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Syrians suffer severe repression

01 May 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

We celebrate the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday with readings that extol a God whose “mercy endures forever,” as the psalmist exclaims, and who has given us “a new birth to a living hope,” as the reading from 1 Peter says. By contrast, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has chosen to show no mercy to Syrian democracy protesters. Last weekend Assad’s security forces killed at least 120 Syrians and detained hundreds more. Now Daraa, the city at the heart of Syria's month-long uprising, is running low on food, water, and medicine while the army sends in tanks and reinforcements as part of a widening crackdown. "We have no electricity, no water, no telephones, and no bread," resident Abdullah Abazeid said. "The situation is terrible." The army also deployed tanks around the Damascus suburb of Douma and the coastal city of Banias, the site of large demonstrations recently. Assad is trying to crush the uprising that poses the gravest challenge to his family's 40-year ruling dynasty. Since mid-March more than 450 people have been killed across Syria in the clampdown. The repression, however, has only emboldened protesters who started their revolt with calls for modest reforms but are now increasingly demanding Assad's ouster. The governments of five European nations summoned Syrian ambassadors Wednesday in a coordinated demand that Assad stop shooting at his people. The Obama administration is asking the United Nations Human Rights Council to derail Syria’s request for membership in the organization and to condemn the government’s attacks on peaceful protesters. A group of opposition figures in Syria and abroad warned Assad that his regime will collapse unless he ushers in democracy. "Syria is at a crossroads," said a statement from the National Initiative for Change. "The best option is for the leadership of the regime to lead a transition to democracy that would safeguard the nation from falling into a period of violence, chaos, and civil war." Articles by Bassem Mroue for the Associated Press and Bill Varner for Bloomberg

Mercy united nations human rights council national initiative for change syria bashar al-assad daraa

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Syrian uprising takes more violent turn

12 Jun 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Twice in this Sunday’s Pentecost Day gospel the risen Lord wishes his disciples peace. What had been largely a peaceful protest movement against the Syrian government became decidedly more violent this week when an estimated 120 people, including up to 80 security-force members, were killed in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour. Government and opposition representatives offered conflicting accounts of what transpired. State television said on Monday the policemen were killed by "armed gangs" of protestors. But activists on the scene and a statement on Facebook signed the "residents of Jisr al-Shughur" said "the deaths among soldiers and police were the consequence of defections in the army" when the security forces were shot by government troops after they refused to open fire on civilians. Syrians who first took to the streets peacefully in mid-March initially demanded democratic reform. But as the government has responded to the swelling demonstrations with escalating force, the leaderless and largely spontaneous protest movement has rallied around calls for the outright toppling of the regime. "As the death toll in Syria reaches staggering new heights, it is imperative that the U.N. Security Council--which has so far been silent on this issue--votes to condemn the killings," said Philip Luther of Amnesty International. "It must also take decisive action and refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court," he said. Such a resolution is reportedly in the works. Sources: Articles by Liz Sly for the Washington Post, Danica Kirkafor the Associated Press, and Agence France Presse

international criminal court protests united nations security council amnesty international syria philip luther jisr al-shughur

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Arab spring may leave region’s Christians out in the cold

02 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Change is always uncomfortable. Some kinds are traumatic,” writes Alice Camille in "The endangered vineyard," this Sunday’s Prepare The Word scripture commentary. Christians in Syria face an uncertain future as Syria plunges further into unrest every day. They fear that in the event President Bashar al-Assad falls from power they may be subjected to reprisals at the hands of a conservative Sunni leadership. For many Syrian Christians, Assad remains predictable in a region where unpredictability has driven their brethren from war-racked places like Iraq and Lebanon and where others have felt threatened in post-revolutionary Egypt. They worry that the struggle to dislodge Assad could turn into a civil war, unleashing sectarian bloodshed in a country where minorities, ethnic and religious, have for the most part found a way to coexist. The plight of Christians in Syria has resonated among religious minorities across the Middle East, many of whom see themselves as facing a shared destiny. In Iraq the number of Christians has dwindled to insignificance since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, driven away by bloodshed and chauvinism. Christians in Egypt worry about the ascent of Islamists. Christians in Lebanon, representing the largest minority by proportion in the Arab world, worry about their own future in a country where they emerged as the distinct losers of a 15-year civil war. But while the promise of the Arab revolts is a new order shorn of repression and inequality, worries linger that Islamists, the single most organized force in the region, will gain greater influence and that societies will become more conservative and perhaps intolerant. Source: An article by the New York Times

