In response to the death of Mohammad Qatta Salmo at the hands of an armed group in Aleppo, a group of activists in Aleppo city launched the Enough is Enough campaign. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Salmo was killed by a group linked to the legal authority of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, who accused the 14-year-old of blasphemy. The goal of the campaign is to send a clear message to all, but especially to armed groups and the Free Syrian Army (FSA), that incidents such as that of Salmo’s death will not be tolerated. Organizers of the campaign are asking the FSA to control such crimes and protect the people. They said, “The campaign is not against anyone in particular, nor is it confrontational. It is a public outcry against all those who are committing mistakes, and against those who believe they are always right and everyone else is wrong. The campaign goes against all those who are trying to map out the future of Syria on their own, as if the country is theirs to claim.”
Activists believe the campaign “is not only a campaign in the face of tyrants, it is also a campaign to build a free Syria for all Syrians, built on the basis of freedom and dignity.” They said, “The campaign was born because our revolution will not stand replacing one dictatorship with another, a group of criminals and executioners with another. We will continue towards our goals, and will battle those who try to push us away from them."
As a part of the “Enough is Enough” campaign, Aleppo’s coordination committees organized a demonstration in Al-Shaar neighborhood, protesting Salmo’s death. According to an activist, “Protesters closed off roads and set tires on fire in condemnation of the silence of Free Syrian Army battalions, who have not pursued the criminals.” Protesters marched toward the optometry hospital, which has become a base for the Legal Counsel, as well as toward the headquarters of Al-Nusra Front and Tawhid Brigade. They demanded these groups to go out in protection of civilians.
Activists also created a Facebook page for the campaign in order to report on their activities, and to publish messages shining light on mistakes being made in Aleppo. One of the goals of the campaign is to begin “toppling the regime that lives inside us, in order to do justice to Syria’s youth that have dreamt of freedom and dignity.” The organizers hope to implement the Quranic verse that says, “God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves,” and Gandhi’s saying “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
On June 14, campaign activists organized a demonstration after Friday prayer at Fajr al-Islam Mosque in Tariq al-Bab neighborhood. Protesters raised the revolutionary flag alongside the black Islamic flag raised by groups such as Al-Nusra Front.
Enough is Enough was born in immediate response to Salmo’s death, but it also came out in response to the increasing number of mistakes being made groups affiliated with the revolution. The campaign is sending the message that those who revolted once against tyranny will continue to do so, especially against groups trying to take advantage of the Syrian revolution to fulfill their personal agendas.
