The West assumes a heavy responsibility for the ongoing tragedy in Syria

Kürkçü, in his speech in the PACE on behalf of the Unifed European Left Group on the Report on Syria criticized the political myopia of the West: This perspective of an immediate collapse of the regime in Syria directed the West -and Ankara in particular- to turn a blind eye or even accomplice with the oppression and  massacres of the jihadists who comprised more than half of the so-called “moderate” Free Syrian Army (FSA).”

On behalf of the UEL, I would like to express that we welcome the report in general and thank the rapporteur for the rather balanced evaluation of an extremely complicated situation.

We regret that the situation in Syria has confirmed our worries expressed during last year’s debate that “It seems highly likely that the whole of Syria will soon turn into ruins, leading to a humanitarian disaster on the outskirts of Europe should events continue at their present pace.” The facts and figures cited by the rapporteur depict an even worse panorama.

Albeit it is praised by the rapporteur for having led to the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons via “threats of military strikes,” the “West” indeed bears a considerable part of the responsibility for the ongoing tragedy in this country.

As we had already expressed “the peoples of Syria are paying the price of a miscalculated US-backed proxy war to realign forces in the Middle East. Their plight stems not only from the Assad regime’s ruthlessness, but is an inevitable consequence of a revolt that was apparently encouraged by the US with no political programme or reliable leadership, never mind any political calculation of a possible outcome.” Unfortunately the Assembly too was not immune of this same myopic approach as it had anticipated in its April 2012 Res. 1878 that “Assad’s regime is coming to an end.”

This perspective of a near collapse of the regime has inevitably led the “West”     -and particularly Ankara- turn a blind eye to or complicity in the atrocities and massacres by the so called “moderate” Free Syrian Army (FSO) at least 50 percent of which comprised of Al Qaida linked Al Nusra and other jihadists. Thus the Western military support channeled through Turkey’s borders to FSO for a forcible regime change was inevitably acquired by these ruthless reactionaries who have recently vowed to unite fight for the rule of sharia in Syria.

However as Mr. Björn von Sydow has carefully observed in his report that their increasing presence “fuels legitimate fears among the various religious and ethnic minorities about their future in a post-conflict Syria,” and thus pushes the Alevite, Christian, Arabs and Jews as well as secularists and Sunnite loyalists unite around Damascus as their sole guarantee against a possible genocide.

In this sense we find the rapporteur’s recommendation to “support the emergence of a democratic, inclusive and stable state in Syria respectful of human rights and the rights of ethnic, cultural and religious minorities – rather than the mere fall of the current regime” very valuable in directing the Assembly on a new path to play a more constructive role in Syria.

We would also like to draw the Assembly’s attention to Rojava, where the Kurds of Syria having freed themselves from the Assad dictatorship as well as from the Al Qaida jihadists are building up a functional model for self-rule for the reunification of a secular, pluralistic, multi-ethnic and democratic Syria.