Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Damascus, SANA – Speaker of the People’s Assembly Mohammad Jihad al-Laham met on Tuesday a Belgian parliamentary delegation headed by member of the Flemish Parliament Filip Dewinter.
During the meeting, Dewinter said the delegation will work towards restoring diplomatic relations with Syria and put an end to the economic embargo imposed on it this embargo harms the Syrian people.
Dewinter said that President Bashar al-Assad is an ally, not an enemy, because he fights terrorism and extremism, adding “we realize that if Syria falls, Jordan and Lebanon and the Maghreb countries near Europe will fall, as terrorism will reach them too.”
He said that Syria is the cradle of Christianity and Islam and has true democratic values because its separates religion from state and has gender equality, adding that this can be seen in Arab states like Lebanon, but not in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the Emirates which are considered allies of the West.
“I apologize because terrorists who are fighting in Syria came from all over the world, particularly European countries,” Dewinter said, noting that around 445 citizens from Belgium alone came to fight alongside terrorists in Syria.
“We are fully aware that Turkey provides all possible facilitations to western terrorists and militants, and any future talks with the Turkish government must be suspended until it changes its policies and stops its support for the terrorist organization ISIS,” he said.
Dewinter said the delegation came to Syria to witness what is actually happening in it, particularly since western media isn’t objective and doesn’t tell the truth about Syria, adding that European people are realizing the threat posed by ISIS and other terrorist organizations.
In turn, al-Laham stressed the need for everyone to know the truth about the crisis in Syria away from the propaganda and lies promoted by western governments and media, asserting that Syria always was and always will be open to cooperation with the world, international organizations, and legislative establishments, despite the negative attitudes of some states and international establishments.
Al-Laham said some western governments, particularly the U.S. and French governments, still support terrorism under the pretense of training what they label “moderate opposition,” asserting that all terrorist organizations were spawned by the armed groups supported by the west and some regional countries, with Saudi Arabia being the primary manufacturer of terrorism while Turkey and Qatar are its funders.
He added that Saudi Arabia promotes its terrorist mentality through mosques, schools, TV channels, and websites which pose a threat to the west and secular countries around the world, stressing the need to pressure the states that support terrorism, specifically Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, into ceasing all forms of support for terrorism.
In statements to journalists, Dewinter said that the threat of terrorism must be faced as they endanger the entire world, and that Syria and Belgian share a mutual challenge in facing terrorism, barbarism, extremism, and salafi mentalities.
He hoped that Syria will emerge from the crisis and vanquish terrorism, because “Syria is correct in its position and it’s on the right track.”
The Belgian delegation also met Grand Mufti of the Republic Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun.
During the meeting, Hassoun said that the time has come for the world to know the fact that Syria has been subjected to organized terrorism led by regional countries and backed by other western countries.
The Mufti called on the parliamentarians all over the world to visit Syria and witness firsthand the reality of what is happening and how far removed it is from what misleading media campaigns claim.
For their part, the delegation’s members asserted the necessity of lifting the economic sanctions imposed on Syria, reopening the closed embassies , developing diplomatic relations with it, and viewing President Bashar al-Assad as an ally in combating terrorism.
Dewinter…. Economic sanctions on Syrian people unacceptable
Later, Dewinter asserted that the economic sanctions imposed on Syrian people are unacceptable.
“Those sanctions are dictatorial acts and hard violence against the Syrian people because they have affected the human and health domains ‘’, Dewinter said during a meeting with Health Minister Nizar Yazigi, adding ‘’ We will convey the Syrian people’s suffering to the European officials and people, thus EU states would retreat from these sanctions”.
For his part, Minister Yazigi noted that Syria has suffered from four- years of terrorism that destroyed many facilities, particularly the health system, having 99 hospitals out of service, demolishing completely 33 hospitals, sabotaging 418 ambulances in addition to killing hundreds of health staff.
Reem / Hazem Sabbagh
