We Are All Meshaal Tamo: Syrians furious after assassination of Kurdish leader

by Alliance for Kurdish Rights

Qamişlo, Syria: Prominent Kurdish activist, founder of the Kurdish Future Part and member of the newly formed Syrian National Council Meshaal Tamo was assassinated by Syrian thugs in his own home on Friday. His son Marcel Tammo and another Kurdish activist were also critically injured by the gunfire.

The Syrian Arab News Network unsurprisingly twisted news of Tamo’s death, claiming that armed terrorists ambushed his home in an act of sectarian violence, and mourning him as a member of the national opposition, despite the fact that he had been in prison just a few months prior to his death.

Protests erupted in cities across Syria in an enthusiastic display of cross-Syrian solidarity. Saturday and Sunday were officially named “Qamişlo and Amûdê” in honor of the Kurdish cities. Qamişlo and Amûdê themselves erupted into massive demonstrations after the death of Tamo, bringing a renewed revolutionary energy to the Kurdish minority. Tamo’s death may also become a critical moment for the Kurdish role in toppling Assad. The Kurdish establishment has been sluggish in supporting the protests despite enthusiastic support from the Kurdish youth. The Assad regime has been deliberately lenient towards the Kurds in their crackdown on protest precisely so that it would not mobilize a massive population for the revolution.

Meshaal Tamo’s death did exactly that. Protests in solidarity with the slain activist and the Kurdish minority emerged throughout the country and abroad. In Qamişlo, Tamo’s funeral turned into a rally with upwards of 50,000 protesters, chanting in Kurdish and Arabic and waving Kurdish and Syrian flags. Violence from security forces during the funeral resulted in an estimated five casualties from Tamo’s funeral and nine other deaths that day throughout Syria. Qamişlo and other Kurdish majority cities also implemented a general strike throughout the weekend.

On Sunday, Tamo’s son Feras Tamo sent a clear message to Syrians from his home in Iraq, describing the assassination of his father “is the screw in the regime’s coffin”. He called on Syrian Kurdish groups to take a more active role in the country’s nearly 7-month-long uprising, and both Kurds and Arabs alike heeded the call. The weekend was marked by massive demonstrations throughout Syria, from Deir ez Zor, to Damascus. Protests emerged in every major city calling for the down fall of the regime and for solidarity with the Kurds.

These protesters in Homs sing a mournful song for Meshaal Tamo.

In addition to sparking protests within Syria, the death of Meshaal Tamo sparked outrage abroad. Kurds protested at multiple Syrian embassies around the world, including in Vienna, Beirut, London, and Berlin. Although the Beirut protest ended peacefully, participants were supposedly attacked later that evening. Seven were arrested after a protest at the Syrian embassy in London, and 200 people held a rally in Stockholm in support of the Syrian protests, with no arrests. Both the U.S. and Turkey condemned the attacks, calling them “vicious and unprovoked”. The wide reaction to Meshaal Tamo’s death has been seen by many as a new stage as Kurds become more involved and more welcomed within the protests, and may be a significant influence on the international community. With the establishment of the Syrian National Council set up as a legitimate alternative to the Assad regime, other minorities may see increased Kurdish involvement as a positive sign, although only the coming weeks will reveal the appeal of such a move.

Nonetheless, it is clear that all eyes are on the Kurds after Meshaal Tamo’s tragic death, and that their importance within the revolution will only increase. CrowdVoice has put together a page dedicated to the emerging situation of Kurds in Syria, as a means of gathering the latest news, videos, and blogs about the issue.