WCA Letter to the US President Barack Obama
URGENT REQUEST TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR SYRIA
Stockholm, 4 September 2013
Click here to download the letter in: EN or SE
Dear Mr. President Obama,
We urgently appeal to You on behalf of the Aramean (Syriac) people, who are indigenous to Syria, Iraq, Southeast Turkey and Lebanon, and more than 100,000 of whom have found refuge in Sweden (see the appendix below). We request You to reconsider Your current position on Syria.
You will recall that on 11 September 2007, You wrote to the then Secretary of State, Ms. Rice, “out of concern for Iraq’s Christian and other non-Muslim religious minorities, including Catholic Chaldeans, Syriac Orthodox, Assyrian, Armenian and Protestant Christians, as well as smaller Yazidi and Sabean Mandaean communities” who “appear to be targeted by Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish militants.” You concluded that the Christians made up no less than “40 percent” of Iraq’s refugees, that “Such violence bespeaks a humanitarian crisis of grave proportions” and that “These crises demand an urgent response from our government.”
Back then, we profoundly appreciated Your efforts and concerns after the illegal attack against Iraq, which resulted in appalling yet predicted consequences for its population, including the Christians. Unfortunately, the then U.S. Government did not act upon Your urgent call for help as a Senator. As President, however, You did the right thing by ending the war against Iraq.
Mr. President, just like You were alarmed by the plight of Iraq’s vulnerable minorities, the Aramean people are suffering similarly from the local developments in Syria. Regardless of its proportions or intensity, any strike against Syria may inflame the entire region and is, by all defintions, not in the best interests of the American people and the population of Syria. In any case, it will hugely impact the defenseless minorities who have grounded reasons to fear more attacks by the revival or empowerment of radical Muslims.
As President of the USA and Nobel Peace Prize winner, we therefore urge Your Excellency to reconsider Your position on Syria and keep searching with the UNSC members for peaceful, diplomatic and alternative ways to achieve peace in our homeland, particularly by extending full support to the promising Geneva II Conference. We thank you in advance for Your consideration and wise decision, and remain yours sincerely,
Johny Messo
President
World Council of Arameans (Syriacs)
Kenan Anter
President
Syriac Federation of Sweden
Photo: UN
