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Syrian Dissident: 'We've Got Mass Graves Everywhere... We Do Not Want To Negotiate!'

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Anti-government protesters carry the coffin of a slain protester, draped in the revolutionary flag, during the funeral of two comrades killed in earlier clashes in Idlib, north Syria. (AP)
Anti-government protesters carry the coffin of a slain protester, draped in the revolutionary flag, during the funeral of two comrades killed in earlier clashes in Idlib, north Syria. (AP)

Syria's President Bashar Assad met with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Damascus Tuesday as Syrian forces continued their assault against people in Homs.

Lavrov said Assad is ready for dialogue with the opposition.  But dissidents in Homs, Syria's third largest city and the center of a popular uprising, rejected Assad's offer to talk.

Homs resident and dissident Danny Abdul Dayem told Here & Now's Robin Young that there was no way he and others would negotiate with Assad.

"We have mass graves everywhere, we've got bodies missing, people missing. We do not want to negotiate, we want this regime to fall," he said.

"You can't cross the street without running from the snipers, this is not a normal life. Kids from 8-years-old know they have to run now," he said.

This weekend, Russia and China vetoed a Western and Arab-backed UN resolution this weekend that would have condemned Assad's crackdown on dissidents.  It also would have called on him to transfer some of his powers.

Guest:

  • Danny Abdul Dayem, dissident from Homs, Syria

This segment aired on February 7, 2012.

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Jill Ryan Senior Producer, Here & Now
Jill Ryan is a senior producer for NPR and WBUR's Here & Now.

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