Amnesty International condemned the Syrian regime's recent aggressive crackdown on civil society activists and suspected government opponents. In a press release on April 3, Amnesty International called on the Syrian government to immediately release all those who have been arrested for peacefully expressing their opinions:
"We are also seeing a pattern of intimidation on the part of the authorities that involves the arrest, usually for a period of up to several days, of human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists," said Malcolm Smart [Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa programme]. "We call on the Syrian authorities to release immediately those held for their involvement in human rights-promoting activities, for their peaceful beliefs and for the peaceful expression of their opinions."
AI expressed concern "that many of these people are being held in incommunicado detention, where they are at risk of torture."
The press release added, "[s]cores have been arrested from across the social and political spectrum in Syria in recent months -- including Kurds, Islamists, human rights activists, writers, students and leftists -- while others have been harshly sentenced after unfair trials."
Michael Slackman of the New York Times also reported on the regime crackdown (NYT, 4/5/06):
Syrian officials are aggressively silencing domestic political opposition while accommodating religious conservatives to shore up support across the country.
Security forces have detained human rights workers and political leaders, and in some cases their family members as well. They have barred travel abroad for political conferences and shut down a human rights center financed by the European Union. And the government has delivered a stern message to the national news media demanding that they promote — not challenge — the official agenda.
Slackman quoted sources explaining that the regime's actions "reflect at least in part a growing sense of confidence because of shifts in the Middle East in recent months, especially the Hamas victory in Palestinian elections, political paralysis in Lebanon and the intense difficulties facing the United States in trying to stabilize Iraq and stymie Iran's drive toward nuclear power." Ibrahim Hamidi, the Damascus bureau chief for the pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat, was quoted as saying, "Now they believe they can get away with it."
Furthermore, the Syrian regime now feels more relieved from the pressure from the UN investigation into its role in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri. "With the pressure off, the arrests have been stacking up since January," Slackman wrote. He added, "Human Rights Watch and several Syrian-based human rights organizations say that at least 30 people involved in politics or human rights work have been detained since January, and that several have not been heard from since."
There is another element, Slackman added: the growing opposition movement abroad. According to some of those who were targeted, the arrests were intended to deliver a message: "the government will not tolerate any contact between internal opposition figures and a growing opposition movement abroad."
The situation has worsened to such an extent that even reformers within the Baath Party have despaired and are now looking to leave the country:
Ayman Abdel Nour, a Baath Party member who promoted the idea of reforming the party from inside, said he had grown so disillusioned that he planned to move his business — a Web site that gives voice to calls for reform — from Damascus to the United Arab Emirates.
Abdel Nour added that the Baath Party planned to purge all those with reform agendas from its ranks. "They say they have a fixed time period to crack down and finish off the opposition," Abdel Nour said.
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