Hariri Slams Treimsa Massacre, Urges ‘Immediate and Decisive’ Action against Syrian Regime
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned on Friday the “latest massacre committed by the Syrian regime” in the town of Treimsa in Hama, saying that it has hit “a new record in crimes against humanity.”
He said in a statement: “I call on all Arab and world governments, the Arab League, Organization of Islamic Conference, and the United Nations to take immediate, practical, and decisive measures to protest the Syrian people.”
In addition, he demanded that the “most effective” sanctions be imposed against the regime “in order to thwart the barbaric killing regime.”
“The latest massacre leaves no room for doubt for the international and Arab communities to confront Bashar Assad and his regime,” declared the former premier.
Moreover, Hariri condemned the Lebanese government’s decision to halt aid to wounded Syrians, who have sought refuge in Lebanon.
“The decision is unjustified on the political, moral, and humanitarian levels, especially since the holy month of Ramdan is just around the corner,” he noted.
Rights activists and monitors said Syrian troops with tanks and helicopters on Thursday slaughtered more than 150 people in Treimsa village, in the central province of Hama.
Syria's main opposition alliance Friday urged the U.N. Security Council to pass a binding resolution against Damascus following reports of the massacre.
13 July 2012, 16:38
67
May god bless you Sheikh Saad...sooner or later Syria will be free of this regime and back on OUR side and the fold of democracy.
13 July 2012, 19:53
45
Russia is not that much interested in the syrian regime or the tartous base which is of small significance militarily.
all they are doing is raising the odds on the US in regard to the misile defense system which they do not like.
things reached a high now and with elections approaching in the US, israel has now a window to make a definate strike on iran and hizbushaitan, which will also assist in toppling the syrian regime from the inside, especially with all the new defections.
this will happen before the end of summer.
13 July 2012, 20:16
34
yeah man, Allah yi7mee. The guy's life has been threatened for since he became prime minister. To answer Phil below, sure He isn't his father but can you give me any other VALID sunni alternative for the premiership? Sanioura inchalla? don't tell me you're proud of Miqati! Saad is the best for the current generation. God bless you Saad!
13 July 2012, 16:51
84
FT baddak meen yisma3. Halla2 give it a few minutes and you'll find people bombarding your comment with disbelief, with profanity and above all ludicrous statements that bear very little worth or meaning.
Having said that, thanks for the link :)
13 July 2012, 17:00
23
Quite honestly I don't know who the hell to believe anymore. One thing is for sure, there are two sides for every story.
What I know for sure is this: Let's stay completely out of this mess. Seal the borders both ways. Nothings goes in and nothing comes out except clearly humanitarian stuff like food, medecine, the wounded and the refugees (real refugees and not ekhouén looking to set up a base in Lebanon).
Hariri abadai ou fosso hémé. What is he the champion of the Syrian people now? Lay low, man. We have enough troubles internally. You want a challenge? focus on our huge internal problems. That'll keep you busy for a lifetime.
13 July 2012, 17:14
63
jabal10452, where are you living man??? in a bubble? Actually yes Hariri is one of the Champions of Syria. How can we focus on internal issues if the government cannot function?? words are cheap aren't they...Do you live in Lebanon? Syria will always influence Lebanese politics and a free democratic Syria will reflect positively on our economy, freedom and Safety...go live in your bubble and hide behind your finger if you wish but don't throw cheap words around while people are being massacred.
13 July 2012, 17:23
00
Why does this article fall under Lebanon when the boy is from KSA and not Lebanese!
13 July 2012, 19:40
44
I can't believe anything that comes out of Syria. It's been proven that the last massacre was committed by anti Assad forces. But it was blamed on the Syrian government for weeks before a reporter from chanel 4 in the UK escaped an ambush setup by the opposition to have foreign repoters killed by government forces by leading them into no mans land. "Foreign press killed is bad for the Assad regime".
All I know is this war in syria is a horrible, foreign war. Divide and conquer! So easy when you are dealing with camel riding Arabs! How can any self respecting Lebanese be proud to be apart of these tent dwellers? Who here remembers or knows of what Lebanon use to be like in the 50s and 60s? When concord landed at Beirut airport... When all banking, commerce and tourism for the whole of the middle east, had only ne address.... Beirut Lebanon! That was before the rubbish of Arabism and the abused palestinian rights destroyed our country. Deja vue!
13 July 2012, 19:55
33
allouchi, you speak words of wisdom my friend, I agree with both of your statements.
13 July 2012, 21:52
23
Allouchi's response was disrespectful and politically incorrect. He is entitled to his opinion and I respect that, but he did not do that to jabal10452. His inability to respect other person's point of view in fact shows a LACK of wisdom.
13 July 2012, 20:46
53
Mr. Hariri doesn't seem to even read the newspaper. If most of those killed at Treimsa were rebel fighters, even according to the "local monitors" who are part of the uprising, and as reported by Agence France Presse (the Lebanese government press agency?), after the fighters attacked a government convoy, how does this set "a record in crimes against humanity"? When NATO has a fight in Afghanistan, if the "kill ratio isn't at least ten to one, it's a tactical nightmare and tragedy. Hariri stands for the government ideal in Lebanon: a few careless words, no reasonable plan, no effective action, and a whole lot of complacency. In other words, blah, blah, blah, and it's time for lunch on my yacht.
