An open letter to the UK Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon William Hague MP, on his visit to Syria

Dear Mr Hague,

I am pleased to see that you are travelling to Syria, and I hope that your visit will serve to raise global awareness of the great difficulties facing Syria today.

In 2009, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK government said in its report on Syrian human rights that “We remain deeply concerned about arbitrary arrests, intimidation, torture, travel bans, lack of freedom of expression, and lack of respect for the rights of the Kurdish minority.”

I would like to ask you, Mr Hague, whether you uphold this assertion which was made under the previous Labour government. I am sure that human rights is not an issue whose significance alters according to changes of UK government, and I feel confident that you are fully aware of the appalling record on human rights that the Syrian regime works so hard to conceal.

The Foreign Office report goes on to note that “the security services are pervasive in Syrian society. They monitor opposition figures, human rights lawyers and defenders. These groups are often subject to arbitrary arrest and detention.”

I hope that during your talks with leaders of the Syrian regime you will raise the matter of arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly with regard to the many peaceful poets, bloggers and human rights lawyers that have suffered so much for their basic rights of expression.

Mr Hague, your visit to Syria has been promoted by the Foreign Office on Twitter, and you have encouraged people to ask you questions via the social networking site. I wish, desperately, that the leaders of the Syrian regime would engage so openly with their citizens. Indeed, I wish that the Syrian people were free to even use social networking sites.

Your department’s report notes that “the Syrian government monitors internet use closely. Internet cafés are a focus of the Syrian security services, which act to catch people who blog against the government.”

Mr Hague, I think you will agree with me that the internet has been one of the most remarkable tools for social and human development that the world has ever seen, and that the freedom to connect with the world is as much a fundamental right as the right to speak freely.

I know that during your visit you will discuss regional issues, particularly Iran, whose relationship with Syria is deep and alarming. I expect also that you will discuss the recent uprising in Tunisia, and you will know that this was triggered by poor living standards and the unavailability of basic essentials. Mr Hague, whilst I am sure that it will be concealed from you, I can assure you that life for Syrians is tough. Too tough.

I implore you to raise the issues of human rights, democratic renewal and internet freedoms. You have an opportunity to shine a spotlight directly into the heart of the Syrian regime, and if you do, then it is the Syrian people who will benefit.

Yours sincerely,

Ribal Al-Assad

Founder & Director, the Organisation for Democracy and Freedom in Syria