Statement supporting the Syrian people

The following introduction and statement was issued by the United National Antiwar Coalition April 14:

Pro-Western Syrian exiles have initiated a statement supported by a number of “progressive” individuals and organizations. The statement is titled,“Erasing people through disinformation: Syria and the ‘anti-imperialism’ of fools.” In this statement, which supports the goal of the U.S. and its allies of regime change in Syria, the authors attack those who have consistently supported an end to intervention in Syria by the U.S., NATO, Israel and other repressive states in the Middle East. 

Their statement was signed by a number of people in the U.S. and around the world. UNAC was one of the groups that this statement criticized. The war on Syria has been an especially divisive issue for the peace movement, so we and others have put out the statement below explaining our position. If you agree with this statement, we ask that you sign as an individual or an organization. Go to unac.notowar.net.

Click here to sign the statement

As the Biden Administration took office in the U.S., one of their first actions was to increase U.S. troop levels in the northeastern region of Syria currently occupied by the United States and its proxies. Shortly thereafter, the United States bombed a Syrian town on the eastern border killing as many as 30 Syrians, purportedly to target hostile “Iraqi militiamen” or to “send a message” to Iran. U.S. proxies are selling Syrian grain in Turkey, and a U.S.-based corporation now operates a refinery in the Syrian territory occupied by U.S. troops and proxies.

Last year, Congress passed the Caesar Sanctions as an amendment to the massive Defense Appropriations Bill. These sanctions cause the Syrian people to go without the basic necessities such as food, energy and medicine. They have destroyed the Syrian currency and are literally causing starvation. At this time, it is impossible, even for the United Nations, to bring aid into Syria.

Moreover, these sanctions block reconstruction and the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees from impoverished camps in surrounding states. Syrians can’t return if there is no potable water, food or housing for their families. Meanwhile, the only Syrians who can receive international aid are those in U.S.-occupied territories and those in areas controlled by the U.S. ally, Al Nusra/Al Qaeda.

There has been a recent swell of anti-Syria propaganda, supported by prominent activists on the “left.” This has included attacks on the majority of the U.S. antiwar movement, which has focused on opposing U.S. and outside aggression against Syria and which supports the right of Syria to defend its national sovereignty against this outside aggression. The clear fact is that the U.S. government, along with its allies in NATO, Israel and other reactionary Middle Eastern states, is the primary cause of the current devastation of the Syrian people. The U.S. and its allies have facilitated the entry into Syria of tens of thousands of foreign fighters to support their regime-change agenda.

As with the lies about weapons of mass destruction that led to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, the U.S. and its allies have put forth accusations about Syria using chemical weapons and terror against its own people, which have now been totally discredited and disproved.

Therefore:

1. We condemn the illegal occupation of Syrian territory by U.S. forces and their proxies and their illegal and unprovoked military attacks on Syrian soil and Syrian people.
2. We condemn the ongoing theft of Syrian oil and Syrian grain by U.S. proxies, resources desperately needed by the Syrian people.
3. We condemn the so-called Caesar Sanctions, illegal, immoral unilateral coercive measures.
4. We condemn the U.S. war on the Syrian Republic and the callous violation of Syrian sovereignty. 
5. We demand the withdrawal of ALL U.S. troops and U.S. funding of foreign mercenary forces and U.S. funding of armed, internal opposition forces from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and a lifting of the U.S. naval blockade of Yemen.
6. We demand an end to illegal U.S. sanctions on Syria.

Initial signers: United National Antiwar Coalition, Syria Solidarity Movement, Black Alliance for Peace, U.S. Peace Council, Hands off Syria Coalition, Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, Popular Resistance, Arab Americans for Syria, Youth Against Empire, International Action Center, Veterans for Peace, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Socialist Action, Hands off Syria — Australia, BAYAN USA.