Damascus: a sit in on the occasion of human rights Day

Damascus witnessed yesterday a symbolic sit-in, which was the first of its kind, carried out by a group of unlicensed political forces on the occasion of the International Day for Human rights.

Some 15 political forces, including the Democratic National Coalition, the Civil Society Committees, and each of the Human Rights Society, and the Defense Committees Of Human Rights, as well as Kurdish forces including the Kurdish Democratic Coalition, organized a sit in which was attended by 200 persons and moved in the streets of the capital Damascus towards the headquarters of the Syrian Cabinet with the aim to hand over the prime minister Muhammad Naji Otari a memo including calling for resolving outstanding human rights issues.

The observers of the sit-in raised banners calling for the end of the emergency law, and Kurdish banners were also on the scene. The Syrian security and riot fighting forces escorted the observers of the sit-in in the march which did not encounter problems.

A group representing the coalition that organized the sit-in entered the cabinet to meet with the prime minister, who was not in the building, according to the Cabinet's secretary, who promised the spokesman for the commission, Salim Kheir Beck ( of the Human Rights Society) to contact the commission today, Thursday, to arrange a meeting with the prime minister and hand him a memorandum which calls, in addition to lifting the emergency law; for releasing the detainees, and political prisoners, and reactivating laws thatprovide for equality among citizens in rights and duties.