After 19 years, March 12 uprising reflects the unity, organization of the sects

The popular uprising that erupted after the massacre committed by the security forces of the Damascus government, March 12, 2004, entered its 20th year. On this anniversary, we shed light on the reasons for the Qamishlo massacre, which quickly turned into an uprising whose flames spread to the capital, Damascus, and how the components of North and East Syria failed in the shadow of the July 19^th Revolution, the racist policies that were fueled against them, came from the same place.

On this day 19 years ago, the municipal stadium (April 7 Stadium, as the Baath Party authorities called it in relation to the party’s founding anniversary in 1947) in the city of Qamishlo, on March 12, 2004, witnessed the presence of large crowds of fans to watch a match that was scheduled between the two Jihad teams from Qamishlo and the fatwa from Deir-ez-Zor.

Hours before the scheduled start of the match at 14:00, those recruited to support the guest team entered the stadium without being inspected by the security forces, who in turn subjected the home team's fans to a thorough search, and confiscated even their belts and water bottles, without the hosts knowing that a plot was waiting for them.

How did the massacre begin?

The massacre began with the provocation of the guests, who were brought by the security forces from Deir-ez-Zor to the stadium under the banner of attending their city's match, by shouting discriminatory and racist slogans.

As the players of the two teams entered the arena in order to start warm-up exercises, those who were called "Fatwa fans" began to launch slogans glorifying Saddam Hussein, calling the Kurds traitors, and throwing stones at the fans of the Jihad team, and despite the presence of a large number of security forces of the Damascus government, they did not on the contrary, it intervened, beating Al-Jihad Club fans, expelling them, and arresting some of them.

The forces surrounded the stadium, and this was followed by orders from the "governor of Hasakah" at the time, who was called Salim Kabul, to shoot the jihad fans. As a result, 9 of them were martyred, including two children. Which showed that it was a well-thought-out plan; To create strife between the components of the region.

The security forces of the Damascus government did not stop at this point, as they brought in the next day (March 13, 2004) members of the army and security forces from Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, and prevented the people from participating in the funeral of the bodies of the martyrs 9, and confronted the mourners with gunfire again. As a result, 24 other civilians, including women and children, were killed, and many others were wounded.

 The massacre was accompanied by the launch of large-scale arrest campaigns by the security forces, affecting hundreds of mourners and protesters, some of whom were martyred as a result of torture in basements and prisons, and others were sentenced to life imprisonment, while the fate of others remains unknown to this day.

Soon, this massacre turned into a popular uprising, which spread to the cities and suburbs of Rojava, the city of Aleppo, and the capital Damascus, where it continued for days amid the increasing number of arrests against citizens, and the number of martyrs to 38 citizens.

Damascus government is the mastermind

Commenting on the plot that ended with a massacre and an uprising, Thamer al-Shammari, head of the Council of the Future Syria Party in Deir ez-Zor, explained, "If we recall the tape of memories of that painful incident, and we check, we will find that the Damascus government and its intelligence and security offices are the masterminds of what happened."

He considered that "it is normal for some harassment to occur between the fans of any two teams, but for the events to turn into clashes, killing and sectarian-ethnic escalation, this is a matter orchestrated by the Syrian government."

He added, "The Damascus government was aiming, through that sedition and the heinous massacre that was committed, to create a state of divergence between the components, and to split the ranks of the Syrian people, thinking that it would succeed in that, but the days have proven the opposite."

Al-Shammari confirmed, at the end of his speech, that "the government of Damascus has failed miserably, because the components of the region were and still are united, and what is happening today in terms of gatherings and celebrations in the stadium is the best evidence of that."

Unsuccessful efforts

Regarding the failure of the Damascus government's efforts to fan the flames of discord among the components of the region, the Kurdish citizen Abdul-Qahar Othman Khalaf, from the city of Qamishlo, said that the government has striven to "dismantle unity, solidarity, and co-existence among the people of the region, so Qamishlo is considered a great mosaic because of the diversity in it, and this It was one of the most important reasons why the Damascus government targeted it over all others."

He continued, "The Damascus government failed to sow discord among the components of the region, and after that massacre, the components of the region also stand together against any plans that seek to strike the security and stability of the region, from whatever side."

At the end of his speech, Khalaf recalled the martyrs of the massacre, stressing that "the March 12 Martyrs' Stadium has today become a colorful garden that embraces all the components of the region, and has also become a symbolic and sacred place for the people of the region."

March 12 stadium

After the start of the July 19^th Revolution, the name of the March 12 martyrs was given to the stadium where the massacre took place and turned into an uprising known as the "March 12 Uprising" or the "Qamishlo Uprising"; This is in honor of the martyrs of the massacre and the uprising.

This stadium has become today; A place for the peoples and components of the region to meet in the joint activities and events that are organized on the grounds of this stadium, especially after strengthening the bonds of brotherhood of peoples and solidarity between the components of North and East Syria through the Autonomous Administration project.

On March 12 of each year, the anniversary of the uprising is organized at the March 12 Martyrs’ Stadium, during activities that bring together the various components of North and East Syria. A friendly match is also organized between the Jazira and Deir-ez-Zor teams.

T/ Satt.

ANHA