Social Media Monitor 5 11 2012

Loyalist TV star killed

Social media users were preoccupied on Monday morning by news of the killing of actor Mohammad Rafei, who starred in the popular Syrian soap opera Bab El-Hara.  

Rafei has participated in several public events in support of the Syrian regime.

The Battalion of Al-Siddiq’s Descendants of the Free Syrian Army, FSA, claimed responsibility for the killing on Facebook. The battalion also posted a copycat scan of an alleged handgun license given by the Air Force Intelligence to Rafei. The battalion’s Facebook page also announced that Rafei possessed an AK-47 automatic rifle and a name list of activists wanted by the regime when he was captured.

Rafei’s colleagues were saddened by the news of his murder. Pro-regime actress Sulaf Fawakherji expressed defiance in the face of the killers.

“If this is meant as a message to Syrian actors and actresses, then we are now more powerful,” Fawakherji has reportedly declared, according to several loyalist Facebook pages. “There is nothing more beautiful that being sent to heaven, wrapped in the Syrian flag in honor and pride.”

Actress Kinda Aloush, who supports the opposition, was accused of cheering for Rafei’s killing. Later during the day, Alloush’s fan pages on Facebook circulated an announcement refuting these accusations and expressing the actress’s denouncement of the killing.

FSA under examination again

The FSA was subject to wide criticism last week. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that the FSA executed 28  government soldiers on Thursday November 1, outside the town of Saraqeb in the province of Idlib. This incident happened less than a week after the fighting in Al-Achrafieh quarter  in north Aleppo took place between the FSA and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, which is associated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). These clashes have angered several Syrian Kurdish activists supporting the revolution. The executions also follow the kidnapping of Lebanese journalist Fidaa Itani by armed rebels in the northern city of Aazaz, on grounds of working against the revolution.

Activists from the group Mesyaf’s Youth Revolution called on the FSA to denounce those who killed the prisoners in Saraqeb: “Revenge is the religion of the coward; the revolution started [for a just cause]… This behavior is disgraceful.”

Some of the comments on this note supported the killing of the regime soldiers, while others also put the blame on the FSA.

“In all demonstrations the slogan ‘Muhammad (peace be upon him) is our leader forever’ was raised. The Free Syrian Army has also said this. Why then does [the FSA] not abide by the orders and teachings of our leader?” wrote Abdul Mohsen Saadedddine.

An article contributed by Yabrudi Souri to Al-Mundassa As-Souriyya blog also touched on this issue, saying that the ongoing discussion of the FSA’s transgressions is a healthy sign.

“Criticism of these [incidents] show that the Syrian people will not be silent anymore about any mistakes or crimes. [But] as you can criticize such acts, someone else has to right to  contradict you.”

The end of the Syrian National Council?

The Syrian National Council, SNC, is currently holding a conference in Doha. The SNC’s Chairman Abdel Basit Sida announced on Thursday November 8 that 24 new political blocs will join the council. This event follows a statement made by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying that it was time to give a greater political role to those “in the front lines fighting and dying.” The statement was seen as an attempt by the US to discredit the SNC.

Clinton’s remarks revived controversy about the SNC’s role.

“The words of people who are being killed and displaced everyday did not reach the gentlemen in the Syrian National Council… and when we hear U.S Secretary of State publicly criticizing their behavior… this triggers the council to condemn the U.S. and the west, “activist Chaoud Taha wrote on Facebook. “This confirms that the [SNC]’s aim, more than anything else, is to attend conferences, travel around the world and stay at hotels .”

The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, which has a large influence over the SNC, hinted at Clinton’s statement by commenting on twitter (@ikhwanSyria): “A big conspiracy is being weaved to eliminate the Syrian National Council #Syria.”

This comment aroused criticism against the Muslim Brotherhood, accusing the movement of political opportunism.

On his blog, Spanish Waves in the Syrian Euphrates, activist Yasseen Souweiha wrote about the Muslim Brotherhood’s reaction to this criticism: “The Muslim Brotherhood has the right to engage in politics, but they do not have the right to practice it without allowing others to refuse their behavior.”

Syrian regime behind Hurricane Sandy

Supporters of President Bashar al-Assad contributed to explaining the factors behind  Hurricane Sandy: It was Iranian experts, in collaboration with the Syrian regime, who caused this natural disaster, as stated on the loyalist Facebook page News of the Syrian Armed Forces.

 

 

 

“Sources confirmed that Hurricane Sandy, which hit the U.S., was prepared by sophisticated machines owned by the heroic, resisting Iranian regime, in collaboration with our steadfast regime.”

It should be noted that the content of this page does not appear to be sarcastic.

A cartoon ridiculing this proposition was posted on the pro-opposition Facebook page The Syrian Revolution Against Bashar al-Assad.  A sarcastic comment was posted along with the cartoon, asking Assad to send another hurricane to Israel in order to destroy it. The response posted on the page that initially provided this theory was: “They want his Excellency to send a similar hurricane to Israel; do they not know that for every Israeli killed an innocent Palestinian, or maybe more, will also die?”