|
 |
| Anhar Koshneva says that the situation in Syria is not at all how it has been presented in the mass media (Source: Anhar Koshneva -- photo from the alleged 'government shelling' of Aleppo) |
Independent journalist Anhar Kochneva has been living and working
in Syria for more than ten years. She says that the situation in Syria
is not at all similar to how it has been presented in the mass media.
She is Russian, speaks fluent Arabic and her friends and
neighbors are ordinary Syrians. She walks along the same streets of
Damascus and goes shopping in the same stores as any other resident of
the Syrian capital. We recently spoke with her to ask about some of the
causes for the long-term disorder in Syria?
Were there any prerequisites for the Syrian crisis?
First of all, there were no signs of any crisis a year ago. Nothing
extraordinary happened in March 2011. The whole thing started out as a
case of criminal activity. I always got furious when journalists wrote
that ‘mass riots and demonstrations had been taking place in Syria
during recent months’. It is not true.
I’ve been living permanently in Syria for the last seven months, and I
saw only three ‘so-called demonstrations’. So-called, because there
were very few people and they were clearly staged as a performance for
journalists. “Protests” were shot on video for five or ten minutes
before people quickly dispersed. In some cities, where bandits took
control temporarily, they forced people to go to demonstrations.
I came to Syria in the late-90s. To tell the truth, I didn’t like the
country. Now I’ve been living in this country for quite a while, the
country has changed. Life has changed; people have changed. People have
started their own businesses; they have their own property.
Therefore, people would maybe have supported a protest movement 10
years ago, but now they wouldn’t. Now people want stability. There is
unnecessary chaos, some disorders. They used to live in a peaceful
country. Syria was one of the safest countries in the region. Here you
could leave a bag with money in the street, return two days later and
find it in the same place. Now, unfortunately, it’s not like that
anymore. People are afraid. Something they were proud of was stolen from
them.
Who is planning the explosions, shooting at people and destroying buildings?
Some weeks ago I was in Homs. I was in the sadly known Baba Amr
district of Homs. Most of the residents have left their homes. My
friends live 800 meters from Baba Amr. They told me that bandits fired
at their houses. Not the Army. The Syrian army does not kill people.
They only answer when the situation is extreme.
Most of the last months’ casualties were soldiers of the Syrian Army.
The so-called rebels fight in the streets, shoot videos and burn tires.
If you see black smoke on a video “made by mobile phone”, it’s not the
result of artillery fire by the army, it is smoke from burning tires.
A month ago I was in Zabadani in southwest Syria. The bandits kept
the whole city in fear. We often hear and read in media about the
humanitarian catastrophe in Syria. A humanitarian catastrophe begins
when a city is in the hands of bandits.
In Zabadani, my colleagues and I were captured by bandits. They
showed us a rusty tank and said the tank fired at the town. But the two
ruined houses were in the middle of the district. I do not think that
the tank could shoot from the air or from behind the corner. They
gathered a dozen people and organized a demonstration especially for us.
At this moment I looked at the people’s faces. I saw only fear and
hatred on the faces. They were afraid of the bandits and hated them.
You always use word ‘bandits’: aren’t they rebels or the opposition?
The Syrian army does not kill people. They only answer when the situation is extreme.
- Anhar Kochneva
There are a lot of soldiers of fortune among the bandits. They are
Chechens, Romanians, French, Libyans, and Afghans. Moreover, there was a
very funny accident with Afghan soldiers. A few Afghans were caught and
asked, ‘What are you doing here?’ They replied, ‘We were told that we
came to Israel, and at night we are shooting at Israeli buses. We are
fighting with the enemy to liberate Palestine.’ It might be funny, but
it is true. The guys were really surprised, ‘Are we in Syria? We thought
we were in Israel!’
Syria’s own criminals are also in armed gangs. These are real
criminals who should be in prison. Such people can be found in any
country. It is very typical that when they take control of a city they
immediately burn criminal archives.
There are these types of people in any society… the people who like
to enjoy the power, who do not want to work but want to have money. We
have more and more cases of robbery. Their number is not great. On the
other hand, one does not need a large number of people to terrorize the
city. Two armed snipers can paralyze life on the streets.
The parliamentary elections took place on May 7, 2012. Did the opposition participate in the elections?
Yes, the campaign was very active. All the walls of the main streets
of Damascus were covered with candidates’ posters. They said 7,200
candidates were competing for 250 seats. Why are you sure that the vote
was not democratic? Who says so? The leaders of the Syrian opposition?
They have been living abroad, in Europe, for decades. What do they know
about the real Syria? What do they know about our needs? Let Syrian
people decide their future.
The major opposition parties acting in Syria participated in the
parliamentary elections. By the way, one more detail to the situation.
Three days ago the son of the head of the Syrian National Party was
killed. The party got threats that they should not go to the elections,
but the party refused and then the guy was just killed. Who is
responsible for this? The government or the ones who do not want any
positive changes in Syria? The bandits do not need any reform; they only
need destabilization and chaos in the country.
Who is the conflict in Syria between?
Tragically, Syria is an obstacle for the US to change the political balance in the Middle East. Read the book, edited by Stephen Elliott, and you will understand a lot about the Arab Spring.
Thanks to the global media, we all live in the alternative media
reality. The whole world is watching a movie about something which does
not in fact exist; it’s fiction in the guise of real events. This is a
manipulation of public opinion.
What is the attitude towards the Annan plan in Syria?
One opinion is that this is an attempt to give the bandits the time
to regroup. Everybody we have seen here in Homs told us that in a week
the Syrian army would have solved the problems with bandits. On the
other hand, there is the second version: that the US wants to get out of
this situation without losing face.
Through the verdict of the UN, they would recognize the fact that the
Government of Syria was right and stop to escalate the situation. I
prefer the second version. I think it’s true because it is impossible to
not see the truth. You can trick once and even twice, but it is very
difficult to trick all the time. I am sure that 300 UN observers will
see the truth. Force them to lie – it is difficult.
In January, a mission of the League of Arab States gave a detailed
report on the events in Damascus. They reported that police conduct in
Homs was a reaction to the activities of the armed gangs. So far, the
commission’s report of LAS has not been published. I hope that the UN
personnel are decent people who will objectively reflect the situation.
Finally, do you support the Government of Syria?
Me? I don’t know anybody from the government. I support the people of Syria. Nobody else.
Source: gbtimes
|
Print This 
Print This 