Nov 19 Regional

أبرز التعديلات السورية المقترحة على مراقبي الجامعة العربية: سيادة الدولة السورية والاقتصار على الجنسيات العربية والمدة شهران
Highlighted the amendments proposed to the Syrian Arab League observers: the rule of the Syrian state and only the Arab nationalities and the period of two months
http://www.syriandays.com/?page=show_det&select_page=43&id=28885
Saturday 11/19/2011
14:34:53

Revealed a reliable source for the amendments requested by Syria on the protocol of the Arab League to send observers to monitor the situation on the Syrian territory.

Where he was leading and the first source said the amendments also stipulated that Syria should be observers only from Arab nationalities, also stipulated that Syria should not go beyond the task of observers rule of the Syrian state.

Did not explain the source told the newspaper "ambassador" of Lebanon that Damascus was a reservation on the provisions of the Protocol, which the Syrian authorities with the responsibility to protect the observers, and in light of the military and security forces of the Syrian ambushes and targeting.

In the same subject quoted by the "seventh day" Egyptian diplomatic sources, Syria has required determining the duration of the Committee's work in Syria two months and is renewed to them pursuant to a joint agreement between Syria and the Arab League, while the protocol that the Council had provided leave for the mission is open without put a time limit to it.

Sources pointed to the seventh day that Syria sent its reply before the deadline for the three days granted to it by the Arab foreign ministers, which ends Saturday.

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صحيفة : دمشق وافقت على بعثة تقصي الحقائق و طالبت الجامعة العربية بوضع سقف زمني لمدة عملها
Newspaper: Damascus and agreed to the fact-finding mission and called on the Arab League put a time limit for its work
http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_news&id=837ac12f085b0e232e61e4100cf1c94a&ar=894485475
Saturday - November 19 - 2011 - 10:02:08

The newspaper "seventh day" the Egyptian said Syria had agreed in principle to the Mission by the council of the Arab League sent to Syria to investigate the facts, noting that the amendments requested by the leadership in Damascus, most of which comes in some formulations in which she Syria as provocative and beyond the rule of the Syrian State .

And the paper quoted, a diplomatic source that the most important amendment, which is essential is a request Damascus identified for the Committee's work in Syria two months and is renewed to them pursuant to a joint agreement between the Syrian regime and the Arab League, while the Protocol, which the Council had provided leave for the mission open without placing a time limit to it.

The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Nabil el-Arabi, has declared in a statement that he had received on Thursday evening, a message from Walid al-Moallem, Minister of Foreign Affairs, included amendments to the functions of the mission Arabic, explaining that the message, "which included amendments to the draft Protocol on the legal status and functions of the Observer Mission University to Syria, which was approved by the Arab League Council at the ministerial level last Wednesday "in Rabat.

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Russian expert: amendments that Syria demanded are necessary
خبير روسي: التعديلات التي طالبت بها دمشق ضرورية
http://arabic.rt.com/news_all_news/news/571992

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أمين عام جامعة الدول العربية يعلن تلقيه رسالة من المعلم تضمنت تعديلات على مشروع البروتوكول بشأن المركز القانوني ومهام بعثة مراقبي الجامعة إلى سورية
AL Secretary General Receives Syrian Letter on Amendments to AL Protocol
Nov 18, 2011
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/11/18/382430.htm
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/18/382436.htm

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Various (mainly religious) Lebanese figures condemn the AL
لبنانيون:سورية ستخرج منتصرة وقوية أمام المؤامرة الخارجية
18 تشرين الثاني, 2011
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/11/18/382405.htm

Parliament Speaker Barri, former PM al-Huss and other politicians
بري والحص: سورية ستنتصر واستهدافها استهداف للعرب
19 تشرين الثاني, 2011
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/11/19/382623.htm

Al-Hoss stresses that Targeting Syria Means Targeting all the Arabs
Nov 19, 2011
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/11/19/382556.htm

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Hoss: Clinton's remarks reflect U.S. desire for civil war in Syria
November 19, 2011 12:48 PM
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Nov-19/154596-hoss-clintons-remarks-reflect-us-desire-for-civil-war-in-syria.ashx

BEIRUT: Former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss said U.S. Secretary of State's Hillary Clinton's remarks Friday on the possibility of civil war in Syria reflect America's desire for such an event.

