Press Statement
Syrian Coalition
Istanbul, Turkey
October 30, 2013
The Syrian Coalition unequivocally condemns all behavior that harms the sanctity of any religion, holy places, or figures. A video appeared on the Internet showing a man smashing the statue of Virgin Mary. The Syrian Coalition condemns in the strongest possible terms this act of extremism and denounces its perpetrators. Such practices do not represent the ideology and values of the Syrian people. In fact, they are completely incompatible with the Syrian people’s cultural, religious, and moral heritage.
This kind of behavior only serves the interests of the Assad regime. The Assad regime, from the early days of the uprising, sought to foster extremism in Syria. It has sought to create a state of chaos in certain areas so that it can attribute its heinous acts to the revolution. It is a strategy the Assad regime employed to discredit the revolution and weaken its social base. Assad’s policy has always been to create a chasm of disagreement and conflict amongst Syrians.
The Syrian Coalition urges the Syrian people to stand firmly against such practices and to utterly reject them. Those who carry out and support such actions must be condemned by all Syrians. The Coalition further calls on the Syrian people to seek unity and remember the days when people took to the streets and faced, bare-chested, the tyranny of Assad, chanting: “one, one, one, the Syrian people are one.”
We ask for Mercy for our martyrs, health for our wounded, and freedom for our detainees.
Long live Syria and its people, free and with honor.