iraq egypt lebanon religious minorities islamism christians syria bashar al-assad

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Sanctions bring serious pressure on Syria to end crackdown

04 Dec 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Justice walks before the Lord, who proclaims peace to his people, the psalmist tell us this Sunday. The Arab League is stepping up its push for Syrian President Bashar Assad to make peace with his own people and treat them justly. In an unprecedented move last Sunday, they approved wide-ranging economic sanctions against Syria and demanded its leaders end the deadly suppression of protestors. Turkey, which is not a member of the Arab League, announced its own set of sanctions Wednesday, ratcheting up the pressure on Assad to step down. Turkey froze the Syrian government’s financial assets, imposed a travel ban on senior Syrian officials, and cut off transactions with the country’s central bank. The latest measures, Turkish officials said, were enacted in concert with the Arab League sanctions and are part of a developing international effort to strangle Syria’s economy and severely diminish the power of its government. European, U.S., and Turkish officials said they believed Syria’s economic troubles could prove the undoing of Assad, who to date has managed to maintain the allegiance of Syria’s business elite. The White House commended the Turkish government for imposing the sanctions, which it said will “undoubtedly increase the pressure on the Syrian regime.” On Thursday the European Union is set to put in place the latest of several rounds of its own sanctions, directly affecting Syria’s oil industry and telecommunications sector. Sources: Articles by Alice Fordham for the Washington Postand Dan Bilefsky and Anthony Shadid for the New York Times

turkey european union syria bashar al-assad arab league sanctions

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Negotiators make disarming case for weapons treaty

26 Feb 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

God establishes a covenant “with every living creature” in this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Genesis, promising that creation will be safe from the annihilation of another flood. Struggling to slow the worldwide destruction caused by unregulated trade in weapons of war, arms-control negotiators narrowly averted the collapse of talks on a new covenant to prevent illicitly traded guns from pouring into conflict zones and fueling wars and atrocities. Campaigners say one person every minute dies as a result of armed violence. After days of procedural wrangling, negotiators last Friday agreed on ground rules that will set the stage for a month-long conference in July to draft the treaty. Brian Wood of Amnesty International said Russia, China, and several other arms-exporting nations were "resisting proposals from the overwhelming majority for criteria in the treaty that would stop arms transfers" when there was reason to believe they could be used for serious human-rights violations. He said Washington also had misgivings and was concerned that human-rights criteria would discourage states like Syria, a major purchaser of Russian arms, from joining the treaty. One diplomat called Syria's 11-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations--which according to United Nations figures has led to the deaths of over 5,400 people--and other Arab Spring uprisings "the elephant in the room" as delegates ponder ways of halting arms sales to governments that kill their citizens. A leading French Catholic organization, the CCFD-Terre Solidaire, has joined forces with Amnesty International and Oxfam to campaign for a "bullet-proof" arms treaty. The CCFD said the absence of international rules in the trade of conventional arms contributes to the loss of thousands of lives every year and also strangles development in many countries. Sources: Articles by Louis Charbonneau for Reuters and Ecumenical News International

arms control amnesty international weapons syria ccfd-terre solidaire brian wood arms trade

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Other nations feeling burned by their votive offerings

