Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

Rare Protest Reported in the Syrian Capital

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KaP0OuE9uIw

ROBERT MACKEY June 9, 2011, 10:59 am

Syrian activists claimed that there was a rare, small protest in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Wednesday. As my colleagues Sebnem Arsu and Katherine Zoepf report, activists pointed to video posted on YouTube that appeared to show protesters on a street in the well-to-do district of Sha’alan, an area with fashionable stores and food stalls.

Razan Zeitouneh, a Syrian human rights lawyer, told The Times that the protest drew “about 300? people in what she called the largest protest to date “in the heart of Damascus, in such wealthy area in Damascus.”

Two colleagues who have lived in Damascus agreed that video clips posted on two YouTube channels, both said to show Wednesday’s demonstration, appear to have been filmed in the city’s Sha’alan district.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZRejQSORVQ

Restrictions on independent reporting inside Syria imposed by the government mean that the video could not be confirmed by The Times.


http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/rare-protest-reported-in-the-syrian-capital/