today we're sitting down with pierre pitching in he's a historian and political analyst specializing on the arab world he's traveled extensively to the countries that have gone through since so-called arab spring and he's also written extensively on these countries the most recent one being syria thanks very much for joining us today thank you and the first question we'd like to deal with we've been to syria the most latest country you visited a couple of times what was your goal in going to that country. in. syria is a country that is very much diverse in terms of ethnic and religious groups you have to be inside syria to understand what is really happening there on the ground my goal was to get reliable information us so i had to screen all the reports coming from the western music magazines and other media i did some research and found out that there are actually two rival syrian human rights groups that monitor

developments and supply the bulk of information to the west you know what i discovered too was that the uprising was supported by a minority of the population which differs from what the western media are saying when they quote the syrian observatory for human rights also this eerie an opposition is very much divided they do not share the same goals and they use different methods to reach their goals actually i never questioned the credibility of the information that was coming from the region on my way to syria i thought i would see a country torn apart by a raging conflict a country aflame with revolution a country where it would be extremely hard to move around so i was very much surprised when i was given a reason i mean these stories that it's so difficult to get into syria are sort of miffed you. don't buy some all right so you've talked to the opposition and various groups in the opposition can you tell us about what you discussed with them and how you would assess that. with your saying here you first feels that there is no such

thing as a single opposition in fact there are many opposition groups and some of them are in conflict with each other. i'll try to present you with a clearer picture there are two hot heads of discontent that one in the city of hama where the muslim brotherhood led an uprising in the one nine hundred eighty s. the demonstrations that took place there were peaceful in july the syrian army surrounded the city but stopped short of occupying a security early in august the army moved into the city and establish control over it and they've been these demonstrations are continuing the army and the police are present there to prevent the protesters from accessing major squares in the streets the protesters to throw stones at the police from time to time but it's a sort of intifada if these rallies are very moving and exciting event but they never turn violent so the army does not have to respond although the media often say that the police opened fire on protesters and it's not true at least i mean i have never seen any use of weapons their homes and other historical center of

discontent has become the fighting ground for many armed rebel groups you know you know so i was there with the residents of homs i would call the members of the civil opposition because these were ordinary people who took up any weapons they could find and defended their neighborhoods from the army in fact they were very badly aren't you however along with this civil uprising we have witnessed a much more dangerous one gash i'm talking about the islamist movement which is fighting in homs it's mainly represented by the foreign brigade which originally even before the revolution was a terrorist and the shiite organization does operate in homs too but the rebellious city residents do not want anything to do with this also there are insurgents who call themselves the free syrian army that it has been active on the border with turkey and lebanon mean the free syrian army has been using refugee camps in northern lebanon and turkey's have type provinces as their bases to get food and training their dog. trained along with urban guerrillas and helped by the french

army you could read about it in the french newspaper for example in. these rebels then cross the border and again raid neighboring towns and cities in syria you know who are they were desert but there are not many of them the syrian army has largely remained loyal to the government there are fighters who came from libya qatar and saudi arabia so it's not quite clear what kind of force the free syrian army is with me after the armed opposition groups inside syria there are also several salafi groups who are responsible for terrorist acts and times will commit her renders atrocities they may kidnap their opponents execute them cut corpses into pieces and leave them in the neighborhood. how do we classify this movement in syria then is it a civil war is it an uprising is it a revolution. i think it is a revolution i think we can say that it is it but there are islamic groups in syria

that are trying to use this situation and turn syria into an islamic republic something like a salafi caliphate in a way this is similar to what happened in libya there was a civil war between tribal clans and now a group of salafi is represented in the new government of libya the same is happening in mali this problem has recently become a popular topic of discussion islamic groups spread throughout the sahara and got into sub-saharan african countries but there is something unhealthy about these groups acting alongside the revolutionaries ordered feel it's impossible to identify or contact them if they are truly secretive groups he's a lot like all these you know you've been critical about the usage as well as the reports of the syrian observatory for human rights but if it's an area like this it will be very difficult. to clarify very fight every single death in the country and what would the fifty deaths how would it be different to five hundred deaths. so

