BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad granted citizenship on Thursday to Kurds in eastern Syria, part of attempts to cool resentment over nearly five decades of strict Baathist rule and deflect pro-democracy protests. Popular protests across mostly Sunni Muslim Syria demanding an end to a decades-old emergency law and one-party rule have posed the most serious challenge to Assad's 11 years in power. More than 70 people have been killed in the protests, which have been inspired by popular uprisings across the Arab world. At least 10 people were killed last Friday in the Damascus suburb of Douma, seen as the next focal point of protests where demonstrators have set up a vigil outside the mosque. Syria's ruling hierarchy, packed with minority Alawites, has tolerated no dissent and has used emergency laws to justify arbitrary arrests, including those of other minorities such as Kurds who say they are discriminated against. Assad's overture to Kurds, who make up about 10 percent of the 20 million population, came after reports that authorities had released 48 Kurdish prisoners and that the president had met leaders in the eastern al-Hasaka region where many Kurds live earlier in the week. It was not immediately clear how many would be granted Syrian nationality, but at least 150,000 Kurds are registered as foreigners as a result of a 1962 census in al-Hasaka. Kurdish leader Habib Ibrahim said Kurds would press their non-violent struggle for civil rights and democracy to replace autocratic rule. "Our cause is democracy for the whole of Syria. Citizenship is the right of every Syrian. It is not a favor. It is not the right of anyone to grant," Ibrahim, who heads the Democratic Unity Kurdish Party, told Reuters. Assad cracked down on ethnic Kurds when they launched violent demonstrations against the state in 2004. Kurds are not allowed to teach Kurdish in schools and cannot set up Kurdish radio stations. Syria had increased the number of arrests of dissidents, including Kurdish activists since uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled the countries' rulers, in power for decades. On Thursday human rights activists said authorities had arrested on Wednesday Sheikh Imad Rasheed, a prominent cleric who has supported the protests. SECOND GOVERNOR SACKED State television also said Assad had sacked the governor of Homs province, an area that saw clashes during protests. Officials have blamed armed groups for opening fire on citizens in Homs on Friday. The gesture was unlikely to appease some protesters who blame the deaths on security forces and are dissatisfied by the limited steps Assad has taken toward addressing their grievances, particularly the lifting of emergency law. Assad has ordered a panel to draft anti-terrorism legislation to replace emergency law, but critics say the replacement will probably grant the state many of the same powers. Assad also fired the governor of Deraa, where the protests erupted nearly three weeks ago. Last week Assad sacked his government and later appointed agriculture minister Adel Safar to form a new cabinet. State news agency SANA said on Thursday the new government was expected to be announced next week. But Abdelhalim Khaddam, a former vice president who resigned and defected from the Baath Party in 2005, said Assad's steps toward reform don't "go to the heart of the problem." Khaddam, whom the opposition is critical of because of the many years he served under the Baath party, also called for the creation of a new constitution, based on a parliamentary democracy. "The regime is outdated and can't continue to function as is," he told reporters in Brussels in remarks in Arabic, which were translated to French. In a move to mollify conservative Muslims, Syria lifted on Wednesday a ban on teachers wearing the full face veil and ordered the closure of the country's only casino. Many Sunni Muslim tribes resent the power and wealth accumulated by the Alawites, an offshoot sect of Shi'ite Islam. Western powers and northern neighbor Turkey have urged Assad to make concrete reforms and have criticized the violence against protesters. In a statement, the Baath Party said: "The Syrian Arab people, under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad, will repel attempts to shake security .... and would not be dragged into suspicious plots." Assad has blamed the unrest on a foreign conspiracy against Syria. (Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman; Dominic Evans and Mariam Karouny in Beirut; Christopher Le Coq in Brussels; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Michael Roddy) Overview Syria is at a critical crossroads, faced with a timely opportunity to maintain stability and security in the country by realizing the nationality and its concomitant rights of all residents. In particular, an estimated 300,000 stateless Kurds live within the country’s borders, but are in a unique situation in relation to the larger Kurdish population due to a 1962 census that led to their denationalization. The lack of nationality and identity documents means that stateless Kurds, for all practical purposes, are rendered non-existent. Their basic rights to education, employment, property ownership, political participation, and legal marriage are severely limited, relegating them to the outermost margins of Syrian civil society. “It is like being buried alive,” said one man. In an attempt to mitigate the desperation of their plight, some Kurds have begun to mobilize themselves to advocate for their recognition. Others take tremendous risks to leave Syria illegally and seek opportunities abroad. However, those caught may be deported back, imprisoned, and subjected to harsh treatment. Individuals who actively tried to change the situation for stateless Kurds have also been detained and tortured. In his speech on November 10, 2005, President Bashar Al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic said that he wants to resolve issues of nationality in the Hassakeh region. “We will solve this issue soon in an expression of the importance of national unity in Syria.” But over the years, many government promises about resolving the plight of stateless Kurds have been made and broken. “Promises are made by the authorities, but in practical life there are no changes,” one While the Syrian government deserves credit for decades of assistance to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and now to the growing number of Iraqi refugees present on their territory due to the ongoing crisis in Iraq, it must recognize in a concrete way the rights of hundreds of thousands of individual Kurds within its own borders who have been arbitrarily denied the right to Syrian nationality. The Syrian government needs to repeal all draconian restrictions on the free expression of Kurdish cultural identity and grant citizenship to individuals who lack it. President Al-Assad needs to make good on his promises now. For only when the stateless Kurds in Syria have been fully nationalized and the broader issue of the Kurdish place in Syrian political, social, and economic life has been addressed can peace and security within Syria be realized. Refugees International recommends that: The Government of Syria The UN High Commissioner for Refugees The United States & Concerned GovernmentsSyria's Assad tries to appease Kurds after unrest
Buried Alive: Stateless Kurds in Syria
Mon, 02/13/2006 - 02:00File Size Buried Alive 335.99 KB
stateless man told Refugees International.
Saturday, 9 April 2011
DOWNLOAD
Posts