"When U.S. Foreign Minister Hilary Clinton talks about a possible civil war in Syria, she is disclosing the reality that this is what [the U.S.] hopes for and what the great power is seeking [to accomplish]," Hoss said in a statement released Saturday.

During an interview with U.S. network NBC, Clinton warned of the possibility of civil war in Syria, fueled by well-financed and armed army defectors.

"I think there could be a civil war with a very determined and well-armed and eventually well-financed opposition that is, if not directed by, certainly influenced by defectors from the army," Clinton said.

In response, Hoss called on the Syrian people to recognize the magnitude of the conspiracy against Syria, warning that an attack on Syria would translate into an attack on all Arabs.

"We call on the Syrian brethren to be aware of the size of the conspiracy that targets them so that they insist on uniting their front and stay away from anything that might harden the conflict. We repeat that targeting Syria is technically targeting all Arabs and this certainly is in the interest of the Israeli enemy," Hoss added.

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Franjieh says Syria to counter conspiracy
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Nov-18/154509-franjieh-says-syria-to-counter-conspiracy.ashx
November 18, 2011 02:08 PM

BEIRUT: Marada Movement head Suleiman Franjieh has voiced regret over the decision by the Arab League to suspend Syria from the organization and said Lebanon's neighbor would overcome conspiracies against it.

"We regret such a position [Arab League decision on Syria] and regard it as a concession by the U.S. administration that feels cornered with its deadline to withdraw from Iraq," Franjieh said in an interview posted on the Marada Movement website Friday, echoing similar recent statements by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, his ally in the March 8 coalition.

"It is for this reason that we see some Arab states rushing to put pressure on Syria thinking that such a move will manage to untie the Syria-Iran axis before the American withdrawal," Franjieh added.

The Arab League suspended Syria Wednesday from the organization over Damascus' failure to implement an Arab initiative aimed at ending the unrest in that country.

Franjieh, a close ally of Assad, said some Arab states had caved in to the wishes of the U.S. administration, noting however that they had been shocked by the opposition from Russia and China, two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council who in October vetoed a resolution condemning Syria over its crackdown on protesters.

Commenting on the unrest in Syria, Franjieh said there was a need to distinguish between a "genuine" opposition from one that had turned militant.

"This [armed] opposition is openly calling for external intervention, some of whom appear on Israeli TV ... and this confirms that what is taking place is a foreign conspiracy," Franjieh said.

However, the Marada Movement leader voiced optimism over the situation in Lebanon's neighbour.

"What is encouraging is that Syria, united in terms of its people, army and regime, is stronger than conspiracies and the Syrian people who go down on a daily basis to the squares provide a lesson to the whole world about loyalty to one's land and nation as well their choice of leader and regime," Franjieh said.

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فرنجية: أنا مطمئن لأني أعرف الرئيس الأسد وعلاقته بشعبه وأرضه
Franjieh: I am reassured because I know President Assad and its relationship to his people and his land
al-Baath, its cache
Friday, November 18, 2011 17:02

President of the Marada Movement MP Suleiman Franjieh regretted the decision of the Arab League suspended from Syria, as a "position of a concession to the U.S. administration embarrassing withdrawal date from Iraq," noting that "some Arab countries urgently to put pressure on Syria to she thinks it's this pressure is able to unpack the Syrian track Iran before U.S. withdrawal, "and" It is here made the decision and given up entirely to the U.S. administration, but they consistently shocked the Russian and Chinese positions in spite of trying to change these two positions. "

