2004 Qamishli riots

Massacre of Kurds by Ba'athist Syrian military yes October 2021 2004 Qamishli riots Qamishli city, Syria 12 March 2004http://www.marxist.com/syria-prisoners-of-conscience-declare-hunger-strike.htm Syria: Prisoners of Conscience in Damascus Central Prison declare hunger strike marxist.com 9 March 2011 4 November 2015 30+ 160+ Kurdistan Region Syrian Kurds Syria 1980 Ba'athist Syria Flag of the Ba'ath Party.svg Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Flag of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces (1980–2024).svg Syrian Arab Armed Forces Flag of the Syrian Arab Army.svg Syrian Arab Army Syrian police emblem (Damascus).png Public Security Police 2,000+ arbitrarily arrested; Thousands of Kurds flee to Kurdistan Region The 2004 Qamishli riots were riots of Syrian Kurds in the northeastern city of Qamishli on 12 March 2004, followed by deadly suppression by the Ba'athist Syrian military forces. Relations between the Arabs who settled in Qamishli during the Arab Belt programme and Kurdish inhabitants had been tense for decades. In March 2004, clashes broke out between Arab and Kurdish audiences during a chaotic football match. The Ba'ath Party local office was burned down by Kurdish demonstrators, who went on to destroy the statue of Hafez al-Assad in Qamishli city, echoing the toppling of Firdos Square statue in 2003.James Brandon 15 February 2007 The PKK and Syria's Kurds http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370250 Washington, DC The Jamestown Foundation 5 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20080917223313/http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370250 17 September 2008 Terrorism MonitorAhmed Akbar The Thistle and the Drone Brookings Institution Press 2013 978-0-8157-2378-3 Washington, D.C. 187 4: Musharraf’s Dilemma The Syrian military swiftly responded; deploying troops backed by tanks and helicopters, and launching an extensive crackdown. At least 30 Kurds were killed and 160 wounded as the security forces re-asserted control over the city.James Brandon The PKK and Syria's Kurds http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370250 Terrorism Monitor The Jamestown Foundation Washington, DC 5 3 15 February 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20080917223313/http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370250 17 September 2008Ahmed Akbar The Thistle and the Drone Brookings Institution Press 2013 978-0-8157-2378-3 Washington, D.C. 187 4: Musharraf’s Dilemma As a result of the crackdown, thousands of Syrian Kurds fled to Iraqi Kurdistan. Background Qamishli is the largest town in Al-Hasakah Governorate and is located in northeast Syria. It is regarded as the Kurdish and Assyrian community capital. It is also the center of the Syrian Kurdish struggle,Qantara.de - The Kurds of Syria - An Insecure Stone in the Syrian Mosaic especially in the recent years. The Kurds also felt opposition from the Syrian government in 1962, forty years before, when the government took census and left out of it many Kurds. This left them and their children without citizenship and the right to obtain government jobs or to have property. This disregarded minority now consists of hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who carry identification cards as "foreigner". Another move the government made which has fueled tensions was resettling Arabs from other parts of the country into along the border in Iran, Iraq and Turkey. They did this in order to build a buffer between Kurdish areas, which has furthered the hatred between the Kurds and Arabs.Fattah Hassan M. 2 July 2005 Kurds, Emboldened by Lebanon, Rise Up in Tense Syria (Published 2005) en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/02/world/middleeast/kurds-emboldened-by-lebanon-rise-up-in-tense-syria.html 31 October 2020 0362-4331 During the 1970s, thousands of Arabs from the city of Raqqa were settled along a 180-mile strip of Kurdish-majority regions, after confiscating lands from the Kurdish inhabitants in the region, as part of the Ba'athist Arab Belt project. Relations between the Arab settlers and Kurds in the region remained tense for decades.Ahmed Akbar The Thistle and the Drone Brookings Institution Press 2013 978-0-8157-2378-3 Washington, D.C. 187 4: Musharraf’s Dilemma The United States has for a longer period of time recognized Iraqi Kurdistan diplomatically which has led the Americans to invite the current Kurdish leader of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, to the White House and a meeting in Baghdad when the American president was in town. The