Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Moran Mo Ignatius Aflem II told the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, DC last week that Christians are worried about the new jihadist regime in Damascus, but they rebuild their homeland. We hope to play a “important and extremely important role” in this article.
Many of the patriarch's presentations were taken from a Joint Statement He was released in late December by the Syrian patriarch and church leaders. The statement called on Christians and many other Syrian religions and sects to cooperate in reconstruction after the long and brutal Syrian civil war.
“We strive to ensure that spiritual, moral and national responsibility is always elevated to the voice of truth, protect human dignity under all circumstances, and support the path of democracy, freedom, independence and peace. , we recognize that we will force you to guarantee your rights, and the dignity of all Syrians,” the statement said.
“The ethnic, religious and cultural diversity that characterizes Syrian communities is the source of its wealth and strength,” the joint statement said well.
The patriarch Afrem supported the call for a joint statement to the world to lift the sanctions imposed on dictator Bashar Assad. Lost His vicious 14-year struggle to maintain power in December when his weakened and distracted patrons in Russia and Iran were unable to protect him from the attacks of lightning rebels .
Syrian Christian leaders said the sanctions “had a negative impact on the communities of Syria and neighboring communities and were affected by immigration.”
“We therefore ask the international community to act quickly to lift these unfair sanctions, support the path of reconstruction and economic recovery, and create employment opportunities,” they said. Ta.
It was a harsh call to lift the sanctions, as the new boss in Damascus may not be an improvement on the old boss. Assad was overthrown by the Jihadi Union led by Hayat Taharil al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaeda derivative, trying to distance himself from his blood-thirsty parent organization. leader HTS and now Syrian “interim” president Ahmed Al-Sharara worked in the past for both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State under the alias of Abu Mohamed Al-Jolani.
Sharaa reinvented himself from exhausted warlords to secular officials in business suits, and while his government is undoubtedly Islamist, he would protect the rights of religious minorities. I made a promise.
“We take pride in our culture, religion and Islam. Being part of the Islamic environment does not mean the exclusion of other denominations. On the contrary, protecting them is our own. It's an obligation,” Shara said. I said A few weeks after defeating Assad.
For many in the international community, the ju umpire is still out on whether Shara will keep those promises. Meanwhile, Afrem and his fellow patriarchs decide to take a shara leap of faith and trust, as they suspect Syria can be rebuilt under the overwhelming weight of international sanctions.
Government of Sharaa – at this point, the government has the same promise to hold an election one day – the same promise as all other juntas Discussed Maintaining sanctions on Monday would unfairly compromise the human rights of Syrian population.
“The sanctions have stopped everything. Ayman Hamawier, appointed director of the Syrian investment institution after Assad's collapse, said:
Hamawier said it has received “dozens of requests per day” from European companies considering investing in reconstruction projects in Syria, Turkey, Gulf Arab and even Syria, but “the banking sector has said it has received “dozens of requests per day.” He complained that investment would be difficult because it remains under sanctions.
“You can't display millions of euros on a suitcase. That's not how you can do business in today's world,” he pointed out.
Another call to lift sanctions It's here Last Thursday he was exiled in documents relating to the torture and murder of thousands of civilians from Farid Nada al-Madan, a former Syrian military officer who fled from Assad's regime in 2013. As Madhan worked as a military photographer, he later snapped many of the photographs he presented to the world as evidence of Assad's atrocities.
Madhan said lifting sanctions is important to give Syria a chance to recover and become better than the crude and desperate junta of Shara. He suggested that Sharaa's government may clear the path to lifting sanctions by holding a “national court that accuses and accusssssssssss of war crimes.”
The US and the European Union have already issued limited and temporary sanctions exemptions, primarily to promote humanitarian activities and the restoration of basic infrastructure, but Hamawier has also issued limited and temporary sanctions exemptions. He claimed it was “inadequate.”
“In my opinion, everyone is interested in these transactions and goes through a banking system with surveillance and transparency, not an informal transfer network,” he said.
One reason Syrian Christians are nervous about their future under the HTS regime is that other Syrians view the Christian community as an allies of the Assad regime, which are hated. The international observer said that Christians gave him a bit of trouble and that he longed for their political support, and that he at least protected Syrian Christians from persecution, even if his protection was largely a deal. He has given Assad's trust to him.
Independent reporter Nuri Kino Discussed in Newsweek Last week, Op-Ed said these impressions of Assad as a Christian patron were false and that the regime could be extremely brutal to Christians who have not connected that line.
Kino said many Christians would flee Syria to escape Assad and flee from horrific jihad groups like the Islamic state. Others formed opposition parties and joined the rebels.
“Christian leaders like Paul Yazigi, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Orthodox Johanna Ibrahim, and Orthodox Archbishop of Syria, were accused of in Aleppo, and their fate remains uncertain. I wrote about it “They were accused of terrorists. Did the administration have something to do with that? Both were speaking out against the administration,” Kino pointed out.
