Cyprus-Forum.com

[Tim Drayton]

The constitution of Syria is Arab in character, democratic and republican. "The political system is based on the principle of political pluralism, and rule is only obtained and exercised democratically through voting." This part was revised in 2011, so the rebels, or Sunnis if they are the majority could have ousted Assad at the ballot box.

That revision was made on 27 February 2012. Prior to that, the constitution ascribed the role of leading party to the Ba'ath party.

So this was the constitution of Syria.

They revised it so Syria is now a democracy and pluralistic. Assad has already given Syrians democracy one year after the uprisings begun and the majority of them voted to keep him in office as the leader of the country. if this was not the case, he would have stepped down.

If the rebels were in the majority and if they were democratic they would have been able to oust Assad at the ballot. But they are not and they cant so they resort to the gun.

I dont know why anyone would support the rebels. Assad seems to be more reasonable having given all Syrians the right to vote already and the majority have chosen him.

Your thinking is a bit misguided. At the time the revolution broke out, this constitution was not in place. I have taken a quick look at the 2012 constitution, and it looks wonderful, the problem is that there are many constitutions in the world that are great on paper but are not implemented in practice. The constitution of the Soviet Union on paper granted all sorts of rights at a time when Stalin was sending millions to die of cold and starvation in the Gulags.

In one sense, the introduction of the 2012 constitution can be seen as a kind of belated victory for the revolution. Had the revolution not started, there would have been no need for it. Anyhow, I have heard many Syrians interviewed on the BBC World Service who have said, "The moment Assad unleashed the army onto peaceful demonstrators with live ammunition, he ceased to be my president.' I can understand that sentiment; you clearly can't. I support the Syrian revolution; you clearly don't. What else can we say?

[Maximus]

The constitution of Syria is Arab in character, democratic and republican. "The political system is based on the principle of political pluralism, and rule is only obtained and exercised democratically through voting." This part was revised in 2011, so the rebels, or Sunnis if they are the majority could have ousted Assad at the ballot box.

That revision was made on 27 February 2012. Prior to that, the constitution ascribed the role of leading party to the Ba'ath party.

So this was the constitution of Syria.

They revised it so Syria is now a democracy and pluralistic. Assad has already given Syrians democracy one year after the uprisings begun and the majority of them voted to keep him in office as the leader of the country. if this was not the case, he would have stepped down.

If the rebels were in the majority and if they were democratic they would have been able to oust Assad at the ballot. But they are not and they cant so they resort to the gun.

I dont know why anyone would support the rebels. Assad seems to be more reasonable having given all Syrians the right to vote already and the majority have chosen him.

Your thinking is a bit misguided. At the time the revolution broke out, this constitution was not in place. I have taken a quick look at the 2012 constitution, and it looks wonderful, the problem is that there are many constitutions in the world that are great on paper but are not implemented in practice. The constitution of the Soviet Union on paper granted all sorts of rights at a time when Stalin was sending millions to die of cold and starvation in the Gulags.

In one sense, the introduction of the 2012 constitution can be seen as a kind of belated victory for the revolution. Had the revolution not started, there would have been no need for it. Anyhow, I have heard many Syrians interviewed on the BBC World Service who have said, "The moment Assad unleashed the army onto peaceful demonstrators with live ammunition, he ceased to be my president.' I can understand that sentiment; you clearly can't. I support the Syrian revolution; you clearly don't. What else can we say?

I take that in to account. That was then, this is now. The majority of Syrians voted and want Assad to remain as their leader.

Can you understand the sentiment? What else can you say? You and I dont have one.....

[Tim Drayton]

There were elections for president in 2014 which appeared to show that Assad got 88.7% of the vote. They were widely considered to be fraudulent, and a lot of people were disenfranchised. The European Union declared these elections to be illegitimate. If you wish to think otherwise, do so.

[DrCyprus]

No good guys in this story.

[Tim Drayton]

Syria under Assad was a dictatorial police state.

