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Syrian government threatened by violence and protests
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southern Syrian city of Dara'a opened fire on youths who
had scrawled anti-government graffiti, reports The New
York Times. In response to government arrests, protesters in
several cities burned the offices of the Ba'ath Party and tore
down posters of President al-Assad.
In attempts to console demonstrators, al-Assad announced
the resignation of the Syrian cabinet on March 29. On March
30, he addressed Syrians in a speech in which he offered
significant — if largely symbolic — concessions, which
included the lifting of emergency laws that ban free speech
and assembly, according to The New York Times.
"The emergency law is a cornerstone of Ba'athist rule
and, once it goes, everything else might go with it," said
researcher for the Institute of Strategic and International
Relations Karim Bitar to The New York Times. IRIS is a
foreign policy think-tank based in Paris.
"Things could collapse for them if they're serious about
lifting it — liberation of political prisoners, multiple parties,
no more harassing activists. People are going to use this to
air more and more grievances," said Bitar.
More recently, renewed violence erupted in Dara'a on
Friday, April 8 when security forces fired live rounds of
ammunition to disperse stone-throwing protestors, reports
AlJazeera.
"What happened is that, after Friday prayers, the marchers
started to chant, 'Freedom! Freedom!"' said London-based
political activist Ausama Monajed to the Guardian. "When
the protesters tried to collect the dead and wounded, the
security forces opened fire again."
According to The New York Times, while 21 protesters
have been confirmed dead, the numbers are expected to
rise. Ammar Abdulhamid — a Syrian dissident living in
Maryland — reports that the death toll may be as high as
100, while the number of wounded is expected to reach 500.
"The situation there is disastrous," said a Damascus-
based activist — who chose to remain anonymous — to
the Washington Post in reference to the violence in Dara'a,
where the Post reports that demonstrators had converted the
city's al-Omari mosque into a hospital.
According to Al Jazeera, President al-Assad has attempted
to respond to the violence with a number of reforms,
including granting full citizenship to Syria's Kurds, who
constitute 10 percent of Syria's population.
However, nationwide dissatisfaction with the
Government's limits of free speech and other human rights
violations have continued to foment.
"This President himself is the hostage of the security
complex," said Haytham Manna, a Syrian Human Rights
activist living in France of the political situation, in an email
interview.
"The executive is in the hand of security apparatus and
presidential team. If reforms can be decided, it will be by
Bashar al-Assad himself," said Manna.
"No Kurd, no Arab, the Syrian people are one. We salute
the martyrs of Dara'a," chanted Kurdish protesters in the
northeastern city of Al Qamishli, reports Al Jazeera.
Despite crackdowns by the Syrian government, observers
remain optimistic of events-to-come in a nation which rarely
sees organized opposition to the ruling regime.
"We saw thousands of protestors taking to the streets,
from all walks of life — young and old, professionals and
not professionals, educated, not educated," said Field
Correspondent for Al Jazeera Rula Amin. "It's a new
situation in Syria."
"The future of our beloved country cannot be built
on grudges and hatred, it can only be built with love and
forgiveness" said Ribal al-Assad, a cousin of Bashar living in
exile in England, in an email interview.
"Let's hope that all parties would listen and start thinking
about how we could all work together, as one, to move
towards our common goal — and, it is only by being united
that the regime would feel the pressure and start conceding
to the people's demands," said Ribal.
Pro-Assad Syrian protesters fill the street in front of the Syrian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon as they carry pictures of Syrian
President Bashar Assad during a sit-in on Sunday, March 27,2011.
American pastor burns Quran, Afghan groups protest
By Terah Kelleher
Staff Writer
The Quran mentions Jesus more than
any other prophet, even Muhammad.
Jesus is given such titles as "The Word of
God." Both prophets' names were engulfed
in flames on March 20 by Terry Jones, a
Florida pastor.
In a statement released by the White
House, President Barack Obama said "the
desecration of any holy text, including the
(Quran), is an act of extreme intolerance
and bigotry."
According to a September 2010 Wall
Street Journal article, top U.S. and
NATO ^commander, Gen. David Petraeus
denounced the plans of Jones burning
the Quran. He and other military officials
feared that this act would spark anger that
could endanger troops and create anger
toward the U.S. Jones originally canceled
the Quran burning but broke his word on
March 20.
"It's like people forgot about us," said
Jones to The Washington Post. "But we
kept doing what we do."
On April 1, violent protests began in
Afghanistan in response to Jones' actions. Hamid Karzai gave a speech that demanded
According to The Washington Post, nearly Jones' arrest and condemned his actions.
20 people were killed and about 150 were
wounded by the third day of protests
in northern and southern Afghanistan.
Obama called the murders during the
protests "outrageous, and an affront to
human decency
and dignity."
"There's
no excuse for
violence, period,"
said Robert
Duncan, visiting
assistant professor
of political science.
"Both sides show
a lack of intellect,
sophistication and
education. It's
the combat of
President Obama called the mur
ders during the protests "outra
geous, and an affront to human
decency and dignity"
Some observers question Karzai's
intentions in giving this speech, according
to The Christian Science Monitor.
"Karzai seems to veer between being
dependent on the international presence
and a real sense
———————^ of resentment and
powerlessness," said
an
Stephen Carter
independent policy
analyst in Kabul — to
the Christian Science
Monitor. "He tends to
come out with public
statements that make
clear the degree
of resentment that
he feels. He could
have refrained from
ideas that truth emerges. And when people making a statement and acted in a way that
are not willing to engage in that discussion, would have made this particular outcome
truth is suppressed and hidden." less likely."
According to The New York Times, Parveen Hasanali, assistant professor of
international and Afghan news media religious studies, said that the American
originally downplayed or ignored Jones' identity is being formed on the backdrop
actions — but, on March 31, President of such things as the war.
in
"The long drawn out aspects of
war cause these political reactions,"
said Hasanali. "The protests that have
happened most recently are, most likely,
coming from people's discontent with the
political situation and their right to protest.
But then it goes out of control when deaths
happen."
Muslim Senior JoAnn Skinner said the
burning of the Quran helped to contribute
to violence that has little to do with the
spirit of Christianity or Islam.
"I understand the outrage they feel, but
aggression and violence are not the way
to go about it," said Skinner in an email
interview. "A well known Hadith (saying
or deed of Muhammad) illustrates the
Islamic position on the issue of anger: 'The
strong is not the one who overcomes the
people by his strength. But the strong is the
one who controls himself while in anger.'"
Max Carter, campus ministry
coordinator, said that this is a great time for
people to analyze their own behaviors. He
quoted a Biblical verse on this subject: "We
need to take the log out of our own eyes
before we condemn the specks in other
peoples.'"