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Mass Killings and Human Rights Violations
in Syria
29.9.2008
By O. Winter |
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September
29, 2008
Introduction
There has been series of flagrant human rights
violations recently in Syria, including the mass
killing of prisoners in Sidnaya prison and the
killing of three Kurdish citizens who were
celebrating Newroz ( Kurdish New Year) in the city
of Qamishli (Qamishlo). Following are excerpts from
reactions to these events on oppositionist Syrian
websites, as well as details and illustrations from
reports posted on these sites about the torture of
prisoners in Syrian jails.
The Sidnaya Mass Killing
On July 5, 2008, Syrian oppositionist websites and
human rights organizations reported that least 25
prisoners had been killed by security forces during
rioting in Sidnaya prison. [1] After two days of
silence from the government, the official Syrian
news agency SANA confirmed that "prisoners convicted
of terrorism and extremist acts" had rioted,www.ekurd.net
that security forces had
taken steps to "restore the peace," and that legal
action had been brought against the rioters. [2] To
date, however, the Syrian regime has not
acknowledged that any prisoners have been killed,
nor has it allowed the prisoners' families to visit
the prison to find out what befell their relatives.
The Damascus Declaration Organization: "The Regime
is Responsible for the Tragedy in Sidnaya Prison"
An article posted July 12, 2008 on the website of
Damascus Declaration, an umbrella organization of
oppositionist forces in Syria, blamed the Syrian
regime for the mass killing, and criticized the
international community for keeping silent about it:
"A week has passed since the events at Sidnaya
prison, and the details of what happened there have
not yet been fully disclosed. The regime and its
security apparatuses are to blame for the tragedy,
owing to their use of excessive force and live
ammunition.
"Even if some of the prisoners did perpetrate
violent acts - and that is not very likely - their
incarceration in this prison is questionable to
begin with... since they were arrested under the
Emergency Law, [i.e.] without due process. Moreover,
some of them were tried by the Emergency Court,
which violates legal principles and whose existence
is insupportable. In the jail [itself, the
prisoners] receive inhuman treatment and are held in
inhuman conditions - the most recent [example of
which was the] ban on visits from their families...
"First, [we] condemn the government's refusal to
disclose the number and names of the victims, as
well as the general [information] blackout it has
imposed on this affair, which gives rise to
confusion, alarm and chaos. An independent, unbiased
investigation of the massacre is imperative...
[Furthermore,] we ask the world to take a firm stand
on human rights [in Syria], since this is our
legitimate right." [3]
Syrian Columnist: "The Sidnaya Massacre - A [Mirror]
of Syria's Entire Domestic Situation"
'Abd Al-Baset Sayda, a Kurdish Syrian columnist who
resides in Sweden, wrote on the oppositionist Syrian
website Levant News that the Sidnaya prison incident
mirrored the situation in Syria as a whole: "The
difference between the crime that took place in
Sidnaya prison and the crimes that occur in the
numerous other prisons,www.ekurd.net
either secret or
non-secret, erected by the gang that rules Syria...
is that the news of the crimes [in Sidnaya] reached
the press after the jailors lost control and could
no longer bully people into silence as they had
always done. Consequently, they were compelled to
ask for help [from forces] outside the prison to
suppress [the prisoners], which led to the killing
and wounding of dozens of victims...
"Sidnaya prison today is a microcosm of Syria's
entire domestic arena. A regime armed to the teeth
that controls the capital and the media looms over
victims who have no option but to staunchly stand up
for their honor and insist on their [right] to hope
for a better future.
"This is a regime that starves [people], usurps
[their] freedom, and kills [them]... It is a regime
that has brought people to bankruptcy [by] forcing
them [to endure] horrifically high prices, in order
to keep everyone constantly preoccupied with making
an honest living. This enables [the regime] to
tighten its hold over the country and over Syrian
society, and to thwart every possible threat to the
continuation of its dictatorial rule." [4]
The Killings in Qamishli
On March 20, 2008, the Syrian security forces opened
fire on Kurdish citizens who were celebrating Newroz
(New Year) in the city of Qamishli, killing three
and wounding five. Eyewitnesses gave conflicting
reports as to the reason for the shooting. Some
claimed that the three had been shot without
provocation, while others maintained that the
celebrators had burned tires and thrown stones at
policemen. Following the incident, several Kurdish
organizations in Syria announced a period of
mourning and the cancellation of Newroz
celebrations. [5]
The Syrian regime completely ignored the incident,
but Kurdish forces inside and outside Syriareacted
in anger. The president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Mas'oud
Barzani, harshly condemned "the shooting, during the
[Newroz] festivities, of innocent people whose only
crime was to express their joy at the birth of the
Kurdish new year." Barzani called on Syrian
President Bashar Al-Assad "to intervene in order to
prevent the recurrence of such crimes,www.ekurd.net
and to conduct an
investigation in order to discover the identity of
the perpetrators and bring them to justice." [6] Al-Assad
responded in an interview for the Qatari daily Al-Watan,
saying that Barzani should "deal with Iraq's
[affairs], not Syria's," and that "Barzani had
nothing to do with any Syrian citizen." Al-Assad
went on to say that "[the Syrian government] was
responsible for Syrian citizens, and was fully
capable of carrying out investigations and defending
[its people]." [7]
Kurdish Columnist: The Shooting Was Meant to Kill
Syrian Freedom Even Before It Was Born
In an article on the Kurdish website
www.welate-me.com, Serdar Badrakhan, a Kurdish
columnist residing in Syria, wrote that high-ranking
Syrian officials were responsible for the Qamishli
shootings:
"Is there any state on the face of the earth [other
than Syria] that fires live bullets at its citizens
during their festival?! Is there any [other] state
that harbors so much resentment toward citizens who
want only justice, equality, and an end to the
policy of apartheid against them? Is there any
[other] state, in this day and age, that places such
a low value on its citizens and their lives, [and
treats them] with such depravity and contempt? How
can it be that people are brutally massacred, [yet]
the perpetrators of these shameful crimes against
humanity are not subjected to any legal or criminal
investigation?! What right does [the state] have to
guillotine Kurds who only wanted to be treated first
as human beings and then as citizens?!
