SYRIA: false narratives and propaganda

Posted by Elizabeth Kendal. Religious Liberty Monitoring 

The battle presently taking place in Syria includes a battle by foreign powers for Syria -- a battle for the regional balance of power; a battle that pits the US-Saudi / Gulf Arab Sunni Axis against the Iran-Hezballah Shi'ite axis of which Arab, mostly Sunni Syria is integral.

See: SYRIA: CHRISTIANS FEAR FOR THEIR FUTURE
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 137 | Wed 07 Dec 2011

Aisling Byrne writes for Asia Times Online (5 Jan 2012), that the battle for Syria is essentially the first stage of a "war on Iran". Byrne quotes Saudi King Adbullah who observes: "Other than the collapse of the Islamic Republic itself, nothing would weaken Iran more than losing Syria." Likewise, notes Byrne, the US administration has also commented that regime change in Syria would constitute a massive blow to Iranian power in the region.

"What we are seeing in Syria," she concludes, "is a deliberate and calculated campaign to bring down the Assad government so as to replace it with a regime 'more compatible' with US interests in the region. [. . .] Not for the first time are we seeing a close alliance between US/British neo-cons with Islamists (including, reports show, some with links to al-Qaeda) working together to bring about regime change in an 'enemy' state."

See: A mistaken case for Syrian regime change 
By Aisling Byrne, Asia Times Online, 5 Jan 2012

PROPAGANDA ESSENTIAL TO STRATEGY

Byrne's article is essential reading for anyone confused by the conflicting narratives coming out of Syria, for Byrne's main complaint is against the "deliberate construction of a largely false narrative that pits unarmed democracy demonstrators being killed in their hundreds and thousands as they protest peacefully against an oppressive, violent regime, a 'killing machine' led by the 'monster' Assad." (emphasis mine)

Most of the article's ten pages are devoted to exposing and analysing the propaganda that is pouring out of Syria and being disseminated by those with a strategic interest in regime change and others determined not to let truth get in the way of a sensational story.

Byrne notes: "Of the three main sources for all data on numbers of protesters killed and numbers of people attending demonstrations - the pillars of the narrative - all are part of the 'regime change' alliance".

In particular, the British-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights -- which is funded by US and Gulf Arab money -- "has been described as the 'front office' of a large media propaganda set-up run by the Syrian opposition and its backers." As Byrne comments, the Observatory has been pivotal in sustaining the narrative of "massacres" and more recently "genocide". Yet not only is the Observatory not legally registered as a company or charity, it has no office, no staff and yet is "reportedly awash with funds".

Byrne reports: ". . . a YouGov poll commissioned by the Qatar Foundation showed last week that 55% of Syrians do not want Assad to resign and 68% of Syrians disapprove of the Arab League sanctions imposed on their country. [. . .] Unsurprisingly, not a single mainstream major newspaper or news outlet reported the YouGov poll results - it doesn't fit their narrative."

HOW TO SECURE A "HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION"
-- (or at least foreign backing)

As was the case in Libya, Syria's is an asymmetric conflict: the Syrian opposition cannot match the Syrian military. As Stratfor has noted, "Thus far al Assad has resisted his enemies. Though some mid-to-low-ranking Sunnis have defected, his military remains largely intact; this is because the Alawites control key units. Events in Libya drove home to an embattled Syrian leadership -- and even some of its adversaries within the military -- the consequences of losing. The military has held together, and an unarmed or poorly armed populace, no matter how large, cannot defeat an intact military force." (Stratfor: "Syria, Iran and the Balance of Power in the Middle East." By George Friedman, 22 Nov 2011.)

Consequently, the Syrian opposition knows that it needs external support, and to get it, it has to make a case for at best foreign intervention, and at least foreign backing. 

Of course the West will never intervene on purely humanitarian grounds; it must have economic or geo-strategic interests. This is why multitudes of genuine humanitarian concerns are ignored or worse, treated as embarrassments and inconveniences to be covered up.

In order to launch a "humanitarian intervention", the Western governments concerned -- being democracies -- will first need to convince their constituents that a humanitarian catastrophe is indeed underway. Of course anyone can create a humanitarian catastrophe -- real or imagined. It has been done before by Islamist separatists in Bosnia, Yugoslavia; Albanian Islamist separatists in Kosovo, Serbia; Islamist imperialists in Ivory Coast and Islamist imperialists in Libya. It has also been attempted unsuccessfully by Islamist imperialists in the Palestinian Territories and in South Lebanon. Yes, false narratives have been created and propaganda used before to pave the way for US-NATO bombing campaigns against innocent civilians from Belgrade to Abidjan to Sirte, all so US-NATO states can advance their own economic and geo-strategic interests.

