Syrian Kurds, A Potential Danger For Assad
Marginalized and the target of repression
for more than 40 years, the 2.5 million Kurds living in Syria are a potential
resource for the U.S. in its struggle against the Assad regime.
Damascus, (AsiaNews) –Jan 21, 2006- Marginalized for over 40 years,
when not the actual target of violence and killings, by the Baathist regime of
the Assad, father and son, to a great extent ignored by international public
opinion, but now, in the wake of developments in northern Iraq, the 2.5 million
Syrian Kurds could become an important wire for the U.S. to pull in its plans
for the Middle East.
Syrian Kurds make up some 10% of the population, and many of them are considered
stateless and have no access to ordinary state services; the areas in which they
live have undergone a long process of impoverishment and have recently witnessed
well-documented uprisings, ethnic violence and pro-U.S. demonstrations, which
have garnered international media attention.
Most notably, rioting broke out in Qamishli in March 2004 which left at least a
dozen people dead, hundreds more arrested and mass looting, culminating in a
tense atmosphere in the region, which has been further compounded by the murder
of cleric Maashouq al-Haznawi, in Aleppo last June, which instigated further
rioting and violence.
But still today, as a result of Law 93 of 1962, some 300,000 Kurds, classified
as foreigners, still have no access to state health, education, and other
services and are unable to travel. Ever fearful of cross border influence from
Kurds in Iraq and Turkey, Syria sought to create an “Arab Belt”, but failed
given the newfound political power of Iraqi Kurds.
Now, under international pressure from the U.N. resolution for an international
inquiry into the death of Lebanon’s former prime minister, Rafic Hariri, and the
newfound unity of Syrian opposition groups, the Kurds could prove to be more
useful to the U.S. than a great military arsenal in its quest to oust the
current regime.