"What more does the regime want from us?! We live on
the land that has belonged to our ancestors for
thousands of years, yet you do not recognize our
existence or our right to live... Have you forgotten
that the truth cannot be concealed forever? We will
stay on our land and will not forsake it, despite
your policy of oppression, physical aggression, and
killing. We will continue to live on it, hungry and
barefoot; we will eat its herbs and shelter in the
shade of its rocks and trees; and we will not go
away!... Do you want our people to give up their
Kurdish identity?! Do you want to bring them to
their knees?! [If so,] you are making a grave
mistake... Your plans and your policy cannot
undermine the self-respect and the pride that have
always distinguished our people. We are certain that
the day will come when, alive or dead, you will be
held to account for the crimes you have perpetrated
against our people.
"We believe that those hate-ridden bullets were
fired... on orders from high-ranking officials, and
we firmly demand that their [idenity] be revealed
and that they stand trial. [Those bullets] were
meant to kill the nonexistent freedom in Syria and
to bury it before it could even be born. [They] were
meant to thwart the Syrian people's [hope] for
nonviolent, gradual democratic change, as well as
the rapprochement between all national and ethnic
groups [in Syria] and their joint activity - so that
the [regime] can carry on oppressing everyone,
plundering the riches of the land, and [depriving]
the people of their livelihood." [8]
Qamishli Resident: "Syria Will Not Achieve Stability
by Firing On Its Citizens"
In an article on www.alarabiya.net, Hawas Mahmoud, a
Kurdish columnist residing in Qamishli, called to
extinguish the flames of nationalism in Syria before
they engulfed everyone: "We ask with bitterness: How
can Syrian national unity be strengthened? How can
the Syrian homeland be built? [Will it be built]
through oppression, prisons, random shootings, the
murder of national identity, and the slaughter of
innocent unarmed civilians? [Will it be built] by
sanctioning corruption and bribery,www.ekurd.net
destroying
infrastructure, suppressing freedoms, and gagging
people? Or [will it be built] through dialogue,
democracy, elections, public participation, freedom
of expression, a modern party law, construction and
development?... If sensible people in Syria... wish
for a stable country, they must extinguish the
flames of chauvinism before they engulf everyone.
Negation of the other is tantamount to a suicide of
the nation. The examples are numerous, ranging from
Kosovo to Iraq, Sudan, etc...
"It is no longer possible [for the regime] to boast
about [political] stability [in Syria]. To those who
claim that Syria enjoys stability, I say: Syria will
not achieve stability by firing on its citizens. You
chauvinists are steeped in illusion if you believe
that you have the power to extinguish the blaze of
Newroz that lives in the hearts and minds of the
Kurds.'" [9]
Torture in Prisons
Syrian oppositionist and human rights websites
periodically post articles on torture in Syrian
jails. A July 2007 report by the National Human
Rights Organization in Syria states that a variety
of methods of physical and mental torture are used
in the prisons, especially during preliminary
investigation. The report stated that these include
using the torture chair; torture by means of water
or electrical shock; extinguishing cigarettes on the
prisoner's body; beating with metal cables; using
the torture wheel; hitting, kicking, and slapping;
beating the soles of the prisoner's feet,
humiliating the prisoner and using abusive language;
binding the prisoner's arms, and blindfolding. [10]
Former Political Prisoner: "The Syrian Regime Is
Committing Crimes Against Humanity"
Syrian human rights activist George Salim recounts
the torture he endured in a Syrian jail: "I wonder
if the walls of Prison Dungeon No. 13, Section 235 -
known as the Palestine section, and notorious for
its torture and maltreatment [of prisoners] - still
reverberate with my screams and groans. Inside these
walls I spent 120 days, to the hour, during which I
was subjected daily to barbaric torture, [which made
me] beg for death thousands of times a day. [Only]
then did I understand how merciful death really is.
