Social Media Monitor: Opposition Supporters Denounce Hezbollah Interference

2-
“Hassan Nasr al-Shaytan, oh sheikh of sectarianism, the battle of Qusair will be the storm that will uproot you.” – Syrian Revolution 2011 page on Facebook.
“Nasr al-Shaytan,” which literally means “Satan’s Victory,” is a play on Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s family name, which means, God’s Victory.

The battle of Qusair continues to rage as government troops, backed by fighters from Hezbollah, advance slowly into the city under fierce resistance from opposition fighters. On Wednesday, May 29, government troops recaptured Dabaa military airport, which lies to the northeast of Qusair and was used by the rebels to launch counterattacks on the government’s offensive in the city’s north.

The participation of Hezbollah’s fighters in the battle, which was officially acknowledged by the party’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, was announced by Facebook pages that support the Lebanese Shiite group even before the official declaration. A page called The Campaign to Defend Sayeda Zeinab Shrine had proudly announced that Nasrallah gave the signal for his fighters to begin the offensive.

Syrian opposition supporters slammed Hezbollah’s involvement in the battle.

Writer Samar Yazbek tweeted:

"Heroic Qusair is resisting. This is a new sectarian shame for the Assad regime and Hezbollah. [Shedding] Syrian blood has replaced the [shedding] of Israeli blood...Shame on you!"
“Heroic Qusair is resisting. This is a new sectarian shame for the Assad regime and Hezbollah. [Shedding] Syrian blood has replaced the [shedding] of Israeli blood…Shame on you!”
Media activist Amer Matar commented on his Facebook page, criticizing what he considers silence in Lebanon as well as the rest of the world toward what is happening in Qusair, which he described as “Hezbollah’s crimes.”

Palestinian columnist at the Jordan daily Ad-Dustoor Yasser Zaatreh called for demonstrations in Lebanon against Hezbollah’s role in Syria. He tweeted:

"The Lebanese [parties] are required to take a stronger stand towards Hezbollah's aggression against Qusair…Taking to the street to refuse this is a must."
“The Lebanese [parties] are required to take a stronger stand towards Hezbollah’s aggression against Qusair…Taking to the street to refuse this is a must.”
Egyptian “shabih” gives a talk at the University of Damascus

A young controversial Egyptian media figure known as Ahmad Spider — there is no reference to his real name on the Internet — gave a talk at the University of Damascus on May 16. Spider presents himself as an “Egyptian, [Arab] nationalist, pro-Assad shabih”, using the pejorative term that opponents of President Bashar al-Assad coined to describe pro-government thugs or unofficial security members.

Ahmad Spider with Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi – Ahmad Spider's Facebook page
Ahmad Spider with Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi – Ahmad Spider’s Facebook page

Syrian blogger Yassin Swehat commented on this event in a tweet:

"The Syrian regime brought Ahmad Spider to give a lecture at the Faculty of Law at the University of Damascus…This is truly a farce…"
“The Syrian regime brought Ahmad Spider to give a lecture at the Faculty of Law at the University of Damascus…This is truly a farce…”

 

Syrian artists arrested

Syrian authorities arrested actress and opposition activist May Skaf on May 16, in a Damascus suburb, but then released her on the same day. Skaf had fled Syria last year and her return to Syria was not made public before the arrest.

Activist and lawyer Anwar al-Bounni commented on his Facebook page, saying that Skaf’s arrest is proof of the Assad regime’s efforts to silence every “free cultural voice.”

Several other dissident artists are still under arrest. Theatre director Omar al-Jibaei has been detained for nearly month by security forces and his friends started a Facebook page that calls for his release.

 82

Maté rumors abound

Reports suggested that armed opposition groups poisoned large amounts of yerba mate, or maté, that were imported through the port of Tartous, and there were also rumours of poisoning cases. The Tartous Health Directory, however, confirmed that these reports were not true.

Maté brew is a popular drink on the Syrian coast, which is home to the majority of the Alawite community, to which Assad belongs, and it is also popular among the Druze and the Ismaili communities. Political jokes about Alawites often include references to their maté consumption.