SYRIA: Kurds living in Syria celebrate Nowruz, the Persian and Kurdish new year

Record ID: 279645

  • Title: SYRIA: Kurds living in Syria celebrate Nowruz, the Persian and Kurdish new year
  • Date: 24th March 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF MARWAL SHAKER, A SINGER, SINGING PEOPLE DANCING AUDIENCE WATCHING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MARWAL SHAKER, A SINGER, SAYING: "Syrian Kurds celebrate Nowruz wearing the Kurdish dresses and tradition and we would like to deliver this message for the entire world." WOMEN CLAPPING PEOPLE DANCING ELDERLY WOMAN WATCHING FAG BEING WAVED PEOPLE DANCING
  • Embargoed: 8th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Lifestyle
  • Reuters ID: LVA1873QMM59RA5KHN60MW5KFYAS
  • Story Text: Some Kurds living in Syria demonstrated on Sunday (March 20) loyalty to Damascus during celebrations on the spring holiday of Nowruz, one of the most important annual festivities for Kurds.
    Four days of protests against corruption and stifling one-party rule have finally brought the Arab uprising to Syria, posing the gravest domestic challenge yet to President Bashar al-Assad.
    But at one celebration in Damascus, Kurds waved banners bearing a photograph of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
    Omar Oso, Chief of the National Initiative for Syrian Kurds, said Kurds would not oppose the regime.
    "Some people abroad and the so-called opposition tried to move this model and reproduce it in Syria. Unfortunately they tried to ride the Kurdish wave in Syria on February 5th and 6th and incite the Kurds in Syria against the regime. They repeated the attempt on March 15th and 16th but Kurdish people in Syria failed the plan. We are not a weapon that can be moved from one shoulder to another. We are a part of Syrian people. Syria's Kurds were always the real and first defenders of Syria from the north-eastern part in Ein Diwar to the south-western in Golan. This country is our country and the president is our president. We will not respond to any foreign suspicious calls," he said.
    Marwal Shaker, a singer, said Nowruz was an occasion for Kurds to show off their traditions.
    "Syrian Kurds celebrate Nowruz wearing the Kurdish dresses and (following Kurdish) traditions and we would like to deliver this message for the entire world," she said.
    At least four people have been killed in the Syria protests in recent days and demonstrators have set fire to public buildings in open defiance of authorities known for tolerating no dissent.
    In the wake of opposition movements in other Arab countries, non-violent protests have challenged the ruling Baath Party's authority this month, with the largest protests in the southern city of Deraa drawing thousands of people. Analysts say disenchantment at Assad's rule and the exhilarating spirit of regional upheaval may fuel wider rebellion.
    There are up to 300,000 Kurds in Syria, most of them living in the north and northeastern part of the country.
    A census in the 1960s census resulted in hundreds of thousands of Kurds being denied citizenship and bans on teaching Kurdish language.
    Several Kurdish politicians who have raised the nationality issue have been sentenced to long jail terms.
    In 2004 violence erupted during civil rights protests in Kurdish areas in 2004 after security forces killed Kurdish football fans. Three Kurds were killed by security forces during Nowruz festivities in 2008.
    On Monday (March 21) the Syrian army deployed at the entrances to Deraa following protests for freedom. Mourners chanted slogans demanding political freedom and an end to corruption.
    A silent protest in Damascus by 150 people this week demanded the release of thousands of political prisoners.
    Smaller protests took place in the central city of Homs and the coastal town of Banias, home to one of Syria's two oil refineries, activists said.
    Syria has been under emergency law since the Baath Party, which is headed by president Bashar al-Assad, took power 1963 and banned all opposition.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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