Syria at Threshold of Religious War

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A report recently published by the Open Doors international Christian human rights organisation says that, at present, Syria’s one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians to live in. The report says that many Christians in Syria are victims of violence and that many Christian churches and monasteries in the country lie in ruins. Every year, Open Doors publishes reports about violence against Christians in various parts of the world. In last year’s report, Syria was in 36th place on the list of countries where Christians face persecution. Now, it’s in 11th place. Open Doors collected information about Christians killed, kidnapped, or brutalised in those regions of Syria under opposition control, which, in essence, means Islamist rule. The Islamist insurgents have desecrated, damaged, or totally wrecked many Christian churches and monasteries in Syria.

In an interview with VOR, Russian expert in Eastern affairs Boris Dolgov said, “The appearance of this report is very important. I hope that this document helps the world to learn more about violence against Christians in Syria and to seek measures to stop this violence”. Recently, Mr Dolgov visited Syria and met with members of several Christian communities; in particular, with Mother Agnes-Mariam de la Croix, the prioress of St Jacques Roman Catholic Monastery, saying, “I had a long talk with Mother Agnes-Mariam. She’s very concerned that the rebels are now persecuting Christians in Syria. She knows of many cases when Islamists shelled Christian monasteries, kidnapped or killed Christian priests, and expelled Christians from cities now under opposition control… for example, from Homs. She showed photographs to me that depicted the consequences of these crimes. Mother Agnes-Mariam told me that many members of the Syrian opposition belong to al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups”.

The Open Doors report noted that if radical Islamists come to power in Syria, they might start to persecute Christians only because Christians didn’t interfere in the conflict between the opposition and the government out of a preference for a peaceful solution of the matter. This may either isolate Syrian Christians domestically or force many to flee Syria. Dolgov agreed with this, saying, “If the most radical Islamist faction within the Syrian opposition came to power, this would be a tragedy, not only for Syria, but also for the entire Middle East. Most likely, they’d start killing Christians, Alawites, Kurds, and members of other religious and national minorities”.

Alawites are a Muslim sect whose beliefs on some points differ from those of the Islamists. President Bashar al-Assad and his family are Alawites, and Alawites currently dominate the Syrian government and military. As a rule, Syrian Kurds either support President Assad or take no sides in the conflict between his régime and the opposition. Recently, the MP also expressed concern about persecution of Christians in Syria. Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev, the First Hierarch of the MP, is of the opinion that ethnic and religious tensions are the main causes of the conflict in Syria. His Holiness said that the MP is ready to render humanitarian aid to Syrian Christians who’ve lost their homes or suffered in some other way from Islamist actions.

10 January 2013

Konstantin Garibov

Aleksei Lyakhov

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_10/Syria-at-threshold-of-religious-war/

Primakov sez the Overthrow of the Assad Régime would bring in Religious Persecution in Syria

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Former Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov stated that if the armed opposition in Syria overthrows Bashar al-Assad’s government, a Sunni junta in Damascus would start mass persecution of Alawis, saying in an interview with Российская газета (Rossiskaya Gazeta: The Russian Newspaper) on Wednesday, “If the armed opposition topples Assad, a Sunni junta in Damascus would arise, which automatically would entail persecution of the Alawis, who are a significant bloc in the population. Reprisals wouldn’t only target the activists of the ruling Ba’ath Party, as some think, rather, they’d strike everyone who doesn’t share their religious beliefs”.

In his view, much of the Arab League member states support the Syrian opposition because they don’t want an Assad victory. They fear that it’d create the ground for the formation of a Shi’a alliance consisting of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon. He also noted that Assad’s overthrow wouldn’t stabilise Syria, pointing up, “All the talk in the West in support of the opposition, claiming that they desire to establish democracy and stability in Syria is absolutely untenable. There will be neither stability nor democracy there [if the opposition wins]”. However, Primakov thought that Russia’s stance on the Syrian question “was the only correct course. If I were head of the government or Minister of Foreign Affairs, then, I’d support the policy that’s now in force”.

