Slogans call for overthrow of Syrian president in Suwayda
SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – Those commemorating the death of Sultan Pasha al-Atrash in the city of Suwayda, south Syria, asked for the release of detainees and demanded that Syrian government institutions not be allowed to renew their corruption in the region, shouting slogans calling for the fall of the Syrian president.
On Friday, hundreds of residents of Suwayda gathered in al-Qrayya town in the southern countryside of the city to recall the leader of the Great Syrian Revolution, Sultan Pash al-Atrash on the 39th anniversary of his death, raising his famous slogan, “Religion is for God, the fatherland is for all.”
For decades, Syrian authorities prevented the residents of Suwayda from commemorating al-Atrash, who died on March 26, 1982.
In front of the tomb of al-Atrash, participants chanted phrases calling for the overthrow of the Syrian president, like “Long live Syria and let Bashar Assad fall.” Slogans calling for the unity of the Syrian people, such as “The Syrian people are one,” in addition to popular songs and dances, were also repeated.
Ayham Oqab (a pseudonym), an activist participating in organizing the event, told North Press that the residents of Suwayda head to the tomb of al-Atrash as “a message to the tyrannical government that this country will remain for the free.”
“The slogans raised today indicate that Suwayda stands with all the free people in Syria, from Khirbet Awad village in the far south of Syria to Amuda town in the far northeast, with the aim of working on a new social contract in which Assad has no place,” he added.
The crowd in the yard of the tomb of al-Atrash raised signs denouncing the authorities of the Syrian government.
Independent local factions, namely the Druze People’s Protection Forces, the Men of Dignity Forces, the al-Fahd Forces faction, and the Bayariq al-Haq faction, provided protection for the crowds.
Members of the Military Security Branch, Air Force Intelligence, and the National Defense faction were deployed at the entrances of al-Qrayya and in the vicinity of the tomb square. Local activists said that this was for fear of demonstrations roaming the town’s streets.
70-year-old Ismail al-Atrash, who is the cousin of Sultan al-Atrash and one of the most prominent notables of Suwayda, said, “the people of Suwayda must follow Sultan al-Atrash’s approach in rejecting the injustice of any government that tyrannizes its people.”
“All Syrians should be as one in the fight against the ruling tyrants, and Syrians do not deserve what they experienced from displacement and humiliation,” he added.