Report
and Appeal to the International community to support a process of dialogue and
reconciliation in Syria between its people and Syrian government and reject
outside intervention and war.
After a 10
days visit to Lebanon and Syria, leading a 16 person delegation from 8
countries, invited by Mussalaha Reconciliation Movement, I have returned
hopeful that peace is possible in Syria, if all outside interference is stopped
and the Syrians are allowed to solve their own problems upholding their right
to self-determination.
An appeal to
end all violence and for Syrians to be left alone from outside interference was
made by all those we met during our visit to Syria. We have tried to forward it
to the International community in our Concluding Declaration(l).
During our
visit we went to refugee camps, affected communities, met religious leaders,
combatants, government representatives, opposition delegations and many others,
perpetrators and victims, in Lebanon and Syria.
1. Visits to
refugee camps: In Lebanon we visited several refugee camps, hosted by Lebanese
or Palestinian communities. One Woman said: "before this conflict started
we were happy and had a good life (there is free education, free healthcare,
subsidies for fuel, in Syria ,) and now we live in poverty". Her daughter
and son-in-law (a pharmacist and engineer) standing on a cement floor in a
Palestinian refugee camp, with not even a mattress, told us that this violence
had erupted to everyone surprise’s and spread so quickly they were all still in
shock, but when well armed, foreign fighters came to Homs, they took over their
homes, raped their women, and killed young males who refused to join their
ranks, so the people fled in terror. They said that these foreign fighters were
from many countries like Libyans, Saudis, Tunisians, Chechens, Afghanis,
Pakistanis, Emiratis, Lebanese, Jordanians, Turkish, Europeans, Australian, and
these gangs are financed and trained by foreign governments. They attach
suicide vests around peoples’ bodies and threaten to explode them if they don’t
do what they are told. One refugee woman asked me ‘when can we go home’? (To my
great delighted a few days later in Damascus I met a woman working on a
government programme which is helping refugees to return to Syria and over 200
have returned to date).
Religious
and government leaders have called upon people not to flee Syria and it is to
be hoped many will heed this call, as after seeing so many Syrian refugees
living in tents and being exploited in so many ways, including sexually, I
believe the best solution is the stability of Syria so its people feel safe
enough to stay in Syria. If refugees continue to flee Syria then surrounding
countries could be destabilized, causing the domino effect and destabilizing
the entire Middle East.
Many people
have fled into camps in surrounding countries like Turkey, Jordan or Lebanon,
all of whom are trying to manage the huge influx of Syrian refugees. Although
the host countries are doing their best to cope they are overwhelmed by refugee
numbers. (UNHCR’s official figure of refugees is one million). Through our
meetings we have been informed that Turkey invites Syrian refugees into the
country and forbid them to go back home. It is documented that Syrian refugees
in Turkey and Jordan are mistreated. Some young Syrian refugee girls are sold
for forced marriage in Jordan. From OHCHR reports we know that more than 4
million Syrians are displaced inside their own country, living in great need.
A
representative from Red Cross, told us that there is freedom to do their work
throughout Syria for all NGO and the Syrian Red crescent in co-ordination with
the Ministry of Social affairs and under such dire circumstances, they are
doing their best, providing services to as many people as possible. However
there is a great shortage of funds for them to cope with this humanitarian
tragedy of refugees and internally displaced population. The economic
sanctions, as in Iraq,are causing great hardship to many people and all those
whom we met called for them to be lifted. Our delegation called for the lifting
of these illegal US-led sanctions that target the Syrian Population for purely
political reasons in order to achieve regime change.
2-
Hospitals: We visited the hospitals and saw many people injured by shootings,
bombings, and armed attacks. A moderate Sunni Imam told me how he was abducted
by jihadists, who tortured him, cut off his ear, tried to cut his throat,
slicing his legs, and left him for dead. He said when he goes back to his
mosque they will slaughter him. He told us "these men are foreign
fighters, jihadists from foreign countries, well armed, well trained, with
money, they are in our country to destroy it. They are not true Muslims but are
religious extremist/fundamentalists terrorizing, abducting, killing our
people". The government spokesman also confirmed that they have in
detention captured foreign fighters from 29 countries, including Chechens,
Iraqis, and many others. The Ministry of Health showed us a documentary on the
terrible killings by Jihadists and the terror caused by these foreigners with
the killing of medics and destruction of medical infrastructure of the Syrian
State which has made it difficult to answer the needs of the population.
