PEOPLE of Aleppo on Tuesday marched through the streets of the city to show their support to the Syrian Arab Army which confronts terrorism and defends their homeland.
Participants in the march raised national flags and photos of President Bashar al-Assad, chanting national slogans in appreciation of the heroism of the army and call for speeding up operations to eliminate terrorism and terrorists.
Aleppo residents inaugurated a picture 360 square metres in area for President al-Assad as an expression of their amity and loyalty to the homeland leader, appealing to him to run for a new constitutional presidential term.
They hailed Syria’s official delegation who took part in Geneva 2 conference.
In this regard, the al-Ba’ath Arab Socialist Party branch in Aleppo organised a festival under the motto ‘From Aleppo to our delegation returning form Geneva’ with the participation of national and civil activities.
Participants in the festival affirmed commitment to preserve Syria’s sovereignty, reject all forms of foreign intervention, calling for leaving Syrians to determine their own future and stopping the supply of weapons and ammunition to terrorists.
They also called for exerting pressure on the countries which share in shedding the Syrians’ blood to pay compensation for the destruction they have caused.
The statements also called for lifting the economic sanctions imposed on Syria, engaging the national opposition in the dialogue, and appealing to President Bashar al-Assad to run for a new term in office.
For his part, the Secretary of Aleppo’s Branch of the al-Ba’ath Party, Ahmad Saleh Ibrahim, stressed that Syria’s official delegation to the Geneva 2 conference is the one which represents the Syrians and conveys the reality of events in the country.
The governor of Aleppo, Mohammad Wahid Akkad also affirmed that Aleppo’s citizens have confidence in Syria’s leadership and Army to confront terrorism and restore security and stability to the country.
• Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Faisal Mikdad, stressed that the Syrian official delegation to the Geneva 2 conference cannot exercise the policy of ‘working under the table’ when it comes to Syria’s destiny, pointing out that the Syrian people are the main factor that the Syrian leadership counts on in each and every step, and this is the ethical dimension of Syrian foreign policy.
‘The Syrian leadership realises in advance the scale of the conspiracy hatched against Syria, particularly in relation to the media dimension, and these media campaigns couldn’t delude the Syrians,’ Mikdad said in an interview with the Syrian TV channel on Tuesday.
‘We have been one firm front since the beginning of the events in Syria,’ he added, noting that the change which has been caused in numerous Arab countries was meant to finally reach Syria as it is the only resistant country in the Arab arena in the face of Israeli plots and the US hegemony attempts.
Mikdad stressed that President Bashar al-Assad has been the only decision-maker with regard to going to Geneva and is the only decision-maker concerning the sessions of evaluation which the Syrian officials are holding over what has been achieved in Geneva.
‘We went to Geneva with clear directives to make dialogue a success, cease violence and bring hope back to the Syrians,’ Mikdad said, clarifying that the other party did not have this intention as it went to Geneva with one agenda and only one aim; that is of taking over the authority, ‘which is what we won’t offer on a silver platter’.
He said Syria agreed to the attendance in Geneva of many countries which stood against Syria and adopted the so-called London and Paris declarations ‘so that they can be witness to their defeat, and for those we say … you are responsible for the killing and bloodshed in Syria’.
He said the world will soon witness ‘the break-up of the beads’ of the line of hostility towards Syria ‘because many European states have started to protest against the “stupid” policies practised by France and Britain against Syria’.
He added that the European Union, if it wants to keep its civilised and human face, as the EU representative Catherine Ashton said at the opening of the Geneva conference, it should repeal the economic sanctions imposed on the Syrian people, stressing that these sanctions are the main reason behind the continued humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people.
The Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister affirmed that Russia’s position on the crisis in Syria has always been responsible, having as its main thrust the restoration of stability and security to Syria and convincing those who have not been convinced yet of the need for ending terrorism and convincing the terrorists’ masters that they do not practically represent anyone in Syria.
As for the second round of dialogue in Geneva, Mikdad said, ‘We will receive the directives of President al-Assad to determine Syria’s stance in this regard and we will announce this stance soon,’ holding the other party responsible for hindering this dialogue.
He reiterated that the other party’s delusions to be handed over the keys of Damascus will never be met ‘neither now, nor tomorrow, nor in the future’.
On the campaign of pressure waged against Syria on the chemical weapons issue, Mikdad stressed that Syria has fulfilled its obligations on time, asserting that Syria is still committed to all its obligations reached with the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
He affirmed that the Syrian government will continue coordination with the UN-OPCW joint mission in Syria for the implementation of these obligations on time.
Answering a question on a decision taken by the Saudi regime on punishing Saudis who get recruited to fight by the side of terrorist groupings, Mikdad said this decision is ‘a very tiny one that came too late’, asserting that the Saudi regime is required not only to prevent Saudis from practising terrorist acts, but more importantly to halt supporting, arming and funding the terrorists and global terrorism.
The Saudi regime, he added, must also stop supporting tens of extremist TV channels which it has established for promoting terrorism directly or indirectly, stressing that this regime has become a real sponsor of world terrorism.
• A solidarity stand was organised in Martyr Bassel al-Assad campus in Hama to support the Syrian army in confronting terrorism and to condemn the terrorist attack which targeted al-Rabi’a School, claiming the lives of five students.
The participants raised Syrian flags and chanted slogans supporting the Syria army in facing the armed terrorist groups and restoring security and stability to the country.
They also affirmed that university students in Syria will remain united behind Syria’s army and leadership until achieving victory over the foreign-backed terrorism.
The participants appreciated the role and the sacrifices of the Syrian army in defending the homeland, holding the countries supporting terrorism responsible for all crimes committed against the Syrians.
