President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Salem al-Meslet, gave the opening speech at a ceremony that the SOC and Syrian Interim Government held to mark the eleventh anniversary of the Syrian Revolution in the town of Hour Kilis in rural Aleppo. He stressed that the outbreak of the revolution in Dara’a had disappointed the criminal regime as the Syrian people refused to kneel down and proceeded on the path of the revolution with firm steps towards dignity.
Al-Meslet said that 11 years ago, anti-regime demonstrations began simultaneously in Damascus and its suburbs, Dara’a, and Homs on the Friday of Dignity on March 18.
He added that the Syrian people impressed the whole world with their persistence, patience, heroism and sacrifices, stressing that the Assad regime bet that brutality and criminality would break the will of this great people, but it lost the bet.
Al-Meslet pointed out that the Assad regime would not have continued its criminality and brutality had it not been for the support from its enablers who aid its war against the Syrian people. He said that the Russian aggression came to destroy hospitals and schools, target civilians and complete the regime’s criminality in destroying Syria and displacing its people.
Moreover, Al-Meslet indicated that the international community has provided a framework for a political process that can never be filled in the absence of executive mechanisms, clear timetables or binding procedures. He added that the forces of the revolution and the opposition have responded positively to the course of the political solution since Geneva 2014 and committed to the Geneva Communique of June 2012 and the subsequent UN resolutions 2118 and 2254. He wondered as to what consequences all this led after a decade.
“I tell you with all honesty and transparency that the political process over all these years has not produced any tangible results. The international community has so far failed to force the regime and its backers to release detainees or even disclose the fate of the missing. All what we got is an abundance of committees and bodies.”
Al-Meslet called on the international community to assume its responsibilities with regard to Russia, Iran and the criminal regime’s war against the Syrian people, stressing that the SOC is committed to a political solution based on UN resolutions.
Al-Meslet called for a radical reform of the political process and its mechanisms, setting a timetable for the process, and taking measures that oblige the regime to implement these resolutions, especially Resolution 2254 with all its provisions, on top of which is the formation of a transitional governing body with full powers.
He considered that the political process, which is stalled due to the disruption of the regime and its backers and the inaction of the international community, can only be revitalized if the balance of power on the ground is altered. He added that this requires real support for the Syrian people and their military and political forces, as the regime and its enablers feel reassured of the opponent’s inability to confront them.
Moreover, he indicated that those who have killed and fought the Syrian people over the past 11 years are being transported by Putin and Assad today to fight the Ukrainian people.
He made it clear that these crimes against the two peoples must not go unpunished, expressing his strong refusal of the participation of a single Syrian in Putin’s criminal war against the Ukrainian people.
He saluted the friendly Ukrainian people for their courageous resistance to the Russian aggression, stressing that the Syrian people feel Ukrainian people’s tragedy and stand with them against the common enemy, which is the Russian regime and its puppet regimes, chief among them is the Assad regime, which is part of this aggression.
Al-Meslet wondered as to why the international community allowed the flow of advanced weapons to Ukraine while denying them to the armed Syrian opposition. He pointed out that the Syrian people have the right to receive the support and sympathy of all free people in the world in order to achieve their aspirations for free, democratic country.
Al-Meslet stressed that it is not acceptable to allow this criminal regime to remain as the representative of Syria in international organizations. He said that Syria’s seat must be occupied by someone who represents its people and revolution.
He expressed his rejection of the efforts of any party working to rehabilitate the Assad regime under any pretext, stressing that “acceptance of the regime means acceptance of its criminal record.”
Al-Meslet stressed that detainees must not be used as a bargaining chip by the regime and its backers, adding that the detainees should be released without any conditions.
He stressed the need to close ranks, unify efforts and work together as the revolution belongs to everyone, adding that the SOC is open to all forces of the revolutionary and political movement that believe in this great revolution and its goals, foremost of which is the overthrow of the regime and building a democratic state.
He said that all the political and military forces of the revolution are today required to restore the initiative and show creativity in order to revive the revolutionary work and achieve the goals of the revolution.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