visit from United States Vice President, Joe Biden, to the fourth largest city in Iraq, Erbil, also known as the Iraqi Kurdistan capital, helped strengthen their alliance with them.Osman Hiwa US Relations With Iraqi Kurdistan http://www.rudaw.net/english/science/columnists/3155.html Rudaw 8 September 2010 https://archive.today/20120909103103/http://www.rudaw.net/english/science/columnists/3155.html 9 September 2012 dead The United States started Operation Provide Comfort and Operation Provide Comfort II in an attempt to defend Kurds fleeing their homes in Northern Iraq as a result of the Iraqi Gulf War. Kurdish representation in Iraqi government has increased since the American invasion in 2003. Jalal Talabani, the first Kurdish president of Iraq, was elected in 2005, and Kurds have held the presidential seat since, although the position is somewhat ornamental.Unknown Jalal Talabani http://www.kurdishaspect.com/biographytalabani.html Kurish Aspect 30 May 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120222092308/http://www.kurdishaspect.com/biographytalabani.html 22 February 2012 deadIraq Report: December 8, 2000 https://www.rferl.org/a/1343277.html Radio Free Europe 8 December 2000 Riot and suppression On 12 March 2004, a football match in Qamishli between a local Kurdish team and an Arab team from Deir ez-Zor in Syria's southeast sparked violent clashes between fans of the opposing sides which spilled into the streets of the city. The fans of the Arab team reportedly rode about town in a bus, insulting the Iraqi Kurdish leaders Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, then leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan's two main parties. In response, Kurdish fans supposedly proclaimed "We will sacrifice our lives for Bush", referring to US President George W. Bush, who invaded Iraq in 2003, deposing Saddam and triggering the Iraq War. Tensions between the groups came to a head, and the Deir ez-Zor Arab fans attacked the Kurdish fans with sticks, stones, and knives. Government security forces brought in to quell the riot, fired into the crowd, killing six people, including three children—all of them were Kurds.Tejel, p. 115 The Ba'ath Party local office was burned down by the demonstrators, leading to the security forces responding and killing more than 15 of the rioters and wounding more than 100.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/football-fans-fight-causes-a-three-day-riot-in-syria-5354766.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/football-fans-fight-causes-a-three-day-riot-in-syria-5354766.html 1 May 2022 subscription live Football fans' fight causes a three-day riot in Syria Independent.co.uk 17 September 2011 Officials in Qamishli alleged that some Kurdish parties were collaborating with "foreign forces" to supposedly annex some villages in the area to northern Iraq. Albert Aji (Associated Press) Tension unabated after riots in Syria http://archive.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2004/03/16/tension_unabated_after_riots_in_syria/ The Boston Globe 16 March 2004 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/24/africa/ME-GEN-Syria-Human-Rights.php Turning Points 2014 13 August 2016Syria: Address Grievances Underlying Kurdish Unrest, HRW, 19 March 2004. Events climaxed when Kurds in Qamishli toppled a statue of Hafez al-Assad. The Syrian army responded quickly, deploying thousands of troops backed by tanks and helicopters. At least 30 Kurds were killed as the security services re-took the city, over 2,000 were arrested at that time or subsequently. After the violence, President Bashar al-Assad visited the region aiming to achieve a "national unity" and supposedly pardoned 312 Kurds who were prosecuted of participating in the riots. Aftermath Moqebleh refugee camp Kurdish refugees After the 2004 events in Qamishli, thousands of Kurds fled to the Kurdish Region of Iraq.-e64Yd3VBIQ Local authorities there, the UNHCR and other UN agencies established the Moqebleh camp at a former Army base near Dohuk. Several years later the KRG moved all refugees, who arrived before 2005, to housing in a second camp, known as Qamishli. The camp consists of a modest housing development with dozens of concrete block houses and a mosque. As of 2011, the original camp at the former Army citadel contained about 300 people. Many of the homes were made of cement blocks, covered with plastic tarpaulins. Latrines and showers were in separate buildings down the street. Authorities provide electricity, water trucks and food rations.Reese Erlich, "Syrian Kurds have long memories," Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, 21 October 2011. http://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/syria-kurds-moqebleh-refugee-camp-oppose-assad-regime https://web.archive.org/web/20160304203239/http://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/syria-kurds-moqebleh-refugee-camp-oppose-assad-regime 4 March 2016 Syrian Kurds can leave the camp to work. As supposed refugees they cannot get government jobs, but are able work in the private sector, often as construction workers or drivers. The Syrian Kurds seem likely not to return to Syria until political conditions change. 