Montreal

Montrealers to mark Global Day for Syria, 11 June 2011

1:30pm
Saturday June 11 2011

Rally and March in Downtown Montreal in support of the uprising for liberty, dignity and democracy in Syria
 

Montreal, 11 June 2011 -- Montrealers will gather today at the symbolic Bethune Square (de Maisonneuve and Guy) and march in solidarity with the people of Syria and with their popular uprising for liberty, dignity and democracy. Called by the Collective for Syria in Montreal (CSM), this rally is part of Global Syria Day, a day of public demonstrations of support for the just and legitimate struggle of the Syrian people. The day is also being marked in over twenty other cities around the world, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Vienna, London, Algiers and Beirut (see full list of participating cities: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147195362018128).

“Since mid-March, what we have seen in Syria - in the actions of Syrian citizens in towns and cities throughout the country - is a remarkable testament to the human spirit and to the resilience of the human desire for freedom and for a life of dignity and fairness,” said Bashar Ghoujal of the Collective for Syria in Montreal. “Syrians have broken a wall of fear and silence that was built up over forty years of authoritarian rule in Syria. Today, Syrians are saying: Enough! Enough of state intimidation, abuses, arbitrary power, corruption and brutality!”

Since the uprising began, more than 1200 Syrian citizens have been killed by forces acting on behalf of the government to suppress protest and dissent. Reliable sources also indicate that more than 14,000 persons have been imprisoned and subject to humiliation, torture and inhumane treatment.

“The Syrian government has responded to popular protest in what seems to be the only way it knows: violence, repression, lies and a disregard for people’s autonomy and capacity to choose, decide, criticize and act” said Afra Jalabi of the Collective. “In the face of the state’s tactics of preventing independent coverage of events and fabricating stories about the protests and the protestors, Syrians have been recording events on their mobiles and then posting videos on the internet. In video after video, we see peaceful demonstrations—women, children, young men expressing disagreement with the system of government and the actions of the Syrian state. ”

The Global Syria Day event in Montreal is meant to convey a people-to-people message of solidarity with Syrians, but it also conveys a message to the Canadian government about its role with respect to Syria and the region.

“We call on Canada to break with its long-standing approach of being compliant, if not complicit, in the face of state repression, continued colonial domination and disregard for international law and human rights in the region” said Mohamed Mahmoud of the Collective.

“It is precisely these things that people in Syria are rising up to challenge. They are defying dictatorship in the name of liberty and dignity and in the hope that with a Syria of justice, equality and freedom, the promise of a liberated Middle East - a people’s Middle East - will be realized. We want Canada to stand on the side of this promise of change. This means is must be consistent, and not selective, in condemning the conduct of states in the region. As we condemn all acts of violence, torture and humiliation in the Syrian context, so Canada should condemn the repressive, illegal and unjust practices of all states in the context of the Middle East.”

-30-

Media contacts:
Buschra Jalabi: (514) 581-1475
Mohamed Mahmoud: (514) 465-8984

Source:
Collective for Syria in Montreal
syrian.collective.mtl@gmail.com
http://cfsmtl.wordpress.com/
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147195362018128

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