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Subscribe to RSSSyrian state television broadcast footage of President Bashar-al-Assad making a rare public appearance in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, the heart of the uprising and where his crackdown has been most brutal. ITN's John Ray reports.
Syrian authorities are detaining and torturing children, the United Nations' human rights chief, Navi Pillay said, according to a report.
"They've gone for the children -- for whatever purposes -- in large numbers," the BBC quoted her as saying. "Hundreds detained and tortured... it's just horrendous.
"Children shot in the knees, held together with adults in really inhumane conditions, denied medical treatment for their injuries, either held as hostages or as sources of information."
Ms Pillay, a lawyer, said she believed that the UN Security Council had enough reliable information to warrant referring Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"I feel that investigation and prosecution is a crucial element to deter and call a stop to these violations," she told the BBC.
Ms Pillay said she believed that the UN Security Council had enough reliable information to warrant referring Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Syria accepts Annan peace plan, but clashes continue
Meanwhile, the United States has urged the Syrian opposition to unite and pledge to respect minority rights in a future Syria should President Bashar Assad be driven from power, and warned armed rebels and government forces against committing human rights abuses.
Disunity among the Syrian opposition to Assad has fed fears that Syria could slide into sectarian and ethnic conflict, much as Iraq did after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Skeptical of peace plan
This has worried some governments, including the United States which would otherwise be glad to see Assad's downfall, after a year in which Assad has been using the army to crush efforts to end his political dominance in Syria.
Str / AP
Anti-government clashes continue as Western and Arab nations launch a diplomatic offensive to halt the violence.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the Syrian opposition to lay out a vision of an inclusive Syria in which minority rights are respected.
"They must be able to clearly demonstrate a commitment to including all Syrians and protecting the rights of all Syrians," Clinton told reporters.
"We are going to be pushing them very hard to present such a vision in Istanbul," she said ahead of a gathering of Western and Arab nations in Istanbul on Sunday to discuss a political transition in Syria.
Earlier on Tuesday, the New York Times reported that a meeting of Syrian opposition groups in Istanbul was marred when a veteran dissident and Kurdish delegates walked out, saying their views were not heard.
U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said on Tuesday in Washington that he had received reports that armed Syrian opposition groups had engaged in human rights abuses. He said he had warned the rebels, as well as Assad, against committing such abuses.
Both Clinton and Ford were skeptical of reports that Syria's government had accepted the peace plan of U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.
"Given Assad's history of over-promising and under-delivering, that commitment must now be matched by immediate actions," Clinton said.
Ford left Syria last month because of the violence but remains the U.S. ambassador. At a hearing on Capitol Hill, he was asked about statements by the U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch that armed opposition groups in Syria had committed abuses including kidnapping, detention and torture of security force members and government supporters.
Murad Sezer / Reuters
Syrian National Council President Burhan Ghalioun is greeted by council members during a news conference after their meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday.
"We had reports like that last year, when some of the fighting in Homs became really serious," Ford said. "We raised it even in Syria when my embassy was still open.
"We discussed it with some of the local revolution council representatives -- who are themselves not members of armed groups, but certainly are in contact with them -- and emphasized that they would be held to a standard on this if they wanted support from western countries."
The United States had also raised the matter with the Syrian National Council, the main opposition umbrella group, Ford said.
He added there was a danger that more hard-liners who ignored human rights would gain influence on both sides in Syria the longer the conflict goes on.
Assad's government, Ford said, had committed "massive human rights violations that may amount to crimes against humanity."
The United Nations says more than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria's year-old uprising against Assad. Syria says rebels have killed some 3,000 security force members and blames the violence on "terrorist" gangs.
Human Rights Watch also has accused Assad's forces of human rights abuses, including using human shields in northern Syria in their efforts to crush the rebellion.
Assad on Tuesday was filmed taking a tour of Baba Amr, the district of Homs recently bombarded by his forces.
Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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“There’s a sucker born every minute…”
~ P.T. Barnum
AP Fraud:
Fabrications, Drama, a Sprinkle of Truth, and Sheer Delight
This is what the press is feeding the public, along with some aid from Hollywood and of course their ever – present meal ticket, Washington, DC. Then, there is the support team of local police officers, hotel cleaning staff, public works employees standing in the road observing, and taxi cab drivers that are the eyes and ears of the press. Big cash in this stuff…and no one will ever know that local officers was just bought off to fabricate a report that he stopped the local congresswoman for DUI, when she was had no issue of any kind. But, the report ruined her chances for re-election.
And the American public are the suckers. You hear the news reports, hear some truth inserted now and then, but just enough. Just enough to cause you to trust them. And you do 100%. But that is what keeps their salaries and sponsors alive.
Your families listen to news told to you by fine sounding anchors that speak well and use the English language slightly better than you and your peers and this is the all the excuse your minds use to believe these strangers with. But, you do believe them and even go so far as to defend your favorite faces as if they were family, though you have never met any of these people. What are you doing? Do you know Brian Williams? Do you know Scott Pelley? Diane Sawyer? George Stephanopoulos? Have you ever seen these people in real life? But you trust their judgment every bit as much as you trust that man sitting in the Oval office though many of you have never met him either!
We are losing this nation, and this planet to the press that spins your lives into a web of deceit, criminal activity, and amazing shock. I’m here to tell you that no human is capable of doing any of this alone. None do. Most of it is stimulated, solicited, or instigated and profited on by the Associated Press.
Photo-shopped images, some of dead people, even. Fabulous stories created around them, and you choke it all down because you are told to, like your mothers told you to eat every morsel on your plates because there were starving kids in Africa. It is what they do in Africa, people and have for a millennium! African tribes battle and combat for land, they always have and they starve the competition out. Why do you fall for this guilt that is applied by the Associated Press?
Are children not starving here in the United States?
Is there poor in your own community?
The crime stories! Some are true, slightly true, and some are absolute fabrications to injure the identity of a political opponent. How do you know which stories are true! Have you researched and checked? Do you care? What if that injured person is you one day, or a loved one, will you care then?
If you do not see certain things happening in your own backyards, though the AP is acting as if it is everywhere, then why are you believing what they say? And if the economy is good in your home towns, why are you speaking as though it is the end of the world because Wolf Blitzer or Anderson Cooper said, “GM will be saved by this bailout because most Americans want to save it.”
Do you?
Did Anderson Cooper ask you personally?
Did he simply formulate a judgment or use in unscientific poll asking 3 people in the newsroom during coffee break and most said, “Yes”?
News is a multi-billion dollar business.
Then press delights in knowing that there is a sucker born every minute.
Do you think that the AP will plagiarize this comment as they have so very many others that I have written to their benefit?
"If we should ever separate, my little plum, I want to give you just one bit of fatherly advice: Never give a sucker an even break!" (from the movie, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break)
"You can't cheat an honest man; never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump." (from the movie, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man)
Both quotes are by W.C. Fields.
Amadabadab, "They're shooting civilians over here! Where are you?"
Zabadooby, "...Nothing."
Amadabadab, "...Damn...Allah be praised."
Amadabadab, "They're bombing neighborhoods over here! Where are you?"
Zabadooby, "......Nothing."
Amadabadab, "..Damn. Allah is greater!
Amadabadab,"They're raping women over here! Where are you?"
Zabadooby, "..Nope."
Amadabadab, "...Dammit!!"
Amadabadab, "There creating child soldiers over here! Where are you?"
Zabadooby, "....Nada."
Amadabadab, ".....Aw hell!"
Amadabadab, "They're torchuring little children over here! Where are you?"
Zabadooby, "...Sorry. Nothing..."
Amadabadab, "..Aaagh! Mother f*cker!"
Amadabadab, "They're eating children alive over here! Aaagh! They're burning the women alive and we can clearly see their ankles and eating the children wrapped in bacon! Why don't you come and save us??"
Zabadooby, "....Allah is obviously not listening. Why don't we do what all of our Middle Eastern brothers are doing and ask the United States to come help us?"
torchuring = torturing
Sorry. No coffee.
Got some bad news for you Mackie, one of my friends is from Lebanon and still has family there. A few months ago he went over there to visit and he can attest to how bad things are in Syria. Up until very recently his brother lived in Syria, and was one of the refugees who fled the country. He confirmed that things really are this bad in Syria.