13 May 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In elections elsewhere, Russians complained that returning leader Vladimir Putin’s gaming of the system and heavy-handed tactics mean that, yet again, “His right hand has won victory for him,” as the psalmist says of God. Meanwhile, unrest and repression continues in Syria this week as the nation held what most observers considered sham parliamentary elections.Putin, who has wielded power as either as president or prime minister since 2000, was sworn in as president for the third time Monday while outside police swept boulevards and squares, detaining anyone they saw wearing white ribbons, the symbol adopted by anti-Putin activists.Riot police officers in camouflage charged into cafes and restaurants in search of protesters. Once in police custody, scores of young men were referred to military draft offices. “People are being arrested for nothing at all, simply for standing on the sidewalk,” said Oleg Orlov of Memorial, a human rights organization. . . . A new czar has come and wants to show his face, his mug, I would say.”Gennadi A. Zyuganov, the leader of Russia’s Communist Party, said he thought it was all just the beginning. “The authorities need to understand that the split in society is growing, that there is stronger dissatisfaction with dishonest elections and the absence of normal dialogue,” Zyuganov said. “In this situation, radicalism is inevitable. The attempt to shut everyone’s mouths with a police baton is senseless and extremely dangerous.”Unrest on a large scale continues to plague Syria, where opposition activists this week boycotted parliamentary elections they dismissed as illegitimate and instead called for a general strike. The Syrian government, on the other hand, hailed the elections as marking a historic step toward comprehensive political reform in a country that has been ruled by the same family and political party for more than four decades. Sources: Articles by Ellen Barry and Sophia Kishkovsky for the New York Times,Rima Marrouch for the Los Angeles Times, and Ian Deitch for the Associated Press

russia elections syria vladimir putin gennadi zyuganov oleg orlov

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Violent government crackdown targets Syrian civilians

03 Jun 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Sunday describes the sometimes trying periods when our souls wait for the Lord, “our help and our shield,” our hope for deliverance from death. Beleaguered Syrian civilians are wondering how much longer they must wait for help that will shield and deliver them from a violent government crackdown last Friday that killed at least 108 people, including 49 children and 34 women, in villages northwest of the central city of Homs.Earlier this week, United Nations special envoy Kofi Annan met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus to try to salvage what was left of a peace plan brokered six weeks ago that has failed to stop the violence on the ground. Annan said the uprising had reached “a tipping point” after the massacre.“The Syrian people do not want their future to be one of bloodshed and division,” Annan said after two days in Damascus. “Yet the killings continue, and the abuses are still with us today.”Eyewitness accounts from the massacre describe shadowy gunmen slaughtering whole families in their homes and targeting the most vulnerable in poor farming villages. Assad's government often deploys fearsome militias that provide muscle for the regime and carry out military-style attacks. They frequently work closely with soldiers and security forces, but the regime never acknowledges their existence, allowing it to deny responsibility for their actions.Protesting the atrocities, the U.S. joined with 10 other nations Tuesday in expelling top Syrian diplomats. "We hold the Syrian government responsible for this slaughter of innocent lives," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. "This massacre is the most unambiguous indictment to date of the Syrian government's flagrant violations of its U.N. Security Council obligations." Sources: Articles by Neil MacFarquhar for the New York Times and Elizabeth A. Kennedy for the Associated Press.

united nations security council massacres militia groups syria bashar al-assad victoria nuland kofi annan

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Syria heads toward civil war

