From Hany in Glasgow: "I recall how in some of your blog posts, you'd comment on the cheap tactics
that western supported opposition activists, such as those of Iraq, Afghanitan
and Syria would use in order to elicit support from the public (usually
culminating in screaming when the "rationale" behind their arguments become
exposed). I'd never experienced this first hand until I happened to witness a
Syrian opposition protest in Glasgow city centre while I was assisting a
Palestine stall which I always do on Saturdays.
Non static demonstrations require permission from the council, yet the
opposition activists chose to march down Buchanan street anyway which the police
tolerated (as they often do) until they came across some street performers
(bagpipers in this case) who regularly perform on Saturdays in the afternoon. A
couple of members of the opposition approached the pipers and demanded they
cease playing their instruments and make way for the rally (the argument being
they were drawing attention away from the march). The pipers, whom from personal
experience I know are reasonable individuals assured the demonstraters that they
would finish within the next fifteen minutes. That's when things got ugly,
the activists became enraged and immediately started yelling abuse at the pipers
before assaulting them at which point the police intervened to quell the
situation.
The activists almost immediately sought to victimise themselves; those in
handcuffs screaming and physically resisting arrest, the women among them
wailing and shouting at the police, while the Socialists who also set up stall
in the city centre yelled abuse at the police while trying to rally support from
the crowd the entire event had attracted. Naturally, the crowd became curious
and engaged opposition activists in discussion to ascertain the reason for the
heavy police presence. I approached a group of activists clad in surgical scrubs
(for reasons I couldn't quite understand) and asked them for view on the event.
Their english was abysmal so I asked again in Arabic to which they told me that
the police had attacked them for no reason.
It seems the thuggery of the Syrian opposition exists on every level. I was
truly ashamed to call myself a Syrian that day.
Feel free to relay this story if you wish."
