MALAYSIA: Syrians living in Malaysia protest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown in their home country

Record ID: 280240

  • Title: MALAYSIA: Syrians living in Malaysia protest against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown in their home country
  • Date: 11th February 2012
  • Summary: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (FEBRUARY 10, 2012) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS STANDING ON THE ROAD IN FRONT OF SYRIAN EMBASSY IN KUALA LUMPUR VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS SHOUTING MAN HOLDING T-SHIRT LOGO ON T-SHIRT READING: "SAVE SYRIA" PROTESTERS BURNING POSTER BEARING PHOTOGRAPH OF SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD PROTESTERS STEPPING ON POSTER BEARING PHOTOGRAPH OF ASSAD WOMEN HOLDI
  • Embargoed: 26th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia, Malaysia
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAZ3G8PN7CYQAWTVP4V53RP8RW
  • Story Text: About 80 protesters on Friday (February 10) rallied against President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown in Syria in front of the country's embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
    The demonstration came after President Bashar al-Assad's forces shelled the city of Homs for the fifth day, killing dozens of civilians.
    Assad, bolstered by Russian support, ignored appeals from world leaders to halt the assault and explosions rocked the relatively peaceful city of Aleppo in the north, fuelling fears the country would descend into all-out civil war.
    Angry Syrian citizens living in Malaysia burned posters bearing Assad's photograph and carried placards that read "Save Syria".
    A Syrian student, who identified as Hassan condemned his government's actions.
    "They don't have any human ethics, they don't consider anything about human rights. They just kill anybody, they are able to do that, in order to let people to be afraid," he said.
    Friday's protesters in Kuala Lumpur called for freedom.
    "No one will stop for this because we need freedom, we need to win, because we lost more than 7000 people, who died for what, for nothing. This blood will not go for nothing, we will win, inshallah (God willing)," said a Syrian student who identified himself as Nas.
    The protest was joined by representatives from Muslim non-government organisations in Malaysia on Friday, who handed a memorandum to the officials from the embassy.
    "We are against the killings that happened and we are very disappointed with the continuous killing in Homs lately. And we'd also like to send a message to the government of Russia and China that we oppose their decision to veto the resolution. Now they've allowed Assad and his regime to continue the brutal suppression on civilians and people without weapons," said Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim, the Secretary General of Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia.
    International diplomats from Western and Arab powers lined up meetings that could mean some decisions soon and condemned Assad in strong language.
    But having ruled out military intervention after Russia and China vetoed a resolution in the Security Council last week they were struggling to find a way to convince him to step down.
    International officials have estimated the overall death count in Syria since last March at more than 5,000.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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