MUSLIM HATE IN SYRIA
A prominent businessman in Aleppo has characterized Syria as "a society in custody." Emergency rule imposed in 1963 remains in effect, and the authorities continue to harass and imprison human rights defenders and other non-violent critics of government policies. The government strictly limits freedom of expression, association, and assembly, and treats ethnic minority Kurds as second-class citizens. Women face legal as well as societal discrimination and have little means for redress when they become victims of rape or domestic violence.
In a positive development, the government released more than one hundred long-time political prisoners in 2004, bringing to more than seven hundred the number of such prisoners freed by President Bashar al-Asad since he came to power in June 2000. Thousands of political prisoners, however, reportedly still languish in Syria's prisons.
Arbitrary Arrest and Detention, Torture, and "Disappearances"
Syria has a long record of arbitrary arrests, systematic torture, prolonged detention of suspects, and grossly unfair trials. Thousands of political prisoners, many of them members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and the Communist Party, remain in detention. In recent years, dozens of people suspected of being connected to the Muslin Brotherhood have been arrested upon their voluntary or forced return home from exile.
The London-based Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) has alleged that several political prisoners died in custody in 2004 as a result of torture. While hundreds of long-term political prisoners have been released in recent years, many remain in detention even after serving their full prison sentences. The SHRC estimates that about four thousand political prisoners remain in detention in Syria today. The authorities have refused to divulge information regarding numbers or names of people in detention on political or security-related charges.
The government has never acknowledged responsibility for an estimated 17,000 persons—Lebanese citizens and stateless Palestinians—who were "disappeared" in Lebanon in the early 1990s and are known or believed to be imprisoned in Syria.
Arrests of Human Rights Activists and Political Critics
Human rights activists continue to be a frequent target of the government. In April 2004 the authorities arrested Aktham Nu'aisse, the fifty-three-year old head of the Committees for the Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria after he organized a peaceful demonstration outside the parliament building calling for an end to emergency rule. He was released on bail in mid-August and permitted to travel abroad, but at this writing still faces charges under Syria's emergency law, including "opposing the objectives of the revolution."
Dr. Arif Dalila, a prominent economics professor and one of many imprisoned critics of the government, continues to serve a ten-year prison term imposed in July 2002 for his non-violent criticism of government policies. Mamoun al-Homsi, a democracy activist and former member of parliament, is currently serving a five-year jail term for "attempting to change the constitution." Five men remained in detention in late 2004 after being arrested more than a year earlier for downloading material critical of the government from a banned Web site and e-mailing it to others.
Discrimination and Violence Against Kurds
On March 12, 2004, a clash between supporters of rival Kurd and Arab soccer teams in Qamishli, a largely Kurdish city near the border with Turkey, left several dead and many injured. The following day, Kurds vandalized shops and offices during a funeral for the riot victims, and the violence spread to nearby areas. Police responded with live ammunition, killing at least two dozen people, injuring hundreds, and arresting many hundreds more. Human Rights Watch has received credible information that some of those detained were tortured in custody, and at least two of them reportedly died in detention.
Kurds are the largest non-Arab ethnic minority in Syria, comprising about 10 percent of Syria's population of 18.5 million, and have long called for reforms to address systematic discrimination, including the arbitrary denial of citizenship to an estimated 120,000 Syria-born Kurds. In June 2004 the authorities reportedly warned leaders of two unrecognized Kurdish political parties that no independent political activities would be tolerated.
Discrimination against Women
Syria's constitution guarantees equality for men and women, and many women are active in public life, but personal status laws as well as the penal code contain provisions that discriminate against women. The penal code allows for the suspension of legal punishment for a rapist if he chooses to marry his victim, and provides leniency for so-called "honor" crimes, such as assault or killing of women by male relatives for alleged sexual misconduct. Punishment for adultery for women is twice that for men. A husband also has a right to request that his wife be banned from traveling abroad, and divorce laws are discriminatory.
The government keeps no statistics regarding gender-based crimes such as domestic violence and sexual assault against women, although nongovernmental organizations say that domestic violence is common and that the government does not do enough to combat it or provide for victims.
