SDC: March 12th Uprising formed fundamental pillar in Syrian popular movement

The Syrian Democratic Council issued a statement to public opinion, recalling the 17^th anniversary of Qamishlo Uprising, noting that the March 12^th Uprising bears the meanings and connotations of the liberation renaissance that formed a fundamental pillar of the Syrian popular movement, which is entering its eleventh year.

The text of the statement included:

The 17^th anniversary of Qamishlo Uprising, 12^th March 2004 passes; the uprising that formed the depth of the popular will rejecting the policies of the authoritarian central regime in Damascus. This uprising in which tens of thousands of our people, from Qamishlo to the neighborhoods of Damascus, through Kobani, Afrin, and areas of Aleppo went out to demand their legitimate rights and an end to discriminatory policies and unfair laws against the Kurds in Syria, one of the most important and original historical components of the people of Syria.

 The symbols of the despotic regime in al-Jazira caused intra-regional strife among the components of the same country, using some of its mercenaries in a football match between al-Fatwa team coming from Deir Ezzor and the local Jihad team in Qamishlo, using armed attacks on fans and verbal attacks against all Kurds in Syria. Note that one of the main objectives behind those plans at the time was to export the dispute between the old and the new Power Guard and end the margin of reforms that are barely mentioned, in addition to closing all doors to change and democratic transformation that Syria needs to find solutions for it, the foremost of which is a just solution to the Kurdish issue in Syria, in accordance with international covenants within the framework of the country's unity and the integrity of its soil, and despite this, the authoritarian central regime dealt with this peaceful uprising with violence that left dozens of martyrs and wounded.

The Syrian Democratic Council believes that the March 12^th Uprising constituted a fundamental pillar of the Syrian popular movement that is entering its eleventh year, and that the lack of integration between Qamishlo Uprising step at the time and the general parties of the national democratic opposition was considered an opportunity that was missed and would be able to achieve a real breakthrough on the level of the country.

 Despite 17 years passed since that popular uprising, and the 11^th of the Syrian popular uprising that launched in Houran and spread to all parts of Syria, the system of central despotism that dealt with severe violence and repression was not different to the Syrian popular movement in mid-March 2011 and before it the uprising of March 12^th, 2004 affirms that it has not abandoned its authoritarian mentality, and is still insisting on reproducing itself according to a highly centralized formula that bears great responsibility for the situation in Syria with some personalities and parties affiliated with the Syrian opposition that are playing abusive roles hostile to the democratic cause in Syria and to the simplest national rights of the Kurdish people in Syria.

We, in the Syrian Democratic Council, bow to the martyrs of Qamishlo Uprising in 2004 and all the martyrs of the Syrian popular movement, affirm that a democratic solution and hope to end the Syrian crisis is not impossible; rather, it gains strength and stability through the model of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria as a model that dealt a fatal blow to terrorism at the hands of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and at the same time it presented a form that meets the aspirations of the people of Syria dreaming about the change they need, and this model is considered a national opportunity that cannot be missed, but it is important to deal with it as a matter of historical national responsibility and take care of its development and modernization in order to be turned into a national model generalized to all parts of our Syrian country.

D.H

ANHA