"Below is a personal statement from the honorable Mohamed T. Khairullah, Mayor of Prospect Park, NJ on the deteriorating conditions in Syria. Prospect Park, NJ: April 26, 2011: I , Mohamed Taher Khairullah, an American citizen who is immensely proud of his Syrian roots, wish to make the following statement:
I call upon the Syrian Government to provide its people what my grandfather, the late Sheikh Taher Khairullah, asked for in his Friday sermons from his pulpit at Al-Rawda Mosque in Aleppo over 30 years ago: that the Syrian people are granted their basic God given right to live in freedom, peace, and dignity. I also declare my unwavering support to the peace loving people of Syria and join them in their demands for their basic human rights, and to enjoy a life free from intimidation, oppression, and harassment.
I am of course cognizant that Syria has witnessed tremendous achievements in the past decade in the areas of technology, infrastructure, and trade. But the people of Syria lacked the basic freedoms to express their opinions, to be creators of new ideas, and the innovators of solutions. The people of Syria deserve more.
My family left Syria 30 years ago under oppressively similar conditions where security forces were killing people indiscriminately. While I live and serve as an elected official in the United States, and have enjoyed the fruits of the freedoms granted under the US Constitution, my heart and my mind is now with my homeland and the people of Syria during their time of hardship.
It has become very apparent in the past few weeks that the Syrian people are simply asking for one thing, “freedom.” Apparently some government agencies, despite the lifting of emergency rules, have continued to deal with the Syrian people in the only way it knows: violence and suppression.
In a civilized society, government should not be the judge and the executioner on the street. Government should be the entity with the bigger heart and mind. It should be the tolerant partner of an oppressed population that is now expressing its mind.
My message to the Syrian people:
• Continue expressing your feelings in the peaceful and respectful manner that you have demonstrated.
• All parts of the Syrian society should work together, regardless of race, religion, or ideology, to formulate clear demands.
• Demand the implementation of all new presidential decrees granting wider freedoms.
• Demand the elimination of the illegal and inhumane practices of the intelligence agencies.
My message to President Bashar Al-Asad:
• To immediately order the cessation of killing and injuring citizens engaged in protests and civil gatherings.
• To listen to the true demands of the Syrian people and dissolve the oppressive agencies which created a gap of fear and suspicion between the people and their government.
• To ensure that current and future reforms are implemented.
• To rid the country from the culture of corruption and nepotism.
• To immediately initiate a national dialogue encompassing a wide range of political activists, intellectuals and any other persons who might contribute positively to the process of consultation on the reforms and where the country is heading.
I call on all people of conscious to speak their mind and support the people of Syria and I ask the Syrian media to report in a truthful and objective manner.
I pray to God that Syria and its proud people will overcome this tumultuous stage in their history.
May God bless Syria and its people.
Mohamed T. Khairullah
Mayor
Borough of Prospect Park, New Jersey
The statement above reflects my personal view point and not that of the Borough of Prospect Park, New Jersey."
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