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The following is research published today from MEMRI’s Special Dispatch Series and TV Project. Gulf and Arab States Break Silence over Syria Crisis Syrian Political Satire Lambasts Hassan Nasrallah for Supporting Syrian Regime Syrian Cartoonist Ali Farazat Criticizes the Syrian Regime and Says: The Barrier of Fear Has Been Shattered Footage of Mosque in Deir Al-Zour Being Shelled and Brought Down by Syrian Tanks Inquiry & Analysis No. 725—Syria/Inter-Arab Relations Gulf and Arab States Break Silence over Syria Crisis By: Y. Yehoshua* The Arab countries recently broke their silence over the events in Syria with a series of official announcements and moves. First came a cascade of statements from the Gulf states, which called upon the Syrian regime to stop employing its "war machine" against defenseless civilians, and to meet the demands of the Syrian people by enacting serious reforms. These statements triggered similar announcements by Arab states and officials outside the Gulf. The Gulf states' call for an immediate change in Syrian policy, which ended five months of Arab indifference to the situation there, were seen as "a turning point in the official Arab stance."[i] Until now, the Gulf states and other Arab countries – which are themselves undemocratic and intolerant of dissent, and which supported the suppression of the uprising in Bahrain – have refrained from expressing solidarity with the protestors in Syria. This, both out of their support for Assad's regime and out of fear that a successful uprising in Syria may spill over to other countries and undermine their own stability. Apparently, it was the shifting climate in the Arab and non-Arab world that forced these countries to change their tone. The Arab public, witnessing the escalating bloodshed that is continuing even during the holy month of Ramadan, and hearing the protestors' pleas for Arab solidarity and support, began to wonder at its leaders' silence. This was evident in statements by various sheikhs, especially in the Gulf, who began to voice solidarity with the protesters in defiance of their countries' official stance. The condemnations in the non-Arab world, especially by Syria's former allies, Turkey and Russia, as well as by the UN Security Council, compelled the Arab leaders to fall in line. The first to condemn Assad's policies were the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), starting with Qatar. The Qatari Al-Jazeera channel reported widely on the Syrian protests from the very beginning, which caused tension between the two countries, and even prompted an attack on the Qatari embassy in Damascus that led to the withdrawal of the Qatari ambassador. In a statement issued August 3, 2011, a few hours before the Security Council's condemnation of Syria, the Qatari government called upon the Syrian regime to stop the bloodshed and comply with the demands of the Syrian people. This prompted other, similar statements in the Gulf, including by the Kuwaiti government and by the GCC itself, as well as the "historic" statement by Saudi Arabia's King 'Abdallah. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain also emulated Qatar in recalling their ambassadors from Syria. The statements issuing from the Gulf prodded other Arab states out of their silence. Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al-'Arabi issued his first official statement on the Syrian crisis, albeit a relatively pro-Syrian one that equated the victims from among the protestors with the fatalities among the Syrian armed forces. Post-revolution Egypt spoke out as well: its foreign minister and the sheikh of Al-Azhar called to stop the killing and meet the protesters' demands. Calls for restraint in dealing with the demonstrators were heard even from figures known as allies of Syria, such as Iraqi Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi and Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Na'im Qassem. Even in Iran, articles were published calling on the Syrian regime to rethink its handling of the protests. To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5579.htm. Special Dispatch No. 4086—Syria/Hizbullah/Democratization and Reform in the Arab & Muslim World Syrian Political Satire Lambasts Hassan Nasrallah for Supporting Syrian Regime Following are excerpts from a Syrian political satire, titled "It's a Goat, Even If It Flies," posted on the Internet on August 13, 2011. The presenter is wearing a mask in order to protect her relatives living in Syria. To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/3077.htm. Title: "It's a Goat, Even If It Flies – with Hassan Nasrallah." Masked presenter ("Syrian Infiltrator"): "Since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, the position of His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been clear – he is against the Syria revolution, even though he supported the revolution in Egypt, he supported the revolution in Libya, he supported the revolution in Tunisia, he supported the revolution in Yemen, and of course, he supported the revolution in Bahrain." To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5578.htm. Special Dispatch No. 4085—Syria/Hizbullah Syrian Cartoonist Ali Farazat Criticizes the Syrian Regime and Says: The Barrier of Fear Has Been Shattered Following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian cartoonist Ali Farazat, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on August 4, 2011. To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3067.htm. Ali Farazat: "Lebanon is held by prisoner by a certain group, as is known by all." Interviewer: "You mean Hizbullah…" Ali Farazat: "Exactly. Even the government… This is no longer a secret. After the advent of the new means of communication – the Internet and Facebook – everything is out in the open. There are no more secrets. Gone are the days of black-and-white TV. This is not 1982, when the catastrophe in Hama took place, with all the bombings, and no one but the people of Hama knew about it. Today, the world is an open book." To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5577.htm. MEMRI TV Clip No. 3076 - Footage of Mosque in Deir Al-Zour Being Shelled and Brought Down by Syrian Tanks Following are excerpts from a video-clip showing footage of a mosque in Deir Al-Zour being attacked and brought down by Syrian tanks. The footage was posted on the Internet on August 10, 2011. Footage of the minaret Eyewitness behind the camera: "Deir Al-Zour, the Othman Bin Affan Mosque, the old airport neighborhood. Syrian tanks are firing in the direction of the minaret. The mosque is completely destroyed. Othman Bin Affan Mosque is completely destroyed. This is in the old airport neighborhood." To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/3076.htm.