The Syrian Future Movement has followed with deep concern the dangerous developments in the city of Baniyas, following the spread of an audio recording attributed to the city’s police chief, which included insulting remarks about the city’s residents and their honorable national history.
We, in the Syrian Future Movement, support the popular demonstrations in Baniyas against these statements. We also condemn in the strongest terms this blatant insult to Baniyas, a city that was among the first Syrian cities to rise up against tyranny. Since 2011, it has offered martyrs and detainees, and faced horrific massacres in 2013, in which hundreds of innocent civilians were killed in the village of Al-Bayda and the Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood at the hands of the Assad regime’s militias.
The Syrian Future Movement considers such statements by a security official, who is supposed to be serving the people, not insulting them, to be absolutely unacceptable and requires a clear stance from the relevant authorities.
Accordingly, the Syrian Future Movement demands the following:
- An immediate investigation into the Baniyas Police Chief regarding the content of the audio recording attributed to him.
- A public and explicit apology from the Police Chief to the people of Baniyas, out of respect for their sacrifices and national history.
- Calling on the Ministry of Interior to review the performance of security leaders and ensure their respect for the dignity and rights of citizens.
The Syrian Future Movement affirms that the dignity of Syrians is above all considerations, and that the Syrian revolution was launched for freedom, justice, and dignity. We will not accept a return to humiliation and oppression under any pretext.
