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SYRIAN President Bashar al-Assad, in a bid to
fortify national unity, today pardoned 312 Syrian
Kurds accused of taking part in riots.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency said the Kurds
were released "in the framework of the presidential
pardon that is based on the enhancement of national
harmony".
Sources familiar with government thinking said that
the state has been mulling a host of reforms that
are designed to solve what Kurdish activists call
the Kurdish issue.
Several banned Kurdish political groupings in Syria,
whose Kurdish community is estimated at about 2
million people, demand the right to teach their
language. They also demand citizenship which is
required for state education and employment for
about 200,000 Kurds classified as stateless based on
a 1962 survey.
Like neighbouring Turkey and Iran, Syria worries
Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq could spark
separatism within its borders.
Hundreds of Syrian Kurds were arrested last March
during riots and clashes with the police. The riot
was triggered by a soccer match brawl in the
northern town of Kameshli.
Most of those detained during and after the riots
were freed in the days following the incidents.
About 30 people, including policemen, were killed in
the violence.
In February, the state security court sentenced 15
Kurds for up to three years on charges of seeking a
breakaway state. A source said the 15 Kurds are
believed to be part of the 312 included in the
pardon, most of whom have been awaiting trial.
Syria has been in the spotlight since the February
14 killing of a Lebanese ex-prime minister in
Beirut, where Damascus was the main power broker for
the past three decades in view of its military
presence in the small Arab state.
Hundreds of political prisoners have been released
since Assad came to power upon the death of his
father in 2000. He introduced a measure of political
freedom, but critics say authorities later resumed
its crackdown on activists.
Reuters
Pardon for over 300 Kurdish prisoners held in
Syria
DAMASCUS, March 30 (AFP) - 21h38 - Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday pardoned over
300 Kurdish prisoners held after deadly clashes last
year with security forces in the north of the
country, the official Sana agency reported.
"President Assad ordered today (Wednesday) all 312
Kurds arrested during the incidents at Qamichli in
March 2004 to be freed," said Sana.
The clashes pitted Kurdish protestors against Syrian
security forces and Arab tribes in Qamichli and
Aleppo, in which the Kurds said 40 people died and
the Syrian authorities gave a death toll of 25.
"This pardon is based on reinforcing national
cohesion... and the protection and security of our
society and it's stability," said the agency.
Syria is home to some 1.5 million Kurds, around nine
percent of the population. They are fighting to have
their language, culture and political rights
recognised.
AFP
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