In an interview with the site e-Marada, Franjieh wished, "If the Arab League were considered to Syria from the site of Arabism and resistance and hostility to" Israel "and a commitment to the issue, noting that" the harmony of the Syrian people with its confounded the international community. "

And economic sanctions to be imposed on Syria, said Franjieh said that "the Syrians are accustomed to sanctions if the situation today is difficult," pointing out that "the Syrian people proved that the people consistent with state and reconciled with his identity and this is what confounded the international community," noting that "whenever imposed sanctions whenever the Syrian people have become more immune and conviction, his regime and his country. "

Franjieh said, "We cannot deny the existence of opposition effectively and this opposition we see today, more stringent than the loyalists to reject outside interference, and we have seen opponents are subjected to attack from other opponents because of their rejection of foreign intervention. If there is political opposition and there is an armed opposition recognition by Americans and Arabs, as stated in the initiative working to sabotage Syria. It is well known that Syria has long enjoyed a safe and secure. and this opposition publicly demanding foreign intervention and some of them appear on the Israeli media, I mean, condemns itself, and emphasizes that what happens outside conspiracy. "

Franjieh stressed that "Syria is one of the people and the most powerful army and a system of conspiracies," stressing that "the Syrian people, who come down every day to the squares gives a lesson to all the world to belong to the land and for his country and his choice for president and his regime."

President of the Marada expressed his satisfaction for the "Reality is that Syria is different from the rest of the States, based on the cohesion of the people and the army and the system, and that Syria, a central core, and because the international community has failed in all his adventures in the region is in a state of confusion and no longer has enough time, "adding," We are approaching the date of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, and this is to hit a huge project. "

Also felt Franjieh that the "internal unity is a safety feature of any country," and expressed his belief that "those who defended their land and to his cause and the right must prevail," and concluded by saying, "I know a good President Bashar al-Assad and its relationship to his people and his land so yes I'm comfortable."

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Aoun Says War in Syria Ongoing because of Hidden Motives
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/20826-aoun-says-war-in-syria-ongoing-because-of-hidden-motives
by Naharnet Newsdesk
19 November 2011, 21:47

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said on Saturday that the war is ongoing in Syria because the stated demands for reform are not the real motives behind war.

“It is important to respond to the international media outlets that are reporting incidents opposite to the facts on ground,” Aoun said during a meeting with a European Catholic delegation.

He discussed with the delegation, which spent a week in Syria between Homs, Banias and Hama, the latest developments in Syria.

According to a statement by the FPM media relations department, the delegation slammed the satellite channel al-Jazeera for “publishing incorrect reports,” suggesting to “establish a television network to refute all the lies.”

The revolt in Syria has deepened the rift between the March 8-dominated government and the March 14-led opposition.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in the Syrian regime's brutal crackdown on dissent, the U.N. human rights office said, deploring the slaughter that went on despite a peace plan.

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Miqati Heads to Vatican on Nov. 28 amid Efforts to Keep Lebanon Out of Regional Changes
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/20739-miqati-heads-to-vatican-on-nov-28-amid-efforts-to-keep-lebanon-out-of-regional-changes
by Naharnet Newsdesk
19 November 2011, 08:48

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is scheduled to travel to the Vatican on November 28 where he is expected to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

It noted that the visit is significant as it is part of efforts to keep Lebanon away from the political changes in the region given the division the developments in Syria have created among the government forces and opposition in Lebanon.

“The visit is important not just for Christians, but all of Lebanon's sects … because the Vatican considers Lebanon to be a laboratory of civilizations, as described by late Pope John Paul II,” an informed source told the daily.

The talks may also address Pope Benedict's possible visit to Lebanon in 2012.

Furthermore, discussions are set to tackle bilateral ties and Lebanon's funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

The source told An Nahar that Miqati will reiterate his pledge to fund the STL.

For his part, the Pope will stress the importance of unity among all Lebanon factions and the need to steer away from sectarian strife, added the source.

