Speakers
Mr. Robert Lowe of Chatham House
Mr. Amed Semo, Independent Researcher and campaigner for stateless Kurds in Syria
Chairperson: Mr. Janroj Keless of London Metropolitan University
Date: October 8, 2009; 18:00 to 20:00
Venue: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Robert Lowe of Chatham House
The Serhildan: narrative and identity among Kurds in Syria
The Kurdish political and cultural movement in Syria has lacked prominent historical reference points. Compared to Kurds in Turkey, Iraq and Iran, those in Syria have a shorter 'national story'. The violent events of 2004, described by some Kurds as the 'serhildan' (uprising), have given sharper definition to the movement and provided a new potent symbol of victimhood. The serhildan has provided a new narrative which has altered the language and nature of the movement and has given Kurds in Syria a major reference point which is specifically theirs.
Mr. Amed Semo, Independent Researcher and Campaigner for stateless kurds in Syria.
Stateless Kurds in Syria” buried alive” a case of a cultural and identity Genocide.
The suppressive Syrian regime, in flagrant breach of human rights and international law, developed the racist, discriminatory Census Article 93, issued on 23/08/1962 and implemented on 05/10/1962, limited to Al Hasakah and Kurdish regions, which initially resulted in more than 150,000 and now increased to more than half a million, Kurds, who had been living in their own homeland, being stripped of their Syrian nationality certificate, thereby depriving them of the basic human right of surviving and prospering in their own country. Those whose nationality was withdrawn, and henceforth considered as foreigners in their own land, have no right to work in formal government departments, nor to own property, nor can they have access to education and health facilities. They cannot register their marriages and neither are they allowed to register their children in the state civil records. They cannot travel abroad as they cannot obtain a passport. They have no rights to practice some freelance professions such as medicine, law and teaching, which require a nationality certificate. In conclusion, they have no birthright to live in their own homeland. This racial and cultural genocide still continues today, after more than four decades….
Source: KurdishMedia.com
