed to be an illegitimate president. It’s mind-boggling and confusing.”

Kucinich told CNN on Wednesday that he met with both the Assad government and opposition groups this week in Damascus.

“It’s really important that people who are involved with making policy meet with both sides,” he said.

Kucinich’s spokesman told POLITICO that the Ohio Democrat will seek to meet with the Syrian council upon his return to the U.S.

“I share the same concerns about the violence in Syria which the Syrian American Council rightly decries,” Kucinich said in a statement on Wednesday relayed by his spokesman. “I went to Syria to meet with as many parties as I could, including leaders in the opposition, people who are directly involved with trying to bring change to Syria. I also wanted to learn if President Assad was himself prepared to accept their just demands for freedoms and reforms.”

Louay Safi, chairman of the SAC, said Kucinich “probably was misled” before traveling to the country.

“He is lending legitimacy to a regime that has lost legitimacy,” Safi said. “This is for internal consumption. For many Syrians, if a congressman comes to see Assad, they think that he represents the government. … Living under a dictatorship, they think that anyone who meets with the president from congress is representative of the U.S. position on Syria.”

Kucinich, in the brief CNN interview, did not directly answer when asked whether his visit would legitimize the Assad regime.

“I met with the opposition. I heard what they had to say,” he said. “I met with the government. I heard what they have to say.”

Tabbara and Safi said Kucinich at no point has been in contact with their organization.

Original post: Syrian opposition blasts Rep. Dennis Kucinich