The press isn't hiding some HappyLand Syria with a fog of stories of human injustices, these events are real and are happening.
In which Muslim nation, especially a Sunni one, these are not happening?
UN was fast sleep when the Sunni Saudis and their Arab League sent their forces to Bahrain.
The very Arab League Chief, a Gen from Sudan was involved in the genocides of 300000 Christians in Darfur!
Then UN and Security Council were dead then!
When Saudis and their oil companies do their seventh century bigoted Sunni dances, their scare and war mongering puppets in the US, UN and other nations start dancing!
It happened in Iraq. Christians are worse now Iraq, Egypt and other nations.
Economically, we and all oil importing nations are at worst after the Saudi, oil companies, lobbyists and Bushes & co seventh century Iraq war dances.
Some can't even fight wars properly! But are looking for new areas like Iran and Syria to fight!
if only Syria had oil, maybe the US would help them like we did Libya.
The U.N., the most corrupt entity in the World Today. has absolutely no "unbiased" proof of what they are publishing about Syria. The press, who depend on reports from the Rebels (Activist) that started and are now losing their Civil War. Anthony California - the U.S. has no business interfering in the Civil War in Syria. To get a cease fire, you need an agreement between all parties and not just one. The Syrian government will continue to bomb the Rebels (Activist) wherever they hide. The Rebels, who complain about civilians (if there is such a thing in Syria) being killed or wounded, should stop hiding behind those Civilians and using them as shields.
JoeB, we don't have business in Syria. I would like to say we didn't have business in Libya as well, but that would be incorrect. We had big business in Libya. This is the only reason we engaged them militarily. Lost in the habit of attacking every country we can is the idea of non-intervention.
What? No viagra fueled rape gangs this time? I guess they have to retire claims of atrocities once they don't pan out. "Viagra rape gangs didn't work....next on the list is tortured children...let's try that one and see if it floats".
Tomorrow news "Syria is eating children".
These so called rebel groups are nothing more than other Islamic sects who want power for themselves. They are all committing the same atrocities that they accuse the Assad government of committing. To think that any of them would represent a better alternative to Assad is absurd. As bad as Assad has been, he is basically a secularist and has allowed people to essentially practice their own religions without and problems from the government. If the Assad government goes down we will see Syria descend into complete anarchy of sectarian violence as the various Islamic sects fight for power with each feeling that they represent the only true Islam and that the others are all to be wiped out or suppressed. The last thing we need in the Middle East is yet another Islamic Republic. We are already watching Egypt turn into one with the downfall of the secularist Mubarak government. In addition, Libya has fallen into the hands of the Islamists and the government of Turkey has been drifting from it's secular foundation more and more towards an Islamic state. The founder of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, must be rolling over in his grave at the demise of the secular state he fought to establish.
Syrian rebels are supported by Sunni Islamic Brotherhood and al-Qaida.
If these people take over, it will be another Saudi Arabia, Egypt or any other Sunni Muslim nation.
In Saudi Arabia there are genocides of minorities and women are treated worse than slaves.
Why no UN, human rights groups or women groups, obseravatories are barking?
Saudi Arabia which exports its extremist version of Sunni Salaffi and Wahhabi barbaric versions all over the world, does not permit church and non-Islamic religious places.
They did not even permit Bibles when the US soldiers guarded them!
That bigoted Sunni seventh century desert barbaric ruler has 5000 princes and princesses.
In 21st century, what sort of a ruler is he and a nation he is ruling!
It is almost similar in Kuwait, UAE and most of the Sunni nations.
These are the people leading scare and war mongers with their fancy one-sided and one-way street stories!
Oil and oil politics have brought many to streets, many soldiers have been killed and injured and their families devastated.
These Saudis & co point fingers and scare and war mongers start "intervention", "WMD", "drone attack", "bombing", "arming" and so on!
Where are they in Iraq and Afghanistan? Let them go there fight battles before even bothering about Syria or Iran!
and you know this how? f ing tool
GO Jonathon- our people here only listen to ANDERSON COOPER and half the these bought so called Media of ours , Its sad i do not know what happend to them i guess too much money involved.
