In moments of profound national trauma, silence is not neutrality—it is complicity. At a time when Syria faces one of its most painful reckonings, a group of prominent Syrian intellectuals, writers, journalists, artists, academics, and public figures have come together to speak with moral clarity and collective conscience.
United by a shared commitment to truth, justice, and human dignity, the undersigned issue this statement not as partisans, but as Syrians deeply invested in the future of their country. With voices drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions—literature, law, medicine, the arts, social sciences, and civic leadership—they offer a principled stand against sectarian violence and collective punishment, wherever it may occur and whomever it may target.
This declaration is both a condemnation of recent atrocities and a broader call for a Syria rooted in equality, accountability, and the sanctity of all human life. It is a pledge to uphold a moral vision for the country, one that refuses to let any Syrian community be scapegoated, demonized, or reduced to a legacy of fear.
Below is the text of the statements with the names of some signatories:
Between the 6th and 10th of March this year, Syria’s coastal regions witnessed brutal massacres targeting Alawite civilians. These atrocities were preceded by sectarian-motivated abuses in which peaceful citizens were humiliated, beaten, and murdered. Though the scale of killing, burning, and looting may have subsided, there is no doubt that Syria’s Alawite community today lives in fear—fear for their lives, their dignity, and their homes.
During those harrowing days, scores of innocent Alawites—men, women, and children—were killed without having any connection, direct or indirect, to the coup attempts or acts of terror orchestrated by the remnants of the fallen Assad regime. They were targeted solely for their identity—because they were Alawites—by frenzied armed groups acting on a logic of collective punishment. It is the same logic that fuelled the former regime’s massacres, and the same logic that Israel has long used in its oppression of the Palestinian people.
We, the undersigned, denounce in the strongest possible terms this egregious violation of the Alawite community’s fundamental rights to life, liberty, and equal human dignity. We reject silence in the face of such sectarian crimes. To remain mute is to be complicit. Our country cannot move forward if truth is suppressed.
We affirm our unequivocal condemnation of all forms of sectarian discrimination and call for the urgent initiation of a serious transitional justice process. We appeal to all Syrians to break free from the dark tunnel into which the Assad regime has plunged us—by standing in unwavering solidarity with all innocent victims and their families, and by condemning perpetrators of violence, regardless of their affiliations.
We reject, categorically and without qualification, the humiliation or stigmatisation of Alawites as a defeated people. It is the criminal Assad regime that has fallen. It is the Syrian people—the citizens, women and men alike, equal in rights and responsibilities—who must prevail. There can be no dignity for any Syrian while the dignity of Alawite Syrians is violated; no safety for any Syrian while Alawite Syrians live in fear. This is our principled and unwavering stance on violations against any Syrian community.
Let us affirm, together, that human life, liberty, and dignity are inviolable and must transcend all political considerations. The ultimate measure of any policy must be its commitment to safeguarding these fundamental human values.
Signatories
Abdul Hai Sayed – Lawyer and Writer
Adnan Makieh – Activist
Ahmad Hasou – Journalist
Amer Matar – Journalist
Asaad Al-Achi – Economist
Baker Sidqi – Writer and Translator
Burhan Ghalioun – Thinker and Academic
Faraj Bayraqdar – Poet
Fares al-Bahra – Psychiatrist and Writer
Fares Helou – Actor
Farouk Mardam Bey – Writer and Publisher
Fouad Muhammad Fouad – Physician and Poet
Ghassan Zakaria – Writer
Hala Omran – Actress
Hanadi Zahlout – Writer and Journalist
Hassan al-Nifi – Writer and Poet
Hazem Nahar – Editor-in-Chief of Rawaq Maison Magazine
Hussam al-Din Muhammad – Writer and Media Figure
Hussam Jazmati – Writer and Researcher
Hussam Miro – Head of the Syrian Constitutional Party (Hadash)
Hussein Qassem – Kurdish Engineer and Politician
Inas Haqqi – Director
Jalal Nofal – Psychiatrist
Karam Nashar – Director and Executive Editor of Al-Jumhuriya platform
Karim al-Afnan – Journalist
Khaled Abu Salah – Researcher and Journalist
Khodr Abdel Karim – Visual Artist
Leila al-Shami – Writer
Lina al-Ahmad – Translator
Lina al-Taybi – Poet
Louay al-Zurair – Political Activist
Lubna al-Qanawati – Human Rights Defender
Majid Kayali – Syrian-Palestinian Political Writer
Malik Daghestani – Writer
Marcel Shehwaro – Writer
Mizer Matar – Photographer
Motasem al-Syoufi – Director of The Day After Foundation
Muhammad al-Attar – Writer and Playwright
Muhammad Ali al-Atassi – Writer and Documentary Filmmaker
Muthanna al-Sayyer – Physician
Muwaffaq Zureik – Writer and Critical Researcher
Na’ama Imran – Opera Singer and Music Composer
Nabil Suleiman – Novelist
Nihad Sirees – Novelist
Oday al-Zoubi – Short Story Writer
Omar Kaddour – Political Writer and Novelist
Orwa al-Ahmad – Director
Orwa Khalifa – Journalist and Editor at Al-Jumhuriya platform
Osama Muhammad – Filmmaker
Osama Nassar – Activist and Journalist
Randa Ba’ath – Translator
Rasha Omran – Writer
Rashad Kiwan – Citizen
Rateb Shaabo – Writer and Translator
Reem al-Ghazzi – Documentary Filmmaker
Reem Allaf – Writer
Robin Yassin-Kassab – Writer
Roza Hassan – Novelist
Samar Yazbek – Novelist
Samir Seifan – Director of the Harmoon Center for Contemporary Studies
Samira Masalma – Journalist
Sarah Hunaidi – Writer
Waad al-Kateab – Documentary Filmmaker
Wael Sawah – Writer and translator
Walid al-Bunni – Politician, Physician, and Writer
Yamen Hussein – Writer and Political Activist
Yasser Munif – University Professor and Author
Yassin al-Haj Saleh – Writer
Yassin Sweih – Journalist and Executive Editor at Al-Jumhuriya platform
