Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Gathering of the "Friends of Syria"

A march in Bilad Alqadeem in Bahrain today, expressing solidarity with political leaders in prison

A protester amidst the tear gas in Salmabad in Bahrain on Saturday

See also Syria Document: Beginner's Guide to The 27 Points of the "Friends of Syria" Meeting
Syria Feature: An Insurgency Running Short of Ammunition
Bahrain Video Interview: Nabeel Rajab on BBC HARDTalk "Why This Regime and This Revolution Are Different"
Bahrain Video Special: A Tribute to Ahmed Ismail Hassan, Citizen Journalist of Salmabad
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Saturday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Teenager is Shot to Death in Salmabad

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2005 GMT: CNN posts a video profile of prominent Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat --- abducted and badly beaten by gunmen in Damascus last August, he left the country but now hopes to return:

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Syria Document: Beginner's Guide to The 27 Points of the "Friends of Syria" Meeting

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Photo: Murad Sezer/Reuters)The 27-point summary by the more than 70 national delegations at today's "Friends of Syria" gathering in Istanbul --- the condensed version of the narrative....

The representatives called for a political transition (Point 5) and implementation of the "peace plan" of United Nations envoy Kofi Annan (6), while regretting regime actions, such as the support of violence, that appeared to defy that plan (7).

What to do? The delegations vaguely suggested "additional appropriate measures with a view to the protection of the Syrian people" (7) and "support for legitimate measures taken by the Syrian population to protect themselves" (13).

The most substantial of the decisions was recognition of the Syrian National Council as the sole representative of the Syrian people (10), with endorsement of moves by factions to align with the SNC (8-9). The representatives also called for further sanctions, with emphasis on "prevention of the regime’s access to arms" (12 and 18), and for a daily two-hour "humanitarian pause" to provide aid to Syrians.

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THE STATEMENT

1. The Second Conference of the Group of Friends of the Syrian People (“the Friends’ Group”) was held in Istanbul on 1 April 2012.

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Syria Feature: An Insurgency Running Short of Ammunition (Abouzeid)

"Fouad," a rail-thin Syrian in tight jeans who looks at least a decade older than his 25 years, leans forward in a black faux leather armchair in an unheated, sparsely furnished room in this southern Turkish city.

"I need ammunition," he tells Abu Mohammad, a stocky Turkish weapons dealer sitting impossibly upright on the stiff couch. "I'll pay five and a half." He quotes the price in Turkish liras -- about $3 per bullet.

Abu Mohammad smirks. He carefully places his white, half-moon Turkish coffee cup on the small square table in front of him. "They're seven each," he says. "If you can get them for five and a half, I'll buy them from you."

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The Latest from Iran (1 April): Nuclear Postures

2030 GMT: Sanctions Watch (Syrian Front). This weekend we noted the claim of US officials that an Iranian company was shipping $84 million of Syrian oil to China, evading international sanctions on Damascus.

Now the Maltese Foreign Ministry has said it is delisting the Maltese-flagged, Iranian-owned tanker allegedly carrying the crude.

The M.T. Tour loaded the 120,000 tonne cargo of light crude at the Syrian port of Tartus last weekend.

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Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers

Demonstration this morning in Daraa Province

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Latest news on the Syrian crisis, collected and posted by EA readers....

Syria Flashback: The Schoolboys Who Sparked an Uprising (Hamano)

Daraa, 25 March 2011On March 20 last year, an intelligence officer in Damascus rounded up a group of teenagers from Daraa and told them: "You disrespected the president, but he has decided to pardon you." The boys were surprised. They had been held by the authorities for more than a month and Bashir Abazid, who was just 15 at the time, almost refused to believe what he was hearing, because every time the boys had been told they were being released, they had been transferred to yet another intelligence branch.

Remarkably, the teenagers were sent back to Daraa later that same day. "We were terrified for the entire way home," Bashir recalls. As they approached the city and headed towards the Baath party headquarters, they witnessed a scene they only knew from television: they saw crowds of people lining the streets.

"I thought they had prepared the square for our execution," he says. "Our eyes filled with tears. When we got to the square, the officers ordered us to draw the curtains on the bus. That made us even more scared. The news spread to the people that we were inside. They stormed the bus. We opened the shaded windows and I saw my brothers and uncles. My mother was crying. I jumped out of the window."

Bashir's brother embraced him and

cried: "You see all these people? They are here for you."

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Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers

Our recurrent feature where EA's readers bring in latest news and discussion about the Syrian conflict....

The Latest from Iran (30 March): After Turkey's Prime Minister Went Home....

See also Iran Video Special: How Regime Used "Ninjas" to Shut Down Press in Tehran
Iran Snap Analysis: Syria and Ahmadinejad --- Sifting Reality from Propaganda over the Erdoğan Visit
The Latest from Iran (29 March): Erdogan's Meetings with Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader

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<2030 GMT: Economy Watch. Die Presse offers an overview of the effect of sanctions on Iran's trade through the United Arab Emirates, affecting 25,000 Iranian exporters in Dubai.

2000 GMT: Assurance of the Day. Parviz Sarvari, a member of Parliament's National Security Committee, has said, "It is sensed that Turkey is gradually withdrawing from its past positions on Syria and is correcting these incorrect positions....Although Turkey has not definitely retreated from its past wrong...positions on Syria, it seems Turkey is gradually distancing itself from the ... hegemonic system on this issue and we take this as a good omen."

A quick reminder of Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan's statement as soon as he returned to Ankara from his visit to Tehran, "[There is no need] now for me to say I am hoping or expecting something. Because [President Assad] continues to kill. As we now see such a picture, I don't have any hope."

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: No Sleep Until....

1950 GMT: Al Jazeera finds this picture, reportedly taken in the town of Dael, Daraa, a small town that is no stranger to the ferocious crackdown of the Assad regime. The protesters hold signs, in English, and wave pre-Baath party Syrian flags, the symbols of the opposition. The message echoes that of many in Syria:

1945 GMT: A bold claim by the opposition in Quriyah, Deir Ez Zor:

"The Free Syrian Army killed the Major General Mohamed Hameem, the Commander, 17th Division-Armored Vehicles."

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Iran Snap Analysis: Syria and Ahmadinejad --- Sifting Reality from Propaganda over the Erdoğan Visit

In the aftermath of the two-day visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, what is significant is far beyond any "news" that has been printed.

What we may have seen --- or rather not seen, in the prepared Iranian statements --- was the eclipse of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 14 months before his term in office finishes.

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