Protesters destroy Hafez al-Assad statue in Suwayda
The residents of the Syrian city of Suwayda took to the street in peaceful demonstrations in early September to voice their opposition to the rampant corruption and bad living conditions in the city.
DAMASCUS, Syria — Suwayda, the relatively calm Syrian city with a majority of Druze residents located 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Damascus, witnessed on Sept. 1 peaceful demonstrations that were the biggest of its kind since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution. Scores of protesters flocked to the governorate’s municipality building downtown, demanding the improvement of living conditions and the dismissal of the corrupt politicians and holding the latter accountable.
The sit-in came as a response to a campaign launched on Facebook — #Khanaqtouna (You Suffocated Us) — by a number of activists in the city. The page quickly garnered the attention and support of the city’s residents, who responded to the call and took to the street. Another protest took place on Sept. 3, where protesters raised their demands, calling for the ousting of the city's governor, Afef Naddaf. Protesters shouted slogans akin to the Arab Spring — “Down with the regime” — but were keen on keeping the march as peaceful as possible, so as to avoid any clashes with the security forces controlling the city, according to the campaign’s Facebook page.
One of the organizers of the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al-Monitor, “The campaign represents all segments of society in the city. We will give the authorities 48 hours to respond to our demands: to provide the city with fuel, improve the electricity distribution and dismiss corrupt officials. Should they fail to meet these demands, we will take to the streets again.”
The young man stressed that this campaign is not affiliated with any political, religious or tribal party, as it merely represents the people of the city who have been affected by the dire economic situation and who are now fed up with the corruption, blaming the city’s governor and the heads of security departments for what is happening.
