Residents of Zorava- Rukn al-Din demand to disclose fate of their detained sons

The General Security Forces of the Syrian Transitional Government have recently arrested 20 Kurdish residents of the Zorava and Rukn al-Din neighborhoods in Damascus. Accordingly, the residents of the two neighborhoods issued a statement today demanding the release of their detained sons. The statement read:

"In the name of the families of the detainees in the Zorava and Kurdish neighborhoods (Rukn al-Din) in Damascus,

In light of the current developments in the capital, Damascus, particularly the Kurdish neighborhoods, we, the residents of the Zorava and Kurdish neighborhoods, express our deep concern and strong condemnation of the campaign of arbitrary arrests that have targeted a number of our Kurdish sons without legal arrest warrants or official clarifications. These practices do not serve the Syrian social and political fabric; rather, they reproduce the policies of exclusion and marginalization that Syrians have suffered. All of us, especially the Kurdish component.

We believe that the future Syria must be built on the foundation of justice, equality, and recognition of all its components without discrimination. Rather, we work hand in hand to build a new, democratic Syria.

The continuation of these policies by some state agencies undermines citizens' confidence in their institutions and weakens the chances of building true internal peace and inclusive national partnership.

Accordingly, we demand that the relevant authorities immediately reveal the fate of our detained sons and release them. We call for a comprehensive national dialogue that guarantees dignity and equal rights for all Syrians without exclusion.

We, the families of the detainees, affirm our commitment to the values of coexistence and to the words of God Almighty: “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you people and tribes that you may know one another” (Qur'an 1:17), and to the hadith of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him:

“There is no superiority over others.” Arabs shall have no right over non-Arabs, nor shall non-Arabs have any right over Arabs, nor shall whites have any right over blacks, nor shall blacks have any right over whites, except by piety."

Let our language be Syrian, inclusive, and let Syria rise with all its children, not by excluding any of them. Let us work for beloved Syria, the land of peace, mercy, and love.

ANHA