Pope Benedict is closely monitoring the political and security developments in Lebanon, hoping that it will not be affected by the developments in Syria or any other country, it said.

The premier is also scheduled to meet with a number of Vatican officials.

This is Miqati's third visit to a European country since being elected premier.

He had recently visited France and England.

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Syrian Human Rights Observatory does not have a name list of casualties!!! They announce the number of death only.
الأم أغنيس مريم الصليب: مسلحون غير معروفين يمتلكون سلاحا متطورا وذخيرة يعيثون خرابا وإرهابا بحق المواطنين والأمن في سورية
Mother Agnes Merriam al-Saleeb: Nameless Gunmen Possessing Advanced Firearms Terrorize Citizens and Security in Syria
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/11/18/382499.htm
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/18/382515.htm
Nov 18, 2011

Mother Agnes from 00:33. Look how she's furious. Other foreign journalists from 06:10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4X86De28zI

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Iran
Adviser to Iranian Islamic Revolution Leader Critizes AL Decision against Syria
Nov 18, 2011
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/18/382222.htm

بروجردى: قرار الجامعة العربية بتعليق عضوية سورية خطأ تاريخي
18 تشرين الثاني, 2011
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/11/18/382486.htm

Iranian newspapers condemn the Arab League move against Syria
Nov 19, 2011
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/11/19/382571.htm

Israel plotting Assad's downfall, Iranian MP says
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=israel-plotting-assad8217s-downfall-iranian-mp-says-2011-11-18
Friday, November 18, 2011
ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

Israel is aiming to end outside support for the Palestinians by overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the head of the Iranian parliamentary foreign policy commission has said following talks with senior Turkish politicians.

"The Zionist regime aims to change the structure in Syria. By this change, support for the [Palestinian] uprising would be cut. Israel wants to take revenge on Syria for support during the 33-day-war" in Lebanon, Aladdin Boroujardi told reporters yesterday.

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Jordan
Syrian refugees pour into Jordan
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/video/2011-11/18/c_131255020.htm
English.news.cn 2011-11-18 11:26:43

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Jordan is witnessing a rise in the number of Syrian refugees as violence and growing political uncertainty are pushing thousands to flee their homes. Officials in the Jordanian government say thousands have crossed its northern border with Syria, some legally and others without travel documents for fear of being arrested.

The number of Syrian refugees in Jordan is close to 5,000, living in border towns and in the capital Amman.

Most refugees have come from Deraa, the cradle of anti-Assad protests, where hundreds are believed to have been killed during the crackdown campaign on the city and surrounding villages.

Others have come from the northern town of Homs, a hotspot for anti-Assad protests.

One Syrian refugee Ziad Zubi said: "They entered my house, burnt it, took my car and took my motorcycle and burnt it. I escaped with my family. We are suffering. We want to be in our country but we cannot return because of the intelligence and security forces. We cannot say one word."

Local charity groups are providing refugees accommodation and sometimes pocket money to survive.

But refugees said that's not enough.

Another Syrian refugee Mohammed said: "Our condition as refugees is bad. It is not very good. We are working and managing ourselves. We call on the Arab leaders to have a firm position as more refugees are outside Syria and children are dying. The situation is clearly bad."

Sources at the UN agency for refugees say hundreds of Syrians have applied for asylum, but many others prefer to wait for the outcome of the anti-Assad revolt.

Officials in Amman are bracing themselves for more refugees in days to come, as pressure on the Bashar al-Assad regime intensifies and the crackdown on protesters escalates.

King Abdullah of Jordan said this week that his country will open its doors to all refugees for humanitarian reasons.

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'No evidence Syria laying new mines on border'
http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=43415

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Powers mull Syria sanctuaries
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Nov-19/154579-powers-mull-syria-sanctuaries.ashx
November 19, 2011 01:57 AM

BEIRUT/AMMAN/WASHINGTON: Turkey and Jordan, backed by Western and Arab powers, are preparing to set up two "safe zones" for civilians inside Syria, diplomats told The Daily Star Friday, if the Syrian President Bashar Assad failed to meet an extended Arab League deadline to end eight months of bloodshed.

