The President of the Syrian Coalition
Statement by the President of the Syrian Coalition Ahmad al-Jarba
September 02, 2013
Your Excellencies,
I stand before you today with a heavy heart as the situation in Syria deteriorates, and the humanitarian needs reach unprecedented levels. The Assad’s terrorist regime continues to implement a policy of destruction and killing.
Your Excellencies, our dear brothers,
It is hard for a Syrian Arab, who was raised to be a proud, fervent believer of the independence of his country, to stand here today without feeling filled with extreme anger at the doings of the Assad regime, supported by its allies; anger at the international community’s inaction. But the international community is no more silent, and it is going to punish Assad and hold him accountable for crimes against the Syrian people. It is going to restrain Assad’s regime and put an end to its crimes.
The suffering of your brothers, my fellow Syrians, makes me stand here today to ask for your effective support to a military strike against the killing machine of the Assad regime. The Syrian people are left alone facing militias from Iran and Hezbollah and from many other places, which all have come to the aid of the dictator who continues to suppress the Syrian people.
Your Excellencies,
The Syrian people have suffered a lot from the murderous regime which, supported by foreign forces, directed the country’s resources to suppress the Syrian people and obliterate their identity by humiliating them, destroying their homes, and inciting sectarian strife. The regime in Damascus has done that in close cooperation with the regime in Tehran, which tried to do the same thing in other places like Lebanon, Palestine, Bahrain, and Yemen.
I stand before you today to ask you in the name of humanity and fraternity to support the international action against the killing machine; against the use of aircrafts, artillery, and missiles. Syria must be liberated from this regime, which is reinforced by Iranian, Iraqi, and Hezbollah’s militias.
Your Excellencies,
Big words have no meaning anymore in light of what is happening in Syria. National sovereignty has no meaning anymore in light of all kinds of foreign intervention to support Assad’s regime. The regime’s ostensible nationalist beliefs have no meaning at all when its army is killing the Syrian people and raping thousands of free Syrian women. The regime has brought in militias and mercenaries to kill the Syrian people in the name of Arabism, nationalism, and resistance.
Your Excellencies,
You all know very well Syria and the men and women of Syria. Syrian women have defended their homeland alongside the men. Syria has always supported Arab states’ efforts towards repelling invaders across the Arab world. Syria was home to Yusuf al-‘Azmah, Sultan Basha Al Atrash, Ibrahim Hananu, and Saleh Al Ali.
Millions of the Syrians took to the streets calling for freedom, justice, and equality. They did not ask for a no-fly zone or military intervention. But the criminal Assad regime responded to those rightful demands with brute force; by slaughtering innocent civilians.
I, in the name of the Great Syrian Revolution, will not ask much of you, but I will only ask that you do not ask much of the Syrian people, those who supported and defended Arabism motivated by a sense of brotherhood and duty. I ask you to take a historic stand to support and assist the Syrian people who have been deeply wronged. I ask you to provide the same support to the Syrian people as that Russia, Iran, and the sectarian militias are providing to Assad’s regime; to support the international military action against the killing machine of the Assad regime. The Free Syrian Army will be able then to force all invaders and mercenaries out of Syria. Assad is a dictator who ignores the rightful demands of the Syrian people, and he must be stopped.
What more could happen? We have hundreds of thousands of martyrs, scores of massacres, thousands of rape cases, and hundreds of thousands of injured people. The regime used chemical weapons several times and ordered mass genocide against the Syrian people. The least the Syrian people expect from you is to take a more advanced position than any western country. The battle of Syria is a battle to repel the aggression of the Assad regime and to stop the Iranian forces invading Syria and the region.
The Syrian people, as you know them, will always keep their promises. They will fight their battle, as well as yours so that the region remains fortified against invaders. Syria will always be a beacon of Arabism and a cemetery to invaders.
