Syrian community protests against murderous regime

The Syrian community in Malta protested vociferously in Valletta yesterday against the violent crackdown by the regime in their homeland, calling on President Bashar al-Assad to leave.

“Erhal” (leave), the word made famous by the protests across the Arab world, echoed along Republic Street in a noisy but peaceful demonstration staged by a group of about 50 Syrian nationals living here.

The group, made up mostly of men, incessantly chanted melodic verses condemning the violence in their country and slamming the Assad family that has ruled Syria with an iron fist for decades.

A few children had the Syrian flag painted on their face and a handful of women stood on the sidelines.

The protesters carried posters with statements including: “No dialogue with children’s assassin”; “Enough, leave” and “Your father died and you will follow soon”.

They also condemned Russia for supplying the regime with weapons and obstructing any move by the international community to take concrete action against the Syrian regime. A protester, who preferred not to give his name, told The Times the situation in his country was unbearable and it was becoming increasingly difficult to speak with his family back home.

The sense of fear was evident among other protesters who said it would be impossible for them to return to Syria after the demonstration because they would be identified and thrown in jail.

They spoke of their hope that President Assad would step down to avoid further bloodshed but urged the EU to step up efforts to stop the regime from continuing to attack the people.

“We want a no-fly zone so that military aircraft will not be able to attack civilians and we ask Malta as a member of the EU to present the case on behalf of the Syrian people,” a protester said, thanking Malta for allowing his community to protest.

Another man said all Syrian ambassadors in Europe should resign or be asked to leave by the governments of the host countries.

“They have turned schools into prisons, while soldiers have killed civilians and looted shops,” a protester said, adding that his cousin, who was now a fugitive in Syria, had been shot in the leg.

On a number of occasions during the protest, the men danced and stamped their feet on posters with the face of President Assad, each time picking up the remnants and throwing them away in a dustbin.