Riyad al-Turk

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Riyad al-Turk
Riyad al-Turk

Riyad al-Turk (Arabic:رياض الترك, born 1930 in Homs) is a Syrian opposition leader, former political prisoner, and prominent supporter of democracy. He has been secretary general of the radical Syrian Communist Party (Political Bureau) since its foundation in 1973 and is considered the "grandfather" of the Syrian opposition movement. In the latest years he has moved from a democratic communist towards a liberal democrat.

Al-Turk joined the Syrian Communist Party while a student and as a result was imprisoned for the first time in 1952. He later wrote articles for the party newspaper, Al-Nour, and became a leading party ideologue. He was imprisoned again in 1960 under Nasser when Syria joined with Egypt in the United Arab Republic. Released in 1961, he had to take refuge in Lebanon in 1963 when the Ba'th Party came to power in Syria but returned when the left-wing Ba'thist regime of Salah Jadid took power in 1966.

In 1972, al-Turk disagreed with Communist Party secretary Khalid Bakdash when Bakdash decided merge the party into the National Progressive Front, a coalition of organizations allied with the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party. Along with supporters on the radical wing of the party, in 1973 Turk formed the Syrian Communist Party (Political Bureau) until May 2005), which took a strong opposition stance from 1976 on after the Syrian intervention in favour of the Maronites and the right-wing groups in the Lebanese Civil War. This led to repression of the party, which was stepped up at the beginning of the 1980s when the regime felt itself under increasing pressure from both Islamists and the secular opposition. Al-Turk was arrested and imprisoned in appalling conditions from 28 October 1980 to 30 May 1998, spending most of the period in solitary confinement and suffering regular torture. He suffered considerable ill-health, including diabetes for which he was refused treatment.

After his release in 1998, al-Turk was not particularly active politically. In June 2000, however, Syrian dictator Hafiz al-Asad died and his son Bashar succeeded him. This was followed by an outburst of political debate and demands for democratic changes, known as the Damascus Spring, and al-Turk resumed a prominent role. His statement on al Jazeera television in August 2001 that "the dictator has died" was seen as a direct cause of renewed repression by an angered regime, and al-Turk himself was arrested some days later, subjected to a trial widely seen as unfair before a state security court, and was sentenced to two years imprisonment. This led to international protests, especially given his poor health.

Al-Turk was released after serving fifteen months of his sentence, and resumed his political activities. In spring 2005 the Syrian Communist Party (Political Bureau) held a secret congress at which it decided to change its name to the Syrian Democratic People's Party.

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