| Submitted by Tsiatsan on Monday, November 09 2009 |
Nashat Mustafa Hanan, a 45 year old Kurd from Aleppo in Syria who works in the defence industry for the Syrian Government, has been subjected to harassment and was called into many interviews from the time of last year’s Newroz festival in March 2008. Newroz is celebrated around 21 March every year. It is the Kurdish New Year, a festival time when Kurds remember their history, and celebrate their Kurdyeti (Kurdishness) by holding parties in large tents and dancing on the stage. In Syria, the Government threatens Kurdish political parties at this time that their supporters should stay at home, suddenly there are no tents for hire, the stages that have been erected are bulldozed, and many people are arrested. There is clear Government interference in the festival.The Human Rights Organisation in Syria – MAF – informs us that Nashat Mustafa Hanan disappeared from his city of Aleppo on 27 October 2009 in the hands of Political Security. His family know only that he has been transferred to the Political Security department in Damascus.
SKS International Support Kurds in Syria Association – SKS – is concerned at the growing number of reports concerning political abductions of Kurds in Syria, people held incommunicado for long periods of time without trial, and the continuing intimidation of the Kurdish community in their ancient homelands. This is held in place by the State of Emergency.
At the same time, the doors to the international community are being opened for the Syrian Government, by both European Union and by Turkey for example.
