Mandatory east
Assads Syria: Eight million people under observation
Under Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian state apparatus presumably targeted everyone who somehow seemed suspicious. The new rulers now give a number for systematic surveillance.
During the rule of the former ruler Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the secret services allegedly had around eight million people under observation and thus almost a third of the entire population. “It is almost a third of the Syrian Volks about which the secret service and other authorities led,” said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry yesterday.
More than eight million people were “searched for” for political reasons, said the spokesman. In Syria under Assad, the term often referred to participants of protests against the government, which were made under the broad allegation of “terrorism” under strict observation and arrested.
New rulers strive for moderate image
After three decades of his father in power, Bashar al-Assad prevailed in Syria with the most brutal methods from 2000. In 2011 mass protests began against the government, which violently reflected on security forces. This developed a civil war with hundreds of thousands of dead and massive destruction. Hundreds of thousands of others ended up in prisons, many were tortured or disappeared.
Assad was plunged by a militias alliance in December and fled to Russia. Since then, the new rulers in Damascus have been striving for a moderate image in the hope of international recognition and economic support. At the same time, there are concern that the new government suppress minorities or that, unlike announced, it could not protect them sufficiently.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
