Global Research

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I want to begin by thanking the Russian Orthodox Palestinian Society for inviting us to attend this important meeting.

We have just arrived from Syria. Syria, where there is evidence of death, destruction and outright murder, in all cities, villages and regions of the country.

No one wants this absurd war to be ended.

Everyone is crying and mourning to see the daily suffering of the Syrian people.

But what do they do? Nothing!

Quite frankly I say, that the approach of the United Nations, in particular that of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva regarding the Syrian crisis, contributes to deepening the disaster in which we live.

The wars inside Syria are portrayed as a conflict between the forces of the state and the opposition forces.

This is not true.

The war  –which affects my country today– is a war between Syrian civil society on the one hand and Islamic terrorist groups on the other. These terrorists are supported by foreigners from various countries, and funded by various foreign countries, especially Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia  has acknowledged that these groups belong to terrorist organizations;  yet at the same time Saudi Arabia is training the terrorists and funding them in order to destroy Syria.

The FSA is no longer functional and relevant.  What we are dealing with is the role of Islamic terrorist groups.

We have reached out yesterday to Yabrood, another Syrian city that has been destroyed. Some four hundred young people from Yabrood want to change sides, from fighters against the government, to  fighters with the government. [namely to join government forces].

Al Raqqa is governed by Daash [a terrorist organization] with iron and fire. A girl was killed there just because she possessed an account on Facebook. Churches in Al-Raqqa have become the headquarters for Daash.

People are forced to pray five times a day. And women’s teams are dedicated to whip unveiled girls in the streets of Al-Raqqa.

Deir ez-Zor is governed by the terrorist group called Jabhat Al-Nusrah. People committed to secular values, namely civilians, are being killed just because they believe in the maintenance of a secular social structure.

In Deir ez Zor, a Christian Church was destroyed. Just as happened in Al-Raqqah.

Who are the leaders of Daash and Al-Nusrah? Qataris, Saudis, Chechens, Afghans, and even Chinese!

Are these terrorists coming to spread democracy and human rights in Syria? No!

The problem is with the international community: they do not want to see the truth, they still believe that there is a concept called the Free Syrian Army.

Our position is the following:  What is the relationship between democracy and the girl who was killed because she had an account on Facebook?

What is the relationship between human rights and the destruction of churches and synagogues?

What is the relationship between freedom and the elimination of the last Aramaic town in the world, Maloulaa??

These questions await answers. We call upon Ms. Navi Pillay to provide those answers!

In a summary, there is no [opposition] project to establish democracy in Syria.

There is only one narrative. It’s the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in the only secular country in the Middle East, with a view to pushing people back to the Middle Ages and the Era of Darkness.

Islamic terrorism has killed a secular friend of mine in Girod city which is controlled by the forces of darkness, and his name is Yamen Bjbj, a dentist. They sent me a picture of his body without a head and the head was put in the sand near the corpse.

Why? Because he was distributing my books in that town.

Another friend of mine was kidnapped , Dentist Ramez Uraby, for the same reason.

And they used to call me so I can hear his voice, while they are torturing him.

No one wants to see or hear the truth.

Have you heard of the massacre of Adra ? I do not think so.

Adra is a town north of Damascus. This town is an important symbol for Syria. It’s a new city which was built for Syrian workers. It includes all major groups within Syrian society.

This peaceful city was invaded by the forces of Islamic terrorism on December 11th last year. This massacre was unparallelled in the hisotry of the 21st Century.

Hundreds of Syrians were killed just because they were Shia , Alawite , Ismailis , Druze or Christians.

Hundreds of Syrian Sunnite were killed because they were employees of the Syrian state.

Many women were dragged naked under the snow. Many heads were hung on trees.

Many people were thrown alive in the furnace of the city’s bakery, reminiscent of the Holocaust and the Nazi

What have you done Ms. Navi Pillay to free the thousands of Adra detainees in the prison of al–Tawbah in Duma?

What have you done Ms. Navi Pillay to put an end to this 21st Century tragedy, which the entire World has witnessed?

What have you done for the homeless people of Adra, who are now wondering the streets of Damascus?

And what have you done to liberate the women and children who were kidnapped by Islamic terrorists from villages north of Latakia?

The women and children were kidnapped after the terrorists had killed the men.

What have you done Ms. Navi Pillay to allow for those simple peasants to regain their villages?

Yes! Because they are Alawites, and Alawites have nothing to do with the interests of the oil and gas [Gulf] states.  Moreover, the international community does not want to listen to their plight.

Ismailis, in contrast, who usually were the masters of the opposition in Syria, are exposed today to a form of genocide just because they Ismailis.

Ismailis suffered in Adra the worst kind of genocide. They have been also subjected in Alcavat to a terrorist attack that resulted in the killing of innocent people. This is also the case of Tal Aldoura and Salamieh.

Ismailis are a small minority in Syria and the Islamic world. So they do not find support from international organizations, which do not have time to follow up or even take cognizance of the fact that they are being exterminated by Islamic terrorist groups.

The situation of Christians is not better than that of other minorities. For example, Sadad, the Christian Syriac town was attacked last Summer by Islamic terrorist militia. They engaged in acts of killing, rape and destruction before leaving the city.

They also attacked Maloulaa, were engaged in acts of theft, they destroyed much of the historic features of the village. For what reason? Because the two towns are Christian.

They also occupied the Christian towns in the countryside of Idlib. No need here to remind you that they were responsible for the destruction of the Christian neighborhoods in the city of Homs, and the shelling the Christian neighborhoods in Damascus by mortar every day.

There have been reports recently concerning a so-called “starving policy” carried out by the Syrian state. But have you heard about what happened to the food which was brought by the government to the Yarmouk refugee camp? Did you hear about the institution of Al-Adalah in Duma, which is governed by armed groups and which controls a huge food store, including stocks of frozen meat, and how [hungry] people attacked and stole everything inside this store, risking their lives, despite their suffering and the fact that they were the target of the terrorist groups?

The solution is democracy.

The presidential elections are near. Let the people decide under international supervision which ensures neutrality of the ballot.

Editing by Michel Chossudovsky