My friend Fares reminded me that we need to keep the issue of the plight of Syrian political prisoners in the public eye. It is easy to become complacent and resign oneself to the fact it all seems hopeless. That is exactly what the regime wants and expects of the Syrian people and as long that is the response they get, nothing will ever change. We owe it to these prisoners of conscience and we owe it to the future of our country to keep pushing for their release. Not even a dictatorship is totally immune to the weight of public opinion. So here are some of the latest updates:
- Bashar justifies the latest round of arrests and imprisonment by saying that the timing of the Damascus-Beirut declaration was inopportune for his purposes.
- Burhan Ghalioun argues that the arrests reflects the weakness of the regime and will backfire on them. They will not get away with portraying the likes of Anwar el Bunni and Michel Kilo as equivalent to the violent militants of the 1980s. The Syrian people may be subdued but they are not stupid.
- Arbitrary arrests continue. It seems like every minor (perceived) transgression is treated like high treason.
- Fateh Jamous, an imprisoned political activist is subjected to beatings and denial of his basic rights as a political prisoner.
- Lest we forget: Here are a few of Syria's prisoners of conscience: Mahmoud Issa, Michel Kilo, Khalil Hussein, Anwar el Bunni, Ali Abdallah, Mohammed Ali Abdallah, Suleiman Shimri, Nidal Darwish, Safwan Taifu, Mahmoud Merhi, Ghaleb Amer, Kamal Labwani and Mohammed Mahfoud.
- Not in the limelight but equally important are the young student activists who have been subjected to arbitrary arrests and imprisonment and who should not be forgotten: Ali al Lawali, Ali al Ali, Hussam Melhem, Tarek al Ghorani, Maher Asbar, Alem Fakhour, Abham Safr, Omar al Abdallah and Diab Serieh.
(Photo: A.K.)
7 comments:
Hi,
It is very nice of you to keep the names of these wonderful people who refused to keep silent for 50 years. I wish you always mention the those accused and the accuser ( Jailer). Knowing where these gusys are and the name of their jailers will expose to society the bad apples.
Thank you
I am in total agreement that it is our duty and responsibility to make sure that the world does not forget about all of those that have been imprisoned unjustly. But a post here and a post there might not be enough. We need to demonstrate to others, besides the handful of readers of these blogs, that the issue is important and that we are willing to undertake acts of civil disobedience in order to keep it alive. I hope that those of you that are in a position to organise real acts of support for these prisoners will take action. Ammar and others where are you?
I totally agree with you Ghassan. This is my small contribution. I just hope that with each post I can reach a few more people and if enough of us do it, maybe, just maybe, we can reach a critical mass. You are absolutely right though, more needs to be done. It has to be done by people who are better connected and better placed than me. The opposition should be mounting a coordinated worldwide media blitz to keep this issue in the public eye.
The plight of those brave spirits, and that of many nameless others, must remain at the forefront of our thoughts. Pressure from every source should be exercised on the Regime to force it to change its oppressive practices. Without individual freedom of thought and expression, nothing is worthwhile. Patriotic duties, the desire to serve our Country, the ability to achieve our aspirations.. none of that can happen or flourish in the dark shadow of oppression..
Thank you, Abu Kareem, for keeping the flame alight..
How about contacting Amnesty International, writng to the NY Times and Washington Post, calling your local congressman...?
Ask the media to cover the event, they are accessible through email. Maybe if they let their beards grow AlJazeera will be interested in them. I am trying to remember when was the last time human rights activists were arrested. Was it in Burma about 10 years ago?
Abu Kareem,
Great Job with this post. your work is greatly appreciated. One day the Assads will be down, let's just hope it is going to be near.
I have one suggestion though, to take off Tony Badrans link off of your blog.
Read Syria Comment and you will know why.
These neo-zionist needs to black-listed. they are as dangerous to our interest as Israel or the Assads are...
Thanks
Anonymous,
Appreciate your support.
With regards to Tony Badran, I have read what Joshua Landis wrote about and I watched their dislike of each other disintigrate into petty namecalling in the blogosphere. In truth, I think Josh is a little too soft on Asad and Badran has been a staunch advocate of the Syrian opposition.
I am not naive and understand that people have innate biases that color what they say. Badran's blog remains an important resource whether or not one agrees with all he says.
Besides, I don't like the name calling (neo-zionist). We middle easterners would do well to listen to what our friends as well as our enemies(real or perceived)say. If you only read what you likes to hear, you never learn anything.
So for now, Across the Bay stays.
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