Writing by Abdul Salam Haj Bakri; Translation by Yusra Ahmed
(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Municipality of Latakia has launched a campaign claimed aiming to clean the city from non licensed stalls in streets, but in reality they targeted the stalls of poor people only, leaving regime’s loyalists’ and Shabiha’s stalls without a single notice.
Dozens of stalls have been destroyed in the northern cornice and Btarneh garden, where vegetables, fruits, toys and other products were stepped on and smashed by the Municipality’s members and Shabiha, who openly showed gloating.
“Shbiha started to sarcastically calling the name of vegetable or fruit that was being stepped on and smashed by them or other municipality's members”, Mohamed al-Sahili, correspondent of opposition Latakia News Network said.
Al-Sahili mentioned that sellers and stalls’ owners had begged policemen and municipality members to give them short time to leave the garden, but their was no response, even the policemen had beaten a young man cruelly because he tried to run away with his products and his stall.
Abu Khalid, his over 60 years of age were not able to help him to hold his tears from falling when his stall was broken, he painfully said: “how would I be able to fund the treatment for my ill wife, who would provide food for my grandchildren, I don’t have money to afford for a new stall, no one but God knows what would happen to us”, L.N.N's correspondent reported.
Abu Khalid loudly swore to policemen and the municipality saying: “why we the poor are not allowed to work, while you leave your men and who support you to work and sell whatever they like.”
Omar. S, owns a stall of vegetable in Sheikh Dhaher square confirmed that Shabiha sell on their stalls everything, even smuggled products like cigarettes and alcohol, even some of them sell drugs and pornography films.
Omar mentioned that one of the stalls sells arms like guns and Kalashnikov under cover of police and security members.
According to Omar, the municipality’s campaign against stalls targeted only venders in poor neighborhoods like Skantori, Ramel Janobi, Slaibah, but they were not able to move a tiny piece of Shabiha’s stalls.
The police arrested dozens of hawkers and stalls’ owners who tried prevented the police from removing or destroying their stalls.
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