If it is from the UN you know it is fictitious
If the UN is so worried, what are they going to do about it? The usual? Which is nothing at all.
UN and co invented similar stories in Iraq!
It is better to wind up that UN and all its tax guzzling and stealing agencies!
"Ms Pillay, a lawyer, said she believed that the UN Security Council had enough reliable information to warrant referring Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC)."
First fire her and the whole human rights groups for their partisan acts!
Some (George Bush & co) can't even fight wars properly and win any! Iraq and Afghanistan are clear examples.
But the same gang are again bothered about Syria and Iran.
The Syrian National Council- the outsiders (externalists) had a palaver with the real Syrian opposition groups (inside Syria-Gandhian non-violence) whereby the Haitham al-Mateh (80 yrs-legitimate opposition member) walked out -so did the Syrian Kurdish coaliton members.For the SNC chairman Burhan Ghallian after reciting 'National Oath' laid out their agenda 0including Muslim Brotherhood. SFA (Syrian Free Army)cited by Human Rights Watch- they decapitate Syrian soldiers,detain and torture. this source with names/dates/pictures is available in Der Spiegel in German- a very respected news source. http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/1,518,824061,00.html Auslandische Kaempfer in Syrien- Dschihadisten erklaeren Assad den Heiligen Krieg. Article by correspondent Ulrika Putz,Beirut. Cease fire menas BOTH sides lay down their arms- but the SNC/SFA refuse to.
Shiites vs Sunni battles is none of our business.
Also wars of Muslim nations fighting on some divisions among one of the most barbaric and beastly seventh century desert cult, Islam is not our problem.
If any Muslim in the non-Muslim nations wants to take sides, let him/her go there and fight battles.
If I have to chose, Syria and Iran are 100 times better than that most barbaric, beastly and bigoted Sunni rulers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and their pals. Can we have such rulers in 21st century and ICT age?
yes MIMI TRY to get that through these people heads is another problem . these rebels are nothing but thugs that the SAUDIES FRENCH QATARIS AND THE BRIRISH brought them from LIBYA to help the rest of the thugs in SYRIA and so bad they even brought their own reporters with them , just listen to CNN AND SEE the lies
Yup, another little mess in the middle east. This is Putin's and Ahmadinijad's baby...then again, they have little love for their own people, so propping up despicable governments is cake. Of course, we've done it too.
At the risk of sounding hypocritical, we should take the high ground here. Keep Syria in the public eye, but don't start playing Don Quixote and run full tilt at the problem (we did that with Iraq, and look where that got us). Assad will get his in due time...just like Ghaddafi and Mubarak.
It's an Arab problem, not the western world's problem. Let the other Arab nations handle it. I feel sorry for the women and children getting killed or hurt, but that happens in any war zone. There has been reports that Al Quida has been helping the rebels.
Who knows, really knows what is going on over there. All we know is what our govt wants us to hear. Same as Iran, just what they want us taxpayers to know, it maynot be the truth, that's for sure.
I worry about just who are the rebels,the people of Syria are suffering at the hands of both the rebels and Assads guns.The world needs to step in,let the people of Syria choose their destiny.We talk human rights,but allow this to go on.
There has been too much tolerance for the Syrian Government by the world community. Look at those children being torchered by the Assad regime, look at the the suffering brought about by their own government and look at the Iranian government helping this sick #%$stard Assad and his murdering Army.........just like his father and now his wife. What is the world afraid of? How do doctors try to cure cancer? Time is the enemy for the Syrian people..........what are we afraid of? Stop being afraid and do something.........stop over analyzing and do something.
Has the Human Rights Chief, been silenced about Israel, refusing to comply ??? I fail to see any media coverage ???
Mal - now that Israel (rightly) refused to participate in their (cough kangaroo court) reindeer games, the UNHRC is actually condemning something that they should be for a change. Imagine that!
Now what are you going to do, Koffi?
The UN will probably write Syria a nasty letter and charge the USA for the stamps.
Right UN Human Rights!!!! Psssst pssst.....Whose game are you playing? Israel?
I do not believe this story and I for da*m sure do not believe the U.N.
