Red Cross teams have begun handing out humanitarian aid near Syria’s war-ravaged city of Homs. The relief mission remains blocked from bringing supplies into the city’s devastated Baba Amr district.
International Commission of the Red Cross aid workers began delivering supplies to areas near Baba Amr, to areas people had fled to, the ICRC said.
ICRC said its workers had started to hand out humanitarian aid meant for Baba Amr, in the city of Adel, three kilometers away from Homs.
Homs and other cities will also get food, water, medical supplies and milk for children.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross continues negotiations with Syria’s government to get access to Baba Amr, which violent fights between Assad’s loyal forces and opposition have left in chaos.
Local infrastructure has been badly damaged, according eyewitness reports. There is no water, food or electricity. Shops and schools remain closed.
On Saturday the ICRC president slammed the delay as “unacceptable,” expressing his hope that the convoy would enter the area “in the very near future.”
On Thursday a Red Cross relief mission got the green light to enter the neighborhood, but was denied access on Friday when seven trucks loaded with humanitarian aid arrived to Homs from Damascus.
by Madison Ruppert Editor of End the Lie
March 4, 2012
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Image credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China)
China is now offering a proposal which they say could end all of the violence in Syria by calling for an immediate end to all violence on both sides and talks by all the parties.
However, they continue to stand strong in their opposition to foreign intervention like what we witnessed in Libya.
The proposal was released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry and is part of Beijing’s new effort to take an active diplomatic role in the Syrian crisis.
China has previously come under fire from the West for their veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution they said could open the door to a dangerous intervention.
Their new proposal reflects this concern, which is a very rational one. Instead of calling for foreign intervention like so many in the West and among the opposition have done (which would very likely become quite bloody, just like in Libya), the proposal opts to call for a multilateral cease-fire.
In addition to a total cease-fire, they are calling for negotiations to be mediated by the United Nations and the Arab League, which I seriously doubt would be productive.
China is also calling for humanitarian relief to be brought into Syria, something which I doubt many people would disagree on.
The proposal is clearly against outside interference which would attempt to oust Assad and replace him, according to the Associated Press.
This kind of all-or-nothing approach taken by the rebels is nothing short of dangerous and clearly it is in no way conducive to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
The question of how to deal with Syria has been one which is highly controversial and there is very little agreement outside of the Western powers who want to see Assad ousted post-haste.
India and the Arab League have recently been engaging in in-depth discussions on Syria, but they have not been able to come to an agreement on a common approach to end the crisis with India saying that it should be up to Syrians to internally decide how they want to resolve their own domestic problems.
This seems like a quite rational conclusion which not only respects the rights of Syrians to decide how their country is governed but also respects Syria’s national sovereignty.
The Arab League, on the other hand, has called for Assad to step down and give power to the Vice President and a national unity government. Who exactly would be involved in such a government and how they would be chosen is anyone’s guess.
However, if recent history is any indication, it is likely the case that they would seek to place individuals in power (undemocratically, of course) who are little more than Western puppets or individuals who will otherwise play along, unlike Assad.
India has said that foreign intervention of any kind is unnecessary and unhelpful, adding that it is not their decision whether Assad should stay or go.
For some reason, many nations are completely ignoring Syria’s sovereignty and demanding regime change, which they have absolutely no right to do.
Hopefully some of the Western powers will take note of these comments from China and India and thus start respecting Syrian sovereignty, the right of the Syrian people to decide their own domestic affairs and hopefully avoid what could become an even bloodier conflict with foreign intervention.
Did I miss anything? Would you like to tip me off to a story, share your analysis or submit some writing of your own? Email me at Admin@EndtheLie.com
Or, a look into Syria’s potential future after UN/NATO operations.
by Tony Cartalucci
Land Destroyer Report March 4, 2012
Here we see Libyans enjoying their NATO-granted “freedom” – putting black men from the purged city of Tawergha in a zoo-like enclosure and feeding them green Libyan flags. The city of Tawergha was literally emptied out by Libya’s NATO-backed “revolutionaries” who vowed never to allow its residents to return to their property, claiming they had forfeited it by supporting Qaddafi during the 2011 NATO operation. Refugee camps containing the tens of thousands of exiled residents have been regularly attacked (another report can be found here, in The Globe & Mail).
Defenders of the degenerate foreign-backed revolution are quick to accuse any persecuted, tortured, or imprisoned man with a dark countenance as being “hired mercenaries,” but in the above video the men can be heard calling the imprisoned, humiliated men “Tawergian,” as in residents of the Libyan city of Tawergha – not foreign mercenaries.
Over a hundred foreign mercenaries have reportedly been captured by Syrian government troops after regaining control of rebel-held areas in the city of Homs.
Sources say the majority of them are French, with the rest from several Arab countries.
Syrian authorities claim that life in the city that’s been under siege for almost a month is getting back to normal, but, as RT’s Maria Finoshina reports, there are serious fears the fighting is far from over.
Residents of Homs and eyewitness say horrific scenes of carnage have become a part of everyday life there.
RT spoke to a Russian woman who spent over a week in the embattled city – who says the picture painted by the media does not always match the reality.
UK web surfers have caught a grim glimpse of the future with Internet users being threatened with 10 years in jail for “illegal downloading” after a prominent music file-sharing site was shut down shortly after Britain signed the notorious ACTA bill.
It is the first time such a move has been made against Internet users in the UK. The British government introduced regulations in 2009 enabling Internet providers to track users who downloaded illegal content from the web and disable their connection if warning letters had no effect. But signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has brought the conflict to a whole new level.
In Europe, people are taking to the streets in protest at the contradictory Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, with some countries refusing to sign it.
After hackers from the activist group Anonymous attacked practically all US government websites in retaliation, the authorities are now considering adopting their own home-grown anti-counterfeiting laws like PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) / SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).
The Canadian Senate Thursday night gave its approval to a government package of crime measures that include a number of harsh provisions, including mandatory minimum prison sentences for growing as few as six marijuana plants. The bill, C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, now heads back to the House of Commons for final approval.
The bill has already passed the House, but members will have to approve amendments adopted by the Senate that more clearly define terrorist activities and how victims of terrorism can seek compensation from groups or states that support terrorism.Passage in the Senate came after ruling Conservatives used their majority to limit debateon the measure to six hours. Liberals objected vociferously, but in vain. The only Conservative to vote against limiting debate was Sen. Pierre Claude Nolin, a long-time advocate of marijuana and other drug law reforms.”Canadians are expecting us to pass this,” said Conservative Sen. Claude Carignan, explaining that the rush to passage was necessary because the government had promised to pass the legislation within a hundred days of taking office. “The best way to ensure the population is not jaded when it comes to politics is to keep our promises.”
Liberals argued that there was enough opposition to the bill that every senator deserved to be heard on the issue, but that argument didn’t fly with the Conservative majority.
“There is no excuse for what this chamber is about to do,” said Liberal Sen. Joan Fraser. “We should be ashamed of ourselves.”
While the bill is now almost assured of final passage, opponents have vowed to carry on the fight in the courts. Once the bill becomes law and goes into effect, look for quick challenges to its constitutionality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