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King's statements on Syria reflect Jordan's concern - commentators
http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=43395

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Jordanian Popular Committee for Supporting Syria against the Conspiracy Organizes Gathering in Front of Syrian Embassy in Amman
Nov 18, 2011
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/11/18/382520.htm

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Iraq
Irag's Sadr supports Syrian president
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/210699.html
Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:29PM

Senior Iraqi cleric and prominent political figure, Muqtada al-Sadr, expresses strong support for Syrian president amid Damascus' efforts to curb the deadly domestic unrest it is facing.

There is "a big difference" between what is happening in Syria and the revolutions in "Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen," Sadr said in a statement, AFP reported on Thursday.

"One of the reasons behind this difference is that [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad is against the American and Israeli presence and his attitudes are clear, not like those who collapsed before him, or will collapse," the statement read.

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Egypt
محلل مصري: تعليق عضوية سورية في الجامعة العربية قرار أمريكي إسرائيلي
Egyptian analyst: suspended from Syria in the Arab League's decision an American-Israeli
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/11/18/382469.htm
November 18, 2011
Cairo, (SANA) -

The director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Egyptian writer Rifaat Sayed Ahmed said that there is certainty that what happened in the Arab League to suspend the membership of Syria, the university under the headings of misleading and false is the decision of U.S. and Israeli par excellence, as the diameter of the will and decision of Washington and Tel Aviv are prepared and Tboukth and released and went behind Unfortunately, many Arab countries.

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Shaikh Azhari and Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca
هاجما داعي الفتنة القرضاوي.. الشيخ الأزهري: سنرفع علمي سورية ومصر وصور الرئيس الأسد في 22 الجاري..الشيخ السديس: عشرات آلاف الشهداء دين في رقبة القرضاوي سيحاسب عليها
2 prominent figures attacked Qaradawi for unnecessary strife .. Shaikh Azhari: We will raise the Syrian and Egyptian flags and pictures of President Assad in November 22 .. Shaikh Sudais: tens of thousands of martyrs in the neck of the religion of al-Qaradawi will be held accountable
http://thawra.alwehda.gov.sy/_archive.asp?FileName=96240398720111119024238
http://backupurl.com/9kcwyx
Saturday 11/19/2011

After the fall of all the masks and exposure tools sordid conspiracy on Syria because of their national and pan-outs for all projects of domination and division are still reactions condemning and rejecting any kind of foreign intervention

Or any tamper with the security and stability of Syria continued as Shaikh Osama Mahmoud Azhari, one of the most senior clerics of Al-Azhar condemned Al-Jazeera and its employee-Qaradawi's role inciting, calling for the bombing of a volcano anger in the Egyptian street against those who call for sedition, stressing at the same time that Syria is the last bastions of Arabism and said that pictures of President Bashar al Assad decorate Tahrir Square on 22 current month at a time in which he said Shaikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais Imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque in Mecca that the dialogue is the only way to get out of the crisis that he wants some of the Zionists and the Arabs defeatists.

Shaikh Osama has called Mr. Azhari Mahmoud volcano to blow up in anger against the Egyptian street from the claim of the strife between the Muslims in reference to Al-Qaradawi and said that Al Jazeera is the weapon of the West to strike at the unity of Muslims.

Azhari and Shaikh told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Akhbar that the Islamic world is going through the most difficult times and conditions as reminiscent of the UAE in the fall of Andalusia and one after the other, and that was a resounding fall of Granada in the last fortresses in Andalusia.

He added that history is repeating itself now after Jerusalem, Baghdad and Tripoli, Mogadishu, and we should point out that the fall of Damascus because Damascus Kgrenath represent the last bastions of Arabism.