They are doing everything, and saying anything to get support for the thugs trying to take over a legitimate government that was recognized by every other country until the thugs started a war they could not win.
This is just another ploy by the U.S. and it's allies to go into another country and remake it to THEIR LIKING.
This is OBAMA military tactics at it's best, which means it is the worst!
Americans DO NOT want to get involved in yet another counties business, but OBAMA and CONGRESS just can not get it through their thick heads.
Asswad kills innocent bystanders and tortures children. Rebel leaders want his position so they can do the same in the name of "Big Al(lah)" Difference is? Obvious, in the second case, Al is on their side!
Worth a read - analysis that precludes our happy media.
"Run-up to Proxy war in Syria" http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NB07Ad01.html
By MK Bhadrakumar
Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey.
(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Very good article. If true, it gives the lie to the Syrian uprising being organic - rather it is instigated with substantial help from us. If so, our government has not a shred of interest in civilian casualties other than as propaganda pawns - as we are are actively involved in creating the mess. Unlikely as the author knows the area.
Assad's dad killed more then 20.000 people, it makes Assad look almost like a "nice" guy.
The Turks have killed ~ 30,000 Kurds in recent years. That is seemingly acceptable. Oops - they are our ally.
What a stupid story. Seriously, guys - could you make the propaganda just a little more believable? Or is it that the US citizenry is war-weary enough that legitimate truths don't justify a war to most of our citizens? So you make up something so horrendous that no one could argue against the justification for interventiion.
Here's some conservatism for you - from one of your more "liberal" citizens. Screw'em. Who cares? I don't want the blood of another soldier shed for the wants of a bank or oil titan.....or ficititious tortured children - kinda like the ones that the Iraqi soldiers pulled from incubators and threw on the floor for Gulf War Part 1...which also turned out to be completely fabricated.
War with Syria is automatically war with Iran because of a treaty (like the axis powers in WW2 - Iran is obliged by treaty to protect Syria). And considering it's the only warm-water port to which Russia has full access, it's automatically war with them as well.
Oh, how convenient this news is to the war-mongers. I'll bet Cheney's new heart skipped a few beats in excitement.
Question. Am I to understand from this that torture of children is less acceptable than torture of teens and adults, and that there is something like an acceptable amount of torture but beyond some ( arbitrary ) threshold it is not? The reason for the questions of course is that the US is well known to have engaged in torture ( even more or less admitted it - Dick Cheney has articulated his pride in these actions ) but these actions were never submitted to external international investigation to establish personal culpability. For myself, no torture is acceptable, and for legitimacy one cannot investigate cases selectively as such merely undermines the concept of principle as a guiding issue in such cases.
And how is this supposed toture any worse than when a child in the US ; which sends hundreds of billions to bribe warlords in third world countrys ; is refused life saving health care while millionaire politicions argue about which party has the most morals?
Syria's Ass-Head "tortures" children. That's only because there's some left he didn't KILL. More than 9000 MURDERED and still the UN, US, NATO, Arab League does NOTHING, because everytime they look like they might, Russia, China and Iran object. F___ing COWARDS, ALL of Them.
hey Alan why donot you go and help these ALQUIDA fighters over there do you really belive all that bull man , the human right watch told us yesterday it was the rebels that doing that , I do not know how they switch the story to ASSAD doing it instead , THE POWER OF THE MEDIA BUDDY .
the world isnt destroyed by evil people, it's destroyed by people who stand by and do nothing.
Were the NATIVE AMERICANS, AUSTRALIANS, NEW ZEALANDERS, WEST INDIANS, etc.,"destroyed by people who stand by and do nothing"?
So...which side was the good guys again? Extremes on both sides. Yeah, this is going to turn out really well.
This Ms Pillay should first be tortured to find out what is the truth. She is obviously a staunch ANTI-MUSLIM HINDHU.
Has Ms Pillay EVER "investigated" the MANY US WAR CRIMES in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere? I bet she has been well bribed to keep her mouth shut about these WAR CRIMES.
My DOD is still experimenting on children here as well but this is such a cowardly perversion that the worse my Poet handles his slaves the more they are taught to worry about the reaction from white supremacists which is sort of a contradiction...