TEV-DEM: Hasakah demonstration was limited to particular group charged with racist ideas

The Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM) issued a written statement today regarding the demonstration held in the city of Hasakah last Friday.

In its statement, the movement said it had followed the developments surrounding the demonstration “with great attention and concern”, considering that it was limited to a “particular group” charged with racist ideas towards the Kurdish people and other components. It said the demonstration included slogans and positions offensive to Kurdish national symbols and flags, and carried “rhetoric that serves Syria’s enemies and calls for discord”.

The movement affirmed the right of everyone to peacefully express their demands, while stressing that “defending rights cannot be done by insulting identity or symbols”.

The statement said that what happened should not be understood as an expression of the demands of the Arab people, but rather, in some of its manifestations, carried “rhetoric directed against the legitimate national and political rights of the Kurdish people”.

The movement also warned against attempts by internal and regional actors to “exploit societal contradictions and fuel Kurdish-Arab divisions” with the aim of undermining understanding and derailing the integration process.

The movement called on the relevant authorities to open a “clear and responsible investigation” into the events, hold those involved in inciting hatred accountable, and prevent Hasakah governorate from being turned into an arena for conflict.

It also called on the people of the region — Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Assyrians, and other components — not to be drawn into inciting rhetoric and to uphold dialogue and peaceful coexistence. It stressed that building a democratic and pluralistic Syria requires guaranteeing the political, cultural, and national rights of all.

Sh-S

ANHA