Byrne quotes American Conservative which notes that figures being cited by the UN are based on rebel sources and are uncorroborated. Likewise, reports of mass defections are a fabrication, with few defections actually being confirmed. Furthermore, American Conservative asserts that "Syrian government claims that it is being assaulted by rebels who are armed, trained and financed by foreign governments are more true than false".

See: NATO vs. Syria 
By Philip Giraldi, American Conservative, 19 Dec 2011

Byrne's article in Asia Times Online includes many more such quotes and claims, including that the US has been pumping money into Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups specifically for the purpose of advancing regime change in Syria with the goal of hurting Iran.

As already noted, Byrne's article is essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of the situation in Syria.

SYRIA'S CHRISTIANS: ANOTHER INCONVENIENT PEOPLE

Like the Papuans of Eastern Indonesia and the Kachin of northern Burma, the threatened, imperiled, besieged Christians of Iraq and now Syria are just an inconvenience to Western powers that have economic and geo-strategic interests in their sights.

Western Christians need to accept the new reality: their governments do not inhabit a moral high ground. Rather, they are driven by economic and geo-strategic interests (money and power) and will not be hamstrung by inconvenient truths concerning the devastating consequences their actions will have on the liberties, lives and even future survival of local Christian communities.

Religious Freedom Sunday is coming

USA (MNN/Open Doors) ― While the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church falls on the second Sunday of November every year, another important Sunday is approaching for both persecuted and free Christians.

According to Assist News, Religious Freedom Sunday is a day for churches to talk to their congregations about their freedom of religious expression. Religious Freedom Sunday is Jan. 15. It will precede Religious Freedom Day on Monday, Jan. 16.

Religious Freedom Day marks the anniversary of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786. It stopped the practice of taxing people to pay for the support of the local clergy, and it protected the civil rights of people to express their religious beliefs without suffering discrimination. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison authored this important legislation, which later played a major role in the development of the First Amendment.

During Religious Freedom Sunday, churches have the opportunity to inform their congregations about the religious liberties of public school students. It also serves as a way for Christians to prepare for Religious Freedom Day.

Open Doors and Gateways to Better Education are teaming up to encourage Americans to learn more about their religious freedom.

"We are very grateful to be collaborating with Gateways to Better Education for Religious Freedom Sunday," says Dr. Carl Moeller, President/CEO of Open Doors USA. "We hope that American Christians will take this opportunity to learn more about their religious freedoms so that they can advocate on behalf of those who share our faith but not our freedom."

Eric Buehrer, President of Gateways to Better Education, says: "There is a natural fit between Open Doors and Gateways: Open Doors brings awareness to the need for religious freedom internationally, and Gateways brings awareness to the religious freedom we have, but often don't realize we have, domestically in our public schools.

"Not being aware of our religious freedom and, therefore, not exercising it, is like being unaware that someone set up a bank account for you and deposited a million dollars in it--it does you no good. Too many children and young people are under the misguided impression that they cannot express their faith while in a public school. And too many teachers think they must make their classrooms 'religion-free zones.'"

Religious Freedom Sunday has been recognized since 2008 by Gateways to Better Education. To help churches prepare for Religious Freedom Sunday, Gateways for Better Education has prepared a pamphlet for students. "Free to Speak" is a pocket-sized summary of the U.S. Department of Education guidelines explaining students' religious liberties. Churches can find this and other useful information at www.ReligiousFreedomSunday.com.

An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest, and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry, and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers.

To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535), or go to our Web site at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.

Massacre of 39 in DRC a reminder of why Wycliffe trauma counseling is vital

(Photo by Endre Vestvik)

Congo-Kinshasa (MNN) ― 39 people were massacred in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week.

These deaths, though caused by Rwandan rebels, add to the existing trauma from years of war. Death has been a frequent caller to DR Congo in the form of a brutal war that began in the mid-'90s. It has directly or indirectly killed an estimated 5.4 million people in the Central African nation.

Most Congolese citizens have been deeply traumatized by the unspeakable brutality that has touched nearly every city and village in Africa's third-largest country. Church leaders and social agencies have been ill-equipped to respond to the overwhelming needs they've encountered.

