The security forces' violent clampdown on protesters in Daraa will inspire repressed Syrians to finally break their silence
A GOOD COMMENT
By Maher Arar
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23 March 2011
".....Furthermore, Syria's human rights situation steadily deteriorated under the new ruler, especially after the unofficial alliance with the Unites States to fight al-Qaida, a historically common enemy. For instance, it became clear around 2001 that Syria was a preferred rendition destination for terror suspects. The cases of Hydar Zammar, Ahmed El-Maati, Abdullah El-Malki and my own are only a few examples . Bob Baer, a former CIA official, stated at the time: "If you want a serious interrogation, you send a prisoner to Jordan. If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria," something to which I can personally attest.
Last year, Human Rights Watch published an extensive report about the human rights situation in Syria in which the organisation concluded that Assad's decade in power was marked by repression.
This may explain why the majority of Syrians have preferred to remain silent, at least for now. One need look no further than the scandalous five-year sentence the blogger Tal al-Mallohi, 19, received recently because she "was found to be spying for a foreign entity". Countless other activists, such as the 80-year-old veteran Haitham al-Maleh, who was released two weeks ago because of his age, have been jailed simply because they voiced their opinions on matters related to good governance and social justice.....
.....These ethnic divisions make it extremely challenging to have a unified popular voice, but what is encouraging is the fact that the Syrian youth who are leading this nonviolent reform movement have made it clear that it is purely secular in nature and they will not allow it to be hijacked by any opportunist ethnic group or opposition party.
It is too early to ascribe the "revolution" label to this Syrian youth movement. But what is clear from the Tunisian example is that revolutions need a spark and it seems Assad has already ignited it in Daraa."
A GOOD COMMENT
By Maher Arar
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23 March 2011
".....Furthermore, Syria's human rights situation steadily deteriorated under the new ruler, especially after the unofficial alliance with the Unites States to fight al-Qaida, a historically common enemy. For instance, it became clear around 2001 that Syria was a preferred rendition destination for terror suspects. The cases of Hydar Zammar, Ahmed El-Maati, Abdullah El-Malki and my own are only a few examples . Bob Baer, a former CIA official, stated at the time: "If you want a serious interrogation, you send a prisoner to Jordan. If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria," something to which I can personally attest.
Last year, Human Rights Watch published an extensive report about the human rights situation in Syria in which the organisation concluded that Assad's decade in power was marked by repression.
This may explain why the majority of Syrians have preferred to remain silent, at least for now. One need look no further than the scandalous five-year sentence the blogger Tal al-Mallohi, 19, received recently because she "was found to be spying for a foreign entity". Countless other activists, such as the 80-year-old veteran Haitham al-Maleh, who was released two weeks ago because of his age, have been jailed simply because they voiced their opinions on matters related to good governance and social justice.....
.....These ethnic divisions make it extremely challenging to have a unified popular voice, but what is encouraging is the fact that the Syrian youth who are leading this nonviolent reform movement have made it clear that it is purely secular in nature and they will not allow it to be hijacked by any opportunist ethnic group or opposition party.
It is too early to ascribe the "revolution" label to this Syrian youth movement. But what is clear from the Tunisian example is that revolutions need a spark and it seems Assad has already ignited it in Daraa."
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