Press release
Syrian National Coalition – Syria
Department of Media and Communications
August 21, 2019
On the sixth anniversary of the deadly chemical attack that the Assad regime carried out against eastern Ghouta on this day in 2013, we wish mercy for the victims, the majority of whom were women and children. As we commemorate this anniversary, we affirm that the international community is yet to stop the murderous regime from committing more crimes against civilians or at least stop the use of internationally prohibited chemical weapons.
This day will continue to bear witness to the criminality of the Assad regime and the failure of the international system which, having failed to shoulder its duties, allowed this crime to occur. Moreover, the international community has allowed the perpetrator to get away with his crime when they reached deals that involved the handover of the weapon that was used in the crime while leaving the murderer at large. The following years revealed how the Assad regime easily deceived the international community and resumed the use of chemical weapons in several regions right under the nose of the whole world. These repeated attacks confirmed that the regime did not surrender the entirety of its stockpile of these weapons, but returned to their manufacture with the complicity of European companies, many of which have already been exposed.
The Assad regime committed the most heinous crimes against the Syrian people in the past several years. The international community must be aware that civilians in Syria are not being killed with chemical weapons only. The Assad regime is using all types of weapons and is committing the most heinous crimes against children, women, and the elderly.
However, this shameful international reality will not hold us back from our demands for freedom and dignity. We reiterate our demands for immediate action to stop the Assad regime and its allies’ crimes against humanity as well as for ensuring that those responsible are held accountable in accordance with international resolutions, especially resolution 2118 with regards to accountability for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
We call upon our people to unify and close ranks until we regain our legitimate rights. We reaffirm we will remain true to the blood of our fallen heroes as we stress that this crime will not be forgotten and that the perpetrators will eventually meet the punishment they deserve.
May our wounded recover, our detainees be free, and our fallen heroes rest in peace.
Long live Syria and its people, free and with honor.
# # #
