The United States played a coordinating role in the earliest days of the war on Syria, and even before the violence began. For the last several years the United States has had active military forces in Syria against the wishes of the legitimate Syrian government. U.S. forces have killed hundreds of Syrian soldiers defending their turf in the region of eastern Syria which they now occupy with the assistance of the so called Syrian Democratic Forces , Kurdish militias with Turkish political roots.
The United States launched a brutal cruise missile attack on Syria in the early morning hours of April 14th with the support of their French and British allies in response to irrational and unproven allegations of a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian Army against civilians in an area where they were engaged in evacuating both fighters and civilians on buses following a reconciliation agreement involving all parties present in Douma.
The U.S. government claims to support the welfare of ordinary Syrians. However, that is not how ordinary Syrians see U.S. intervention. U.S. mainstream media is rife with statements and videos from the fanatical mercenary gangs that rule small enclaves around the country from which they make strikes on the ordinary Syrians living outside those areas while terrorizing civilians within.
Here are two statements from organization in Syria who represent ordinary Syrians in response to U.S. policy in Syria.
A Statement Issued by the Patriarchates of Antioch and all the East for the Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, and Greek-Melkite Catholic
Damascus, 14 April 2018
God is with us; Understand all ye nations and submit yourselves!
We, the Patriarchs: John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Ignatius Aphrem II, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, and Joseph Absi, Melkite-Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, condemn and denounce the brutal aggression that took place this morning against our precious country Syria by the USA, France and the UK, under the allegations that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons. We raise our voices to affirm the following:
- This brutal aggression is a clear violation of the international laws and the UN Charter, because it is an unjustified assault on a sovereign country, member of the UN.
- It causes us great pain that this assault comes from powerful countries to which Syria did not cause any harm in any way.
- The allegations of the USA and other countries that the Syrian army is using chemical weapons and that Syria is a country that owns and uses this kind of weapon, is a claim that is unjustified and unsupported by sufficient and clear evidence.
- The timing of this unjustified aggression against Syria, when the independent International Commission for Inquiry was about to start its work in Syria, undermines of the work of this commission.
- This brutal aggression destroys the chances for a peaceful political solution and leads to escalation and more complications.
- This unjust aggression encourages the terrorist organizations and gives them momentum to continue in their terrorism.
- We call upon the Security Council of the United Nations to play its natural role in bringing peace rather than contribute to escalation of wars.
- We call upon all churches in the countries that participated in the aggression, to fulfill their Christian duties, according to the teachings of the Gospel, and condemn this aggression and to call their governments to commit to the protection of international peace.
- We salute the courage, heroism and sacrifices of the Syrian Arab Army which courageously protects Syria and provide security for its people. We pray for the souls of the martyrs and the recovery of the wounded. We are confident that the army will not bow before the external or internal terrorist aggressions; they will continue to fight courageously against terrorism until every inch of the Syrian land is cleansed from terrorism. We, likewise, commend the brave stand of countries which are friendly to the Syria and its people.
We offer our prayers for the safety, victory, and deliverance of Syria from all kinds of wars and terrorism. We also pray for peace in Syria and throughout the world, and call for strengthening the efforts of the national reconciliation for the sake of protecting the country and preserving the dignity of all Syrians.
Statement by General Confederation of Trade Unions of Syria Regarding US and European Threats to Strike Syria
Dear comrades, brothers,
The United States and its followers in European countries, such as France and Britain, and their proxies in the region such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others, have been provoking Syria since they began their terrorist war against Syria eight years ago, in order to carry out their agendas on Syrian territory. We are witnessing these days the manufacture of alleged evidence, the latest of which is the fabricated story of Eastern Ghouta hit by chemical weapons by the Syrian Arab Army.
These colonial powers have always used the UN Security Council and its instruments to strike sovereign states by using illusory and fake pretexts to achieve their goals, such as the infamous presentation of Colin Powell in 2003 at the UN Security Council to strike Iraq.
The chemical incident was staged in Douma because the terrorists suffered defeat at the hands of the Syrian Arab Army that liberated Eastern Ghouta, which defeat contributed to the safety and tranquility of the people of Damascus after they suffered a lot because of the terrorists who were raining down hundreds of missiles and rockets upon the capital. The more the Syrian Arab Army achieves victories on the ground, the more the terrorists urge their employers to save them, as happened when they concocted the chemical incident in Khan Sheikhoun (in April 2017).
This time, US President Trump, French President Macron, and British Prime Minister May accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons in Douma on the basis of evidence and staged videos of the so-called “White Helmets”, who are the medical wing of the fascist Al-Nusra terrorists in Syria. The countries mentioned above have called meetings of the UN Security Council in order to propose resolutions to strike at the legitimate government of Syria, which is heavily engaged in the fight against terrorism, and despite the assertion of a member state in the Security Council, Russia, that the (Douma) location was free of any chemical traces after the Russian experts entered Damascus, refuting their claims. The Syrian government has asked the experts of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to enter and verify the incident, but Trump and his lackies from European and Gulf Arab countries blocked their ears and decided to proceed with their lies and threats.
We, at the General Union of Trade Unions in Syria, declare our stand with our Syrian government and army under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad, with whom we have faced terrorism and its sponsors for eight years. We affirm that we are confident of victory and that these US and European threats constitute a flagrant violation of the UN Charter.
We call upon all honourable people from the World Federation of Trade Unions, the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, and all Arab and international organizations to expedite the campaign of defending Syria by sending messages of solidarity and support to Syria and by organizing marches and sit-ins in front of US embassies and consulates everywhere in the world, condemning this blatant US aggression and to save the world from Trump’s ruthlessness. We ask you also to send letters to officials of the United Nations and of the United States of America, stressing that the threatened actions of the US president against Syria will lead to a global war that will drag the whole world into further chaos, destruction, and poverty and will increase the number of refugees generated by the wars already being waged by the United States against sovereign states in the world.
Long live the Syrian people in their war against terrorism!
Long live international solidarity with Syria!
Executive Bureau,
General Union of Trade Unions Syrian Arab Republic