Mairead
Maguire, Nobel peace laureate, today appealed to the Rt. Hon. William
Hague, British Foreign Minister, and M. Laurent Fabius, French Foreign
Minister, to stop calling for military action against Syria which, she
said, will only lead the Middle East into even more violence and
bloodshed for its people.
Maguire said:Arming rebels and authorizing military
action by USA/NATO forces will not solve the problem facing Syria, but
indeed could lead to the death of thousands of Syrians, the breaking-up
of Syria, and it falling under the control of violent fundamentalist
jihadist forces. It will mean the further fleeing of Syrians into
surrounding countries which will themselves become destabilised. The
entire Middle East will become unstable and violence will spiral out of
control.Contrary to some foreign governments
current policies of arming the rebels and pushing for military
intervention, the people of Syria are calling out for peace and
reconciliation and a political solution to the crisis, which continues
to be enflamed by outside forces with thousands of foreign fighters
funded and supported by outside countries for their own political ends.Having visited Syria in May, 2013, after
leading a 16 person delegation I returned convinced that the civil
community, with groups such as Mussalaha, who are working on the ground
building peace and reconciliation, can solve their own problems if their
plea for outsiders to remain out of the conflict is honoured by the
international community.During our visit we met with all sections
of the community, most of whom are sick of violence and death and want
peace and reconciliation and a political solution. We met with the
Syrian Prime Minister and 7 other government ministers, and we were
assured that the Government did not use sarin gas on its own people, and
they invited the UN to send in inspectors to see what was happening.Currently there is an International
Commission of Inquiry on Chemical Weapons in Damascus staying at Four
Seasons Hotel, which is less than ten minutes from the areas where the
chemical weapons were allegedly used. The western media, particularly
vocal being the British and French Foreign Ministers, are accusing
President Assad of using chemical weapons on his own people but have no
proof of this accusation, rather some things point to rebels as the ones
who used such weapons.The question must be asked, what would it
benefit Assad to use sarin gas in the vicinity of visiting
international UN inspectors and in his own environment and neighbourhood
where it would affect his soldiers, etc., personally, I do not believe
the latest accusations against the Assad government using sarin gas, and
in order that the world can hear the truth, I would appeal to the
International Commission of Inquiry to go into the areas in question
immediately and report as quickly as possible. In the meantime I appeal
to the Foreign Ministers of Britain and France to encourage, as the
Syrian people wish, dialogue and negotiation as a way forward. We all
remember the fear, panic and lies spun by the British and American
governments, and others that there were weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq, and it was not true. Let us learn the lesson of Iraq, Afghanistan,
and Libya where so many millions have been killed in invasions and war,
and many continue to die in violence. Violence is not the answer, let’s
end this ‘war on terror’ and give nonviolence and peace a chance.
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.
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. 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.
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.
[ed notes;click link for more...