how do we put that into context of what you said what is your criticism based on. in the press. briefings here first of all reason i don't think it's too hard to have a more or less clear idea about what's happening in syria i've been able to visit the country twice in the last six months i rented a car drove all over syria was able to go even to hama and homs i was never detained at any military checkpoints the western media choose to rely exclusively on the syrian observatory for human rights of and i publish the results of my investigation in the africa magazine last month there i say that there are two such observatories and that they are both connected with the opposition and in reality these organizations are the oppositions propaganda agencies propaganda tools i don't understand why the media choose to use them as a source says it is part of the journalist's job to think critically verify sources and be extremely cautious but if they decide to just spread the information they

receive from the syrian observatory for human rights without asking any questions to let me give you a clear answer to your question i am saying that several dozens were killed in the armed conflict and even if they were journalists are talking about reprisals by the regime if the government attacks peaceful protesters we can call it reprisals but if the syrian authorities are dealing with an army based in refugee camps in lebanon and turkey financed from qatar and trained by the french army itself oppression of the regime is defending its territory from foreign aggression since the beginning of the crisis the government has always stuck to one line which is these armed groups are there they are supported by outsiders by foreigners. are they blind to what is happening in the country to the past to the possibility that this is a real real revolution are they right are they wrong how would you assess the government's stand. and also could you to agree on the first of all as for the government's rhetoric i don't believe this. government is blind rhetoric and

reality are two different things syria's government is in denial of the fact that a revolution is taking place they are talking about some foreign conspiracy about israel and the us plotting against syria more than it is my analysis of the situation is completely different i think that starting with two thousand and one after nine eleven the us chose to cooperate closer with the syrian government and they both discovered a mutual enemy the islamic values and i think that the us is very unhappy with what is going on now. israel is also very concerned now should the syrian regime collapse the country could sink into chaos and then israel will have significant problems with what you wear is now despite the prevailing anti israeli rhetoric in damascus israel is in fact quite comfortable with the current regime in reality they are getting along pretty well you know at the moment we see that the ruling regime has successfully established control over most of homs as well as over it leave in hama and is fighting the free syrian army on the borders of them or the

regime is far from collapsing it's nowhere near a downfall only assad has a lot of sunny days ahead of him many people ask me how can you say such things you're advocating the regime you know i'm not advocating the regime i'm doing my research i want to see what happens on the ground and i take the facts and draw conclusions that are going to fish. assad has agreed on the piece by presenting by coffee at nine but bashar al assad has made a lot of promises in the past and a lot of them did not do you think is going to make good on his promise this time for a cease fire and this this place one. can move in the more part of kofi annan plan wasn't very well timed but the more as far as the syrian government is concerned you can't really demand things from the government when it has the upper hand and is defeat on the free syrian army at the moment the government biggest

problem is cool. border raids from refugee camps in turkey and lebanon so what happens is that if you well the government gets the upper hand and is defeating the free syrian army a demand comes in to stop the violence and it comes from those who helped the free syrian army conduct their training lethal qatar and france were directly involved in helping them get new arms advanced and heavy weaponry and help them reorganize and review their strategy you cannot demand this from the government it is certainly a dictatorship but it's a legitimate government according to international law under the westphalian system and it's suppressing an armed revolt to reestablish control over its territory i understand that bashar assad said yes we should comply with the plan and it will stop the violence because he wanted to buy some time you'll hear but in reality they continue their offensive against the free syrian army and frankly speaking i find it quite consistent and logical that so how do you see the syrian conflict ending at all. unless of course there is an intervention from outside the

office i expect that the baathist government will be able to control the situation with military force after that i think it will conduct aggressive reforms to develop democracy this may even be a formal democracy at the initial stage i believe that's going to a large degree this democracy will be formals yet civil society is awakening to making its position known and in the future you're going the government will have to make a turn towards a real democracy but how can we speak about democracy or democratic change with the new constitution approved in syria would allow bashar al assad to stay on for many more years since. it is a transitional period which is absolutely necessary you can't expect too much straightaway you saw what happened to more market duffey in libya and you saw what happened in tunisia and egypt i think the situations are similar neither the government of bashar assad nor any other government is ready to allow bloodshed i

also. the moderate opposition and there is moderate opposition in syria which is not ready to take up arms and the moderate opposition realizes that a transitional period of five to ten years will be necessary in order to accomplish this change peacefully without the country being engulfed in civil war and the whole bit i guess here puts it in thanks very much for your time. at home it's an. admission free accreditation free zones for charges free. range month free risk free studio type of free. download free broadcast quality video for your media projects and free media oh god

