This February commemorates the 25th anniversary of one of the largest and most horrific massacres of the 20th century, the Massacre of Hama, which began on the 2/2/1982 and continued till the end of the month.
 
Forces of the Syrian Regime committed atrocities and a series of massacres against inhabitants of the city, including children, women, the elderly and the men, and used all kinds of torture and repression against the people of the city, including murder, disfiguring of corpses, burning and killing children in front of their families before killing them, as well as employing the carpentry and smithery tools against human bodies. 

Houses were demolished whilst their inhabitants were still standing within them, fire was set on, gas cylinders were opened, or other poisonous gases opened in buildings. Neighborhoods were bombed and places of worship such as mosques and churches were targeted.
 
Thousands of citizens were driven to Sriheen Graveyard where they were mowed down with bullets and were subsequently covered up with soil by cranes afterwards although some innocent souls hadn't given up life yet.
 
The city of Hama was isolated from other Syrian cities when it was forced to submit to such brutal oppression which targeted its people and properties. More than 25000 citizens were killed and more than 10000 disappeared. A third of the old historical city was destroyed, including its buildings, inhabitants, mosques, churches, palaces and historical landmarks. That is, not taking into account the tens of thousands that were forced to flee not only the city, but the country, to live in exile.
 
In a move in which the oppressive Syrian regime cooperated with the rest of the world, the media totally ignored Hama and the world was silent. It was for this reason that the massacre received very little coverage; the world was content in keeping quiet and not involving itself in the Interior policies of the regime which had been in the city for nearly a month.
 
What happened in Hama was a genocide and crime against humanity. This crime, committed by the regular forces belonging to the Syrian regime and armed militias, cannot be abolished by time, and the regime remains in power, insisting upon its ignorance of the massacre, its consequences and its catastrophic results.
 
We therefore repeat and insist that the following must take place on behalf of the inhabitants of Hama who suffered from a series of massacres, of which this was the largest and most horrific:

1- A legal committee, appointed by the UN, should be set up to investigate the crime. They should interview inhabitants of the city and relatives of its victims, announce those responsible for the massacre and the forces involved who gave orders for destructive apparatus to be used against the city. The committee should also suggest what punishments those responsible should be faced with, and release a document relating the figures of death and destruction and suggestions for compensation.
 
2- The Syrian regime should reveal full details of what happened to those who have disappeared and who were detained by its forces, and who never returned to their homes.
 
3-Those who were forced to flee from the city of Hama should be allowed to return, and families who suffered due to the loss of individuals from the family or destruction of its property should be compensated.
 
4- The names of top Generals and Officials involved in the massacre should be released and tried for their crimes of mass killing.

 Syrian Human Rights Committee

 In front of the Syrian Embassy
London
Saturday 10 February 2007