Press Release
Syrian Coalition
August 22, 2014
The Syrian Coalition welcomes the recent civil activity in the coastal provinces of Tartous and Latakia. Activists have recently launched the “Sarkha” (Speak Up) campaign calling for an immediate end of the conflict and protesting against the Alawite’s heavy involvement in Assad’s attempts to crack down on those calling for freedom and dignity. Activists estimated the number of fighters killed from the coastal areas during the regime’s war on the Syrian people is nearly 300,000. The campaign is rapidly spreading to other provinces, including the central Homs and Hama provinces.
The Syrian Coalition is currently in contact with organizers and activists involved in the campaign to offer all of the support we can provide. The Coalition is concerned over reports that regime intelligence forces have started an arrest campaign against people thought to be involved in these peaceful activities.
The latest civil movement against the regime in coastal areas could only mean that those communities have become fed up with regime brutality and do not want their sons, husbands, and brothers to die defending Assad and the clique around him. It is important to remember that the Assad regime- throughout the past 4 decades- has persecuted, arrested, tortured and killed everyone that opposes its tyrannical rule from all religious cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
