{"id":194,"date":"2007-03-14T22:51:04","date_gmt":"2007-03-14T22:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=194"},"modified":"2007-03-16T01:09:26","modified_gmt":"2007-03-16T01:09:26","slug":"kurds-commemorate-the-intifadah-of-12-march-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/kurds-commemorate-the-intifadah-of-12-march-2004\/","title":{"rendered":"Kurds Commemorate the “Intifadah” of 12 March 2004"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abdullah Ghadawi, an Arab reporter in Damascus sent me the following interviews with Kurdish students at the University of Damascus on the topic of Kurdish rights, Kurdish nationalism, and their attitude toward US pressure on Syria and serving in the Syrian military. The students were preparing to go out onto the streets of Damascus to commemorate the 12 March 2004 "Intifadah," as they have named the Kurdish uprising of three years ago. <\/p>\n

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How the riots began has been the subject of some debate. The version I heard many times is that a football game was being played in Qamishli, a north-eastern provincial capital, which has a mixed Kurdish and Arab population. Kurdish fans began to chant, "Long live George Bush," Arab fans responded by chanting, "Long live Saddam Hussein." A melee broke out and quickly spread to other norther Syrian towns where the Kurdish population is concentrated. <\/p>\n

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The political context of the riots was linked to events in Iraq. The interim constitution, guaranteeing broad autonomy to the Kurdish north of the country, had just successfully passed the Iraqi parliament, helped by strong American pressure. Included was an article stipulating that no future amendment to the constitution could be made that was blocked by three or more provinces. Because the Kurdish provinces are at least three, this meant that the constitution could not be changed without Kurdish consent. Kurds everywhere were ecstatic. many Syrian Kurds believed it would be the beginning of a sea-change for them as well. They believed America was on their side and that their status in Syria would change as a result. Some saw it as an event that prefigured the establishment of a greater Kurdistan.<\/p>\n

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Gary Gambill<\/a> wrote an article arguing that the riots were not <\/font>spontaneous, but  were planned as part of an effort to undermine the Assad regime amid rising tensions with the United States. "Although fueled by popular frustration in the Kurdish community," Gambill claims, "the riots were a politically timed initiative to pressure the Assad regime in the face of heightened Syrian-U.S. tensions and Iraqi Kurdish political gains." The report asserted that the Syrian Kurds were organized by Kurdish leaders in neighboring Iraq.<\/p>\n

The Syrian government cracked down on the Kurds, arresting many and later releasing many. The suppression of the Kurdish population in the North-east continues, however. Human rights organizations such as Damascus based Shril continue to list the names of Kurdish intellectuals and activists who are arrested or go on trial each month. There was much hope that stateless Kurds in Syria, which number close to 300,000 would have their citizenship, which was taken from them in 1962 shortly before the Baath took power, restored in 2005. The Baath Party Congress of that summer announced that many would, but nothing has since materialized of this promises.<\/p>\n

Nadim Houry<\/a> of Human Rights Watch <\/font>wrote an op-ed, "The road to Damascus<\/a>," published the eve of EU President Solana's visit to Damascus yesterday in which he writes, "Javier Solana's visit to president Assad signals a fresh start for the EU's relations with Syria. But human rights must not fall off the agenda." He brings up the issue of stateless Kurds.<\/p>\n

Here are the interviews by Abdullah Ghadawi:<\/p>\n

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Ammar: Damascus University, Fourth Year, History. 24 Years of Age from Qamashli. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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