News from the KNC Public Relations Committee Kurdish National Congress of North America Inquiries: (403) 200-6310 Contact: Brusk Reshvan
Kurdish Activist Mashaal Tammo Arrested by the Syrian Regime (August 31, 2008) We are very saddened by the recent news coming from Syria. On August 15, 2008, Mr. Mashaal Tammo was detained by the Syrian secret service agency while traveling from Kobani, a Kurdish city to his home in Aleppo. Mr. Tammo is a Kurdish human rights activist and the spokesperson of the Kurdish Future Movement in Syria. He also is a member of the Committee for Revival of the Civil Society.
Mr. Tammo was transferred to a prison in Damascus after being held incommunicado for 15 days. His first appearance before the court was on August 27. Sadly, his detention was never acknowledged by the Syrian Government until the day of his court appearance. Ironically, to this date, the Syrian government has not been able to come up with charges against Mr. Tammo, yet he remains incarcerated!
We at the Kurdish National Congress of North America (KNC) would like to remind the Syrian government that the societal problems, and breaches against the Kurdish human rights activists and politicians in Syria will not be resolved through incarceration and suppression. Therefore, we urge the Syrian government to adopt a more peaceful dialogue to resolve the ethnic problem of the Kurdish people in Syria, and refrain itself from using anti-democratic policies against them.
We appeal to the international community to encourage the Syrian regime to unconditionally and immediately release Mr. Mishaal Tammo and all other human rights activists and political prisoners, and bring discriminations against the ancient Kurdish people to an end. We ask the Syrian government to recognize Kurdish cultural and democratic rights, and respect the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Date published: Sunday, August 31, 2008