Acting President of the Syrian Coalition Abdel Rahman Mustafa slammed the absence of a genuine international will to stop the genocide taking place against the people of the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta despite the scale of the tragedy.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Mustafa pointed out that the international community has neither the means nor the will to stop the genocide being carried out by the Assad regime over the past few years. He noted that civilians in different parts across Syria are suffering the worst humanitarian crisis even though the tragedy is unfolding in front of all the world’s media outlets and the eyes of the world, especially in eastern Ghouta.
Mustafa stressed the need to refer the Assad regime to the International Criminal Court for its serious crimes, expressing hope that the cessation of hostilities will hold in all areas across Syria. He said that the Assad regime and its allies continue to violate the ceasefire.
Mustafa expected that the area of Afrin in the province of Aleppo would witness a popular uprising against the injustice they are suffering at the hands of the PYD militias who are using civilians as human shields.
Mustafa pointed out that the people of Afrin will return to their areas which will be administered by elected local councils, expressing hope that the Syrian Interim Government will play an effective role in this regard.
Moreover, Mustafa expressed hope that all detainees will be released from the prisons of the Assad regime, which will attest to the regime’s crimes. “The regime is unwilling to release the detainees or stop torture and murder in its prisons because that will be used as an evidence indicting it.
Mustafa said that the Geneva negotiations have so far failed to produce tangible results. However, he reaffirmed commitment to the course of the political process as he said that the Syrian opposition preserves the right to resist the regime and the foreign occupation of the homeland.
Mustafa reasserted the Coalition’s adherence to political solution even though the regime and its allies chose a military solution. He called on the international community to exercise pressure on the Assad regime to engage in the political process as it evades negotiations through military escalation. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