13 July 2012, 20:58
42
Part 1: The World Socialist Web Site is just that, an anti US/UK newspaper not worth the paper the ink is printed on. That said, I wasn't there, I do not know who committed what. Is it possible rebels killed innocent civilians to muddy the waters? Yes of course, atrocities are often committed in these filthy incomprehensible conflicts. What we should be clearly aware of is that the US/UK and ISRAEL have a vested interest in keeping ASSAD in power. Anyone who says different is misinformed, deliberately ignorant or belligerently dishonest. The US/UK and foremost ISRAEL are unwilling for political reasons, to re-ignite the Golan Heights issue, and at any cost.
13 July 2012, 21:54
23
As for your statement of the WSWS, the report quoted another journal, not its own, so it's not making things up by itself. Now maybe the journal is wrong too, but you can't discredit the information by criticizing the source because you have the wrong source of that information.
13 July 2012, 20:58
51
Part 2: Furthermore, the US still firmly believes behind closed doors and contrary to public beliefs and despite what John McCain and Hillary Clinton say, that the only Arab Force that can disarm the Party of God in Lebanon is that of the Assad regime. Assad is holding out to play what he believes to be his ace in the hole at the last possible minute. There will not be a US/UK intervention in Syria and the talk of otherwise is disinformation and buffalo chips designed to draw attention away from the US/UK obvious indifference towards the human suffering of the Syrian people regardless of which side they are on.
13 July 2012, 21:12
42
Part 3: The bottom line is that politics trump decency and humanity at every turn to serve the interest and greed of the few. Personally I believe my country the USA should stop meddling immediately and without fail, in the Middle East, unless it is formally asked by an ally to do so rather than to safeguard black gold (oil) for its own interests. I much rather my tax dollars are working to feed hunger, educate and provide emergency health care for those who cannot survive without them. But I am just a citizen with an opinion. I love my country a bunch, for the bad it does, it also does a lot more good. So I love my country without reservation. My country didn't ask me to become one of its citizens; I asked it to accept me as one. We live with the choices we make but we are honest about the truth always.
13 July 2012, 21:48
23
I disagree with you. I have extensively read on American foreign policy and its strategic interests, and (probably through the influence of the pro-Israel lobby) they strongly seek the downfall of the Iranian and Syrian regime.
First, Hezbollah remains a threat to Israel and Israel wants to weaken it as much as possible. Since Assad plays a MAJOR role in keeping Hezbollah intact, the downfall of Assad's regime (with it possibly being replaced by pro-Gulf one) would lead to a dramatic weakness of Hezbollah's power.
14 July 2012, 00:10
00
Simply put: US/UK/ Israel need Assad --- Assad arms hizb --- hizb does scares Israel ---- Israel get billions of US dollars in military funding and aid. Everybody needs the other to survive. If Lebanon is to have a peace treaty with Israel tomorrow and the rest of the occupied Lebanese territories are handed over to the lebanese then we shall not need a "resistance". When the resistance is dis-banded... the funding for IDF will be cut cause there isn't a constant threat. And Israel needs Hizb to control south lebanon to avoid attacks from the palestinians.... all at our expense. Instead of all these wars and killing make peace and watch how tourism will boom in this area!!
13 July 2012, 21:48
23
Second, if the US did not seek the downfall of the Assad regime, they would be reacting to the uprising similarly to the way they reacted to the Bahraini/Saudi protests (i.e. stay silent). Instead, they have actively and publicly lobbied for stronger action (military intervention?), only to be stopped by Russia, who happens to be a geopolitical rival in the region.
Third, the US main interests in the middle-east is to defend Israel and to not disrupt the flow of oil in the region (for the latter would have a detrimental effect on its economy)
13 July 2012, 23:05
02
I heard something a bit different. The US and israel are very happy that pro iranians syria and al qaeda are fighting. They think of the casualties in syria as "collateral damage" And it suits them that their two ennemies get busy on each other. (ever played the board game RISK?)
They are probably thinking (in english) "fokhar ykassir ba3do"
13 July 2012, 23:08
23
I think you're right to an extent that US/Israel benefit from their two enemies fighting eachother, but if the wrong person wins (in this case Assad) then they'd dislike it.
To put it in contemporary terms, there is no doubt that Israel/US are worried about who replaces Assad, but right now Syria poses absolutely no threat to Israel and in fact weakens the Iran/Syria/Hezbollah alliance. But eventually, Israel/US would like to see Assad lose the battle and fall.
13 July 2012, 21:41
25
No one should deny that some rebels have committed massacres (and those that do are simply blind).
That being said, this doesn't justify Assad's repression of the civil and political liberties of the Syrian people prior to and throughout the uprising. Multiple impartial and credible NGOs have long criticized the regime for violating human rights.
Even if foreign countries try to manipulate the situation to their benefit, it does not mean that one shouldn't support the revolution and support the regime, because the regime was never legitimate in my opinion.
14 July 2012, 07:08
02
couldn't have said it better. No matter what the outcome is and who'll eventually rule Syria in the future, encouraging the revolution until democracy prevails is our duty. More importantly, helping out refugees seeking treatment in Lebanon is the very least any decent nation can do regardless to the political affiliation.
13 July 2012, 23:29
02
Assad can not win. In the unlikely event he does win, it will be a very partial victory, his wings will be cut, and he will have to introduce significant reform. But I think he reached the point of no return. no winning. Either 1-he will divide syria into a alawite canton in the north and a sunnite canton in the east and south. or 2- he gets killed. or 3- goes into exile. Or 4-most likely this shameful war goes on forever.In all cases, Israel is winning. And in each case, for a different reason. As for lebanon, he will be winning in each case except case 4...
