General Idriss (ALS) to the Europeans: Help us! Lift the arms embargo
(BRUSSELS2 to the European Parliament) This is the message sent by Syrian General Selim Idriss, Chief of Staff of the Free Syrian Army (SLA) (*), today in Brussels. Invited by the Liberals and Democrats group in the European Parliament (**) — nearly two years after the start of the conflict — he said it again and again in all tones to MEPs and to the press: "Help us "! "Lifting the arms embargo".
He thus asked that weapons and ammunition but also " anti-tank missiles and surface-to-air missiles » be delivered to the ALS. He also made two other demands: that "direct" humanitarian aid be delivered to areas held by the Syrian opposition; that Syrians can be accommodated temporarily in Europe. A message that he also delivered to Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, whom the general met on Tuesday evening as well as to Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid.
An already dramatic result
The " Syrian people live under pressure and suffer enormously from the abuses of the regime ". The balance sheet today is dramatic, he explained. " 70.000 dead, 100.000 arrests and 100.000 missing, 1 million refugees in neighboring countries, 5 million internally displaced persons”. Et “I expect the number of displaced to increase”. "The regime has targeted hospitals, schools, infrastructure in the liberated areas." “Don't wait until it's too late to help us. »
The international community talks but does little
Idriss criticized the international community for being content with " look at the regime, to say that the regime is not good, that it must go” but does not act. " We received pledges of support. But received very little ". " How can the international community be powerless against this regime? he wondered. " How can she not prevent Iran and Russia from helping these executioners? All the satellites, the means of information make it possible to see the crimes committed. (...) We must put pressure on Russia, so that the Russian Federation stops its unfailing aid to the regime. »
The lifting of the embargo: necessary because the fight is unequal
For the SLA Commander-in-Chief, “We need weapons and ammunition, to defend citizens, compel the regime to put an end to the massacres, to negotiate » He thus called “to end the arms embargo on Syria. » embargo proclaimed independently by the Europeans. « The embargo is regrettable. We suffer it. And we have no means of defending ourselves. (...) We are the first to suffer and the first to be harmed » “If we have the necessary weapons, we can bring down the regime in less than a month” he told the deputies.
Because on the other side, on the side of Bashar's government, there is no problem. « Russians and Iranians help the regime, and say so clearly. The fight is therefore unequal. the " diet uses heavy weaponry, long-range artillery, Scud missiles against civilians and has a very powerful air force. (...) A few small arms are not enough to cope. »
The aggravation of the conflict already exists
The lifting of the embargo will not cause an aggravation of the conflict, underlines the general. Quite the contrary. « When it is said that more weapons will shed more blood, we disagree. He's spilling more civilian blood. The regime is not affected by this embargo. Because it gets more weapons from Russia and Iran. If there are no weapons and the necessary ammunition, the confrontation could drag on. The country will be completely destroyed. »
A statement shared by Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian Prime Minister (president of the Liberals and Democrats group) who was one of the first to campaign for a more active commitment by Europeans alongside the Syrians. " There is a lack of courage, a form of cowardice and a kind of irresponsibility. in Europe. “If we do nothing, this conflict will continue, there will be more deaths. » However, a change is underway “I am back from the United States. And we feel a change. The discussion between the State Department and the Pentagon seems to be over. We are talking about certain types of aid (vehicles, etc.) that can be delivered. » But all this is very slow.
(*) An electronics teacher trained in Germany, Selim Idriss was a professor at the military engineering school in Aleppo before defecting in July 2012.
NB: The general also spoke about the Shiite threat, the Al Nosra movement, the opposition organization, the future regime of Syria. The full text of his speech to Parliament will be available to subscribers to the Club
