The UAE’s decision to expand bilateral relations with mass-murderer Assad should set off alarms throughout the free world
WASHINGTON, DC – The Syrian American Diaspora at large and their organizations condemn the United Arab Emirates’ decision to host Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad while his mass murderous wrath continues with impunity.
“I am shocked and outraged that the United Arab Emirates is hosting the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad,” said Dr. Muhammad Bakr Ghbeis, a Syrian American citizen and President of Citizens for a Secure and Safe America. “Assad has murdered 600,000 of his citizens and deserves to be held accountable for his crimes, not welcomed into the halls of a close U.S. ally and a supposedly responsible Arab state. For an allied nation to host the Syrian regime is stabbing the international community in the back while it tries to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
The State Department hosted a “March to Accountability” conference on Friday, the same day Assad arrived in the UAE. The conference was titled, “Seeking Safety: Forced Displacement in the Syrian Conflict” and emphasized that “Those responsible must be held accountable.” Also this week, the New York Times revealed that Assad’s henchmen used mass graves to bury the countless innocent lives he took between 2011 and 2013, furnishing even more evidence of Assad’s numerous war crimes.
Warming of relations between Assad and UAE on Friday angered millions in the Syrian diaspora, many of whose relatives and friends remain internally and externally displaced and their homes destroyed since Assad launched his war against them in 2011. “Syria is one of the few counties in the world that supports Vladimir Putin and has been sending mercenaries to aid Putin in his attack on Ukraine,” said Suzan Baaj, Chairwoman of the Syrian Institute for Progress. Assad’s crimes extend beyond the pale and include use of chemical weapons on his own civilian population, including children. Someone who has used chemical weapons on his own people should not be welcomed into a modern Arab state and must remain a pariah.
We call on the Biden’s administration to utilize the Caesar law and the utmost pressure to deter any government or individuals to promote Assad.
Signed by: Citizens for a Secure and Safe America (C4SSA), Syrian Institute for Progress (SIP), Syrian Christians for Peace (SCP)
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