3- Meeting
with Opposition: Our delegation participated in an open forum with many
representatives of internal opposition’s parties. One political opponent who
was in prison 24 years under the Assad regime, and has been out for 11 years,
wants political change with more than 20 other internal opposition components,
but without outside interference and the use of violence. We met with ‘armed’
opposition people in a local community who said they had accepted the
governments offer of amnesty and were working for a peaceful way forward. One
man told me he had accepted money from Jihadists to fight but had been shocked
by their cruelty and the way they treated fellow Syrian muslims considering
them as not real Muslims. He said foreign Jihadists wanted to take over Syria,
not save it.
The 10th May
a part of our delegation headed to Homs, invited by the opposition community of
Al Waar city where displaced families from Baba Amro, Khalidiyeh and other rebel’s
strongholds seek refuge. The Delegation saw all the conditions of this city and
is studying a Pilot Project for Reconciliation and peaceful reintegration
between this community and the surrounded non rebel communities (Shia and
Alaouites) with whom 15 days ago an agreement of non belligerence has been
signed through the auspices of Mussalaha.
4 - Meeting
with Officials: Our Delegation met, and spoke, at the Parliament, and also with
the Governor, Prime Minister and 7 other Ministries. We were given details of
the new Constitution and political reforms being put in place, and plans for
elections in 2014. Government Ministers admitted that they had made mistakes in
being slow to respond to legitimate demands for change from civil community but
these were now being implemented. They told us when the conflict started it was
peaceful for change but quickly turned into bloodshed when armed men killed
many soldiers.
In the first
days soldiers were unarmed but when people started asking for protection the
government and military responded to defend the people and in self defence.
When we
enquired from the Prime Minister regarding the allegation that the Syrian
Government had used Sarin gas, he told us that as soon as news came from Aleppo
that allegedly gas had been used, his government invited immediately the UN to
come into investigate, but heard nothing from them. Most recently however, a UN
investigator, High Commissioner Carla Del Ponte, has confirmed that it was
rebels, not Syrian government, who used Sarin gas. During meeting with Justice
Minister, we requested that a list of 72 non-violent political dissidents
currently detained be released. The justice Minister said after checking those
listed were indeed non-violent political dissidents, he would, in principal,
agree to the release of these nonviolent detainees. He also informed us they
they do not implement the death penalty and it is hoped that when things settle
in Syria they will move to have the death penalty abolished. We also asked the
Justice Minister (an international lawyer) about Syrian Government’s Human
rights abuses, namely the artillery shelling into no-go areas being held by
jihadists and armed opposition. The Minister accepted those facts but alleged
that the Government had a duty to clear these areas. We suggested there was a
better way to deal with the problem than artillery shelling but he insisted
that the government had responsibility to clear the areas of rebel forces and
this was the way in which they were doing it
The
Ministers and Governor said that President Assad was their President and has
their support. There were many people we spoke to who expressed such
sentiments. However, some young people said they support the opposition but in
order to protect the Unity of Syria from outside destruction, they will support
the government and President Assad, until the election next year and then they
will vote for the opposition. They said the Doha Coalition in Qatar does not
represent them and that no one outside Syria has a right to remove President
Assad but the Syrian people through the elections next year. The journalists in
Syria are in great danger from the religious extremist/fundamentals,and during
my visit to a television station a young journalist told me how his mother was
killed by jihadists and he showed me his arm where he had been shot and almost
killed.
5- Meeting
with religious leaders: We attended in the Omayyad Mosque in Damascus a prayer
gathering led by the Grand Mufti of the Syrian Arab Republic, Dr. Ahmad Badr
Al-Din Hassoun and the Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham with the
delegate of Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi, and clerics of all
traditions. The Assembly prayed for the peace and unity of Syria and the
non-interference of outsiders in their country. They stressed the conflict in
Syria is not a religious conflict, as Muslims and Christians have always lived
together in Syria, and they are,(in spite of living with suffering and violence
much of which is not of their own making), unified in their wish to be a light
of peace and reconciliation to the world. The Patriarch said that from the
Mosque and Christian churches goes out a great movement of peace and
reconciliation and asked both those inside and outside Syria, to reject all
violence and support the people of Syria in this work of dialogue,
reconciliation and peacemaking.
The Muslim
and Christian Spiritual Leaders are very conscious if the religious
extremist/fundamentalists gain momentum and control Syria, the future of those
who are not supportive of fundamentalists like moderate Muslims, Christians,
minorities, and other Syrians is in great danger. Indeed the Middle East could
loose its precious pluralistic social fabric with the Christians, like in Iraq,
being the first to flee the country. This would be a tragedy for all concerned
in this multi-religious, multi-cultural secular Syria, once a light of peaceful
conviviality in the Arab world.