8 August 2012

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=46900

Editor’s Note:

Orthodox Christians in the USA should note that the Far Right pals of the konvertsy are doing their best to put Islamist terrorists in charge of Syria. Our Orthodox coreligionists would suffer along with the Alawis and non-Islamist Sunnis. When JP supported the American Enterprise Institute, the Acton Institute, and the Washington Times, he supported elements that egg on Islamist terrorists (who garb themselves in the robes of “democrats”, dontcha know). That was irresponsible and without warrant on his part… thank God, he’s gone.

Wake up! The ideology behind the Republican Party is incoherent ontologically, contrary to what our Church teaches, and it opposes what it truly stands for… communitarianism, social justice, a world free of greed, and the sharing of society’s resources in a more fair fashion. Don’t forget… HH called the Free Market a fraud. We should bear that in mind as we listen to Wafflin’ Willy and the rest of the Grand Ole Phonies. There’s MUCH more to “Pro-Life” than just the illegalisation of abortion…

BMD  

Damascus Blames Qatar and Saudi Arabia for Bloodshed in Syria

These are the “freedom fighters”… they’re violent Islamist extremists bent on wiping out the Alawis and Christians. Do you want to establish another Islamist hell like Afghanistan? Remember, the USA poured its resources into defeating the DRA… and we got the Taliban, bin Laden, 9/11, and Karzai in return. That’s the reality behind all the Foggy Bottom BS…

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SANA news agency, citing Minister of Information Adnan Mahmoud, reported that some countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, support rebel groups in Syria and bear responsibility for the bloodshed in the country. Mahmoud said, “Some countries, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, support armed terrorist formations with money and weapons, allying themselves with terrorists fighting the Syrian people and bear the full responsibility for the bloodshed in Syria”. On Monday, The Ministry of Information stated that the Syrian rebels purposefully kill civilians to use their bodies as a tool for destabilising the situation further, discrediting the Syrian Army, and attracting the attention of the international society. On Monday, al-Jazeera reported that the Syrian government’s crackdown on the opposition had grown in ferocity in the past 24 hours as dozens of people were killed in Homs and in another opposition stronghold in the north-western province of Idlib.

12 March 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/world/20120313/172123750.html

Russia Votes Against UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Syria

Libyan militia thugs after their Western-backed victory… THIS is what the USA and its running-dogs want in Syria… with the Christians and Alawis as the victims. THIS is why Russia takes a principled stand against American warmongering in Syria. Take a good look… this is what your tax dollars buy (and Rick Santorum would do twice as much mayhem… reflect on that). I have a religious objection to such… does that mean that I can get a refund on my share of the money spent in foreign parts on aggressive warfare?

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On Thursday, Russia, China, and Cuba voted against a UN Human Rights Council resolution calling on Syria to immediately end violence against civilians and grant humanitarian organisations access to the country. The results of the vote, posted on the council’s website, show that 37 countries voted for the resolution and three nations abstained. On Tuesday, the Syrian delegation left the Human Rights Council discussions in protest against the “unfriendly” resolution. Syria also said it refuses to acknowledge the meeting and the resolution as legitimate.

The resolution “strongly condemns the continued widespread and systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities” and “deplores the brutal actions of the Syrian regime over the past 11 months, such as its use of heavy artillery and tanks to attack residential areas”. It also urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to allow “free and unimpeded access by the United Nations and humanitarian agencies” and permit deliveries of humanitarian cargo to the areas in need. Both Western and Arab nations increased their pressure on Assad’s regime, calling for an immediate end to bloodshed in Syria, which according to Syrian rights groups has claimed more than 7,000 lives since the uprising against the current authorities began 11 months ago.

1 March 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/world/20120301/171669049.html

Churkin Concerned With Closure of European and Arab Embassies in Syria

I’m Not for War!