Now a growing group of concerned individuals and organizations--including Wycliffe Bible Translators--are banding together to provide a biblical response to the deep trauma that has crippled the nation. Trauma healing is using the Scriptures in ways that really speak to people.

Wycliffe is seeking to bring healing to the DR Congo, as well as to share the hope of Christ with those who have suffered. Pray for those ministering to the traumatized, that they would have strength to walk this road of healing with them.

To learn more about Wycliffe's trauma counseling in DR Congo, click here. 

No good solution for a suffering Syria

(Story photo by Beshr O. / Cover photo
 courtesy Delayed Gratification.)

Syria (MNN) ― A suicide bombing that killed at least 26 people on Friday is being blamed on the Syrian government.

The suicide attack looked like the work of terrorist rebels in the polarized Syria, but the opposition has accused the government of staging the attacks in an attempt to sway the Arab League's decision regarding Assad's regime.

Syria was in uproar for nearly all of 2011, a conflict which has now spilled into 2012. Thousands of lives were reported lost, but since Western reporters are not permitted inside Syria, no one outside the nation can be certain of the number of attacks or deaths, or who exactly is being targeted.

Despite that, much of the media has taken a side.

"One of the great paradoxes of our experience with media on this issue is that they have been portraying many of these revolutions as pure and democratically-motivated just to bring freedom," points out Carl Moeller, President and CEO for Open Doors USA.

Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has certainly done awful things to his people, says Moeller, but what the alternative to his regime will be--if and when Assad falls--has perhaps not been thought through.

"Unfortunately, those that are taking the lead to overthrow him promise a return to a more Sharia influenced, pure Islamic rule," says Moeller.

The situation does not look good for Christians either way.

No one is sure to what degree Christians are being persecuted now, although Moeller says Open Doors has received several reports from their contacts that Syrian believers are deathly afraid of what's to come. They have not been cared for under Assad, but if a strictly Islamic government takes over in his place, Christians will almost certainly face direct persecution.

For now all we can do is wait, watch, and pray. But Moeller does have some predictions.

"The situation will continue to deteriorate until other Arab countries step in and help create some sort of stable transition. I think the dictator, Assad, will have to go."

Pray for a moderate government if this does happen, rather than the Sharia-infused government being suggested by revolutionaries.

Whatever happens, Moeller urges Christians to speak up for the persecuted church in Syria. The nation made the 2012 Open Doors World Watch List for the persecuted church, ranking as the 36th worst in the world. Advocate by urging government officials to consider all sides of the current issue in Syria and to do everything in their power to care for the religious rights there.

Amid the severe turmoil, trauma and fear, the Gospel is still spreading in Syria. Muslims unnerved by Muslims killing Muslims are coming to Christians with questions. Pray for the church to grow even in this volatile time. 

Death Toll Climbs in Islamist Attacks in Nigeria’s Northeast

One of the Nigerians wounded in the church attack in Gombe,
 Jerry Johnson, shot in the legs. (Photo: Compass)

Boko Haram extremists take credit for bloody assaults in three towns.

GOMBE, Nigeria, January 9 (CDN) — The number of Christians killed in an Islamic extremist attack here on Thursday (Jan. 5) has risen to nine, and over the weekend the same terrorist group killed at least 21 Christians in neighboring Adamawa state, sources said.

Members of the Boko Haram group that seeks to impose sharia (Islamic law) on Nigeria emerged from a mosque near the Deeper Life Bible Church in the Boso area of Gombe, capital of Gombe state, at about 7:30 p.m. and shot Christians attending a weekly meeting known as “The Hour of Revival,” area sources said.

Silas Ugboeze, who was in coma for three days at the Federal Medical Centre in Gombe, died 20 minutes after Compass arrived on Saturday (Jan. 7), bringing the death toll to nine and the list of those wounded in the attack to 19.

Ugboeze’s son Gideon was also killed, and his 12-year-old daughter, Victoria Silas Ugboeze, was wounded in both breasts. She has thus far survived along with her brother Daniel, who was also shot.

Ugboeze’s widow was overcome with grief at the hospital, able to say only, “Lord, where are you? This burden is too much for me to bear.”

Of the nine killed, five died instantly and four died later at the hospital. About 45 people were present at the service when it was attacked, said the church’s 43-year-old pastor, Sunday Okoli.

The Gombe Deeper Life Bible Church, planted more than 20 year years ago, is adjacent to a mosque built less than two meters from its northern end, and it was from this mosque that the gunmen emerged to attack the church, said Okoli, based on reports he received from those present as he was away at a pastors’ conference in Lagos at the time.

