The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

SOHR exclusive | Ninth anniversary Ghouta massacre: “no solutions can be reached before toppling of regime and crimes against humanity are imprescriptible,” say politicians

Although the horrific scenes showing the victims of the chemical attack on eastern Ghouta on August 21, 2013, which left 1,400 fatalities because of strikes with the internationally banned Sarin gas, criminals involved in this inhumane massacre remain at large and enjoying freedom.

 

We, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), have been all along stressing that punishment the main pillar of justice and it is important for avoiding raising a generation adopting retaliatory ideologies.

 

We denounce the Syrian regime’s attempts to escape accountability for this massacre, and the ongoing efforts exerted by Russia and China to protect it against trials in front of international courts.

 

In an exclusive interview with SOHR, the regime opponent, Samir Nashar stresses that the perpetrators of the massacre of eastern Ghouta must be held accountable and punished, accusing the Syrian regime of attacking the area’s residents, mostly women and children, with chemical weapons while they were sleeping.

 

Nashar adds that the use of the internationally banned gas by regime forces against civilians has broken the “red line” identified by the former US president Barack Obama, who threatened then to unleash a large-scale military operation by the USA and its allies against Al-Assad’s regime in the case Al-Assad violated this red line. Mr. Nashar has referred that Syrians have been waiting for holding accountable and punishing Al-Assad’s regime. However, a “reprehensible” deal, as Nashar describes, was struck under the table between the USA, Russia and Israel, in accordance with political accounts, which helped Bashar Al-Assad and his regime to escape accountability.

 

Samir Nashar says “history bears witness to Obama’s untruthfulness. The Syrian people and some Americans cannot forget the heritage of Obama and all of those who claimed to defend human rights, freedom and values. The bloody attack on eastern Ghouta was the first attack with internationally banned chemical weapons in the 21st Century. Shamefully, the international community have not lifted a finger, while Bashar Al-Assad is at large and enjoying freedom.”

 

Mr. Samir adds, “the victims’ families and all Syrians will never feel satisfied, unless Bashar Al-Assad and his affiliates are referred to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, so that they are punished for their crimes, as crimes against humanity are imprescriptible.”

 

On the other hand, the prominent regime opponent, Nash’at Al-Ta’miyah has told SOHR, “the international community has colluded with the Syrian regime by allowing it escape accountability so far. This is the fact which many figures of the Syrian opposition, particularly the members of the National Council and the Syrian National Coalition, have not noticed since the beginning of the uprising. On the other hand, the fate of the uprising has become hostage to the interests of Washington, while Syrians have dreamt to topple the Syrian regime with the help of the USA, Turkey or any of the Gulf countries.”

 

The reasons and motivations behind this collusion are needed to be clarified. This collusion started with the onset of the uprising, precisely when the most major economic figure in Syria, the son of Makhlouf, stated that ‘Syria’s security is related to the security of Israel.’ According to this equation, the USA has not welcomed any democratic changes in Syria and preferred to maintain a ‘known evil’ able to preserve the region’s security rather than replacing him with another ‘unknown evil.’ This was the piece of advice provided by the Israeli prime minister to the former US president Obama who also announced about ‘red lines’ in Syria when some naval units of the NATO moved towards Syria. The NATO has taken advantage of this massacre and other massacres just to strip the Syrian regime of chemical weapons. Obama also stated, on many occasions, that the USA did not seek to change the regime, but to change its manner. Yes, many countries which have sought for narrow interests in Syria have preferred to stay silent and got implicated in the tragedies which Syria has experienced.”

 

In an exclusive SOHR interview, the human rights activist Marwan Al-Ish confirms that the use of chemical weapons was a decision taken previously by the Syrian regime as a part of the option it has offered Syrians, “death is for all,” seeing that the chemical attack on eastern Ghouta confirmed the utmost failure of the reckless and irresponsible security and military solutions led by Al-Assad.

 

Mr. Marwan says, “the attack also reflects the ideology of the regime and its affiliates and supporters which is manifested in the slogan they have adopted, ‘Al-Assad remains in power or we will burn down the country.’ And indeed, regime forces killed thousands in Ghouta, then in Khan Shaykhoun, Khan Al-Assal and Aleppo countryside. At the time of eastern Ghouta chemical attack, in 2013, ISIS had not been established while no parties in Syria were adopting extremist ideologies.

 

 

The human rights activist adds, “the decision of using chemical weapons coincided with regime forces’ desperate resistance of the large number of revolutionaries who have become a few kilometres away from Damascus. The chemical attack came after consensus and approval by Russia which was supervising regime military operations and chemists in Al-Assad’s regime, before the beginning of Russian forces’ operations in Syrian territory in 2015 when the regime was about to collapse at a time when the Iranian failed to save Al-Assad. The UN Security Council harried to impose sanctions on the Syrian regime, fearing possible attacks on Israel with similar weapons. However, Russia and China vetoed any sanctions imposed on Al-Assad’s regime. At an Israeli request, Russia agreed on a proposal to strip regime of its chemical weapons arsenal, and it also agreed on an accord to ban possession of chemical weapons. Accordingly, the Syrian regime avoided sanctions, while Obama revoked his decisions regarding the ‘red lines.’ Moreover, the UN Security Council and the Russians tampered with the UN decision and its terms. The actions which have been taken were confined to dispatching a delegation of UN representatives and offering a proposal of sanctions which have not been applied so far. Ironically, the Syrian regime has continued to possess and store poisonous and chemical gases, and it has already used some of which against residential areas hosting revolutionaries on several occasions. There is no solution for the Syrian crisis, unless an international coalition is established to eliminate the criminal regime which is known for killing civilians with barrel bombs and chemical weapons.”