Extrait d'une interview publiée par l'agence fars et traduite par Memri.
memri est un site pro-israélien souvent bien informé au contraire de Debka qui est une officine de désinformation.
"Prayer Leaders
[In Syria] Who Oppose The Syrian Regime... Received Orders From Qatar,
Saudi
Arabia, And Turkey" To Foment Unrest; "The Protestors [In Syria]...
Fired At The Crowds [i.e. Their Fellow Protestors] So As To [Make It
Appear]
That The Regime Was Oppressing The People"
Q: "Introduce
yourself. What were you doing in Syria?"
A: "I am Zeinab Hadad. I left [Iran] for Syria
to study [there], and lived in Damascus for eight years. I am
studying
dentistry. I also married an Iranian residing in Syria."
Q: "How did the protests begin?"
A: "At first, there were popular, nonviolent
riots, and the public presented its demands - these protests
were mainly in
Homs, Aleppo, and Hama, but gradually spread to Damascus; for the past
year, Damascus
too has been in tumult. The protests were popular but not spontaneous;
[unrest]
was stirred up, mainly in the mosques, aimed at changing the regime."
Q: "Who was stirring up [unrest]?"
A: "The prayer leaders who oppose the Syrian
regime. They received orders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey."
Q: "Were they Salafis?"
A: "Yes. At first, the public didn't know
this, but then it became clear that they were receiving orders from
'Adnan
[Al-]'Ar'our, the mufti of the Salafis in Syria, who resides in Saudi
Arabia.
The protestors gradually armed themselves, and would fire at the
crowds [i.e.
at their fellow protestors] so as to [make it appear] that the regime
was oppressing
the people. This process continued until the first bombing, in
Damascus a year
ago. Syrian regime opponents took responsibility for this bombing,
which was at
a military base near Kafr Sousa."
Q: "Did ordinary people also participate in
the violent unrest?"
A: "They did at first, but later, thugs
showed up at the outskirts of the city. I myself saw how they were
paid to
carry out riots. Each one was paid about 500 lira, but because they
were thugs,
and unemployed, they weren't happy even with this sum.
"The
money was doled out at the mosques. Some of [these thugs] would stand
outside
the mosques and chant slogans as public prayers concluded. They were
armed, and
presented themselves as worshippers."
Q: "Were there any foreigners among the
protestors?"
A: "Not in Damascus. But in other Syrian
cities, there were those from Libya, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Saudi
Arabia, and
Tunisia. Al-Qaeda also sent [its operatives] in Iraq to Syria."
Q: "What operations [against Syria] were carried
out from Turkey's [territory]?"
A: "From Turkey came a lot of people who
were armed and equipped, because from the beginning [of the crisis]
the Turkish
border was in the hands of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which did
whatever it
wanted [there]. At first, the Syrians initially protested [against the
regime],
but when the situation reached the point [of chaos], they gave up,
saying: We don't
want our country ruined like Afghanistan and Iraq."
Q: "They say that the FSA threw people out
of their homes and turned those homes into strongholds."
A: "Yes, this happened to my house too. They
threw me out, and because I am Iranian I had to flee, because they
threatened
to kill me. Sometime later, relatives told me that the FSA had taken
the house
and that I could not return to it. Mostly, they go into empty houses
and turn
them into strongholds. At Husseiniyya, on the outskirts of Damascus,
the FSA expelled
everyone from their homes, and announced that the area was strategic
and that
everyone had to leave."
Q: "Did all the residents flee when their homes
were occupied?"
A: "Not everyone. The Syrian Sunnis
remained, but the Shi'ites and we Iranians left."
Q: "Are any homes in Damascus in the hands
of the FSA?"
A: "Most of them; only the city center is
held by the regime."
"The FSA Persecutes Shi'ites And
Alawites And Slaughters Them"
Q: "Tell
[us] about Jabhat Al-Nusra."
A: "This front was established in Aleppo.
They announced that they are tied neither to the regime nor to the
FSA, and
that they want to establish Islamic rule. In Aleppo, [they] announced
[the
establishment of] an Islamic emirate, and the appointment of an emir.
These
people have not yet entered Damascus."
Q: "On occasion, there is barbaric crime and
widespread slaughter, which each side accuses the other of committing.
What's
your view of this?"
A: "While I was there, the regime didn't
kill any innocent people or any citizen; it targeted [only] armed
individuals
who were firing [weapons]. I didn't see anyone entering homes and
slaughtering
people. It was Jabhat Al-Nusra and the FSA that did these things,
attributing them
to the regime. Most of those slaughtered were regime supporters, and
most of
those killed were Shi'ites."
Q: "Does the Syrian people also think so?"
A: "The Syrians are split into two groups.
Most said [at first] that the Syrian regime was conducting a massacre,
but then
they noticed that it was the foreign terrorists who were carrying out
these
operations. There is no country [in the world] where the authorities
would undermine
[domestic] security; most [Syrians] realize this."
Q: "The people undertook no operations to defend
themselves?"
A: "Some areas in the outskirts of Aleppo are
inhabited by Shi'ites. These areas have been surrounded by the FSA for
some
time, and the residents have been compelled to arm themselves. But
within
Damascus, ordinary residents are unarmed.
"For
a while now, the army has been cleansing areas and then arming a group
of the
people in these areas so that they can defend themselves. This group,
the
Popular Committee, has established [branches] in every region; it is
armed, and
it conducts searches of vehicles and people."
Q: "What is
the situation of the minorities?"
A:
"They support the regime, so their areas are surrounded by the FSA.
In
minority areas, Popular Committees were established; they allow no one
to
enter. Thus, for example, in the Bab Touma area, the largest Christian
area [in
Syria], nothing has happened."
