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Transcript below.
Speaker 1 [00:00:00] Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome in our program Syria Insider Weekly, the distinguished Canadian American journalist Eva Bartlett, who is well known for her objective coverage of the events of Syria, especially her sincere efforts to expose the Western falsehoods and fabrications about Syria. Eva Bartlett, I’m glad to have you here on our program. Thank you very much. Thank you. I would like to begin by asking you about the Syrian presidential elections held last week since you have been here on the ground witnessing and covering the voting process. How do you see the high turnout among Syrian voters? And what is the message sent by the Syrians to those you call Syria haters after President Assad’s landslide victory?
Speaker 2 [00:00:47] Yes. Well, I would start by noting that the countries that I am from America and Canada, before the last presidential elections in 2014, they closed the Syrian embassy specifically to prevent Syrians from exercising their right to participate in democratic presidential elections. So my comment about Syria haters has to do with that. And in general, the coverage of Syria, which in Western media has excluded the vast majority of Syrians, not giving them a voice. And by doing so, they’re excluding the fact on the ground the reality that Syrians overwhelmingly chose the president, Bashar al-Assad, and respect and love him. And I consistently tell people outside of Canada or outside of Syria, I should say, that this is the reality. I mean, I’ve been hearing this since I came here in 2014. So for me, the the importance of these elections was both to both a show of defiance to the West and allied nations that have been warring upon Syria for a decade. And also just something beautiful. I mean, I’ve seen in the course of my many visits to Syria, I’ve seen and heard many terrible things. And Syrians have paid a great price in defending their sovereign state. And again, all respect to the martyrs in Syria who have defended your country, so you’ve paid a heavy price. But on Election Day, in the days after, it was just a joyous scene, just seeing Umayyad Square near us, it’s filled with Syrians celebrating. And so for me, this is what was really most momentous.
Speaker 1 [00:02:21] So in your opinion, what is the importance of the of the reelection of President Assad despite the uproar, all the uproar in the West?
Speaker 2 [00:02:32] Well, it just shows the West that they can fund and arm and send terrorists from around the world into Syria. But they and like I said, they can make Syrian civilians and Syrian soldiers and all of Syria pay a heavy price. But they could not succeed in their mission to install a puppet government to rule Syria. So Syrians have spoken of the very loud and unified voice saying, no, we decide our future and our future right now is with President Bashar al-Assad.
Speaker 1 [00:03:06] So do you expect any major change in the way the US and Europe deal with Syria after millions of Syrians took to the streets saying no to the Western imperialist hegemony of their country?
Speaker 2 [00:03:19] I’m sorry to say no. I don’t expect a change. I would like to be naively optimistic and say I do. But the fact is, America continues to occupy Syrian soil, as does Turkey, as you know. And the EU is talking about, you know, like they’re all imposing sanctions on the Syrian people the EU wants to send money to areas not under the control of the Syrian government. So it’s clear that, unfortunately, they want to extend the pain and suffering of Syrians. I do hope, though, however, the alliance that Syria has built with their regional allies will continue to bring positive changes to Syria in the infrastructure, in enabling Syrian refugees to return home and in a positive political developments.
Speaker 1 [00:04:06] So why do you think the Western governments hate to hear the truth about Syria? You have been yourself subject to harsh criticism because of your role in exposing the lies and the false videos of the White Helmets about the alleged chemical weapons in Syria.
Speaker 2 [00:04:27] The West hates to hear the truth about Syria because, again, they had this project, as we all know now, by twenty twenty one and should have known fairly early on in the war against Syria. They had a project to destabilize your country, to divide your country, to make it into a sectarian nation which Syrians rejected and the project failed. And so when somebody speaks the truth, when somebody says actually this is what Syrians want, they don’t want these foreign actors to come into the country and rule over them in and impose Sharia law over them. They want to be able to live as they’ve always lived. So, of course, the West would hate to hear those truths and attacking the messengers, not myself only. Of course, many, many journalists and people have spoken out about Syria have been severely smeared. But, you know, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter because we know that what we’re saying is the truth.
Speaker 1 [00:05:21] So the EU has just extended the legal and immoral sanctions on Syria. What is the message to those governments who claim to be defending democracy while at the same time they are inflicting suffering starvation on the Syrian people? I mean, ordinary Syrian people?
Speaker 2 [00:05:41] Absolutely. The message is those governments are liars and hypocrites. They don’t care about Syrians. And by imposing more and more sanctions against the Syrian people, they say they’re they’re doing it to target that the government. I won’t use the word that they use because it’s disrespectful, but they know full well that they’re attacking your economy and they know full well that’s going to create incredible pain among ordinary Syrians. And so this is why I say, again, those governments, including my own especially, are hypocrites. And if they ever cared about Syrians, they would stop occupying your land and lift the sanctions.
Speaker 1 [00:06:20] Finally, a word that you want to tell to the Syrians who are watching us and who feel grateful for your effort to expose the truth.
Speaker 2 [00:06:31] Now, it’s the other way around. We around the world feel grateful to Syrians. This might sound corny, but really, people around the world were amazed at the resilience of Syrians, again, both Syrian civilians, army and leadership, because it’s been 10 years of war against you all with the most powerful nations on Earth. And you stood strong and tall. So you really gave people gave people outside of Syria hope that that things can change, that the hegemony of America cannot continue. So I would say on behalf of people who follow my work, thank you to Syrians.
Speaker 1 [00:07:08] Thank you for your time. And we wish you all the best. Thank you. Thank you.
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