http://www.shrc.org

Mohammad Arabi gave a brief overview and the recent history of Syria.   He said that there was a mix of Sunnis, Shiites, Christian, Kurds and Abyssinian in the country but Mohammed stressed that there were no religious or ethnic tensions in Syria, they were one nation.

Walid Saffour

Hafez al-Assad achieved a bloodless coup on 13^th November 1970 and assumed the role of President.   Since then Syria has been ruled by a military regime and dictatorship.  Hafez died in 1970 when his son Basher al-Assad assumed power after the constitution was changed to allow him to assume the Presidency.  Human rights abuses have occurred throughout the presidencies of both Hafez and Basher.  In 1982 over 30k Syrians were killed when the government crushed opposition by the Muslim Brotherhood which was centered in the city of Hama, leveling parts of the city with artillery fire.  The Assad rule has been characterized by human rights abuses and ruthless crackdowns of any opposition.

1980 – Tadmur prison massacre, over 400 detainees missing

2004 – Massacre of Kurdish protesters

2008 -   Sednaya military prison over 200 detainees missing

Army officers have had the power to be judge, jury and executioner.   Torture is a basic tool of the Basher regime and has been routinely used throughout its reign.  The Syrian Human Rights Committee has identified around 38 methods of torture:

Electric batons

Stepping on faces

Rape

Denial of medical assistance

http://www.shrc.org/data/aspxng/TorturephotoGallery.aspx

Walid Saffour  himself was a victim of torture.  He was arrested for not supporting the pro-government demonstrations in 1980.  He described how he was forced inside a tyre until his head and toes touched and then beaten with batons and stripped wire.  One of his torturers was Mohamed Shaar, now the current Minister of Interior for Syria.  He subsequently suffered a broken back due to the beatings.

The recent unrest in Syria was fuelled by the arrest on March 6th of 15 teenagers for scrawling graffiti in Deraa. They had written on a wall, ‘The people want the regime to fall’. Their parents, accompanied by a local religious leader, went to the police to plead for their release, but were told to forget about their children.  ‘Go away and have some more’ was the advice they were given. When this provoked huge demonstrations in front of the city’s mosque, the local police chief, who happened to be the president’s cousin, ordered his forces to open fire.  Five people were killed, and this started a chain reaction that has led to dozens of deaths in Deraa and an uprising across Syria.  When some of the arrested teenagers were freed they had been tortured, with their faces smashed, burns on their bodies and their fingernails pulled out.

The protests continue despite  the repressive actions of the Syrian government.  Children under 15 are being killed if they are joining in the demonstrations; it is claimed that 117 children have been killed in just four months.  Doctors are being arrested and tortured for aiding those injured in the protests; funeral processions are being attacked.  It is claimed that up to 64 prisoners are being held in cells no bigger than 4m².

Most of the information comes out of Syria via the social media networks, as journalists are banned from entering the country.

The Syrian Human Rights Committee is not calling for military intervention by the UN, only for support for the uprising and for the handover of power to representatives of the uprising.  They are calling for the Government of Syria to be charged by the International Criminal Court for crimes of collective killing and genocide.

Lynne Evans
UNA: Vale of Glamorgan

Wyre began by explaining that the ‘Arab Spring’ had come as a huge surprise to everyone and had taken the spotlight away from the Israeli Palestine conflict. He then talked about the events in each country and what he felt the long term prospects were for each country.

Tunisia
The country is small the population is well-educated and pro-European.  Wyre felt that of all the Arab states the changes occurring here had the greatest potential for long-term success. He also felt that this country was key to the future of other states, if democracy appears to be a success here then it will encourage change in the other states.

Egypt
The outcome for long-term change is less positive and the upcoming elections will be the countries sternest test. In addition there is a population of over 80 million with a high proportion of people living in extreme poverty, earning less than $1 a day, the introduction of democracy cannot overcome all of the countries problems.

Libya
Colonel Gadaffi was one of the first Arab leaders to see the writing on the wall and as a consequence spoke out against the changes in Tunisia. He has allowed journalists into Libya and has made claims of civilian casualties which have in the main been disproved, but when civilian causalities have occurred the journalists have been able to verify. Wyre felt that there was still some hope for change in this country.

Bahrain
Demonstrations have been quashed here with pro-change supporters being sentenced to long periods of imprisonment up to 25 years.

Syria
All opposition to the current government is being squashed and journalists are being denied access to the country. However information is still getting out via social media and the BBC is scrutinising this data in detail in an attempt to verify it. The pictures emerging from Syria are extremely harrowing, scenes include whole streets of protesters being mowed down by tanks, they have been so harrowing that the BBC have been unsure whether to show them. Despite government persecution, the people continue to protest knowing that they are risking their lives in doing so. Any possible UN action in Syria is certain to be blocked by both China and Russia

Yemen
The country is relatively stable; however there is some hope for change.  The presence of al-Qaeda complicates things in this region.

Saudi Arabia
This country has one of the most undemocratic and oppressive regimes in the region  -  any attempts to bring about change here are quashed immediately. Currently, women aren’t allowed to drive, let alone own property, and the chances for change here are virtually nil.

Wyre felt that democracy wasn’t the key factor driving change in the Middle East, rather it is the lack of opportunity for most people. Nepotism is rife in the region, making it difficult for people outside the inner circle to progress.

He also doubted whether a lasting peace agreement between Israel and Palestine would be possible over the next few years, as the current leaders on both sides of the conflict do not appear willing to make the significant concessions required.

Lynne Evans
UNA: Vale of Glamorgan

*Wyre Davies is a Welsh journalist and the current Middle East correspondent for BBC News. He has covered the 2011 Egyptian protests from within Tahrir Square, has been on the ground in Libya, has reported from the Jordanian-Syrian border and is currently based in Jerusalem.