Monday, April 4, 2016
Assad No Friend of Palmyra and its People
French archaeologist Annie Sartre-Fauriat explains that Palmyra is just another pawn for Assad and his regime. According to Sartre-Fauriat, Assad's military first bombarded the site and then looted it, before abandoning it to ISIS in the hopes that what ISIS would do to the site would help encourage Western intervention on Assad's behalf. That didn't happen, but Assad's and Putin's propaganda machines have made the most out of Palmyra's recapture. Of course, Palmyra and its modern population are best out of ISIS' hands, but Assad's record is far from ideal.
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2 comments:
I would like to see more evidence regarding these charges against the Syrian army and Bashar al-Assad in respect of their looting of Palmyra. I read Annie Sartre-Fauriat's article and it was sadly lacking in proof of these allegations. As a frequent visitor to Syria in the past I find it hard to believe that these depredations would have occurred at Palmyra, which, for Syrians was a tremendous source of pride in their country.
Benjamin Ward
Barrister/Archaeologist
Sherborne
England
Ben, here is an archaeological blog that speaks to this issue: https://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/palmyra-looting-rebels-regime-islamic-state-propaganda/.
Best wishes,
Peter Tompa
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