Fear Still Rules Political Expression

Youssef Kanaan *

Editor’s Note: With the exception of Dara Abdullah, all sources’ names have been changed at their request.

(Damascus, Syria) – More than two years after the start of the uprising in Syria, the security apparatus remains committed to stifling freedom of expression. In its monthly reports, the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, based in Beirut, has documented the arrest of 12 journalists and dissident intellectuals since January this year. Well known media activists, such as Mazen Darwish, who was arrested in 2012, continue to be held under charges of terrorism.

Opposition activists aren’t the only one to be threatened by expressing dissent; ordinary people are affected as well. On the bus, or in any other public space in Damascus, it is enough to hear someone say “may God end this crisis” when commenting on anything related to security or politics to make one feel that the speaker is not comfortable expressing their honest opinion in front of others. While examining IDs at checkpoints, security forces listen carefully for any comment citizens make.

Samah, 25, a law student, says she practices self-censorship when speaking publicly about the security forces, military and government.

“The security apparatus rules with an iron fist and its roots extend deep inside us,” she observed. “The prevailing cruelty has forced us to grow used to its presence, even when it’s not there. There is an internal monitor within us that will not die.”

“Sometimes I lose control and start telling tragic, true stories, but without blaming the government directly, so that I can equivocate and avoid debate and its attendant risks if I need to.”

The opposition writer Dara Abdullah had a bad experience with the security services, which forced him to leave Syria in January 2013 for Cologne, Germany, after he was briefly arrested for his politics. Abdullah says the fear of being arrested again pushed him to leave. He acknowledges that most Syrians are now preoccupied with the general political situation after years of deliberately minding their own business, but says their lives are still governed by fear.

“I am not convinced that the “wall of fear” has been broken, because people still speak in a low voice in areas controlled by the regime,” he said.

This view is echoed by another opposition writer still living in Damascus who asked that his name not appear in print.

“Fear still roosts in our hearts,” he said. “The effects of 40 years of totalitarianism under the complete control of the security forces will not go away easily.”

The writer added that he believes both loyalists and opposition supporters live in fear in all areas controlled by the regime.

“There is no such thing as talking politics freely,” he observes.

The writer pointed to the early enthusiasm in the first days of the uprising which led many people to speak out, but which eventually declined as the repression and killing intensified.

In addition to the role played by the security forces in instilling fear of speaking against the state, opposition supporters also fear being turned over by civilians loyal to the government or the Baath party.

Aram, 29, a dramaturge, said regime loyalists are still bent on preventing opposition supporters from airing their views.

“The security agent is not the [only] deterrent,” he said. “Every loyalist has become a fierce monitor, and they have taken on this role with unprecedented zealousness.”

However, suppressing opinion critical of the dominant political force is not limited to the regime. Organizations that monitor freedom of expression have found violations occurring with increasing frequency in areas controlled by the opposition.

Amnesty International’s latest yearly report found both the government and the opposition were responsible for attacks on the media. Its findings were backed by those of SKeyes, which found in its monthly report for June that the Sharia Council of Aleppo had arrested four journalists and media activists. Reporters in Deir El-Zor were threatened at gunpoint by Free Syrian Army militants, while the Military Council of Homs warned the media against publishing any news about the armed opposition without seeking permission first.

Samah, the law student, sees little difference between the regime and the armed opposition when it comes to freedom of expression.

“The scary thing is that extremism, Sharia courts, and the power of religion are on the rise,” she said. “It resembles the very thing we revolted against. A system of governance based on God’s will does not accept criticism or dissent either, and there are many examples of arrests and executions without trial [by Islamist opposition forces].”

*Youssef Kanaan is a pseudonym for a journalist living in Syria