Key International Actors
In May 2004, following U.S. Congressional passage of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act, President Bush banned exports of goods to Syria and Syrian commercial flights to the United States, and froze assets of "certain Syrian individuals and government entities." The law, in authorizing such sanctions, cited Syria's hosting of Palestinian militant groups, its support for Lebanon's Hizballah organization, its military presence in Lebanon, its purported efforts to develop chemical and biological weapons, and its alleged support for anti-U.S. forces in Iraq.
In September 2002, the United States forcibly transferred Maher Arar, a dual Canadian-Syrian national whom the U.S. government alleges to have ties with al-Qaeda to Syria, despite Syria's long record of torturing detainees to extract confessions. Arar was arrested in September 2002 while traveling from Tunisia to Canada through New York's Kennedy Airport. U.S. immigration authorities flew Arar to Jordan, where he was handed over to Syrian authorities, despite his repeated statements to U.S. officials that he would be tortured in Syria. After he was released without charge ten months later and allowed to return to Canada, Arar alleged that he had been tortured repeatedly with cables and electrical cords by Syrian interrogators. In January 2004, Arar filed suit in U.S. federal court alleging violations of the Torture Victim Protection Act.
A Syrian-born German national, Muhammad Haydar Zammar, was arrested in Morocco in November 2001 and secretly transferred to Syria, reportedly with the assistance of the United States. He is said to be in solitary confinement in a tiny underground cell in the Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence headquarters in Damascus, where torture and ill-treatment are reportedly common.
The European Commission and Syria initialed an Association Agreement in October 2004 which will be signed in early 2005 and then sent to the parliaments of all European Union member states and the European Parliament for ratification. The text stipulates that Syria must implement all international non-proliferation accords and that "respect for human rights and democratic principles" constitutes "an essential element of the agreement." No E.U. member state appeared at this writing to have called attention to the discrepancy between Syria's practices and the human rights provision of the agreement.
In September 2004, France joined the U.S. to co-sponsor U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, which demands that "outside powers"—i.e., Syria—withdraw their military forces from Lebanon.
Iraq Says Syria Harbors Foreign Killers
John Ward Anderson and Hasan Shammari
14
Nov 2005
BAGHDAD, Nov. 13 -- Top Iraqi defense officials on Sunday accused Syria of
allowing foreign fighters to operate training camps on Syrian soil and sneak
into Iraq to commit suicide bombings.
"We do not have the least doubt that nine out of 10 of the suicide bombers who
carry out suicide bombing operations among Iraqi citizens . . . are Arabs who
have crossed the border with Syria," the Iraqi national security adviser,
Mowaffak Rubaie, told journalists in Cairo, the Reuters news service reported.
"Most of those who blow themselves up in Iraq are Saudi nationals," he added.
Iraqi Defense Minister Sadoun Dulaimi also criticized Syria.
"We have more than 450 detainees who came from different Arab and Muslim
countries to train in Syria and enter with their booby-trapped vehicles into
Iraq to bring destruction and killings," Dulaimi said after meeting with
Jordanian Prime Minister Adnan Badran in Amman, according to the Associated
Press.
"Let me tell the Syrians that if the Iraqi volcano explodes, no neighboring
capital will be saved," Dulaimi said, warning that the aim of terrorists was "to
kill tolerance and destroy coexistence in Arab and Muslim cities."
The charges came as Jordan blamed Iraqi suicide bombers for three blasts at
hotels in Amman on Wednesday that killed 57 people. The allegations also echo
complaints from U.S. military officials that Syria has done little to patrol its
376-mile border with Iraq.
In Iraq, meanwhile, two Marines were killed Saturday when their vehicle was hit
by a roadside bomb in Amiriyah, about 25 miles southwest of Baghdad, the U.S.
military said in a statement Sunday. And a U.S. soldier died Saturday in "a
non-hostile" traffic accident near Rawah, in western Iraq, about 50 miles from
the Syrian border, the military said in a separate statement.
In Baqubah, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi forces arrested 371
suspected terrorists on Saturday, including the town's mayor, the deputy
chairman of the city council, the deputy chief of the appeals court and several
police officers, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Hasan Tamimi, a senior Interior Ministry
official, said Sunday.