"I apologize to the reader for recounting what
befell me personally and for dwelling on my own
experience. Nevertheless, I am determined to get it
off my chest, [and hope] that this article will
reveal to the reader the crimes against humanity
committed by Syrian intelligence...
"Everyone knows that governments throughout the
world collect taxes from the people in order to
build schools, pave roads, improve their citizens'
standard of living, construct hospitals and
rehabilitation centers, and advance development
programs. The Syrian regime, however, acts in
exactly the opposite way. Public funds and taxes go
towards the intelligence budget, and are used for
opening new security branches and jails, devising
novel methods of torture, and filling the dungeons
and detention centers with citizens and humiliating
them...
"A [prison] officer shamelessly orders his
subordinates to torture a prisoner, and personally
supervises the proceedings. Most of these people
have become sadists who enjoy torturing the
detainees. They have become addicted to it, and
practice it on a daily basis.
"Slapping and spitting in [the prisoner's] face,
abusive language, blows to the head, punches in the
face, hitting, shackling [the prisoner's] feet,
using the torture wheel, administering electrical
shocks to sensitive body parts, suspending [the
prisoner] from the ceiling, raping [him]... starving
[him], urinating on [his body] - this is only a
partial list of [torture] methods practiced daily,
regularly and in a well-organized manner in the
detention centers and jails of the Syrian
intelligence [apparatus]...
"I have never been a political enemy of the Syrian
regime, or [even] a member of a political party;
neither have I carried out hostile acts against
[this regime]. I only became somewhat interested in
improving human rights in Syria, [seeing this] as a
voluntary service to the regime, and nothing else.
Nevertheless, I came to be regarded by it as a
traitor, was followed, arrested and subjected to
torture and persecution, and besieged from all
directions.
"What would have happened if I had really been a
political dissenter? What punishment would I have
incurred then? This regime understands only the
[language of] arrests, torture, intimidation, and
humiliation of the citizens, aimed at protecting
itself from collapse. [Nevertheless,] I am convinced
that its days are numbered." [11]
Syrian Oppositionist: Torture Is Part of Syrian
Reality
In another article posted on Levant News, Syrian
columnist and human rights activist Muhammad 'Ali 'Abdallah
wrote that Syrian citizens had no choice but to
succumb to the reality of torture: "Although the
Syrian constitution (Clause 28, Subsection 3) and
penal code prohibit torture, and although in 2004
Syria endorsed the U.N. charter forbidding torture,
it is still known as one of the countries where
torture is used in an organized fashion in detention
centers and jails. Besides, torture is regarded as
one of the [accepted] punishments.
"There is no point in discussing torture without
talking about Syrian prisons and detention centers
[in general]. The Syrian authorities are notorious
for violating human rights... They alone are
responsible for [the fact that] their names are
associated with torture and human rights violations.
There are two main reasons for this. First, they do
not allow prosecution of torturers, anchoring their
immunity in legal rulings... Second, the government
refuses to allow independent observers access to
prisons and detention centers...
"In Syria, the authorities continue to conceal all
acts of torture, to refuse negotiations with human
rights organizations that are concerned about this
issue, to evade the responsibility of investigating
cases that have been exposed, and to implement laws
protecting intelligence personnel from indictment.
[As a result,] Syria is included in the list of
countries that use torture, and any citizen wishing
to sue his torturers is denied the right to do so.
This leaves them no [choice]... but to submit to the
status quo and keep silent." [12]
Illustrations: Torture in Syrian Jails
The website of the Syrian Human Rights Committee (www.shrc.org
) published a series of illustrations portraying
torture practices in Syrian jails:
Copyright, respective author or news agency, MEMRI
*
Future Movement advocates democracy and equal rights
for Syria's one million Kurdish minority. The
Kurdish language is not allowed to be taught in
schools and tens of thousands of Kurds were denied
citizenship after a 1960s census.
Freedom of expression remains tightly controlled in
Syria, and security forces have sweeping powers of
arrest and detention.
A total 1,500 people were arrested for political
reasons in 2007 and hundreds more who were arrested
in previous years remained in detention, according
to rights group Amnesty International's 2008 report.
** Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria
making up 10% of the country's population i.e. about
two million.
Kurds in Syria often speak Kurdish in public,
unless all those present do not. Kurdish human
rights activists are mistreated and persecuted. No
political parties are allowed for any group, Kurdish
or otherwise.
Suppression of ethnic identity of
Kurds in Syria include: various bans on the use of
the Kurdish language; refusal to register children
with Kurdish names; replacement of Kurdish place
names with new names in Arabic; prohibition of
businesses that do not have Arabic names; not
permitting Kurdish private schools; and the
prohibition of books and other materials written in
Kurdish.
More about Kurds in Syria
- (Kurdistan-Syria) From Wikipedia
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