For our English readers

New Years Wish

For peace in the world we pray and fight

Because the armies of the West

Once again are moving to conquer the East

 To satisfy oligarchs greed and might

Ignoring peoples wish for harmony

And the starving children’s plight

May the greed of oligarchs perish

Their selfishness turn into compassion

And the threat of war

Once forever vanish

 

Five years of lies and manipulations in Syria: Desperate letter of  Belgian Monk operating in Syria to Foreign Minister

 

Syria / Belgium March 21, 2016 (HSP / radiovaticana.cz / Foto: TASR / AP-Frank Augstein)

 

Excellency,

I am a Belgian living in Syria, and I turn to you, Honourable Minister of our beloved country so that I can provide you with information about my situation and ask you for further cooperation in protecting not only me, but also the Syrian people.

In 2010  am I,  father  Daniel Maes, the Flemish priest of  Premonstratensian Abbey Postel-Mol came to serve Syrian religious community Mar Yakub at Qara. I came with a lot of prejudice and suspicion. Contact with local people and this country, however, caused me a cultural shock.

Though it is true that individual and political freedoms in Syria were not developed enough, but they were not so important (in the meantime there have been changes that generated a pluralistic system of political parties). On the other hand, there was a harmonious society composed of many religious communities and ethnic groups living for centuries in peace. In addition, there existed Eastern generous hospitality and high level of security such that we have never experienced in our homeland  . Theft and violence were practically  not present here. Country was in debt, but there was no homelessness. On the contrary, there were hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighboring countries received here and  they have been taken care of as well as of local citizens. Daily life was very economical, but with inexpensive food. Schools, universities and hospitals were free for us, foreigners belonging to the Syrian monastic community, as we experienced it ourselves.

Meanwhile, a terrible war broke out. On our own eyes we saw as foreigners (non-Syrians) organized the demonstrations, which were filmed by the Qatari Al-Jazeera TV and broadcasted all around the world with a false interpretation that the Syrian people rebel against the dictatorship. Such aliens then attracted young people from our village to join them. There were assassinations and murders in Sunni and Christian circles, which gave the impression that it is a sort of revenge symptoms similar to civil war.

Despite these attempts to induce hatred and chaos,  the Syrian people remained united. Syrien people united as one family  protested against invasion of foreign terrorist groups and countries supporting them. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed, including many government soldiers and members of security forces. Schools, hospitals and infrastructure were razed to the ground. Several million people fled abroad. Most of them sought refuge in those parts of the country that are under the protection of the army. The government has in fact decided not to protect its oil deposits in the desert and gave an absolute priority to the protection of the population. In November 2013, we also became the target of armed attacks. Attacks and shelling around us with tens of thousands of militants was so massive that humanly speaking, there was no possibility of escaping death and destruction.

Thank God, our whole community was miraculously rescued and still remain intact along with the population of Qara, thanks also to the army.

 

Early Russian intervention at the request of the Syrian government has led to a profound transformation and vigorously rubbed out all types of terrorist groups, for which the Syrian people are very grateful. There is hope. However, thousands of foreign, armed, trained and paid jihadists continue to come to Syria to try again to break the tenacious resistance of the nation.

Now we experience the greatest humanitarian crisis since II. World War. We try to respond to this challenge and to help all the needy. Our community has organized three centers: in Damascus, Tartúze and here in the monastery, where aid is based. Two weeks ago, we also could offer assistance to  Aleppo - Syrian town most affected - eight and a half thousand packages with medical assistance and a costly mobile hospital. As a recognition of this, the founder of abbess monastery of Mother Agnes-Mariam in Moscow received prestigious award for peace and justice "Femida". We can continue this assistance only through the generous support of many benefactors, some international organizations and countries such as the Netherlands, who are willing to support us in providing assistance to those most in need, regardless of their religious or ethnic background.

With great confidence we turn to you with a request not to accept  the media lies and manipulations, and on the contrary, courageously acknowledged what is really happening in Syria. Let us not forget the recent tragic examples. On basis of gross lies they have already been slaughtered whole nations and states. Some big powers wanted to seize oil, gold, banks and stores of weapons. Also, our Belgian country has contributed to the destabilization of certain countries, which are now dominated by  total chaos. These were illegal and inhuman actions. Why do they occur?

Syria is a sovereign country, the cradle of the oldest civilizations and precious Christian faith. Syria has a legitimate government and the President legitimately elected by an overwhelming majority of the people and various religious and ethnic components. No international law can justify even one foreign intervention in Syria. The decision on the future of Syria and its government is only for the Syrians themselves. Will you , on ground of blatant lies, cooperate on slaughter and further devastation of the local people even if it is in conflict with the entire international rights and human dignity? Should  the refugee camps further expand?  Do you want to plunge the entire nation into hopeless poverty just because there are superpowers which want to build an oil pipeline and  to seize the oil, gas and other natural wealth and conquer the Syrian territory because of its strategic position in the  east? Peace and security of the people call for recognition of the sovereignty of its territory and its independence of national and cultural unity. Should perhaps the new fragile truce be temporarily suspended by new illegal military interventions?

