Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Damascus, SANA – The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry on Wednesday sent two identical letters to the UN Secretary-General and the head of the Security Council in response to the false allegations made in a letter sent by the Qatari regime.
The letters state that the Syrian government rejects the false allegations included in the letter by the Qatari regime issued in document no. 332/2015/S, saying these allegations are a desperate bid to polish its image, cover up its support for terrorism, distort facts, and distract UN and Security Council member states from the direct support provided by the Qatar regime to terrorist organizations that target the Syrian people and undermine the security and stability of the Syrian state.
The Ministry said that it’s ironic for Qatar to join the choir of states that send to the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council identical letters against Syria that are full of misdirection and fact-twisting, specifically when Qatar claims that Syria used chemical weapons against its own people when in fact the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed that Syria has carried out its commitments as per the Chemical Weapons Convention and with full cooperation with the OPCW.
The letters asserted that the allegations that the Qatari letter focused on are ironic because Syria was the one to request an investigation into the use of chlorine by terrorists against innocent civilians in Syria, while the positions of Qatari officials and others seek to defend their allies OF Jabhet al-Nusra, ISIS, and other Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organizations, particularly since the available information indicates that the governments of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and others provide toxic materials to terrorists in order to slander the Syrian government and damage its image.
The Ministry said that Qatari media outlets are carrying out promotion and propaganda campaigns for terrorist organizations active in Syria and defending them vehemently, with the most recent example of that being when Al Jazeera hosted on May 27th 2015 an “emir” of Jabhet al-Nusra known as Abu Mohammad al-Golani who is listed on a Security Council list on Al Qaeda, conducting an interview with him to promote terrorism and issue threats to the Syrian government and people.
The letters said that the appearance of Abu Mohammad al-Golani on Al Jazeera is solid proof of the organic relations and strong cooperation between his terrorist organization on one side and Al Jazeera and the Qatari sides that own it on the other side, noting that this channel, which is the mouthpiece of the Qatari ruling family, violated Security Council resolutions on counterterrorism by conducting the interview, particularly resolution no. 1624 on preventing the instigation of terrorism.
The Ministry went on to note that the Qatari foreign minister told France’s Le Monde on May 11th 2015 – from the heart of the capital of a permanent Security Council member state, no less – that cooperation with Jabhet al-Nusra and its offshoot terrorist organizations is an inescapable reality, quoting him as saying in that interview that “we are against any extremism, but all those groups with the exception of ISIS are fighting to topple the regime, and moderates can’t tell Jabhet al-Nusra to stay at home and that they won’t work with them.”
The Ministry asserted that the aforementioned statement constitutes a clear confession by the chief diplomat of the Qatari regime to supporting and accepting cooperation with the terrorist organization Jabhet al-Nusra, which is a blatant violation of the Security Council’s counterterrorism resolutions, particularly resolutions nos. 1373, 2170, 2178, and 2199.
The letters said that the Qatari representative’s letter referred to “mediation efforts” by the Qatari government’s establishments, and in this regard the Syrian government would like to note that these establishments are unique among their counterparts around the world in that they play the role of mediators with terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and al-Nusra to release people abducted by these organizations in Syria, including UNDOF personnel, and the Qatari regime’s swift mediation and paying of ransoms amounting to millions proves the existence of strong communication and coordination with terrorist organizations, and that these incidents are exploited to provide funds to terrorist organizations openly.
The Ministry concluded the letters by saying that the Syrian government demands the UN take immediate steps against the Qatari regime for its support to terrorist organizations responsible for heinous and violent crimes against the Syrian state and people, and hold the sides responsible accountable as per the Security Council’s counterterrorism resolutions.
Hazem Sabbagh