His wife, Chinyere Okoli, said a bullet struck her head but left only a light wound with bruising.

“We had been in the church for about one hour and 30 minutes praying, when suddenly, we heard gunshots and bullets hitting us,” she said. “Oh my God, blood was flowing as our members were shot by the gunmen.”

She reported that the wife of church elder Chenma Ngwaba, Chilver Chenma, and their son, Chinedu Chenma, were both killed. Elder Ngwaba was leading the evening program, at which members customarily share spiritual and physical burdens for prayer purposes and testify to God’s work in their lives.

Others killed were Johnson Jauro, whose two sons were also wounded; Sule Baba Tanko; Godwin Odoh; Menshak  Major; and a member of the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC) serving in the church. His name was not immediately known, but leaders of the church were trying to establish his identity.

As Compass visited the emergency and orthopedic wards of the Federal Medical Centre in Gombe, the injured members of the church were in severe pain with varying degrees of injuries.

The attacks marked the second time in less than a month that the Deeper Life Bible Church in Gombe was mourning the killing of one of its members. On Dec. 11, Patrick Ugoji was shot dead by Muslim militants at a gas station, the NNPC Mega Station, while filling his car’s tank.

Many Christians were seen at motorparks boarding vehicles to leave town.

Weekend Killings
Boko Haram had published an ultimatum in a newspaper on Tuesday (Jan. 3) threatening violence if Christians did not leave predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria in three days. Since then, the group has reportedly claimed responsibility for killing at least 44 people in four states.

Christians in Adamawa state came under attack by Boko Haram, which in the Hausa language means “Western education is sacrilege,” over the weekend. On Friday night (Jan. 6), 11 people were killed and many others injured at the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in the Nasarawa area of Yola, the state capital.

“There was blood all over the church hall – it was a very sorry sight,” Adamawa journalist Barnabas Manyan told Compass.

Pastor Alfred Anoris of the CAC described how the Islamists attacked the church.

“The gunmen numbering about six stormed the church, killing three people outside the gate, and eight people inside, including Associate Pastor Joshua Olaniyi, while the service was on,” he told newsmen. “The men were dressed in caftans but had their faces covered. They carried out the act with the precision and tact of professional killers. Many people were wounded and are in the hospital.”

Earlier on Friday, 12 persons were reportedly killed when armed men claimed by Boko Haram shot a gathering of Christian traders holding a prayer session before opening their shops in Mubi, Adamawa. The gunmen also shot at another group of Christians meeting at a town hall to arrange for the transportation of relatives slain the previous day, bringing the total of those killed in Mubi to 21.

Also on Saturday (Jan. 7), Boko Haram members reportedly killed two Christian students of the University of Maiduguri, in Maiduguri, Borno state.

The public relations officer of the State Police  Command, Altine  Daniel, confirmed the incidents  and told  newsmen that  there was a  bomb explosion at a Deeper Life Church in Mubi, but that no one was injured.

Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, said Christian leaders had decided to “work out means to defend ourselves against these senseless killings.”

“We have the legitimate right to defend ourselves,” he said. “We will do whatever it takes.”

END

Burma’s Christian Civilians Attacked During Christmas

Baptist church in Loije, Burma, where funeral was held
 for 47-year-old Christian the army killed without
 provocation on Christmas Day.(Photo: Kachin News Group)

Government troops kill 47-year-old Christian, destroy church property in Kachin state.

NEW DELHI, January 9 (CDN) — Attacks on Christians in Burma continued into the Christmas season in Kachin state as Burmese Army   troops killed a civilian and destroyed church property despite President Thein Sein’s order to stop the war against insurgents.


A Baptist church in Loije, Bhamo district, held a funeral on Dec. 27 for 47-year-old Maran Zau Ja, who was shot dead without provocation by Burmese Army ’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 321 on Christmas Day, a Kachin source told Compass by phone.


Zau Ja was a farmer who was returning from his sugarcane field with a friend when troops sprayed bullets at them. His friend survived the gunshots.


The two were not armed insurgents of the Kachin Independence Army  (KIA), the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) that has fought for autonomy in the Christian-majority state since the early 1960s, when then-Burmese Prime Minister U Nu made Buddhism the state religion.


About 90 percent of the roughly 56 million people in Burma, also known as Myanmar, are Buddhist, mostly from the Burman ethnic group. Burmese soldiers see “all Kachin civilians as the enemy,” the Kachin News Group recently quoted a Kachin village elder as saying.