Local officials expressed outrage at the sweeping arrests, complaining that they
were based on unsubstantiated tips. The mayor, Khaid Sanjari, said he was
released Sunday without being questioned. Oaf Rahoomi, the deputy provincial
governor, called the arrests "random" and charged that the operation had
"sectarian goals" aimed at preventing Sunni Arabs from taking part in national
elections scheduled for Dec. 15.
Sunni Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population, controlled the
country under former president Saddam Hussein. Shiite Muslims, who account for
60 percent of the population, now dominate the country's security forces.
Confusion continued to surround the fate of a former top aide to Hussein, Izzat
Ibrahim Douri, the country's most wanted man, after an obscure Arabic-language
Web site reported Friday that he had died. Douri, who would be about 63 and
reportedly has leukemia, is considered the highest-ranking member of Hussein's
inner circle still at large.
Another Web site, the official site of the Arab Baath Socialist Party, reported
Sunday that "the holy warrior Izzat Douri" was "fine," calling earlier reports
of his death baseless.
"We apologize to our brothers and sisters for publishing a statement announcing
the death of brother Izzat Douri, Abu Ahmed, may God extend his life," the brief
message stated.
It was not possible to independently confirm the reports. Many reports of
Douri's death appear to be based on Internet echoes from the Web site in Britain
with Baathist ties that first reported his death on Friday -- interspersed with
a variety of stories and pictures of such figures as Paul McCartney, Rosa Parks
and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
There have been several reports that Douri might be spreading false rumors about
himself, and a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Lt. Col. Steven Boylan,
warned that the reports of Douri's death could be a hoax.
"Coalition officials question the validity of the Baath party claim that Douri
has died," the U.S. military said in a statement Sunday night. A reward of up
$10 million would be paid "for information leading to al-Douri's capture or his
gravesite," it said.
Embassies burn in cartoon protest
Syrians have set fire to the Norwegian and Danish embassies in Damascus in protest at the publication of newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Protesters scaled the Danish site amid chants of "God is great", before moving on to attack the Norwegian mission.
Denmark and Norway condemned Syria for failing its international obligations and urged their citizens to leave.
The cartoons have sparked Muslim outrage across the world, following their publication in a Danish paper.
One depicts Muhammad as a terrorist. Any images of the Prophet are banned under Islamic tradition.
However, several European papers reprinted the cartoons, citing free speech.
The publications have prompted diplomatic sanctions, boycotts and death threats in some Arab nations.
In other developments:
Palestinians protest in Gaza and the West Bank, as other demonstrators gather at the Danish embassy in London
Two Jordanian editors who published the cartoons have been arrested
Iran says it should consider abandoning commercial and trade deals with countries where the cartoons have appeared
The Vatican says the right to freedom of expression does not imply the right to offend religious beliefs.
'We defend you'
Syrians have been staging sit-ins outside the Danish embassy since the row intensified earlier this week, when Damascus recalled its ambassador.
On Saturday, hundreds hurled stones and stormed the Danish site, before moving to the Norwegian embassy.
"With our blood and souls we defend you, O Prophet of God," they chanted outside the Danish building, which also houses the Swedish and Chilean missions.
Some removed the Danish flag and replaced it with another reading: "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God."
The embassy was closed, and no diplomats were reported to have been injured in either attack.
Outside the Norwegian embassy, police fired tear gas to try to disperse the protesters, but some broke in and set it ablaze.
Demonstrators also tried to storm the French mission, but were stopped.
Danish 'distress'
In Copenhagen, the government called on its nationals to leave Syria at once.
On Friday, the Danish prime minister made a new bid to calm anger, by explaining his position over the publication to Muslim ambassadors.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he could never apologise for a newspaper's actions, but said he was "distressed" at offence caused.
The cartoons originated in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten paper and have been reprinted in newspapers in France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands and Spain - who say they were exercising their right to free speech.
Jyllands-Posten has apologised for causing offence to Muslims, although it maintains it was legal under Danish law to print the cartoons.