AN
OVERVIEW:
Following
many authorized reports in the mainstream Medias and our own evidences I can
stress that the Syrian State and its population are under a proxy war led by
foreign countries and directly financed and backed mainly by Qatar who has
imposed its views on the Arab League. Turkey, a part of the Lebanese opposition
and some of the Jordan authorities offer a safe haven to a diversity of
jihadist groups, each with its own agenda, recruited from many countries. Bands
of jihadists armed and financed from foreign countries invade Syria through
Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon porous frontiers in an effort to destabilize Syria.
There are an estimated 50,000 foreign jihadist fighters terrorizing Syria.
Those death squads are destroying systematically the Syrian State
infrastructures (Electricity, Oil, Gas and water plants, High Tension Pylons,
hospitals, schools, public buildings, cultural heritage sites and even
religious sanctuaries). Moreover the country is submerged by snipers, bombers,
agitators, bandits. They use aggression and Sharia rules and hijack the freedom
and dignity of the Syrian population. They torture and kill those who refuse to
join them. They have strange religious beliefs which make them feel comfortable
even perpetrating the cruelest acts like killing and torture of their
opponents. It is well documented that many of those terrorists are permanently
under stimulant like Captagon. The general lack of security unlashes the
terrible phenomenon of abduction for ransoms or for political pressure.
Thousands of innocents are missing, among them the two Bishops, Youhanna
Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi, many priests and Imams.
UN and EU
economic sanctions as well as a severe embargo are pushing Syria to the edge of
social collapse. Unfortunately the international media network is ignoring
those realities and is bent on demonizing, lying, destabilizing the country and
fuelling more violence and contradiction.
In summary:
the war in Syria is not as depicted a civil war but a proxy war with serious
breaches of International laws and the Humanitarian International laws.. The
protection of the foreign fighters by some foreign countries among the most
powerful gives them a kind of an unaccountability that pushes them with
impunity to all kind of cruel deeds against innocent civilians. Even war
conventions are not respected incurring in many war crimes and, even, crimes
against Humanity.
CONCLUSION:
During our
visit to Syria, our delegation was met with great kindness by everyone and I
offer to each one who facilitated or hosted our Delegation my most sincere
feelings of gratitude. We witnessed that the Syrian people have suffered very
deeply and continue to do so. The entire population of 23 million people are
under tremendous threat of continued infiltration by foreign terrorists. Many
are still stunned by the horrors and suddenness of all this violence and worried
their country will be attacked and divided by outside forces, and are all too
aware that geopolitical forces are at work to destabilize Syria for political
control, oil and resources. One Druze leader said ‘if westerns want our Oil –
both Lebanon and Syria have oil reserves – let us negotiate for it, but do not
destroy our country to take it’. In Syria memories of next door Iraq’s
destruction by US/UK/NATO forces are fresh in people's minds, including in the
minds of the one and a half million Iraqis who fled Iraqi’s conflict, including
many Christians, and were given refuge in Syria by the Syrian Government.
The greatest
hope we took was from Mussalaha, a non political movement from all sections of
Syrian society, who have working teams throughout Syria and is proceeding
through dialogue to building peace and reconciliation. Mussalaha mediates
between armed gunmen and security forces, help get release of many people who
have been abducted, and bring together all parties to the conflict for dialogue
and practical solutions. It was this movement who hosted us, under the
leadership of Mother Agnes-Mariam, Superior of Saint James’ Monastery,
supported by the Patriarch Gregory III Laham, head of the Catholic Hierarchy of
Syria.
This great
civil community movement building a peace process and National Reconciliation
from the ground up, will, if given space, time, and non-interference from
outside, help bring Peace to Syria. They recognize that there must be an
unconditional, all inclusive political solution, with compromises and they are
confident this is happening at many levels of society and is the only way
forward for Syrian peace.
I support
this National Reconciliation process which, many Syrian believe, is the only
way to bring Peace to SYRIA and the entire Middle East. I am myself committed
to this peaceful process and hope that the International Community, the Religious
and Political Leaders as well as any person of good will will help Syria to
bypass violence and prejudice and anchor in a new era of Social peace and
prosperity. This cradle of civilizations where Syria occupies the heart is an
enormous spiritual heritage for humanity, let us strive to establish a non war
zone and proclaim it an OASIS of Peace for the Human Family.
Mairead
Maguire, Nobel peace laureate. Spokesperson for Mussalaha
International Peace delegation to Lebanon/Syria l-llth May, 2013,
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