Baladi News - (Ahmed Abdul Haq)
Throughout the ages, history has proven that injustice, oppression, and despotism are of the biggest drivers of peoples’ revolutionary movements against oppressors, and the continuation of injustice and bloodshed is the biggest incentive for their continuation. The Syrian revolution includes many examples that demonstrate that the increased bloodshed had negative impacts on Assad’s regime and became a prominent motive that kept the revolution glowing.
If we go back to the early stages of the Syrian revolution and review its events, we would find that Assad’s regime misevaluated the peaceful movements, thinking that violence could end the uprising. However, the first drop of blood was the biggest driver that fueled the revolution and expanded it all around Syria. The more innocent casualties have fallen, the stronger the revolution has grown.
In Idlib, al-Mastouma camp massacre that was committed by the regime on the 20th of May 2011, the day that was called “Azadi Friday”, was a turning point for the revolution in the governorate. After revolutionary movements of the youth in Maarrat al-Nu'man, Saraqeb, Ariha, Jisr al-Shughour, Binnish, and Idlib city, which were encountered with security pursuit and restriction and were note embraced in general by the public, the revolts decided to convey the revolutionary movement to the heart of Idlib city, particularly Hanano Square, and organize a sit-in there. To achieve this goal, all revolutionary areas coordinated to enter Idlib city from all sides.
On that day, and after Friday prayer, a huge number of young men from all areas in the governorate headed towards Ariha. After meeting and making finalizing their preparations, they moved on their feet like a strong torrent towards Idlib city, the center of the governorate. When they reached a point near Tala’i’ camp south from al-Mastouma town, the regime forces opened their fires at the crowds causing hundreds casualties among them. In this massacre, the blood of these peaceful demonstrators mingled with the soil and the olive trees that were not exempted from the regime fires. The next day, after each killed or wounded person was taken to their villages, some people thought that Idlib gave up and that the revolution had end there, but we were astonished to see huge numbers of demonstrators filling the streets and chanting slogans against to call for toppling down the regime. In these demonstrations, old people were in front of the youth, and even civil servants, who had always been silent, joined the funerals and declared their dissention from the brutal regime.
This incident was marked a new stage of the revolutionary movement. The massacre drove all the components of popular masses to support the rebels morally and financially. That day was the turning point that made the whole governorate of Idlib become one of the first cities that rose against Assad’s regime, and until this date, the governorate has been making big sacrifices for freedom.
Today, despite the daily massacres being committed by the Syrian regime and Russian war planes against armless civilians, free people of all groups emphasize that Idlib will not be broken. Rather, it will strengthen its revolutionary movement against the Assad’s regime until freedom is acquired and the rights of the oppressed are restored, no matter how violent the tyrants will become.