UN Human Rights Council to hold special session on Syria to try to stop regime killing its people

"France’s foreign ministry says leading European nations have summoned Syrian ambassadors across the continent to condemn recent violence in the Middle Eastern country."



AP-Article

"I Stand With the People of Syria"-Prospect Park Mayor

"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."

Article

"Human rights activist says document lays out how to brutally suppress the opposition..."

Unreal.

Msnbc.com: A Syrian Plan to Attack Protesters?

"A document purportedly drafted by senior Syrian intelligence officials details a chilling plan to infiltrate the ranks of anti-regime protesters, arrest and assassinate their leaders, and link anti-regime demonstrations to the work of “Zionist” and other outside agitators."

SHRC-Syrian Human Rights Committee

Please check out this website http://www.shrc.org/default.aspx. SHRC has been working for years to spread awareness about the HR conditions in Syria, filing appeals, as well as listing updates of released detainees, and much more.

About SHRC:

"The Syrian Human Rights Committee (SHRC) is an independent and neutral human rights organisation concerned fundamentally with defending general liberties and human rights of the Syrian people through several practices, which includes:

1. Exposing the violations, assaults and aggressions against human rights and fundamental liberties of the Syrian citizens and publishing such incidents to the international media, addressing authorities, and following-up on such reported incidents with all concerned entities.
2. Conducting researches and publishing books and studies related to fundamental liberties and human rights in Syria utilizing scientific research methodologies and investigative verification.
3. Issuing various reports, initiating humane campaigns and conducting seminars and interviews to highlight and bring to attention the human right issues in Syria.
4. Raising awareness and promoting the culture of human rights in the Syrian society and encouraging members of this society to continually demand for their human rights and general liberties until the materialisation of changes, which would guarantee them those rights through peaceful means.
5. SHRC adheres to the principle of cooperation with organisations, entities, centers, and non-governmental associations specializing in actively defending and advocating human rights, while preserving the independent nature of the committee’s work agenda."

Like Father Like Son

Follow the link to read about the last ten years (Bashar's reign) and the Human Rights violations that continue to occur including: Repression of political and human rights activism, restrictions on freedom of expression, torture, ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances, repression of Kurds, and legacy of enforced disappearances...

"A Wasted Decade"

"After Bashar al-Asad succeeded his father as president in July 2000, many people in Syria hoped that the human rights situation would improve. In his first inaugural speech on July 17, al-Asad spoke of the need for “creative thinking,” “the desperate need for constructive criticism,” “transparency,” and “democracy.”[1] A human rights lawyer summed up his initial feelings on the succession, reflecting the mood and aspirations of many others in the country: “Bashar’s inaugural speech provided a space for hope following the totalitarian years of President [Hafez] Asad. It was as if a nightmare was removed.”[2]

Ten years later, these initial hopes remain unfulfilled, and al-Asad’s words have not translated into any kind of government action to promote criticism, transparency, or democracy. This report reviews Syria’s human rights situation in five key areas and proposes concrete recommendations to the Syrian President that are essential to improving Syria’s human rights record."