Damascus, Feb.3 (SANA) A seminar organized by the Syrian American Council on Tuesday in Damascus focused on commemorating the 44th anniversary of the Hama massacre of 1982, describing it as one of the most heinous crimes committed by the defunct regime and highlighting its profound humanitarian and social consequences, which exposed its criminal nature and contributed to shaping national awareness that paved the way for the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011.
A Pattern of Systematic Crimes
Former minister and eyewitness to the massacre, Asaad Mustafa, stated during the seminar that the “blessed liberation” was the result of an accumulation of sacrifices extending from the Hama massacre to the start of the Syrian revolution. He stressed that what happened in Hama was not merely killing, but rather a series of systematic crimes that included violations against civilians, the killing of women and children, the targeting of entire families and national figures from various backgrounds, as well as the destruction of humanitarian values.
Mustafa noted that the former regime pursued a policy of breaking society and subjugating it through mass executions, arrests, and assassinations, without distinction based on political or religious affiliation. He said that the criminal Hafez al-Assad led multiple security agencies that not only committed crimes but planned them, designed their details, and developed mechanisms to conceal them. He called for preserving the gains of victory and supporting Syrian state institutions.
Embedded in Syria’s Collective Memory
Hassan Jibran, a member of the National Commission for Transitional Justice, noted that the defunct regime sought to destroy the Syrian individual psychologically and socially. He added that the Hama massacre became a moral and historical catalyst for the Syrian revolution, as the blood of the victims remained embedded in the collective consciousness of Syrians until 2011.
Jibran pointed out that events of the 1980s fall within the legal mandate of the commission, explaining that the goals of transitional justice in Syria include uncovering the truth about grave violations, accountability and prosecution, reparations and compensation for victims, achieving national reconciliation and civil peace, in addition to institutional reform.
Unified Platform for Missing Persons
Ayman Al-Youssouf, a member of the National Commission for Missing Persons, said that the commission is the sole official body responsible for the missing persons’ file. Its work will rely on establishing a unified national platform to register missing persons cases, allowing families to report missing relatives from the past fourteen years or since the 1980s.
Al-Youssouf noted that the commission is working to locate mass graves linked to the massacre, collect remains, conduct necessary forensic analyses, and match results with samples from families, with the aim of identifying missing persons.
Broad Political and Humanitarian Advocacy
Abdel Karim al-Omar, Director of the Syrian American Council’s office in Syria, stated to SANA that since its establishment in 2005, the Council has supported the Syrian people through extensive political and humanitarian advocacy campaigns. He said it worked to hold the defunct regime accountable, oppose normalization with it, and continued its efforts after liberation alongside Syrians in the United States to lift sanctions on the new Syrian state. He added that the council opened an office in Damascus last May to organize seminars, coordinate with civil society organizations, and cooperate with Syrian state institutions.
Promoting Legal Culture and Human Rights
The Syrian American Council Foundation, officially registered on December 30 by a decision of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, works to promote legal culture and human rights, enhance international cultural exchange, strengthen education, and empower youth within society.
In February 2, 1982, the city of Hama was subjected to one of the most brutal massacres in modern history. For 27 days, the city endured a tight siege, indiscriminate shelling, field executions, and mass arrests carried out by the criminal regime of Hafez al-Assad, resulting in the killing of tens of thousands, the enforced disappearance of thousands, and the destruction of entire neighborhoods.
Despite attempts by the defunct regime to obscure the truth and distort the narrative, the massacre has remained alive in memory, passed down through generations and reflected in homes, books, and art to commemorate the victims—estimated at around 40,000 killed and 17,000 forcibly disappeared
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