Many incidents of late have left, many of us fighting for Syria‘s future, ponder and question. There are world leaders who have put the blame squarely on the opposition, which I have defended against for fear of giving Assad the breathing room to survive the Revolution. But some elements in the Syrian opposition have become a burden on all of us in terms of their rhetoric and tactics. Their venomous, sectarian language has increased in intensity lately and it is time to bring this issue to everyone’s attention in the hope we can put a stop to this kind of intolerable behavior.
After consultation with my fellow Syrians, we decided to issue the Press Release below:
RPS Statement With Regard to Bigotry and Racism by Syrian Oppositionists
We Fight For Liberty and Human Rights For ALL Syrians
Washington DC (April 5, 2012) — Of late, there have been many incidents where Syrian oppositionists in the Diaspora have used intolerable language to describe the Syrian people along sectarian lines that benefit only the Assad regime.
Such approach is counter-productive to the Revolution and it is harming the people of Syria immensely because it shows that the Syrian Sunni Community cannot tolerate the other religious groups who have the right to enjoy the same fruits of freedom and peace of mind as all other Syrians do.
The language in question attacks the Alawites, the Shiia, and the Christians. One of the unacceptable words often used in their writings is: Nusayryah. The Nusayryah to intolerant Muslims is a disparaging label used against the Christian community. It is also a name by which the Alawites are referred to. RPS finds this labeling of Syrians to be totally and utterly unacceptable.
The Reform Party of Syria strongly condemns such language and urges all Syrians to show restraint and co-existential positions with all the people of Syria for the nation we all want to build. The Assad regime is the only winner in this game of showering insults against minorities who are suffering as much as the Sunni community is.
RPS stands at a distance from any Syrian oppositionist who belittles, denigrates, or dishonors one’s race, religion, or the spirit of their rich culture. By insulting the precious minorities of Syria to include the Christians, the Alawites, the Shiia, the Druze, the Ismailis, and all the other minorities and the non-Arab Kurds, those oppositionists would invite the international community to abandon our just cause in favor of the Assad regime. What good will that do to our Revolution?
All Syrians must rise to the level of responsibility expected of any leader or people wishing to rule a country, including the ability to embrace all the people of Syria as one and their own. With bigotry and sectarianism, those Syrian oppositionists become the not so distant cousins to extremists terrorizing under a religious banner, which this political organization will not tolerate under any circumstances.
If this continues to occur, the Reform Party of Syria will, within a short period of time, start publishing names of those intolerant people on the Internet to contain their damage and to ostracize them for their behavior.
Please distribute this release widely. Thank you.
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