2005 demonstrations In June 2005, thousands of Kurds demonstrated in Qamishli to protest the assassination of Sheikh Khaznawi, a Kurdish cleric in Syria, resulting in the death of one policeman and injury to four Kurds.https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-06-15-syria-kurds_x.htm USA Today A murder stirs Kurds in Syria Nicholas Blanford 15 June 2005https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/02/international/middleeast/02kurds.html The New York Times Kurds, Emboldened by Lebanon, Rise Up in Tense Syria Hassan M. Fattah 2 July 2005 In March 2008, according to Human Rights Watch,https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/03/23/syria-investigate-killing-kurds Syria: Investigate Killing of Kurds 24 March 2008 13 August 2016 Syrian security forces opened fire at Kurds who were celebrating the spring festival of Nowruz. The shooting killed three people. 2008 vigil in memory of the riots On 21 March 2008, the Kurdish New Year (Newroz) a school class held a 5 minute vigil in memory of the 2004 Qamishli riots. The participants were investigated for holding the vigil.26 November 2009 Group Denial https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/11/26/group-denial/repression-kurdish-political-and-cultural-rights-syria 31 October 2020 Human Rights Watch en 2011 protests in Qamishli With the eruption of the Syrian civil war, the city of Qamishli became one of the protest arenas. On 12 March 2011, thousands of Syrian Kurds in Qamishli and al-Hasakah protested on the day of the Kurdish martyr, an annual event since the 2004 Qamishli riots.مظاهرة في الجزيرة السورية 12 اذار 2011 Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TXnYz5OsI8 12 March 2011حفلة تأبين شهداء إنتفاضة قامشلو Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWKh8C5Z6ps 12 March 2011الكورد السوريون يحييون ذكرى انتفاضتهم السابعة بايقاد الشموع اجلالاً و اكراماُ لارواح الشهداء soparo.com http://ar.soparo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17803%3A2011-03-11-23-36-17&catid=34%3A2008-05-23-23-58-43&Itemid=192 12 March 2011 2012 rebellion Rojava conflict Armed rebellions were supported by Mashouq al-Khaznawi. In 2012, armed elements among the Kurds launched Syrian Kurdish rebellion in north and north-western Syria, aiming against Syrian government forces.http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/kurdish-syria-cultural-armed-revolution Kurdish Syria: From cultural to armed revolution 28 July 2012https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2012/08/04/hedging-their-syrian-bets The Economist Hedging their Syrian bets 4 August 2012 In the second half of 2012, the rebellion also resulted in clashes between Kurdish soldiers and the militants of the Free Syrian Army, both striving towards control of the region. The AANES would later gain control over most of northern Syria. See also Assyrians in Syria First Iraqi–Kurdish War Human rights in Syria Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurds in Syria List of modern conflicts in the Middle East Serhildan References 30em Further reading Jordi Tejel 2009 The Qamishli revolt, 2004: the marker of a new era for Kurds in Syria Syria's Kurds: History, Politics and Society London Routledge 108–132 9780415424400 Category:Qamishli Category:Riots and civil disorder in Syria Category:History of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Category:Massacres in 2004 Category:2004 riots Category:Association football hooliganism Category:Persecution of Kurds in Syria Category:Kurdish rebellions in Syria Category:Kurdish protests Category:March 2004 in Asia Category:Democratic Union Party (Syria) Category:2004 crimes in Syria Category:Massacres of Kurds Category:21st-century mass murders in Syria Category:Massacres of protesters in Asia Category:Massacres committed by Ba'athist Syria Category:Arson in Syria Category:2004 fires in Asia Category:Arson in 2004 Category:2004 protests Category:Reactions to the Iraq War Category:Crime in Hasakah Governorate