CARTOON ROW
30 Sept: Danish paper publishes cartoons
20 Oct: Muslim ambassadors complain to Danish PM
10 Jan: Norwegian publication reprints cartoons
26 Jan: Saudi Arabia recalls its ambassador
30 Jan: Gunmen raid EU's Gaza office demanding apology
31 Jan: Danish paper apologises
1 Feb: Papers in France, Germany, Italy and Spain reprint cartoons
SYRIA: ANTI-HEADSCARF BOOK IS BANNED
Damascus, 18 Jan. (AKI) - Reversing a previous decision, Syrian authorities have
banned the sale of a 50-page booklet titled 'Let the Headscarf be torn off,' by
an Iranian woman author. The information ministry has ordered bookstores to
remove all copies of Chahdortt Djavann's book from their shelves, and Syrian
prime minister Muhammad Naji al-Otri has told state institutions to sever links
with the book's Syrian publisher, Petra.
Despite the outrage the book has provoked in some quarters of Syria's Muslim
community, Petra's director, Luway al-Huseyn, believes the decision to withdraw
the book from the market has nothing to do with religion. "The reaction against
the book was triggered by the security services," al-Huseyn told Adnkronos
International (AKI) .
"To date I have not received any direct complaint from religious leaders, which
leads me to think that it is just a question between me and the security
services, he said.
Last November the book had been distributed with the authorities' consent at a
conference in Damascus titled "Women and tradition" organised by the higher
education Ministry.
In the book, first published in France in 2003, Chadortt, who lives in Paris,
condemns the use of the Muslim headscarf throughout the world and criticises
Islam's view of women. She has reportedly received several threatening telephone
calls on account of this.
"It is not right to force a girl to cover her head with the hijab, When she
reaches the age of 18 she can than choose to do so if she wants," the book says.
Syrian human rights activist Haytham al-Malih, whose own books have been banned
by the Damascus government has however criticised the book for "distorting the
Islamic religion."
The book is "not scientific nor precise when it states that Muslims consider the
birth of baby girls as a shameful thing," he says.
"If the author was born into a family which hates girls, this cannot be blamed
on Islam," he adds.
UN report broke Syrian taboo
By SAMAR KASSABLI
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 · Last updated 3:34 p.m. PT
DAMASCUS, Syria -- A U.N.-funded report on violence against Syrian women that appeared in state-run media broke a long-held taboo against public discourse on such issues, activists said Tuesday.
The activists said they hope the government's willingness to publicize the matter will help raise awareness in this conservative society.
The study found that about 22 percent of married women in Syria said they had been verbally or physically assaulted, with about 10 percent saying they had been beaten.
Of that 10 percent, eight in 10 said the beating came from a family member, the study found.
The state-run Al-Baath newspaper ran a story about the news conference announcing the study's results, though the results themselves were not published. The report quoted activists saying that women were subjected to violence daily and that some laws discriminated against women.
Still, the mere publication of the report was an indication the government, which controls many aspects of political life and the media, wanted to raise awareness.
"Violence against women always existed in Syria, like any other society. But talk about it is new," said Muna Ghanem, head of the state-run Family Affairs' Association, a branch of the General Union of Women. She said the group was preparing to run awareness campaigns on TV.
It was not clear why President Bashar Assad's government allowed the report to appear. Since coming to power in 2000, Assad has embarked on limited economic and political reforms, easing some of the rigid restrictions in place under his late father.
Unlike many countries in the conservative Arab world, women in Syria have reached high political positions, but activists say their status within society still lags behind.
The study, released last week by the state-run General Union of Women, was funded by the United Nations Development Fund for Women.
Aref Sheikh, the coordinator in Syria of the U.N. fund, said some in Syria's government do support the discussion of such social problems, while others deny the problems exist.
He said the study could serve as the basis for debate and action by politicians to change laws.
"It's very important to put the issue of violence against women in Syria on the table and discuss it publicly," Sheikh told The Associated Press.
The study of nearly 1,900 families said women were beaten for reasons ranging from neglecting housework to bombarding husbands with too many questions.
Mohammad Habash, head of the Islamic Studies Center and a legislator, said the report's figures were "horrible" but added that violence against women is "part of the prevailing mentality in the region."
Ways to deal with the issue include pressing for a change in the way Muslim societies look at women and in developing laws relating to women, activists said.
Still, Syria has made important strides.
Syria boasts the highest-ranking female official in the Arab world, Najah al-Attar, appointed second vice president about three weeks ago. The country also has two female Cabinet ministers out of 30.
There are 30 women lawmakers in the 250-seat legislature, and 19 percent of lawyers in Syria are women.
Associated Press reporter Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.