Syria has been suffocating for the past 42 years as a result of the State of Emergency and Martial Laws which were imposed on the 8th of March 1963 following the coup de tat which brought the Ba’th Party to power. Pursuant to the state of emergency many oppressive and arbitrary laws were included and other courts, both special and exceptional, have been held. Under the pretext of the state of emergency and martial laws, prison cells have been filled and thousands from the Syrian political, social and ethnic spectrum have been detained because of their beliefs or affiliations, they were inhumanely tortured, massacres have tolled the lives of tens of thousands of innocent citizens. However, the ruling regime in Syria has been insisting to pursue a repressive and despotic style despite all appeals and calls that have been made by Human Rights Organisations.
Therefore, the Syrian Human Rights Committee has declared the 8th of March 2005 a national day of protest against the state of emergency and martial laws and calls on Syrians as well as Syria’s friends and those who uphold human rights all over the world, to hold a peaceful vigil in front of the Syrian Embassy in London on Tuesday 8th of March 2005 between 12.00p.m. – 2.00 p.m. to denounce the on-going violations of human rights in Syria and call for the following:
1) The lifting of the state of emergency and martial laws, the abolishing of exceptional courts, repressive laws and unfair rules derived thereof.
2) The release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, stopping all tyrannical detentions and pursuits outside the realms of the law and justice, and the compensation of all those who spent years in prison and suffered immensely on all levels.
3) Opening the cases of those who have disappeared and are unaccounted for and reinstating their or their relatives’ rights and offering them compensation
4) Allowing the return of those exiled and deported whether voluntarily or forcibly and offering them legal guarantees of a safe passage, and reinstating the civil rights and liberties to all those whom were stripped thereof and compensating them for the harm that came unto them as a result.
5) Reinstating the Syrian citizenship to those whom were stripped of it without due right and in contradiction of the Constitution.
6) Allowing public freedoms including the freedom of expression and the formation of political parties and civil organisations in order to steer the country towards a democratic future.
Address of Syrian Embassy in London
8 Belgrave Square , Belegravia
SW1X 8PH
London
Nearest Underground Stations:
Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly Line)
Knightsbridge (Piccadilly Line)
Victoria ( Victoria , District and Circle Lines