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Syria breaks up Kurdish protest outside
court
17.12.2007 |
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December
17, 2007
DAMASCUS, Syrian Kurdistan,-- Syrian security
sources on Sunday used force to break up a
demonstration by dozens of Kurds outside the state
security court in Damascus, a human rights
organisation said.
The demonstration had been called by three Kurdish
parties banned in Syria "to protest against a
decision by the authorities to try five Kurds in the
court," the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights
said in a statement.
The protesters were beaten by baton-wielding police
before being herded into trucks and driven out of
the capital, a Kurdish source told AFP, adding that
those arrested were later released.
Meanwhile, the security court sentenced four people
to prison terms ranging from four to 10 years by the
security court, the rights organisation said.
Three of them were jailed for belonging to an
illegal organisation and the fourth was sentenced
for spreading false information harmful to the
state.
On Friday US President George W. Bush called on
Syria to immediately free dozens of opposition
activists reportedly arrested during events marking
International Human Rights Day.
"All those detained should be released immediately,"
Bush said in a statement days after human rights
groups said Syria issued summonses and arrested
dozens of opposition activists.
Security security forces on Sunday December 9,www.ekurd.net
have
arrested Kurdish
leaders and dozens of other Kurdish and Syrian
political personalities and human rights and civil
society activists. KNC reported earlier, among the people were arrested:
- Mr Ismail Omar, the leader of the Unity Democratic
Kurdish Party in Syria (Yeketi).
- Mr Muhammad Ismail, member of the political bureau
of the Democratic Kurdish Party in Syria.
- Mr Pir Rostam, the reserve member of the
leadership of the Democratic Kurdish Party in Syria.
AFP | KNC
** 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, the free encyclopedia
** Since 1991, the Kurds of Iraq achieved self-rule
in part of the country. Today's teenagers are the
first generation to grow up under Kurdish rule. In
the new Iraqi Constitution, it is referred to as
Kurdistan region. Kurdistan region has all the
trappings of an independent state -- its own
constitution, its own parliament, its own flag, its
own army, its own border, its own border patrol, its
own national anthem, its own education system, its
own International airports, even its own stamp inked
into the passports of visitors.
** Kurds are not recognized as an official minority
in Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in Big
Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media. The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet has led
to judicial persecution in 2000 and 2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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