29 February 2012, Alternative Information Center (AIC) http://www.alternativenews.org (Israel)
Silvia Cattori, http://www.silviacattori.net
A direct testimony from the Syrian city of Homs collected by the Swiss journalist Silvia Cattori, who paints a very different picture than that spread by a majority of western media. Since 6 February Cattori has lost contact with her local informants, terrorized by armed groups "wildly shelling, killing to kill”, as reported in an interview with an inhabitant of Homs [1]. Despite the loss of contact, this analysis remains important.
Homs, now, is nothing but a sinister battlefield where government soldiers face armed groups which, according to independent witnesses about the true nature of the rebellion, are blindly firing cannon shots to sow terror and death, then pretending that only government forces are bombarding the city.
The Western media continue, for its part, to adduce as evidence the statements of local committees which spread propaganda of the armed "opponents", in coordination with the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a London-based body created and funded by the rebellion-allied forces [2].
To understand what happens in Syria, it is therefore not possible to rely on the Syrian Observatory or on bloggers who are part of this rebellion. We also cannot rely on foreign correspondents who are, as we can see, systematically and from the heart and soul on the side of the armed "opponents", qualifying them as "heroes" and presenting the battle that divides the Syrian people in an entirely Manichaean way: On one side the opposition which "struggles for democracy", and on the other the terrible dictator.
Now, things are as follows. As demonstrated by a recent poll, as well as by the massive demonstrations in support of the Russian and Chinese veto at the UN, the vast majority of the Syrian people do not want this armed revolt, which seeks solely to legitimize NATO powers and several Arab states - notoriously known as champions of democracy, such as Qatar.
If you want to speak of "heroes" in Syria, then you should refer to all parties who are suffering, not only to the "heroes" recognized by the West ...
How many Milan missiles were handed over to the rebels?
The number of Syrian citizens appealing to to their president for intervention of government forces is very high. This is especially true in Homs, where the situation is alarming because large sections of the population are held hostage by these groups occupying entire areas of the city - the neighborhoods of Baba Amr, Khaldiyeh, Karm el-Zeytoun - where the people have been calling for months for Damascus to rescue them [3].
Their fate has become even more a source of anxiety since the same Milan anti-tank missile launchers delivered to the Libyan rebels during the Libyan campaign, less than a year ago, by France and Qatar, began to be used. We can remember how at the time Sarkozy and Bernard Henry Levy misled public opinion by putting the blame on forces loyal to Gaddafi for the use of these Milan missiles, which were taking a heavy toll on the people of Syria.
This is the same disturbing scenario repeating itself in Syria. Politicians, journalists and NGOs are once again taking a firm stand concerning the war, provoked by groups exploited by foreign powers. They attribute to the government forces, as was done in Libya and without proper inspection, the acts of barbarism perpetrated by the armed 'opponents' who are terrorizing the majority of the population.
For three weeks correspondents have been repeating that Homs has been unilaterally shelled by the Syrian army. On the contrary, the loyalist contingents attacked by the Milan missiles have suffered heavy losses since the beginning of their intervention. It is not clear whether the authorities in Damascus will be able to dislodge these groups with heavy weaponry from all quarters of the city.
Could the Syrian government not respond?
From the beginning of these battles it has been repeatedly demonstrated that the armed ‘rebels’ are trained, drilled and formed by foreign special forces; and that among their ranks the opponents have elements acting on behalf of foreign powers whose presence in Syria is self-evident. Syrian television has recently disseminated pictures of Homs taken by a foreign "war photographer" who followed and filmed these armed "opponents" - the same ones glorified by the "great reporters" – who wildly launch rockets and missiles. An image has attracted attention: In a building, whose stairs are dirty with blood and destroyed furniture, a surprising graffiti with heavy meaning stood out on a wall: "From Misurata, after we have freed Lybia, we came to free Syria!"
Who is responsible for the massacres of Homs, and which objectives does he pursue?
These armed groups, whose most violent actions are attributed to Al Assad soldiers facing them, are systematically presented by the Western press as "foes" fighting for "democracy."
Why do "great reporters" not bring evidence of Syrian victims of abductions, tortures and murders by these armed "opponents"? Why has the President of "Doctors without Borders" recently contributed to this process of intoxication, showing as credible the testimonies of anonymous Syrians with covered faces - standing side by side with the rebels, and attributing to Al-Assad forces and to the hospitals’ doctors unspeakable acts of torture and injury of children? [4]
Who would believe in Bashar Al Assad’s interest in torturing his people, in raping children and girls? Who would believe that the majority of the Syrian people would continue supporting Bashar Al Assad if he was really such a bloody torturer as painted in the West for the purpose of war propaganda?
These incessant campaigns which defend the violent opposition, and not the people terrorized and oppressed by these rebels, are dangerous. They aim to bring grist to foreign power’s mill - France, Great Britain, the United States, backed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia – which have been preparing for months the ground for a military intervention in Syria, and are just waiting for the green light by Obama.
[1] See the interview in French here.
[2] The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights - which collects the statements of various local committees in Syria - has been repeatedly denounced as nothing but a vulgar instrument of disinformation in the service of the revolt. Despite ample evidence of that, it remains the principal source of information from Syria - together with the famous "great reporters" – and the entire Western media are referring to it, spreading day after day the reports by this rip-of observatory.
[3] See: "A Syrian who had killed his brother in Homs by 'opponents' witnesses' story picked up by Nadia Khost, February 8, 2012.
[4] The role of NGOs that have contributed to the misinformation affecting Syria and thus increasing the risk of foreign intervention, and in particular Amnesty International and Medecins Sans Frontières et. is subject of my further investigations.
This article was first been published in French and translated by the Alternative Information Center (AIC).
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