Syrian Kurds, a potential danger for Assad
Marginalized and the target of repression for more than 40 years, the 2.5 million Kurds living in Syria are a potential resource for the U.S. in its struggle against the Assad regime.
Damascus (AsiaNews) Marginalized for over 40 years, when not the actual target of violence and killings, by the Baathist regime of the Assad, father and son, to a great extent ignored by international public opinion, but now, in the wake of developments in northern Iraq, the 2.5 million Syrian Kurds could become an important wire for the U.S. to pull in its plans for the Middle East.
Syrian Kurds make up some 10% of the population, and many of them are considered stateless and have no access to ordinary state services; the areas in which they live have undergone a long process of impoverishment and have recently witnessed well-documented uprisings, ethnic violence and pro-U.S. demonstrations, which have garnered international media attention. Most notably, rioting broke out in Qamishli in March 2004 which left at least a dozen people dead, hundreds more arrested and mass looting, culminating in a tense atmosphere in the region, which has been further compounded by the murder of cleric Maashouq al-Haznawi, in Aleppo last June, which instigated further rioting and violence.
But still today, as a result of Law 93 of 1962, some 300,000 Kurds, classified as foreigners, still have no access to state health, education, and other services and are unable to travel. Ever fearful of cross border influence from Kurds in Iraq and Turkey, Syria sought to create an "Arab Belt", but failed given the newfound political power of Iraqi Kurds.
Now, under international pressure from the U.N. resolution for an international inquiry into the death of Lebanon's former prime minister, Rafic Hariri, and the newfound unity of Syrian opposition groups, the Kurds could prove to be more useful to the U.S. than a great military arsenal in its quest to oust the current regime.
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