 

Excellency, true and brave statesman works for the future; a genuine and brave statesman respects international law and the sovereignty of other countries; a genuine and brave statesman wants even his own country be respected and brave and true statesman is serving his people (Latin  word minister means servant).

 

Excellency, be courageous and contact  the Syrian Government,  restore diplomatic relations and cancel all sanctions against the Syrian people, because they are nothing but economic terrorism. Offer them in the name of the Belgian people their generous help and support.

 

One, who serves the interests of foreign powers with the intention to throw other nations  into the deepest poverty, is the terrorist leader and not worthy to be called statesmen. May we demand from you not to stand on the side of the murderers but on the side of the innocent victims?

 

This is what we ask you for,  we,  the Syrian people and a huge amount of goodwill people in Belgium and all around the world. For this we are grateful to you, you can come into  history which will  honor you as a true statesman.

 

Accept not only our disturbing appeals, but also our respectful greeting.

 

Father Daniel Maes (from post-Mol)

In Deir Mar Yakub, Qara, Syria, March 11, 2016

 

From the book

Peter Scholl-Latour „ Der Fluch der boesen Tat“

 (The curse of an evil deed“)

p.68

 

At the end of nineties I was staying in Aleppo, in its most exciting part „EL Jadida“. That time all the different confessions lived in an atmosphere of tolerance, which was unique in the whole of the Islamic world. President Hafez el-Assad enjoyed quiet support of the Christian community.

 

p.74

 

The Kingdom of Jordania, whose survival depends on support of Saudi Arabia, American weapons donation and Israelis tolerance, has joined the anti – Syrian alliance. The loyal beduine army of the King Abdullah II. was in remote training centers trained by American special forces and highly professional killers of the international mercenary organization Blackwater  in commando tactics. Joined by deserters of the Syrian Army they created so-called “Free Syrian army”.

 

p.85

 

..on the Syrian- Turkish border gangs of professional fighters, grouped together not as “Free Syrian Army”, but under the black flag of Al- Qaeda. These fanatic guerilla fractions were created from all over the Dar-ul-Islam region, Maghreb, Libya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Caucasus and hundreds of European Islamists. Many French and German Jihadists were identified there.

These Salafists, as they were later named, fought with enormous readiness to die, had excellent weapon arsenal, provided mainly from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Golf Emirates und Kuwait and with full co-operation and permission of the government in Ankara were allowed to enter Syria via Anatolia.

Every place which these extremists captured was turned into most orthodox Islam, with Sharia, extreme Koran interpretation of Taliban, which in its intolerance against non-believers competes even with strict Wahabist Koran of Saudi Arabia. These unpredictable elements controlled the north provinces of Syria and considered also the “pro-west” FSA as non-believers. They had an image of modern Mafia .

 

p.95

Major Suliman (FSA)

He testified that revolt in Deraa did not start spontaneously. He himself was a year before (the revolt) contacted by Jordanian and US secret agents. With promises of financial rewords they tried to persuade him to join FSA to overthrow Bassadś regime.

The structure of this army was built up in Jordania. Thanks to massive financial support of Saudi Arabia, Qatar but under management of CIA the rebels were equipped with most modern weapons. There was no doubt, that that time an international plot to overthrow Baath- regime was being prepared. In Washington, Riad, Doha and Jerusalem rulers were persuaded, that appearance of an opposition army would lead to an irresistible peoples revolt which would bring down Assad regime. Once again – like before in Iraq, Libya, Egypt and tomorrow maybe Iran – west secret services became victims of their wish-thinking and utopist plans.

 

p.97

the real breakthrough of the  revolt succeeded along the thousand kilometer  long boundary to Turkey, which Erdogans government , under complete ignorance of elementary international law, opened for weapons transport from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Through Turkey, especially the province of Hatay, massive streams of Jihadists from the whole area (Umma) were entering North Syria, so that Damascus lost the control of the northern region around Aleppo.

Major Suliman could not hide his anger, which overcame him, as an officer of FSA, about the fact, that the rebellion to overthrow Assad regime led to gruesome massacres. In the devastated areas up to 4 millions of people were forced to inner migration and about 2 millions of people are living in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordania and Turkey.

 

“you surprised, that I talk about our hopeless situation so calmly, “but today we see that we are only pawns on the chess board in a great game”. The change of the government in Damascus or the division of Syria served the interests of USA, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

 

p.100

 

…. Major Suliman was telling me about attack of Al Qaeda unit in direction of Lataqiye, were two Alawite villages were captured.  In those two villages all inhabitants, from babies to oldest people were slaughtered.