domestic opposition

Republished from A protest in Paris against terrorism-backing policies of French government and Saudi regime (21/6/15) | SANA. See also 80,000 terrorists enter Syria via Turkey, Jordan: Syrian UN envoy (22/6/15) | PressTV and other articles about Syria.

Paris, SANA – A number of associations, including the French "Civitas" association, "The Gathering of Expatriates for Syria" and "The Union of Syrian Patriots" staged on Saturday a protest outside the Saudi Embassy in the French capital Paris against the terrorism-supporting policies of the French president Francois Holland and those of the Saudi regime.

A crowd of French citizens and members of the Syrian community in France and Belgium took part in the event, with the participants holding Holland’s government and the Saudi regime responsible for the massacres and crimes committed by the terrorists in the Middle East countries, particularly Syria, Iraq and Egypt.

They demanded an international trial for the two sides and all other individuals, organizations and governments that are backing or dealing with the terrorist organizations.

French and Syrian flags were waved during the protest and the slogans chanted expressed support for Syria, applauding its steadfastness in the face of the terrorists and their backers.

Alain Escada, Chairman of Civitas association, which seeks to create a French political lobby opposing the French President Francois Holland, placed the blame for the terrorist acts committed in Syria and other countries on the policies of an "axis of countries" including the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Turkey.

This axis, Escada said, seeks to establish a new world order to subjugate countries into implementing their agendas in service of their interests.

For his part, Omran al-Khatib, head of the Gathering of Expatriates for Syria told SANA in a statement that "Our participation aims at demanding that the peoples and governments of the world stand firmly in the face of Al Saud regime that generated terrorism in all its forms."

SANA reporter also spoke to a number of Syrian expatriates, who stressed that they support their homeland and its leadership and army against the terrorist organizations and all of their sponsors.

Qabas/ H. Said

Other stories about Syria: ISIS fighters plant mines and bombs in Palmyra - monitor (21/6/15) | RT, 'Revolution within revolution': How and why Kurdish women are fighting ISIS (DOCUMENTARY) (18/6/15) | RT, Syrian communities abroad condemn terrorist crimes in Syria, protest against arming terrorists (18/6/15), Syrians abroad: International silence on ISIS massacres is betrayal of human values and (3/5/15), Hundreds of Turkish citizens protest against Turkish support for terrorists.

Comment: If Angelina Jolie, the "Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)" and now visiting Turkey, ostensibly to help Syrians and Iraqis displaced by war (3/5/15), truly wanted to stop the refugee crisis, then perhaps she should consider joining any planned demonstrations by Turks opposed to President Erdogan's complicity in the proxy terrorist war against Syria which has so far cost over 220,000 lives. One such demonstration occurred on 3 May and is described in a previously linked article.

See also PressTV, the Syrian Free Press NetworkFars News, Voltaire Net, Land Destroyer, Syria News,, Global Research, RT and Sputnik News.

First published on PressTV, 12 May 2013 as Protesters tell Erdogan to resign. Other reporting (and misreporting) of Reyhanli terrorist bombing, and issues arising, includes: Information Minister: Turkey Bombings Terrorist Act Condemned by All Standards - SANA, Turkey blames Syria over Reyhanli bombings - Guardian, Turkey says Syrian forces behind border town bombings - Reuters, Dozens dead in Turkey car bombings - Brisbane Times, Turkey claims Assad loyalists bombed Reyhanli - , Blasts kill dozens in Turkish town Reyhanli on Syria border - BBC, Iran slams explosions in Turkish city of Reyhanli - PressTV.

Turkish protesters have called for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down following two car bombings in a town near the Syrian border.

Scores of people took to the streets of the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province on Saturday after more than 40 people were killed in two car bombings that jolted the town earlier in the day.

The angry demonstrators said the outbreak of violence was due to the Erdogan administration’s anti-Syria policy.

Security was tight in the center of Reyhanli, near the scene of the blasts, with the security forces setting up checkpoints to control entry into and exit from the town, witnesses said.

A similar demonstration was briefly held in Ankara, in which dozens of people marched in the street and chanted slogans criticizing Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Turkey has been one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's harshest critics and has supported the foreign-backed militants fighting to topple his government.

Turkish opposition parties have censured the Turkish government for its intervention in Syria’s internal affairs.

Last July, the leader of the Republican People’s Party warned the government against dragging the country into the “Middle Eastern quagmire” with its aggressive anti-Syria stance.

The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Editor's comment:

As has been explained on Twitter, "The province which was attacked supports the Syrian government." This is why that town was targeted by terrorists. The Turkish government and the mainstream media have not reported that protests against the Turkish Government have been held in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in which 46 were killed in the terrorist outrage of 11 May. Instead, unfounded claims, originating from the Turkish and U.S. governments, which try to attribute blame to the Syrian Government, have been reported. An example is the report Turkey blames Syria over Reyhanli bombings of 13 may in the Guardian The Syrian Government has condemned the outrage and comprehensively refuted any suggestion that it could have been behind the outrage.

Postscript: More Turkish protests against Erdogan over Reyhanli bombings

Adapted from Turkish protesters blame government for blasts from PressTV of 16 May 2013.

Relatives cry as pallbearers carry the coffin of Fehmi Karaca, 69, a shop owner killed in Saturday’s bombings, for burial in Reyhanli, Turkey, Sunday, May 12, 2013.

Hundreds of Turkish citizens have held demonstrations in the southern Turkish province Hatay and in the country’s largest city Istanbul to protest against Saturday’s twin car bombings, which killed 46 people and injured over a hundred others in the town of Reyhanli.

On Thursday, the protesters condemned the violence, noting that the outbreak of bloodshed was due to the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s support for armed militants in Syria.

In Istanbul, the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators who were marching towards the office of Erdogan.

A similar demonstration was held in Ankara on Saturday, in which dozens of people marched in the street and chanted slogans criticizing Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Turkey has accused Damascus of being behind the attack but Syria has dismissed the claim.

Syria Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi told a news conference on Sunday that his country "did not commit and would never commit such an act because our values would not allow that."

He blamed Ankara for the Saturday bombings in Reyhanli as well as the ongoing unrest in Syria by facilitating the flow of arms, explosives, vehicles, militants and money across the border into the Arab country.

"It is Erdogan who should be asked about this act... He and his party bear direct responsibility," Zohbi said.

The Syrian minister also stated that Turkey has planned the attacks to use them as a pretext to justify foreign intervention in Syria.

"Why this timing? Why these attack, just days before the meeting between Erdogan and (US President Barack) Obama? Does he (Erdogan), whose country is a NATO member, want to incite the United States (into intervening in Syria) by telling him his country has been attacked?" Zohbi said.

He added that the Turkish government has turned its border areas with Syria into centers for international terrorism.