Syria: Regime’s Continued Violence Risks Spread of Conflict

International Trade Union Confederation

ITUC OnLine

Brussels, 8 November 2011 (ITUC OnLine): With more than 3,000 people killed to date, the Syrian authorities show no sign of seeking a peaceful end to the violent repression engulfing the country. Despite mediation efforts by Turkey, and an agreement with the Assad regime brokered by the Arab League, the President’s security forces are continuing to kill innocent civilians engaged in peaceful protest.

Some 10,000 people are believed to have been detained by the regime, many of them subjected to torture, and the armoured offensive against the city of Homs continues. The Arab League has called an emergency meeting for 11 November following the failure of President Assad to implement the agreement. More than 60 people are believed to have been killed since the agreement was reached 5 days ago.

“The Syrian authorities’ refusal to recognise that their iron grip over the lives of the Syrian people is coming to an end is causing untold misery Their actions now threaten to spill the conflict over into neighbouring countries. They must realise that killing and torturing their own population, and trying to stop people finding out the truth by repressing the media and journalists, is a recipe which has failed many a dictatorship, notably in the recent past,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.

“The Arab League needs to dramatically intensify pressure on the regime, as does the entire international community, through the UN,” said Burrow.

The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 308 affiliated national organisations from 153 countries and territories.

Website: http://www.ituc-csi.org and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI

ENDS

© Scoop Media