Nikolai Tereshchenko

1959

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Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said that the closure of European and Arab embassies in Damascus could mean that there are possible preparations for a foreign military intervention in Syria. A number of countries recalled their ambassadors and announced the closure of their embassies in Syria in protest to President Bashar al-Assad’s continuing crackdown on protesters. In an interview with NTV, Churkin said, “Right now, possibly, it’s not that they refuse to seek a diplomatic solution to the problem, but it could be a sign that they’re preparing to unleash a larger conflict”. Churkin said he believes that’s why some media sources reported that British and Qatari special forces are in Syria.

16 February 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120216/171339236.html

Editor’s Note:

Are the USA and its running-dog NATO allies preparing an illegal aggression on Syria? The history since the fall of the USSR in ’91 isn’t encouraging. The USA supports the so-called Syrian National Council, which is an Islamist organisation bent on the ethnic cleansing of Syria. Its motto is, “Christians to Beirut; Alawis to the wall”. That is, they want to kill all the Alawis and expel all the Christians so that they can set up a “pure” Islamist state.

Russian media sources have played hard on the angle that there’s a US/al Qaeda alliance in Syria. Since the ‘80s, the USA has ALWAYS supported violent Islamists throughout the world. The USA’s so-called “War on Terror” is a massive fraud. America supported the human organ sellers of Kosovo… it put a Shia junta in Iraq that has chased many of the local Christians out of the country… it backed an Islamist dictator in Afghanistan… it placed Islamist thugs in control of Libya… now, it wants to install an Islamist terrorist cell as the leading element in Syria. That’s the truth of all the drumbeats for war. The USA’s willing to ally itself with al Qaeda and Islamists to gain perceived leverage against Iran (the bogeyman du jour of the Corporate Media).

Reflect hard on that one. The Mother Church supports diplomacy and a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Rightwing factions in the OCA and ROCOR (mainly konvertsy and First Families) support the rouge military actions called for by the American Right (don’t forget, JP DID speak at the “American Enterprise Institute”, one of the most rabid neocon think-tanks out there). One of these things is NOT like the other. Choose well…

BMD

12 February 2012. The Western World Screams for War… Who’s Standing for Peace?

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The Western media’s full of drumbeats for war in Syria. Guess what? Russia and China said, “NO!” No doubt, you’ve heard the squalling from America, its Islamist allies, and its NATO running-dogs. Russia beat back the aggression from America’s Georgian surrogates in South Ossetia in ’08. It’s standing tall again… on guard for peace. The only way that we’ll have peace in the world is if there’s a strong counterweight to the American hegemonists. The American Neocons and “Humanitarian Interventionists” from “both sides of the aisle” are soulless, godless, blood-thirsty, and power-hungry. The only thing that they respect is raw power. They pulled back when Russia waxed their arse but good in ’08. You can tell that by the amount of caterwauling that went up from the usual cast of suspects. The fact remains… three Russian divisions ran two American-supported Georgian division-equivalents out of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Americans got their nose bloodied for the entire world to see, and they didn’t like it one little bit. They especially didn’t like being caught out in an unsuccessful act of aggression… Langley stepped full-force in a fresh cow pat, and in full public view, too (you could tell that by the outraged statements in the Western media).

Today, the same Inside-the-Beltway pigs are screaming for war… if you support ANY intervention in Syria, you support an Islamist massacre of the Alawite and Christian population. FULL STOP. Look at what happened to the Christians in Iraq! That’s what’s awaiting the minorities in Syria if the Islamist rebels take over. The Americans have an unbroken and unrepentant track-record of throwing local Christians to the dogs where Islamists are concerned. They also do their best to cover up and hush up all the nastiness committed by their Islamist surrogates (such as the sale of human organs in Kosovo). We have NO “perfect” choices… we can have Assad or we can have the Islamists. I choose Assad… not only is he the best choice for the minorities, he’s the best choice for the Sunni majority. You see, the Islamists’ first order of business would be a mass killing of their opponents within the Sunni community. That is, the USA‘s supporting Talibanesque thugs, yet again. WHY? Dear God, why?

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Sunday 12 February 2012

Albany NY