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Syrian Kurds Rumble
Monday, March 15, 2004 Major media outlet: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/404906.html Analysis: this story highlights some key points that will be discussed later. First, the signs of concrete American involvement have come to light. American personnel and helicopters landing in northern Syria, no matter who they are or why, is big news. Assadâs dispatch of his brother (Defense Minister) to speak with Kurdish leaders is also a major turning point; signs that the Syrian military canât control the situation? Or simply fear international backlash by making any critical moves? Analysis: Syrian Baâathists are going to take advantage of the relatively sparse media coverage of the crisis that is developing in northern Syria to enact harsh military reprisals against the rebels. The events unfolding have all the trappings of another Hama, where ten thousand people were killed after an uprising there in 1982. Flame of liberty is lighting up Syria While they flicker in Spain "Public buildings still burned Sunday in the northern Syrian city of Qameshli following riots in which at least 14 Kurds were reported killed in clashes with security forces, an AFP reporter saw. Syrian authorities swiftly cracked down on the unrest over the weekend, branding it an attempt to destabilise the country as Washington prepares to impose economic sanctions on Damascus.A tense calm hung over Qameshli, 700 kilometers (640 miles) northeast of Damascus, and Hassake, 100 kilometers to the south, after two days of violence triggered by a football match. In Qameshli, near the Turkish border, firemen were still trying to extinguish flames emerging from the windows of burned and looted grain warehouses. The three-storey customs offices were burned out, the offices at the central railway station were sacked, the streets strewn with debris and a portrait of Syriaâs late president Hafez al-Assad riddled with bullet-holes. Witnesses said the rioters had torn down Syrian flags from the public buildings and hoisted Kurdish flags. A few food shops were open but most stores were shut. An official source said Syrian security chief Hisham Bakhtiar had told Kurdish leaders that "foreign hands were trying to spread sedition and instability in Syria" and called for unity in the name of current President Bashar al-Assad".... More At this moment, Qamishli and four other Western Kurdish cities are under siege by the Syrian military. Tanks and helicopters surround the cities. Syrian soldiers and Arab militias on patrol shoot indiscriminately into the streets. Communication with the outside world has been cut off. Mobile phone contacts report over 50 people killed and hundreds injured by this callous act. via The Kurdish National Congress of North America Sources in Iraq have confirmed over the past few hours that in the northern city of Kirkuk, news of the uprising has spurred people (Kurds) into random gathering in the streets. Nothing seems to be organized, and certainly not violent. No reports as to how they are recieving information yet. Statement of the Kurdish PEN Centre Bremen "The latest reports starting from the 12th of March, 2004, claim hundreds of victims of anti-Kurdish attacks carried out by the Baathist gangs and their supporters within the state apparatus of Syria. The unrest began at a soccer match in Kamishli and spread around the whole Kurdish area as the funerals for the first victims took place. Even in the capital Damascus, several hundred riot officers wearing helmets and bearing plastic shields were stationed around Damascus University and in a predominately Kurdish suburb. The Kurdish PEN Centre sees the threat of further escalation of hostilities between the Kurds and their neighbours. The Turkish, Syrian and Iranian authorities are well advised to realise that the Kurds are not going to disappear and therefore they are entitled to cultural and political rights" Sounds like fighting words to me. History shows us that when the Kurds decide to fight, they will fight... to the bitter end if need be. This is a turning point in the struggle for Syrian liberation from Baâathist rule Update: sketchy accounts of PKK turning on their former benefactors-- the Syrian government Update: Turkish television reporting great deal of smoke coming from border towns. Kind of neat edgy reporting to me. Posted by: Lucky 2004-03-15 |
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