Shaikh Azhari said that the massive rallies feature in Tahrir Square in Cairo on 22 this month to Syria's support and stand beside them in the face of the Zionist attack targeted by stressing that the pictures of President Bashar al-Assad will raise in the field is unprecedented for any Arab leader.

And semi-Shaikh Azhari attitudes and opinions of Qaradawi's call for shedding the blood of Muslims, pointing out that Qaradawi does not represent Islam and has no right to analyze what he wants and to prevent what he wants and he is to be said: that the Arab peoples are misguided Besortk the Egyptian people know your truth, tell me why people reject the Egyptian that pray with them in Tahrir Square, and why the Egyptian nationality was withdrawn in the era of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

He directed his words to Al-Qaradawi said: Stay away from politics because you are involved before God with the blood of tens of thousands of children and women and the elderly in Libya, and now you want to topple Damascus, where were you when Syria was a stand alone support for the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, I was in Paris and Doha for the shame of the Arabs and Muslims that You called the Egyptian and a Muslim.

And on Islamic movements said: it must be faithful to the principles of Islam and not Thrown into the arms of the enemy, for example, the Tunisian Renaissance Movement and the promise that what the West have come to rule and became an ally of Syria, their positions are identical with the anti-Zionist position to Syria.

It is noteworthy that Shaikh is a world-Azhari, speaker, and academic records of the most important Egyptian Al-Azhar scholars and author of many Islamic books.

Sudais: dialogue out of the crisis

For his part, Shaikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais Imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque in Mecca that dialogue is the only way to exit from the crisis that Syria wants the Zionists and the Arabs some defeatists.

Shaikh Sudais stressed that Islam encourages dialogue, and denounced the fatwa issued by al-Qaradawi service to the nation's enemies.

Shaikh Sudais said that the killing of tens of thousands of martyrs in Libya is a religion in the neck-Qaradawi, and he will be held accountable .

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Israel
Dozens protest in Jerusalem supporting Syria
November 19, 2011 04:43 PM
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Nov-19/154604-dozens-protest-in-jerusalem-supporting-syria.ashx

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Tunisia
صحيفتا الرسالة والشروق التونسيتان تدينان الهجمة الشرسة التي تتعرض لها سورية
18 تشرين الثاني, 2011
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/11/18/382492.htm

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Turkey
Turkey eyes new trade routes to bypass Syria violence
http://arabnews.com/economy/article534892.ece
By REUTERS
Published: Nov 17, 2011 16:10 Updated: Nov 17, 2011 16:10

ISTANBUL: Turkey is weighing new transport routes to the Middle East that will bypass Syria where increasing violence has caused a 10 percent drop in Turkish exports to Damascus over the past six weeks, Turkey's Economy Minister said.

Turkey is Syria's largest trading partner with bilateral trade worth $2.5 billion in 2010, and investments by Turkish firms in Syria reaching $260 million, Turkish data shows.

Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, who was meeting business leaders in Istanbul to discuss developments in Syria, said while exports to Syria had increased in the first nine months of 2011, October and November figures had shown a drop.

"We are looking at transport routes to the Middle East and Gulf countries via Syria. In this respect we are working to identify alternative routes. We will visit Egypt's Safaga port and other regional ports next week," Caglayan said at the start of the meeting.

"In the first nine months of 2011 exports to Syria rose 3.7 percent compared to the same period of last year, whilst in October to November they fell 10 percent compared to the same period of last year," he said.

Caglayan said the decline over the last six weeks had been due to firms being put off by risks related to increasing violence and the unstable political situation in Syria.

"We have created a desk to observe developments in Syria. We continue to identify the losses already occurred and future losses in Syria for our investors and businessmen," he said.

Apart from exporting goods to Syria, Turkey uses its southern neighbor as a transport route to deliver Turkish goods to other countries in the Middle East.

