Jailed Kurds on Syria hunger strike: rights group (original) (raw)

One of those detained, leading human rights lawyer Haythem al-Maleh, was freed on Tuesday under a presidential pardon.

Human rights advocates have repeatedly criticised the tight controls imposed on civil society through arbitrary detention, restrictions on freedom of expression and other forms of repression.

On Tuesday, 12 Syrian rights groups called for the "amendment of all laws that prevent human rights organisations from working openly and freely, and civil society from playing its role effectively."

They also asked the authorities to "urgently take all necessary steps to cancel all forms of discrimination against the Kurdish people" who form nine percent of the Syrian population.

"The Kurds are entitled to enjoy their culture and use their language in accordance with their civil, political, cultural, social and economic rights," they said in a joint statement.

Over 2 million Kurds live in Syria, mainly in the north bordering Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan region. They comprise nine percent of the population and have long sought official recognition of the Kurdish language and their culture.

Kurds in Syria often speak Kurdish in public, unless all those present do not. Kurdish human rights activists are mistreated and persecuted. No political parties are allowed for any group,

Kurdish or otherwise.

Suppression of ethnic identity of Kurds in Syria include: various bans on the use of the Kurdish language; refusal to register children with Kurdish names; replacement of Kurdish place names with new names in Arabic; prohibition of businesses that do not have Arabic names; not permitting Kurdish private schools; and the prohibition of books and other materials written in Kurdish.

Kurds in Syria also suffer severe discrimination because of their ethnicity. Many of them are denied Syrian nationality and therefore do not receive the full provision of education, employment, health care and other rights enjoyed by Syrian nationals.

The names of the jailed activists on hunger strike:

� Haitham al-Maleh
� Habib al-Saleh
� Mustafa Juma
� Ali al-Abdullah
� Mahmoud Barish
� Kamal Labwani
� Mohammed Saeed al-Omar
� Mashaal al-Tammo
� Anwar al-Bunni
� Khalaf al-Jarboah
� Saadoun Shekho
� Ismail Abdi (German citizen)
� Kamal Sheikho