Protest in Yusuf al-Azma Square in Damascus calls for economic, living reforms

Citizens gathered today in Yusuf al-Azma Square in central Damascus in response to a call for a sit-in organized under the slogan “Law and Dignity,” with a gradual increase in participants as more protesters continued to arrive at the location.

Participants raised demands related to improving living and economic conditions, in light of rising costs of living and increasing pressure on citizens, according to attendees of the event.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also published video clips showing clashes occurring during the protest and attempts by groups loyal to the interim government to attack demonstrators.

Some protesters were also subjected to direct harassment, including an assault on a female protester, where her mobile phone was knocked to the ground in an attempt to prevent her from filming.

Activists described this act as a means aimed at silencing voices and obstructing the documentation of what is happening inside the sit-in area, in full view of Public Security forces present at the scene.

Organizers of the sit-in said the aim of the movement is to highlight current social and economic challenges and to demand comprehensive reforms that ensure improved living standards and strengthen the rule of law.

In contrast, activist accounts and civil initiatives warned against calls linked to the sit-in, expressing concerns about the use of force or violence in dealing with any protest movements.

The list of demands put forward by organizers included several points, most notably halting any new increases in prices and fees before raising wages, linking salaries to a realistic cost-of-living basket, and revisiting tariffs on basic services such as electricity, water, fuel, and telecommunications in line with purchasing power.

The demands also included combating monopolies, protecting essential public services as rights rather than commodities, and improving salaries for workers in the health and education sectors, in addition to supporting local production and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Participants also called for adopting merit-based hiring standards, combating favoritism, strengthening social protection networks for vulnerable groups, and demands related to public freedoms, transparency, and administrative and judicial reform.

The demands further included halting decisions described by organizers as unfair to certain sectors, reconsidering layoffs in the public sector, emphasizing transitional justice, holding free union elections, and supporting the investment, industrial, and local trade environment.

This movement comes at a time when the country is facing escalating economic and living challenges, amid growing calls for broad economic and administrative reforms.

A-H 

ANHA