17 Jun 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds that springs up to become the largest of plants. The seeds of discontent planted in Syria during the “Arab spring” last year have grown into the largest and most protracted conflict in the Middle East. With heavy arms flowing to all sides, the troubled country appears headed toward full-fledged civil war.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Tuesday that the United States believed that Russia was shipping attack helicopters to Syria that President Bashar al-Assad could use to escalate his government’s deadly crackdown on civilians and the militias battling his rule. Her comments reflected rising frustration with Russia, which has continued to supply weapons to its major Middle Eastern ally despite an international outcry over the government’s brutal crackdown.“We have confronted the Russians about stopping their continued arms shipments to Syria,” Clinton said at an appearance with President Shimon Peres of Israel. “They have, from time to time, said that we shouldn’t worry; everything they’re shipping is unrelated to their actions internally. That’s patently untrue.”Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Wednesday defended his country’s sale of arms to Syria and accused the United States of supplying rebels with weapons to fight against the government. “We are not violating any international law in performing these contracts,” said Lavrov, in response to a question about Clinton’s comments at a news conference during a visit of the Russian minister to Iran. Russia insists that it provides Damascus only with weapons that can be used in self-defense. Sources: Articles by Isabel Coles for Reuters and Mark Landler and Neil MacFarquhar for the New York Times

russia hillary clinton hillary rodham clinton syria arms sales sergei lavrov attack helicopters

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Jesuit priest expelled from Syria

01 Jul 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

God “did not make death" nor rejoices "in the destruction of the living,” this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Wisdom assures us. An Italian Jesuit priest in Syria who condemned government abuses of human rights and opened a monastery to mourners of an opposition filmmaker killed by government troops found himself served with “a one-way visa out” of Syria last Saturday.Young filmmaker Bassel Shahad, a member of the political opposition, was killed in late May, but when friends arrived at St. Cyril’s Church in Damascus for a prayer service in his memory, they found the doors barred. Government thugs dragged some mourners off to jail and chased away the rest.The leadership of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church did not intervene, activists said, but Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, S.J. invited the mourners to pray at Deir Mar Musa, an ancient desert monastery he had renovated. “Nobody was allowing them to pray for their lost friend,” he said in Beirut after his expulsion, noting that both Muslims and Christians attended.His offer was the last straw for the Syrian government, which had been seeking to expel Dall’Oglio since last year. When he departed last Saturday, he left behind the monastery he had rebuilt and reinvented over the last 30 years into a center for interfaith dialogue.The government of President Bashar al-Assad, dominated by his own minority Alawite sect, has long presented itself as the guardian of Syrian minorities and pluralism. But that is a mirage, opponents said, with minorities cherished only if they kowtow to the authorities. Source: An article by Neil MacFarquhar for the New York Times

jesuits syria bashar al-assad deir mar musa bassel shahad paolo dall’oglio

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Serious debate over alleged use of chemical weapons

05 May 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Sunday reading from the Acts of the Apostles says “there arose no little dissension and debate” in Antioch over whether or not circumcision was required of Gentile men interested in joining the early Christian community. There is also debate and dissension today over whether Syria has used chemical weapons on opponents of the ruling regime. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon renewed an appeal Monday to Syria to allow U.N. chemical weapons experts into the country, saying that on-site inspections are essential to “establish the facts and clear up all the doubts.”Ban’s remarks—delivered with chief U.N. chemical weapons inspector Ake Sellstrom of Sweden at his side—followed allegations by several countries, including the United States, that chemical weapons were likely used in Syria in recent months.Syria invited the U.N. last month to conduct an investigation into its claims that Syrian rebels attacked Syrian government forces with chemical weapons on March 19 near Aleppo. Syrian officials said 26 people died in the attack, including some government troops.But Syria balked after Britain and France urged the U.N. to also investigate Syrian opposition claims that the government employed chemical weapons in three Syrian cities: Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs.The stakes are high on this issue. President Barack Obama has said on several occasions that conclusive evidence that Syria was using chemical weapons would be “a game changer” in terms of the West’s response to the civil war in that nation.Homily hint: The U.S. public is understandably leery of any escalation of American involvement in another conflict in the Middle East. How can good people find good ways to resist violence around the world without resorting to violence in return? A age-old question that remains timely and pressing today. Sources: Articles by Colum Lynch, Abigail Hauslohner,Anne Gearan, and Craig Whitlock for the Washington Post

ban ki-moon united nations syria chemical weapons

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