On Dec. 16, troops of Light Infantry Battalion No. 142 burned a building housing the kitchen of a Baptist church in Dingga village, also in Bhamo district, the source added. KIA men and local villagers managed to save the church building, but the fire engulfed five homes.


Earlier, on Nov. 30, Burmese soldiers killed a woman and injured six villagers as they fired mortar shells targeting civilians in Tarlawgyi area in Waingmaw Township, while another battalion burned down 10 homes in Nam Wai village and five more in neighboring Hpa Ke village. (See, “Christian Civilians in Burma Face Deadly Attacks,” Dec. 5, 2011.)


On Oct. 16, about 150 soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 438 stormed Nam San Yang village in the Daw Phung Yang area of Bhamo district and opened fire at members of a Catholic church before the weekly mass. While no one was hurt, the priest and some parishioners were detained. (See , “Burma Army  Targets Christian Civilians in War on Insurgents,” Oct. 28, 2011.)


Thailand-based activist Shirley Seng of the Kachin Women’s Association told Compass that civilians have been living in fear since military action hit Kachin state last June, and that her research team found that women and children were most affected by the war. At least 37 women and girls were raped during the first two months of the conflict, she said – 13 of them killed.


She added that other girls and women continue to be abducted.


“They just disappear after being abducted,” Seng said. “Perhaps they are first sexually abused and then killed or sold to brothels.”


President’s Sham Order
The KIO controls most of Kachin state and runs schools and hospitals and the public distribution system. The Burmese government or Army  has little control outside the state capital of Myitkyina. Since June 2011, however, when the Army  ended a 17-year-long ceasefire with the KIO, government troops were heavily deployed in KIO-controlled areas leading to clashes.


More than 90 clashes have occurred between the Army  and the armed insurgents since President Sein, a former junta general, reportedly instructed the military on Dec. 10 to start no fighting with the KIA.


The president’s order was apparently a mere show, the Kachin source said, adding that deployment of Army  personnel and attacks on civilians were on the rise and helicopters were bringing in ammunition and reinforcements.


“The government made peace with [formerly detained opposition leader] Aung San Suu Kyi and has set a few political prisoners free to gain concessions from the international community on its brutal military offensive against ethnic minority states, primarily in Kachin,” the source said.


After the general election in 2011, believed to be rigged and the first in two decades of junta rule, the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party came to power and has been trying to showcase reforms in an attempt to end economic sanctions and gain legitimacy.


Little has changed, however, for Burma’s ethnic minorities.


Internally Displaced People
According to local estimates, the military conflict has displaced about 45,000 people.


“It’s a major threat to thousands of displaced civilians who are caught between the warring parties,” Lynn Yoshikawa, an advocate from the Washington, D.C.-based Refugees International, told Compass by email. “The Burma Army  does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, leading to severe human rights abuses. There is not enough assistance, and with winter setting in, displaced people lack enough warm clothes and are more vulnerable to diseases.”


Yoshikawa urged the international community “to put pressure on the military to follow the president’s orders to halt attacks against the KIO and make sure that the UN’s access to areas outside government control is sustained and expanded to meet the growing needs.” International donors should fund the humanitarian response, she added, or else the United Nations World Food Program’s food stocks will run out in February.


In addition to Kachin, six other ethnic minority states – including Christian-majority Chin state and Karen state, which has a substantial presence of Christians – have had armed and unarmed groups fighting for autonomy from the successive military-led regimes for decades.


While Kachin is the current target of the Burma Army , it is feared that other states are also likely to face war in the near future. Ethnic minority areas along Burma’s borders with India, Thailand and China are resource-rich and have strategic importance for the Union government. Burma’s neighbors have invested, and intend to accelerate investment, in power generation and other projects in and around the ethnic minority region.


The ethnic minority states were administered separately during British rule. Some ethnic leaders agreed to incorporate their states into Burma after the Panglong Agreement was signed in 1947 providing for full autonomy, a share of the national wealth and the right to secession to ethnic states. But Gen. Aung San, democracy activist Suu Kyi’s father who was then heading the interim government and led the signing of the agreement, was assassinated months later. Subsequent regimes refused to honor the agreement and forcibly made ethnic states a part of the new country.


The federal government is carrying on with the military offensive on the one hand, and holding “peace talks” with armed ethnic minority resistance groups on the other, the Kachin source said. Minorities are still praying and hoping for peace in the near future, he added.



END