 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2016) |
| Abbreviation | LCC |
|---|---|
| Formation | March 2011 (2011-03)[1] |
| Purpose | Opposition to Ba'athist Syria |
Region served | Syria |
| Membership | 100–200 (June 2011)[1] |
Official language | Arabic |
Key person | Razan Zaitouneh[1] |
Key person | Awad ALOYEED[1] |
Parent organization | Syrian opposition |
| Website | lccsyria |
| Remarks | Promotescivil disobedience,[2] media campaigns[1] |
TheLocal Coordination Committees of Syria (Arabic:لجان التنسيق المحلية في سوريا,romanized: Lijān al-Tansīq al-Maḥallīyah fī Sūriyā;LCCSyria[3] orLCCs[4]) were a network of local groups that organise and report on protests as part of theSyrian uprising.[2][5] In June 2011, the network was described byThe New York Times as beginning to "emerge as a pivotal force" in Syria.[1] As of August 2011[update], the network supportedcivil disobedience and opposed local armed resistance and international military intervention as methods of opposing the Syrian government.[6]
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria started in March 2011 from local groups that published reports about protests during theSyrian uprising and developed into a national network involved in journalism about protests and the protests themselves.[3] The groups had developed from informal networks of friends and colleagues involved in dissidence that had existed for many years.[1] Prior to the uprising, Syrian activists had brought in mobile telephones, satellite modems and computers in anticipation ofArab Spring protests developing in Syria.[1] In June 2011,The New York Times described the network as beginning to "emerge as a pivotal force" in Syrian politics, "earning the respect of more recognized, but long divided dissidents."[1] The formation and structure of the councils were influenced by the proposals of the anarchistOmar Aziz, known for his November 2011 paper,The Formation of Local Councils.[7][8][9]
The LCCSyria network consists of "overwhelmingly young" demonstrators of multiple religious and class backgrounds.[1] The network is decentralized and works in secret.[1] The first of the committees was created in the Daraya suburb ofDamascus. As of June 2011[update], the most active committee was inHoms.[1] As of June 2011[update], the network had 35 individual leaders, who tried to communicate daily.[1] As of February 2012[update], the network had 14 local committees, one each inDaraa, Homs,Baniyas,Saraqeb,Idlib,al-Hasakah,Qamishli,Deir ez-Zor, the Syrian coast,Hama,Raqqa,as-Suwayda', Damascus and the Damascus suburbs.[3]
LCCSyria was financed by donations from individual supporters.[10] This was further facilitated by the "Adopt a Revolution" initiative.[11] Furthermore, theOffice for Syrian Opposition Support, which itself was founded by theUnited States Department of State andForeign and Commonwealth Office[12] and is funded by theFriends of Syria Group, provides "material support" and "training assistance" to the LCCs.[13]
Rami Nakhle, who helps LCCSyria from exile inLebanon, said that media activities documenting protests were the network's first main activity. The Syrian human rights lawyerRazan Zaitouneh, winner of the 2011Sakharov Prize[14] and the 2011Anna Politkovskaya Award,[2] has documentedhuman rights in Syria for the network.[2] The network's text and photographic reports of injuries and deaths of protestors have been used byCNN,[5]Al Jazeera English,[15]The Guardian[16] andThe Washington Post.[17][18] The network publishes reports on itsown website and onFacebook.[4]
On 1 February 2012, LCCSyria criticised the international and Arab community as having been "unable to take any decision that contributes to stopping the cycle of violence in Syria". It estimated the number of deaths in the civil war is more than 100,000.
Amnesty International describes the network's methods as peaceful protests.[2]Civil disobedience methods used by the network include nightly protests in Hama and refusal to pay water, electricity and telephone bills in the Duma suburb of Damascus.[1] The network called for a two-daygeneral strike on 5–6 February 2012.[5] They also called with other non-violence groups to theDignity Strike in Syria "Karamah Strike".
In August 2011, LCCSyria declared that it understands the calls for internal armed opposition to the Syrian government and international military intervention, but opposes both. It said that militarisation would reduce popular support for the opposition, reduce the opposition's moral superiority, and put "the Revolution in an arena where the regime has a distinct advantage". The network said that peaceful demonstrations would make it easier to develop democracy following a revolution, while militarisation would make it "virtually impossible to establish a legitimate foundation for a proud future Syria."[6]LCC Syria was one of the groups that formed what's called "Freedom Days" as an umbrella for non-violence groups in Syria.
