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Syria: Temporary Suspension of Official School Anthems
The Syrian Transitional Government’s Ministry of Education issued a circular on Sunday stating the temporary prohibition of adopting any official anthem or (slogan) in public and private schools until the national anthem and official logo are adopted in accordance with constitutional and legal procedures. This decision came in response to the circulation of video clips from schools in the Aleppo countryside showing students singing slogans that contain sectarian and religious messages, which sparked widespread controversy among Syrians regarding the content of these songs and heightened fears of their exploitation to incite sectarian tensions.
In another development, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that dozens of teachers from the countryside of Hamah organized a sit-in in front of the Directorate of Education building in the city, protesting against arbitrary transfer decisions affecting more than a thousand teachers who were dismissed and moved away from their residential areas located dozens of kilometers away. The protesters expressed their resentment and condemnation of these decisions, calling on the relevant authorities to review and reconsider them. They emphasized that the transfers are based on sectarian grounds, as all those involved belong to communities in the cities of Misyaf, Sallhab, Saraqeb, and Shattta.
Syria is experiencing escalating sectarian and racial tension, resulting from individual acts and loyalist practices related to incitement, as well as the politicization of official media discourse that reinforces narratives about the country’s different components. Incidents of murder and assassination targeting individuals based on ethnicity or religion are increasing amid a rising rhetoric of incitement. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights warns against such violence, calling for accountability of those responsible under the law, and stresses the necessity of stopping any targeting based on identity or race while working to promote the unity of Syrian society.
