Salutation to the souls of the martyrs: soldiers, civilians and security personnel.
Recovery for the wounded: soldiers, civilians and security personnel.
Return of all Syrians forced to displacement because of the murderous and brutal repression.
Freedom for all political prisoners in Syria in all their orientation and political opinions.
My great Syrian people:
After your great peaceful revolution for freedom, dignity and social and political justice against injustices and abuses committed by a regime that is addicted to all that is inhumane,
and after the number of martyrs has reached approximately one thousand five hundred martyrs,
and after the number of wounded to three thousand wounded.
and after the number of the refugees and displaced neared twenty thousand of the Syrian citizens
and after the huge prisons now choking with the massive numbers of free people of Syria;
and after all the unprecedented massacres carried out by the thugs “Shabeeha” and the security forces against the peaceful, unarmed protesters, and lately forcing the Syrian Army to take part in the regime’s crimes against the people who are seeking freedom, in an attempt to soil its honorable history;
and after the dear bloods being spilled all over our beloved Syria;
and after the stories of mass-rape incidents undertaken by some of the army, security forces and Shabeeha thugs coming out to light;
and after our great revolution for freedom and dignity entering its fourth month;
for all that I declare:
Having been a member of the Arab Writers Union in Syria and having been working with the Syrian TV in organizing and preparing programs: I withdraw from my membership at the Arab Writers Union because of the poor, self-blinding and misleading attitudes this Union has adopted towards the regime’s daily massacres, arbitrary arrests and torturing of the Syrian people; rather than adopting an expected supportive attitude towards the people’s demands of freedom and dignity, an attitude that is an elite, creative group of artists are expected to have!
I, Hereby, announce my resignation from Syrian state TV in response to the mischievous role that this media channel has chosen to take during covering the recent events in Syria. I do recognize and strongly condemn the acts of counterfeit, delusion, deception, media fabrication, and irresponsible provocation through which this media facility has always encountered the Syrian people’s determination of freedom and dignity, as well as its continuing justification of the blatant crimes the regime has perpetrated.
I sincerely hope that this step that I took will also encourage my fellow writers and journalists to send their resignation and stand fully with our peaceful Syrian people and together encounter the premeditated violence and killing committed by the regime against our people.
Liberty to Syria
Farhaan Almattaar (Syrian writer and journalist)
This post is also available in: Arabic