Q: "During
the fighting in Syria, it seems that things are worse for the Shi'ites
and
Alawites. Is this so?"
A:
"Yes. The FSA persecutes Shi'ites and Alawites, and slaughters them.
They
even arrest people because of their names and where they live. The
Alawites in
the military, the police, and the security [forces] are under heavy
pressure,
and their families are under constant threat."
Q: "What is
the security situation in Syria right now?"
A:
"The people have gotten used to this situation, but in Damascus things
are
not so good. The city's airport is open, but the roads to it are not
secure.
There is no gasoline, no kerosene, no electricity, and no food. Prices
have
gone up and most private sector workers are unemployed. The price of
bread has
tripled.
"The
public has realized that it made a mistake, and today over 60% want
Assad to
stay. The country is currently divided - part is held by the
regime, and the
other part is held by the FSA. While the Syrian army secures one area,
and
cleanses it [of rebels], the FSA returns a little while later. Lately,
there
has been some thought as to how to keep cleansed areas cleansed, and
they have established
Popular Committees. This may be one reason why fighting continues
there."
"The Israeli Regime Is Behind All
This Unrest"
Q: "Syria was once one of the most
stable countries in the region. How did it become this unstable?"
A:
"For the past two years, Syria has been entangled in this problem, but
the
roots of this problem began a decade ago, when various countries,
including Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, Libya, and even Israel, funneled money and Salafi
ideology [into
it]."
Q: "What role
does Israel play among those who come [to Syria] to wage jihad?"
A:
"Jabhat Al-Nusra declared war on the Syrian regime in the name of
Islam.
They believe that Islam only has a Sunni stream, and that the Shi'ites
and
Alawites are infidels against whom jihad must be waged... It can be
said that
the Israeli regime is behind all this unrest. Israel is trying to gain
calm for
itself from both sides [that is, the Syrian regime and the Salafis],
by dispatching
the Salafis to Syria and with their war against the [Syrian] regime.
"Assad's
regime too made mistakes, starting in Der'a. Had [the regime] been
temperate in
its dealings with the area's tribal leaders, things would have been
different,
but this was not done. The elites there were disrespected, and that
insulted
the honor of the residents there."
After Returning To Iran, We Were
Treated Poorly: "In Syria - Which Isn't Even Our Own Country
- We Could
Work, But In Iran, We Aren't Allowed To!"
Q: "When did you leave Syria?"
A:
"After the [July 2012] bombing of the office at the security building
[i.e.
the National Security Council headquarters] in Damascus, that killed
[Syrian
Deputy Defense Minister] Assef Shawkat, the security situation in
Syria became
critical. The day after the bombing, I went to the Iranian Embassy in
order to
go back [to Iran], and many Iranians were there. The embassy announced
that it could
do nothing [for us]. Later, I noticed that the embassy had told its
employees
that on Friday there would be a private plane for them to take. I
approached
the [Iranian] ambassador and told him to take me as well. He said
there was no
room, but I went to the airport that Friday just in case there was a
chance that
I could get on it.
"That same
Friday, the Iraqi government sent six planes for all the Iraqi
nationals who
were at the airport, at no charge to them. But the Iranian officials
told us
that anyone who wants to return to Iran had to pay $150. Those who had
it,
paid, and returned [to Iran].
"Mojtaba
Hosseini, the representative of [Iranian Supreme] Leader [Ali Khamenei
in
Syria], was very helpful in this matter. He sent his representative to
the [Damascus]
airport to bring the [Iranians] who no longer had anywhere to live to
a religious
seminary."
Q: "And what
happened to them?"
A: "Many remained [in
Syria], and are staying at the seminary because they have no [family]
in
Iran..."
Q: "And what
happened to those who returned to Iran?"
A: [The
academic qualifications of] those who were studying in Syria [were
not
accepted,] and they had to to average out [their grades from the
Syrian
institutions]. And, those who had not served in the Iranian Army were
drafted.
Many families [returning from Syria] were forced to go to Qom, where
the
religious seminaries held a reception for them. But the government
provided
them with no services at all."
Q: "You mean
that the government has so far done nothing for the Iranian refugees?"
A: "No real measures
have been taken."
Q: "What have
the refugees in Tehran done?"
A:
"Most of them live in the Dowlatabad [area in southeastern Tehran].
Those
who studied [in Syria] wanted to take exams... They were told that
they had to enroll
in classes, and that if they were accepted, they would have to average
out [the
grades they had earned in Syria].
"In Syria - which isn't even
our own country - we could work, but in Iran, we aren't allowed
to!"
"The Iranian Officials Are Doing
Nothing To Ease The Refugees' Plight"
Q: "What have you done about
this?"
A:
"I've written to the Office of the Presidency [i.e. Ahmadinejad] and
to
other government institutions, but to no avail. If we had no Iranian
ID card,
we'd be in better shape.
"Those who
went to Qom aren't in such good shape either. Despite the cold
weather, the
Iranian refugees have to live in houses without doors or windows, in a
town
near Qom.
Q:
"Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon have set up refugee shelters. Are any
Iranians in them?"
A:
"During the fighting in the Sayyidah Zeinab area, Hizbullah
transferred Syrian
Shi'ites to South Lebanon, putting them up in apartments and giving
them
monetary aid every month. There might be some Iranians among them
- but there isn't
a single Iranian in the refugee shelters in Turkey and Jordan."
Q: "Have you
any message for the [Iranian regime] officials?"
A:
"Unfortunately, the [regime] officials think that the Iranian refugees
who
returned from Syria need money - and because there is no money
[to give them],
they won't deal with them.
"But the
Iranians who returned [from Syria] want security, not money. In Syria
they had
money, a respectable life, a home, a car, and higher education.
"The Iranian
officials are doing nothing to ease the refugees' plight."
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