For example, you could refer to the Amnesty International country report for Syria in 2010. It does not make pretty reading. A few salient quotes:

Syria remained under a national state of emergency in force continuously since 1963 and which, over many years, has been used to suppress and punish even peaceful dissent. This pattern continued throughout 2009. Political activists, human rights defenders, bloggers, Kurdish minority activists and others who criticized the government or exposed human rights violations were subject to arbitrary arrest and often prolonged detention or were sentenced to prison terms after unfair trials before the grossly deficient Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) or Military and Criminal Courts. They included prisoners of conscience. Others, including former detainees, were subject to travel bans

.

Haytham al-Maleh, aged 78, a veteran human rights lawyer and government critic arrested in October, also faced trial for allegedly "weakening nationalist sentiment", spreading "false news" and "slandering a governmental body" because of comments he made in a telephone interview with a Europe-based satellite TV channel in September. He too faced up to 15 years' imprisonment if convicted.

Habib Saleh, a pro-reform activist, was sentenced to three years in prison by the Damascus Criminal Court in March for "weakening nationalist sentiment" and spreading "false news". The charges related to several articles criticizing the government that he had written and published on the internet prior to his arrest on 7 May 2008.

Torture and other ill-treatment were reported to be common in police stations, security agencies' detention centres, and prisons. These abuses were committed with impunity. The SSSC and other courts continued to convict defendants on the basis of "confessions" that the defendants alleged were extracted under torture while they were held incommunicado in pre-trial detention.
Seven suspicious deaths in custody were reported but the authorities apparently took no action to investigate them or the allegations of torture made by detainees.
• Jakarkhon 'Ali, a member of the Kurdish minority, was reported to have been tortured by beatings, electric shocks and being forced to stand for up to 20 hours each day while he was held incommunicado by Military Security officials following his arrest on 20 June. He was released without charge on 3 October. Yusuf Jabouli and Mohammed Amin al-Shawa died in Military Security custody in January, the former after several days' detention and the latter after he had been detained for more than four months. Their families were not permitted to examine the bodies and Military Security officials attended the funerals. Unofficial sources alleged that both men had died as a result of torture. The authorities disclosed no information and were not known to have investigated the deaths.

If you wish to believe that Syria under Assad was a haven of democracy, do so.

[DrCyprus]

I actually visited Syria for holidays before this bullshit began. I saw the beggar children in the street, I saw the police everywhere, I saw the gigantic pictures of Assad on every single building and the little pictures of Assad in every single Syrian taxi. Assad isn't exactly a leader to support.

All the same, and unfortunately for the Syrian people who tried hard to do something about it, all these rebel groups have nothing to do with them. No rebel group in Syria represents the Syrian people nor is Assad.

The U.S.A/U.K, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia highjacked their rebellion, their spring for proper democracy with imported killers and fanatics and depraved scum from all over the globe.

The only victim in this story are the Syrian people.

[Get Real!]

Russian airstrikes kill 2 ISIS commanders, 300 militants
https://www.rt.com/news/318122-russian- ... yria-isis/

US to abandon training new Syria rebel groups <-- Dumb and Dumber think they have a better formula
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34486572

US withdraws Patriots despite Turkey’s appeal to keep them <-- NATO secures Turkey!
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_us ... 01117.html

Nato chief says prepared to send troops to defend Turkey <-- Don't forget to supply them with butterfly nets.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... allon.html

[Get Real!]

Self defeating US foreign policy pushing China into Russia's arms. If there was any doubt of China joining Russia in Syria then this dumb US move will be decisive.

China warns U.S. it will not allow violations of its waters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/ ... ND20151009

[GreekIslandGirl]

Russian airstrikes kill 2 ISIS commanders, 300 militants
https://www.rt.com/news/318122-russian- ... yria-isis/

US to abandon training new Syria rebel groups <-- Dumb and Dumber think they have a better formula
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34486572

US withdraws Patriots despite Turkey’s appeal to keep them <-- NATO secures Turkey!
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_us ... 01117.html

Nato chief says prepared to send troops to defend Turkey <-- Don't forget to supply them with butterfly nets.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... allon.html

Looks like Turkey is a sitting duck!

[Get Real!]

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at the EUISS Annual Conference

"The reality is that our continent exports more than imports terrorism; it is European citizens that go off to wage violent jihad in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere; not the reverse. They have European Union passports."

http://eeas.europa.eu/statements-eeas/2 ... s=disabled