SAC Condemns Attack On White Helmets

Press Release

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March 29th 2017

The Syrian American Council salutes the Russian people for Sunday’s massive protests against the corruption and autocracy of Putin’s regime. Tens of thousands across Russia took to the streets and over 1000 were arrested after Russian dissident Alexei Navalny revealed that Putin’s prime minister had attained massive wealth through corruption, which is especially jarring in light of a deepening Russian economic crisis.

PRESS RELEASE




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The Syrian American Council, a grassroots Syrian-American organization, is profoundly alarmed over the recent uptick in US strikes on civilians, following Friday’s missile strike that killed over 40 civilians south of Aleppo and Tuesday's airstrike that left dozens of civilians dead in Raqqah. The Friday attack struck a mosque in al-Jineh village, south of Aleppo, killing at least 42 civilians at prayer. Tuesday's airstrike targeted a school that had been converted into housing for 50 displaced families.

The Syrian American Council, America's largest and oldest grassroots Syrian community organization, is proud to announce the release of "No Going Back: Forced Displacement in the Syrian Conflict," a new report on sectarian cleansing by the Assad regime and its allies. The report marks perhaps the first attempt to quantify the scale of sectarian cleansing and highlights the need for urgent measures to avoid a long-term Syrian refugee crisis that outlasts the war. Safe zones and sanctions on Iranian proxies are some of the measures advocated to reverse ongoing sectarian displacement trends.

The Syrian American Council, America's largest and oldest grassroots Syrian community organization, condemns the Russian airstrikes on Idlib last night that killed and injured more than 30 people, the vast majority of them civilians. Despite the purported ceasefire, the Assad regime and its allies continue to perpetrate war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Syrian people in the East Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, Madaya and Zabadani, Northern Rural Homs, Deir Ezzor, and Raqqa.

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January 18, 2017
 

The Syrian American Council, America's largest and oldest grassroots Syrian community organization, condemns in the strongest terms possible Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard's (D-HI) recent secret trip to Assad-controlled Syria on a so-called "fact-finding mission." Her trip, which was the first by a U.S. lawmaker since 2011, provides dangerous legitimization to a brutal regime that has caused the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.

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February 2, 2017

Madrid, Spain - The Syrian Emergency Task Force, a member of the Coalition for a Democratic Syria, announces the first filing of a criminal case based on evidence from the Caesar photos. The case, filed on behalf of a victim of dual Spanish-Syrian background, will be brought before the Spanish national court to seek justice for a victim tortured and killed by the Assad Regime.

The case was investigated by the nonprofit Guernica 37 with support from Ambassador Stephen J. Rapp, former head of the Office of Global Criminal Justice. It marks the first time the Caesar file has been used in a judicial setting.

January 19, 2017

SAC STATEMENT ON BEN RHODES INTERVIEW IN POLITICO

Outgoing National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes' comments on Syria, published yesterday in Politico Magazine, are nothing short of an effort to rewrite history. Rhodes stated, "I met with the Syrian opposition, and often they would argue that we should work with al-Nusra, who we know is Al Qaeda."

As Government Relations Director of the Syrian American Council, I frequently relayed messages from moderate Syrian opposition figures of all stripes to the White House. I also briefed the National Security Council on multiple occasions. At no point did I hear from my Syrian opposition contacts, who had more cause to speak frankly with me than with Mr. Rhodes, that they desired for the U.S. to work with Al-Qaeda. Furthermore, the National Security Council repeatedly waved off opportunities that I presented to them to weaken extremists and strengthen moderates in Syria.

The Coalition for a Democratic Syria, a group of Syrian-American non-profit organizations working together to bring about a swift end to the conflict and support the establishment of peace, freedom, and democracy in Syria, strongly condemns the deplorable assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov. This heinous crime against a defenseless and civilian diplomat goes against all values of international law and human rights.

Aleppo is on the verge of a massive massacre at the hands of invading Iranian-backed ground force sectarian militias and Assad forces and Russian air forces.

The Obama administration failed policy of appeasement exasperated the tragedy of the Syrian people. In the words of Syrian former Prime Minister Riad Hijab, head of the Higher Negotiation Commission of the Syrian Opposition, 'history will never forgive Obama for his refusal to intervene and stop the crimes against the Syrian people'.

Some 150,000 civilians are under a dangerous siege today.  They are crammed into 2 small districts and awaiting a possible massacre after a pro-regime military coalition dominated by Iran-backed foreign fighters and Russian warplanes made rapid gains against rebels in east Aleppo over the past two weeks. 

The Syrian American Council (SAC) today condemns the barbaric air raids of Russian and Assad regime warplanes on Aleppo City and again calls for the United States, alongside the world community, to speedily impose a no-fly zone to halt such attacks. Since Thursday, at least 213 civilians have been killed in besieged Aleppo due to air raids with barrel bombs, phosphorous weapons, and "bunker buster" bombs that destroy underground facilities. Most headquarters of the "White Helmets" rescue teams have been destroyed amid casualties so numerous that hospitals are operating beyond capacity.