Our haunting tour of Hama during the onset of Syria's uprising

At one point at the meeting, Minister Davutoğlu asked whether dissidents banned from entering Syria would also be allowed to return to the country to participate in the comprehensive dialogue process. He did not specify, but among others, he had the Muslim Brotherhood in mind.

Al-Assad said that those who violated the law had to be treated within the law. But there was nothing to prevent opposition supporters or political dissidents from applying to the Embassy to get or renew their Syrian passports and come back.

The president went on to say that unfortunately, they preferred not to return because they were afraid. Al-Assad said that the fact that the opposition inside Syria came together and held meetings proved their fears to be unfounded.

Roadmap presented

We left the meeting room and Davutoğlu and Al-Assad held a one-on-one, three-hour meeting.  We were later called back, and Davutoğlu said he had offered a roadmap to al-Assad which he had accepted. 

Its elements were:

• Army units from Hama and Deir Ez-Zor will withdraw tomorrow.
• The Turkish Ambassador will go to Hama to observe and report the situation.
• The press law will be enacted in 3-4 days.
• Al-Assad will go on television in a week to explain the roadmap of the political process, including the timetable for elections.
• A referendum will be held on Article 8 (the article stating that the Ba'ath Party leads the state and society) one month after its announcement on television.
• The constitution will be amended by the new parliament.
• The new Constitution will be put to a referendum.
• Dissidents outside of Syria will be able to come back in safety and establish political parties. But these parties will not bear Islamic names.

The Al-Assad-Davutoğlu meeting lasted for seven hours in total. At the end of the day, everyone was exhausted. Davutoğlu was hopeful as he thought that the roadmap would work.

A tour of Hama

The minister and his delegation left Damascus that evening. The next morning, 10 August, we were allowed into Hama to see the impact of conflict on the ground.  Several of my colleagues from the embassy and the security detail accompanied me in two cars.

Upon arrival in Hama at 10:30, we were met at the entrance of the city by the Turkish  Consul General in Aleppo and Syrian officials.

I first visited the governor's office and met Governor Abbas El Naim. There were bullet marks at the entrance of the governor's office and on the stairs leading to his office. The governor said that these were the result of attacks by armed groups. Later on, we toured the city with the governor.

We toured the neighbourhoods of Kapak, Hamidiye, Sirjavi and Sabuniye which were said to be where incidents were concentrated.

The governor took us to the Police Station, the Traffic Branch, the Courthouse and the Officer's Club. These buildings were completely or partially burned down. There were bullet marks on the walls. Vehicles in the parking lots were burned. The governor said demonstrators and armed groups were responsible.

Upon our request, the governor took us to Hurani Hospital. This was the famous hospital where injured demonstrators were treated. The walls of the hospital were full of bullet holes and windows were shattered. Eyewitnesses told us that security forces and opponents protecting the wounded in the hospital had engaged in a firefight.

We went to the corner of Sirjavi mosque. This was where intense clashes took place with many people killed. The governor said that this place was dangerous, that there were armed groups around and they could harm us.

Looking at the mosque from a distance, he took us to the Omar Bin Khattab Mosque in the city centre and left so that we could go around. As soon as the governor left, we returned to the Sirjavi Mosque.

There were around 50 to 60 people inside. They shared with us what they had lived through. We were told that this was the first day the mosques were allowed to open since some days. Apparently, this was because of our visit to the city. The regime wanted to show us that things were back to normal.

Harrowing accounts

One person said that his son was killed by the security forces because he insulted al-Assad. Another person said his four-year-old daughter had been killed by a sniper in front of their house.

He was critical also of Prime Minister Erdoğan who he said made very harsh statements before but keeps silent now. A woman said that security forces raided their home last night and took away her husband.

The people took us to the women's section on the upper floor of the mosque and the Quran course room on the lower floor. They stated that security forces entered the mosque by force, broke down the doors and wrecked the inside.

Both rooms were ransacked, Qurans and various other books and belongings were thrown on the floor, televisions and electronic equipment were broken, and part of the minaret of the mosque was partially destroyed by heavy machine-gun fire. 