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ars he it's been reported that a contact has been lost with a russian built sukhoi superjet aircraft in indonesia there were said to have been forty four people on board russian. should have been on the plane he is tweeting that the plane has been gone for over three hours while the demonstration flight should have lasted just half an hour the authorities are not excluding that the plane was hijacked more on this breaking news story as soon as we get here here on r.t. and off to the world of sports we go with pour. thank you very welcome to the world of sports here is what's coming up. almost moscow move second in the russian premier league with one game to go despite being held to a goal is true at home by cuban cross in it all. then there were two spanish gio

athletic bilbao and athletico madrid prepared to go head to head in the europa league final. and remembering the full and russian footballing legends gather at moscow's victory park monument to pay their respects to those who died during the second world war. the first car moscow has missed a glorious opportunity to take a giant step towards champions league football next season they've been held to a goal a stroll at home by cuban cross and are in the russian premier league a place in next season's champions league qualifying stages the prize for whoever finishes second a win would have moved the army men three points above spots at moscow with only one game to go however they had to settle for a point and means the race for second place will go to the final day of the season when fitz ascot rubin would secure them at the runners up spot if they slip up then sparta would need to win at lokomotiv to leapfrog their rivals. meanwhile it looks

as if sponsored will have a new manager next season you know i am going to be the outgoing valencia coach saying he reached an agreement on a two year contract with the red and whites to replace former also see that teammate valerie coffin forty year old emily will reportedly double his salary to two point four million euros per year. meanwhile you catherine the russian cup final for the first time later on wednesday because that will be looking to lift the trophy for the first time in their history if they take on a one time when i do not moscow. meanwhile england chelsea now know they need to win the champions league in order to qualify for the competition again next season . they can no longer finish fourth in the premier league after suffering a full one defeat to liverpool just days after beating them to lift the f.a. cup the result is a little sixth home win of the season. meanwhile later on wednesday a little bit of spain will descend on bucharest the remaining city is hosting the all spanish europa league final between athletic bilbao how to cope with dread but

great actually won the competition two years ago after beating fullam in the final diego simeone a side will start a slight favorites are beaten in seven matches and are also on the verge of qualification for next year's champions league they will have defender lewis per day available after recovering from a thigh problem but matilda tiago is suspended while striker falcao is looking out for his second title in a row having won the competition with porto twelve months ago. but i think to feel a little bit nervous when playing a finalist natural and with this would be historic to win two consecutive titles with different clubs all i'm trying to do is keep really focused on what our coach wants and what the team needs from me and what we need to do as a team on the pitch and let's hope that we can reach our target. well this year is the first time the bilbao have reached a european final since one thousand nine hundred eighty seven coach marcelo b. also has a fully fit squad to choose from and rested certain key players in the league or over the weekend and the best side have the chance to do

a double this season as they also face barcelona in the final of the copper del ray . well it's true that we've dreamed of these type of victory for many years but it's to have a good omen to talk about victories before actually winning anything and i think it's better to focus on the game on the pitch and then hopefully we'll be able to celebrate because that is a dream we've all had for many years now. now host of russian footballing legends have paid tribute to those who fell during the second world war members of the soviet union's an impact and european championship winning teams gathered a moscow's victory park monument to pay their respects michael craft janko reports . it's pretty much the dream for any boy growing up to become a football hero but few would have had as difficult a time achieving that dream than those growing up during wartime. when i was four and living in rust off in southeast russia when the war broke out but despite the

fact that the far she's had taken control of the c.t. we boys continued to play football in no courtyards because a dad age we had no idea what was going on it's exactly kids like victor when you're dealing with then went on to create the us golden era in football during a ten year period the national team won olympic gold in one hundred fifty six became european champions in one nine hundred sixty and then came second in the same competition four years later legends like goalkeeper. and strikers picked up in egypt and nikita seaman him all grew up having no idea what the outcome of the war would bring them. but that didn't stop them from daring to dream. where we even played on them to storm and they fed us only once a day and still we continued to play football and once the war was over every single yard was full of children playing football and the most famous footballers came from these yards in stark contrast to those who were directly affected by the

