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Most of you remember that the Syrian revolution stayed peaceful for nine months, until some of the protesters carried some arms to protect themselves and their families from the terror of the Al-Assad brigade and his shabihah. We asked the West several times, the United Nations, and everybody in this world, to impose a no-flying zone to protect the civilians, but we found no answer up to now, and the world has carried on watching us until we lost more than a hundred thousand lives. Add to that a quarter of a million in prison, of which thousands died under torture, and thousands of civilians who died needlessly by random attack.
The question of protecting minorities in Syria, which we always hear from the Western media, has been used incorrectly to deny the majority their basic human rights. Believe me when I tell you that the one who is predicting massacres and sectarian cleansing is wrong. I am Syrian and I know the Syrian people. They are very moderate and forgiving, and all they want is to finish with dictatorship and corruption to build their democratic state like everybody in the world. This state is the real guarantee of minority rights, not the Al-Assad tyrant and his gang.
Al-Assad didn’t wage his war against his people alone. He brought the Russians, the Iranians, Hezbollah fighters, and Al-Maliki militias to help him suppress the Syrian revolution, and that is why 2 million now have fled the country, and another 7 million fled their homes and live out in the open with no protection or international aid, because the Al-Assad brigade prohibited all media and aid agencies from working inside Syria.
As the Syrian revolution enters its 30th month, let me suggest to you that we all start to organize an international campaign under this slogan: ‘No third winter out in the open’. If we manage to convince the international community in our cause to impose a no-fly zone, then most of those millions can go back to their homes, and the no-fly zone will help the United Nations observers go ahead with destroying the Al-Assad chemical arsenal. Having said that, let me remind you that destroying the chemical weapons is not the only task. We have to destroy the dictatorship before we allow Al-Assad to transfer the battle to his neighbours and to create lasting regional war. We must always remember that the Syrian crisis is not only about chemical weapons and giving aid to the refugees. Let us always not forget that the Syrians came out for freedom and dignity.
If the West intervened earlier to protect the civilians in Syria, you wouldn’t find the radical organizations increasing by day in Syria, because the gangsters who are ruling Damascus now are recruiting the radicals and are arming them to let the West believe that they are facing terrorism, and not a revolution.
I have to thank all those who sympathize with the great Syrian revolution, which we call the Orphan Revolution, because we are with no real friends despite 114 states recognizing the coalition representing the Syrians. And we call it ‘Al-Kashifa’, which means it is like a microscope: it allows you to see what was hidden. I am sure you all remember the double-faced policy which was adopted by some states and the three vetoes in the Security Council by Russia and China, who still stand against our rights of dignity and freedom.
It is time to examine the values of the West. Are these real values, or is it all just hollow speech? I thank you again for taking the trouble to join us and to support our people in their struggle to build a democratic state, so that we may, after all this devastation, rebuild Syria into a safe place for future generations.
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(Speech given in London, on 21st September 2013, at a demonstration which took place outside of Downing Street.)
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The question of protecting minorities in Syria, which we always hear from the Western media, has been used incorrectly to deny the majority their basic human rights. Believe me when I tell you that the one who is predicting massacres and sectarian cleansing is wrong. I am Syrian and I know the Syrian people. They are very moderate and forgiving, and all they want is to finish with dictatorship and corruption to build their democratic state like everybody in the world. This state is the real guarantee of minority rights, not the Al-Assad tyrant and his gang.
Al-Assad didn’t wage his war against his people alone. He brought the Russians, the Iranians, Hezbollah fighters, and Al-Maliki militias to help him suppress the Syrian revolution, and that is why 2 million now have fled the country, and another 7 million fled their homes and live out in the open with no protection or international aid, because the Al-Assad brigade prohibited all media and aid agencies from working inside Syria.
As the Syrian revolution enters its 30th month, let me suggest to you that we all start to organize an international campaign under this slogan: ‘No third winter out in the open’. If we manage to convince the international community in our cause to impose a no-fly zone, then most of those millions can go back to their homes, and the no-fly zone will help the United Nations observers go ahead with destroying the Al-Assad chemical arsenal. Having said that, let me remind you that destroying the chemical weapons is not the only task. We have to destroy the dictatorship before we allow Al-Assad to transfer the battle to his neighbours and to create lasting regional war. We must always remember that the Syrian crisis is not only about chemical weapons and giving aid to the refugees. Let us always not forget that the Syrians came out for freedom and dignity.
If the West intervened earlier to protect the civilians in Syria, you wouldn’t find the radical organizations increasing by day in Syria, because the gangsters who are ruling Damascus now are recruiting the radicals and are arming them to let the West believe that they are facing terrorism, and not a revolution.
I have to thank all those who sympathize with the great Syrian revolution, which we call the Orphan Revolution, because we are with no real friends despite 114 states recognizing the coalition representing the Syrians. And we call it ‘Al-Kashifa’, which means it is like a microscope: it allows you to see what was hidden. I am sure you all remember the double-faced policy which was adopted by some states and the three vetoes in the Security Council by Russia and China, who still stand against our rights of dignity and freedom.
It is time to examine the values of the West. Are these real values, or is it all just hollow speech? I thank you again for taking the trouble to join us and to support our people in their struggle to build a democratic state, so that we may, after all this devastation, rebuild Syria into a safe place for future generations.
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(Speech given in London, on 21st September 2013, at a demonstration which took place outside of Downing Street.)
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