Syrian Coalition: Leaving Syria’s Seat Vacant at Arab Summit Sends the Wrong Message to Assad

Ahmad Jarba, president of the Syrian Coalition, regrets that the Arab countries have not made a clear decision on giving Syria’s seat to the Syrian Coalition at the Arab summit.  “Let me say quite frankly that keeping Syria’s seat empty in your midst sends a clear message to Assad that he can kill, and that the seat will wait for him to resolve his war. This is how the regime understands the message, and our people ask themselves: if the West failed to provide us with the needed weapons, what prevents our brothers from resolving the matter of our seat amongst you? I would like to add that reality dictates that the Syrian embassies in Arab capitals should be given to the National Coalition, after the regime lost its legitimacy and nobody remains to cater to Syrians’ interests in Arab capitals, making their situation even worse.” Jarba also stressed, “It is no longer acceptable for you to watch the situation of Syrians for a moment longer, while you see the war to which we are subjected. They have ganged up on us with evil and aggression; and Yabroud, after Qusayr, is witness to their not having left a single home undemolished or unviolated. You have all watched leaked clips showing the slogans and behavior of sectarian hatred; they entered villages like Tatars and distributed flowers and sweets over the corpses of men and children, and they distributed them in the southern Dahieh to mark the victory of their treacherous barrels and bullets. Today, we are not where we were before Geneva 2, nor can we be. Today, we are at the moment of right, our right to liberate our country, and of truth. And the bitter but clear truth is that the Syrian people are subject, by proxy, to a ferocious war hitting Syrians at the knees, aiming at making all Arabs, beginning with Syrians, kneel.” Furthermore, Jarba stated, “I do not ask you for a declaration of war, but I ask that you support our cause and find a solution guaranteeing the interests of our people and our country, and the interests of all Arabs. We want you to announce your call to defend the land and the people of Syria in the face of one of the most horrific wars being waged on a defenseless people. Our call to you can be summarized in three points: first, putting pressure on the international community to commit to its pledges to provide heavy weapons to our revolutionaries who have given their lives for the freedom and the dignity of all Syrians and Arabs; second, increasing humanitarian support in all its components to your Syrian brothers suffering inside and outside the country, whose patience is running out; third, giving attention to the conditions of Syrian refugees and Syrian residents in Arab countries, especially in Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon; they are guests in these states and they should go back to their country when the current situation is over. We are against Syrians remaining outside their nation, in any case.” Jarba concluded his speech stressing that “we declare that the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces will safeguard the unity and the safety of all Syrians, including those in areas under regime control. We declare that the Coalition and the Free Syrian Army, in the battle against the regime and its forces, will respect Syrians in those areas and protect their property in all circumstances.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)