tribulations of war but there were some who were more fortunate. because of the u.s. the size of boston territory it meant not all of it was directly in the line of fire in britain i was very young when the war began so i have a very fuzzy memory of how it told was back then i lived in but to be a coastal city in what is now the republic of georgia and people will even peacefully ovo there were many refugees there was no actual war there so luckily breena was also quite peaceful. while calm as a steely had the luxury of relative freedom and open space those closer to the front line that far fewer comforts nearby when you do if there weren't any sports schools other fantastic gene holes we have today we didn't have any protective gear or even boots at times we played with their food we played with empty cans as food bowls or two in order to sort that mom would give us feel it withdraw any use that

with that kind of spirit it's little wonder these boys managed to achieve what they did. some lucky ones where even torn between vocations. i spent my childhood juggling to decide to become a food bill and with that of being a singer. you went from football to seton and back to food bill again but in the end my call it was food bill and soon it became a gill keep a phenomenal police. whether or not these great footballers were affected directly by the war collectively they managed to channel any fear or despair into the beautiful game and it's these legends that prove that despite great adversity not even rule can rip children of their dreams like a quick check of the team. while elsewhere russia have maintained that one hundred percent record of the ice hockey while championship after winning the third game in arrived in a shoot out bending of man have been jamming to know and goals for next. russia victory next up is denmark meanwhile in the other current phase. it's only by five

goals to. in helsinki defending champions finland had no problems against switzerland running out five two when it's all but a risk and they three to win a cosmic start. now in the n.b.a. playoffs the indiana pacers are through to the second round after winning their best of seven series with orlando orlando magic this after a one hundred five eighty seven win in game five so first on the paces of reach this stage in seven years darren collison and george hale combining for thirty four points meanwhile the atlanta hawks are back in contention in their series with boston the deficit to three turn off your thrilling eighty seven eighty six victory denver have reduced the difference in their series against the l.a. lakers nuggets one game five one hundred two ninety nine and the chicago bulls have kept their series with philadelphia life following a seventy seven sixty nine when game five coach tom three about full of praise for top score low all day who finished with twenty four point. zero grade energy

all around game. book it's a really. good. thing carlos was terrific in the post. it was great the fans great. ronnie brewer was terrific. meanwhile in tennis world number one novak djokovic has described the clay court of the madrid masters as impossible this despite a three set when i would daniel him and i throw where in the first round the serve big time favorite sixty two six six three but was unhappy with the pace playing afterwards he should've come out in football boots he also joked he needed advice from chuck norris on how to play on the newly installed blue play the comments come following similar concerns from other players or thora to say the clay makes it easier for t.v. viewers to follow the flight of the ball the reigning champion will now place where stanislav austria. in the second round. and finally

a goal tiger woods is back in action this weekend he would tie. as to the p.g.a. tour the players championship in florida now it's fair to say the former world number one has been inconsistent so far this season his five shot when a healthy his first p.g.a. told cycling thirteen months was followed by his worst masters performance but the thirty six year old isn't concerned by his lack of consistency. because i've done this before and that's. been through this and you've actually a lot of the guys i lived with me went through those periods where i wasn't quite. where i wanted to be and i had some pretty good runs after that and this is this is no different takes a little time well that is all the sport for now you know it will be back a and a little under two hours time to join in that.

culture is that so much about the experience i mean to say she gave me a lot of people like me turning to the russian presidency for the third time slot amir putin has pledged to unify the country and continue reforms to expand the economy. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture.

both. of them.

which brightened. from plans to. start on t.v. dot com. straight

to breaking news for you this hour here on our t. indonesian authorities say a russian built sukhoi superjet craft this disappeared from radar could have crashed into a mountain top but now joins us with more on this tom what else do we know at this point but at the moment rob we know the plane was on a demonstration flight at an indonesian airfield it was returning to that airfield when the pilots reportedly asked to decrease their are to shoot from ten thousand down to six thousand feet that permission was granted and the plane had started to descend down to turn when it disappeared from the range the radar in a mountainous region. the search has started to try and find the plane helicopters have been out and have returned it was also said by authorities at the airport that the plane would already have run out of fuel if it had been flying all this time we just don't know what has happened to the plane tom as far as we understand there's been some information.