Next to the mosque was a park. People buried their dead there because they were not allowed to take them to the cemetery. We counted 16 graves belonging to the people killed by the security forces during the demonstrations.

We talked to a doctor who said he worked in El Reyis Hospital and treated the wounded in the corridors due to lack of space. He claimed that since the beginning of the crisis, 700 people have been killed in Hama.

We were to verify that there were no armoured vehicles in the city. The Governor assured us that no armoured vehicle had entered the city under any circumstances. However, tracks of armoured vehicles on the main and secondary roads were very visible. 

From what we gathered from the people and our sources, most of the armoured vehicles used in operations in Hama were BMP-1 personnel carriers with heavy machine guns and armoured ZSU-23 anti-aircraft guns.

There were also tanks which were mainly deployed in the city's main square and the city perimeters. Most of the armoured vehicles had left the city the previous night and some early the next morning. They had been withdrawn to the barracks just outside of Hama and some were sent probably to the countryside and other regions to be used in operations. 

There were checkpoints and machine gun nests in the square at the entrance of Hama and in the main arteries, especially in the Asi Square where the governor's office is located. Every vehicle and pedestrian was checked, and body searches were conducted.

There was very little vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the city. Almost all the shops were closed. There were also collapsed power poles on the roads. The governor said that the electricity poles were knocked down by the demonstrators in order to set up barricades.

We saw many buildings carrying bullet holes. Some houses were hit with shells. People claimed that armoured vehicles targeted buildings randomly to intimidate and spread fear.

We later went back to Omar Bin El Khattab Mosque. This was the largest mosque in the city, which was a location where demonstrations were most intense. There were around 60 people and we interviewed them. They said that this mosque, like all mosques in Hama, was opened today for the first time since the operations began.

We were told security forces entered the mosque during the operations and caused destruction. We saw that they had written on the walls of the mosque slogans including, "Syria, Allah, Bashar", "People of Hama, if you go out on the street, we will come back", and "Assad's men, Assad's city".

People showed us images of clashes which they had recorded with their mobile phones. One of them said that his cousin was shot dead by the security forces during the operations and an armoured vehicle passed over him three times after he was shot, and the body was cut into two pieces.

Some young people from the coordination committees guided us and told us what had happened. While our convoy was on the move in the city, we were handed flash disks and memory cards containing images of clashes in the city.

Later on, at the outskirts of Hama, one of our sources confirmed that it was the 47th Armored Brigade which had entered Hama and they used very heavy-handed methods against demonstrators.

Haunting cries heard from detention centre

The ceramics factory just outside the city had been turned into a detention and interrogation centre. Cries of detainees could be heard day and night, we were told.

We left Hama at around 5:30 pm. During our time there, I briefed Minister Davutoğlu by satellite phone. Back in the embassy, I sent a written report to my ministry and, in short, I said:

"Hama has experienced another tragedy with many people, from the opposition as well as some from the regime, dead and injured. We were able to travel throughout Hama without restriction. In this respect, President al-Assad has kept his promise."

"The armoured vehicles had withdrawn but to positions within a short distance, most probably to return if necessary. Military units and security forces are clearly visible in the city at checkpoints and elsewhere".

In terms of the al-Assad-Davutoğlu roadmap, the following measures were implemented:

• The armoured vehicles withdrew from Hama but were actually stationed in barracks right next to the city.
• The Press Law was to be enacted in 3-4 days, but it was enacted two weeks later on 28 August.
• Al-Assad would appear on television in a week or so and announce a road map; this step was taken on 22 August.
• A month after the statements on television, a referendum was supposed to be held, but it was not.
• The opposition outside of Syria did not return.

The Turkish government was of the view that al-Assad was stalling and he had no intention of keeping his promises and taking the necessary steps to stop the crisis.

Relations between the countries gradually and increasingly deteriorated. Finally in March 2012, Turkey suspended relations with the regime. We locked the doors of the embassy in Damascus and returned to Ankara.