Arab unrest spreads to Syria as thousands march <http://www.reuters.com/news/world>
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis DAMASCUS | Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:34am EDT DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Thousands of Syrians demanded an end to 48 years of emergency law on Saturday, a third straight day of protests emerging as the biggest challenge to Syria's rulers since unrest swept the Arab world this year. "No. No to emergency law. We are a people infatuated with freedom," marchers chanted as a government delegation arrived in the southern town of Deraa to pay condolences for victims killed by security forces in demonstrations there this week. Syria has been ruled under emergency law since the Baath Party, which is headed by president Bashar al-Assad, took power in a 1963 coup and banned all opposition. The government sought to appease popular discontent in Deraa by promising to release 15 schoolchildren whose arrests for scrawling protest graffiti had helped fuel the demonstrations. An official statement said the children, who had written slogans inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt <http://www.reuters.com/places/egypt> on walls, would be released immediately. The statement was a rare instance of Syria's ruling hierarchy responding to popular pressure. Security forces opened fire on Friday on civilians taking part in a peaceful protest in Deraa demanding the release of the children, political freedoms and an end to corruption. Four people were killed. On Saturday thousands of mourners called for "revolution" at the funeral of two of the protesters. Officials later met Deraa notables who presented then with a list of demands, most importantly the release of political prisoners. The list demands the dismantling of the secret police headquarters in Deraa, dismissal of the governor, a public trial for those responsible for the killings and scrapping of regulations requiring permission from the secret police to sell and buy property. Non-violent protests have challenged the Baath Party's authority this month, following the uprisings that toppled the autocratic leaders of Egypt and Tunisia<http://www.reuters.com/places/tunisia>, with the largest protests in Deraa drawing thousands of people. The city is a center of the Hauran region, once a bread basket that also been affected by diminishing water levels in Syria, with yields falling by a quarter in Deraa last year. Deraa is also home to thousands of displaced people from eastern Syria, where up to a million people have left their homes because of a water crisis over the past six years. Experts say state mismanagement of resources has worsened the crisis. (Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Peter Graff<http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=peter.graff&;> ) *http://www.marxist.com/appeal-for-solidarity-from-syria.htm*<http://www.marxist.com/appeal-for-solidarity-from-syria.htm> Appeal for solidarity from Syria<http://www.marxist.com/appeal-for-solidarity-from-syria.htm> Written by activists in Syria Thursday, 17 March 2011 [image: Print]<http://www.marxist.com/appeal-for-solidarity-from-syria/print.htm>[image: E-mail]<http://www.marxist.com/component/option,com_mailto/link,aHR0cDovL3d3dy5tYXJ4aXN0LmNvbS9hcHBlYWwtZm9yLXNvbGlkYXJpdHktZnJvbS1zeXJpYS5odG0=/tmpl,component/> We have received this appeal for solidarity from activists in Syria. Please send solidarity messages to the address provided. *In solidarity with political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in our country Syria, and a number of them who declared a hunger strike.* We, the undersigned, call for practical steps to be taken by the Authority to open up, which would remove the state of tension prevailing, and the beginning of public liberties, the abolition of martial law and the state of emergency laws and special courts, the abolition of exceptional census for the year "1962" under which hundreds of thousands of Kurds were stripped of their Syrian nationality, the abolition of the law "49" for the year 1980, the issuance of a modern law regulating the work of political parties, associations, and another for the press and media, and the release of all prisoners of conscience, closing the file on political arrests and the clearing of all charges. 1) Zardasht Mohammed, political activist 2) Faisal Yusef, political activist 3) Kibrail Korea, political activist 4) Mohamed Moussa, political activist 5) d. Abdel Karim Omar human rights activist 6) Khalil Matouk, human rights activist 7) Hassan Abdul Azim, political activist 8) Mumtaz al-Hassan, human rights activist 9) Fayez Sarah, writer and journalist 10) Samir Nashar, a political activist 11) Yassin Hajj Saleh, writer and journalist 12) d. Yousef Salman, a political activist 13) Saleh Caddo political activist 14) Zuhair Al-Bush, human rights activist 15) Saud Al-Mulla, political activist 16) Ismail Hami political activist 17) Karam Dawli political activist 18) Nasr Eddin Ibrahim, a political activist 19) Abdel-Rahman Aalogi, a political activist 20) Aziz Daoud political activist 21) Mohammed Saleh Abdo political activist 22) Sabri Mirza, political activist 23) Ibrahim Habib, a political activist 24) Mohammed Ismail, a political activist 25) Isa Hissou political activist 26) Amjad Osman writer and activist 27) Jamal Shaykh Baqi 28) Tahir Sfuu a political activist 29) Zahida Rash Kilo political activist 30) Osei Harfin political activist 31) Western Hissou political activist 32) Bashar al-Amin political activist 33) Mr. Imran political activist 34) Sardar Murad, political activist 35) Bndoar Ibrahim Ali, a political activist 36) Hassan Bro, attorney 37) Dara Ahmed political activist 38) Naasan Sheikh Ahmed - political activist 39) Radif Mustafa, lawyer and activist in the field of human rights 40) Djawar Nassau activist and artist 41) Kadar Mohi, political activist 42) Mahmoud Abbas, a doctor and political activist 43) Hooshang Broca 44) Abu Bakr Suleiman, activist 45) Nadim Youssef poet and active member of Amnesty International 46) Rbhan Ramadan writer and political activist 47) M. Rashid Kateb 48) Basim al-Ashqar, instructor at the Institute of Auto Mechanics / Electricians 49) Bilqis al-Zahrawi 50) d. Mahmoud Hamza professor 51) Ghassan Mefleh - Syrian writer 52) Sheikh Hussein al-Muharrar, editor in charge of websites, Syria 53) d. Nael Georges - international human rights activist 54) Dr. Luqman Hussein, writer and political activist 55) Ahmed Ali Issa, Chief of Clan Khodr Agha Hussein Shehadeh social activist 56) Fath Allah Hosseini / poet and journalist 57) Marwan al-Ash - and political activist 58) Samir Matar journalist 59) Rami Abdel-Rahman, founder and director of The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights 60) Mirza Muhammad Researcher Syrian Arab Republic 61) Hussein Daoud former political prisoner 62) Hussein Abdul Ghafoor, a political activist 63) Abdi Mohamed Saadoun political activist 64) Mahmoud Safou the political activist 65) Salah Sheikhmous political activist 66) Haibat Mamo writer and political activist 67) Shirin Kilo poet 68) Anwar Khalf Saado political activist 69) Mohamed Othman, a political activist 70) Younis Hussein, an activist 71) Ahmad Haidar poet 72) Ahmed Hussein, writer and activist 73) Fawaz Banco political activist 74) Khani Dliar writer and political activist 75) Behçet's Bucky political activist 76) Adel Abdul-Rahman, writer and poet 77) Mohammed Rseni political activist 78) Risan Mullah Ahmed Palo activist 79) Mustafa Hayed 80) Maha Khatib Syrian advertiser 81) Raman Zinky writer and political activist 82) Zaki Haji, rights activist 83) Ahmed Hissou chemistry teacher 84) Zaur al-Amar writer 85) Mustafa Hussein, a political activist tadamon.with @ gmail.com Arabic original: [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