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Syrian opposition seeks no-fly zone near Turkish border
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-263124-syrian-opposition-seeks-no-fly-zone-near-turkish-border.html
17 November 2011, Thursday / TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA

Some of the members of the Syrian opposition, who recently met with FM Davutoğlu in Ankara, asked Turkey to enforce a ban on Syrian military flights over Syria's north.

Opposition forces in Syria are seeking the establishment of a no-fly zone over Syria's north and have asked Turkey to enforce a ban on Syrian military flights, Today's Zaman has learned.

The revelation came after the Turkish daily Sabah reported a deal carved out by Turkey, the Arab League and the Syrian opposition under which Turkey would enforce a no-fly zone over the city of Aleppo in northern Syria.

The report noted that Turkey would also oversee the establishment of a no-fly zone north of Aleppo up to the Turkish border -- a zone of about five kilometers, while the US and the EU would remain guarantors and the Arab League a supporter of the agreement.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official denied the existence such a plan but said that representatives of the Syrian opposition have "expressed some of their wishes" to the media. "We believe that specific story [about the deal] was based on such statements," the official told Today's Zaman on Thursday.

The Sabah daily had suggested the aim of the no-fly zone would be to turn Aleppo into a Syrian Benghazi, like the Libyan city that functioned as the military and political base of the Libyan opposition before the unrest finally calmed last month. According to the information the daily gathered on this request by the Syrian opposition, NATO would not be included in the process and countries remaining in close contact with the Assad regime -- China and Russia -- would be persuaded to join the no-fly zone agreement as the death toll increases in the country.

The suggested no-fly zone is planned in such a way as to accommodate defecting soldiers from the Syrian army and to be able to expand in time as Syrians flock to the new safe-zone to escape the Assad regime's repression. Turkey currently hosts a small number of high-ranking Syrian officials who defected months ago to start an oppositional army called the Syrian Free Army, but does not supply weapons or logistics for the oppositional forces of any country or international body.

The Syrian Free Army aims to "bring down the regime and protect citizens from the repression ... and prevent chaos as soon as the regime falls," Reuters reported on Thursday, quoting a statement by the army earlier this week when it announced that the opposition army will form a military court to try "members of the regime who are proven to have been involved in killing operations." The opposition army is believed to be led by Col. Riad al-Asaad, a Syrian officer currently based in Turkey, close to the Syrian border.

Meanwhile, a senior US diplomat reiterated on Thursday the close cooperation between Turkey and the US regarding the Syrian issue and noted "there has to be consequences" for Assad's bloody crackdown. "The United States and Turkey have been working very closely together and I think share the same goals," Philip Gordon, the US assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasian affairs, said on Thursday according to a report by the Anatolia news agency. "Turks have done what they said they would do," Gordon added to stress that Turkey is keeping to its plans regarding Syria and is increasing its application of pressure on the country, a development the US welcomes.

"Turkey has made it clear that there would be consequences, sanctions, in particular in the arms relationship, and we would like to see even more because in our view there has to be consequences for Assad's violence against his own population," Gordon added.

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Turkey against Syria military intervention
Friday, November 18, 2011
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkey-against-syria-military-intervention-2011-11-18
http://backupurl.com/4sp5yq

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Syrian refugee camps to move from Hatay to Kilis
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=syrian-refugee-camps-to-move-from-hatay-to-kilis-2011-11-18
http://backupurl.com/pe7fke
Friday, November 18, 2011
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey is planning to move the Syrian refugee camps from Hatay to Kilis as part of a plan to gather these camps at one location, diplomatic sources said. The primary aim of the relocation is to keep the refugees under control and disallow them from crossing into Syria. The tents will be replaced by temporary housing, sources said, adding that the removal will be completed in a few months.

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Direct link between the Turkish government and Syria's "armed groups" is revealed!!!
Returning From Turkish Camps, Saytouf Narrates How False News Were Fabricated
http://www.sana.sy/ara/336/2011/11/18/382480.htm
http://www.sana.sy/eng/337/2011/11/18/382509.htm
Nov 18, 2011