Newroz killing of Kurds in Syria
[Updated] We are getting reports from Yekiti media http://yekitimedia.org/en/
and Soparo that 3 people have been killed and others injured this morning in the Kurdish area of al-Raqqa, Syria, near the place where they sort out wheat.
Update 8.30pm [UK time]:
Rudaw – Kurdish news websites report that between 2-3 people were killed, when Syrian security forces opened fire on Newroz celebrations.
According to the Kurdish news agency ANF more than 50 people were wounded and two killed in the Kurdish area of al-Raqqa, Syria today. One of the victims, is a 15-year old girl, whose name is not identified yet.
ANF says that four of the wounded, were heavily wounded and are treated in their own homes, because they are afraid to be arrested in the state hospital.
http://www.rudaw.net/details.aspx?lang=English&page=articles&c=News&id=19348
UN includes Newroz – new year – as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity
As the people of the Kurdistan Region and millions of Kurds around the world prepare to celebrate Newroz, the traditional Kurdish new year, the Kurdistan Regional Government welcomes the UN General Assembly’s recognition of this ancient celebration.
Kurds in the Kurdistan Region and other countries have been celebrating Newroz, which means New Day, for at least three thousand years. Newroz falls on the Spring Equinox, the first day of spring, and represents hope, unity and renewal.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) also welcomes the UN’s decision to include the Newroz new year as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The decision to include Newroz in the list of humanity’s heritages was made by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Read more
More disappearances of Kurds in Syria – 8 November 2009
Nashat Mustafa Hanan, a 45 year old Kurd from Aleppo in Syria who works in the defence industry for the Syrian Government, has been subjected to harassment and was called into many interviews from the time of last year’s Newroz festival in March 2008. Newroz is celebrated around 21 March every year. It is the Kurdish New Year, a festival time when Kurds remember their history, and celebrate their Kurdyeti (Kurdishness) by holding parties in large tents and dancing on the stage. In Syria, the Government threatens Kurdish political parties at this time that their supporters should stay at home, suddenly there are no tents for hire, the stages that have been erected are bulldozed, and many people are arrested. There is clear Government interference in the festival. Read more
