Neutral mediator should call things by their names

It has been crystal clear the US and its allies have been employing the UN and its affiliated bodies in service of the global war against Syria. Moreover, the US and its regional tools have also employed the UN special envoy to Syria Lakhdar al-Brahimi who has been making contradictory statements concerning the solution of the crisis in Syria. This has been clearly manifested during his recent regional tour in preparation for the Geneva Conference. Al-Ibrahimi has made many paradoxical statements, some of which were beyond his capacity as a UN envoy, interfering in Syria’s internal affairs. It seems that he wanted to please some parties at the expense of Syrian people. He speaks different languages when he is inside or outside Syria.

The UN envoy has avoided calling things by their names and spelling out the real stances, opting instead for phrases that reflect selective stands and incomplete information.  He abstained from naming al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra and the other terrorist armed gangs which have been carrying out massacres and sabotage acts against Syrian people for two years and a half, and which are responsible for the suffering of Syrian people and hindering the solution of the crisis. If he wants to be a neutral envoy and an honest broker, al-Ibrahimi has to name things by their names. He didn’t even have the courage to name those countries which are supporting these terrorist groups, especially Saudi Arabia and Turkey which have been hosting funding and training armed groups and sending them to Syria to commit savage and brutal massacres against Syrian people.

One of the main illogical and contradictory statements made by al-Ibrahimi is that he tried to make an equation between the government and the armed terrorist groups. Brahimi’s attempt to equate the armed terrorist groups with the Syrian state reflects his weak reading of the political and field situation in Syria. The existence of al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra and other al-Qa’eda linked terrorist groups, which represent international terrorism in Syria, make such equation inexplicable, unsound and prejudiced. The Syrian army’s repelling of the armed terrorist groups is a legal act and a national duty that is guaranteed by the international law and the Syrian Constitution. The Syrian army and armed forces are defending the Syrian state, Syrian people and their public and private properties against terrorists who came from various parts to the globe to destroy Syria, create chaos and incite sectarian conflicts in Syria and the Arab region.

Another drawback that appeared in al-Ibrahimi’s recent statements is his talk about the humanitarian situation. In his capacity as a UN envoy, Brahimi’s job has nothing to do with the humanitarian assistance file. The Syrian government is doing its best to deliver humanitarian aid to every citizen that needs it in light of the current crisis and this issue is a prime concern for Syria.

 The Syrian government is dispatching humanitarian aid convoys, organized by the UN, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Organization (SARC), the International Red Cross and all humanitarian governmental organizations and NGOs, to the trapped civilians, especially in hotspots, according to mechanisms that ensures that relief aid reach those in need.

 It is clear that raising such an issue was at the request of some certain outside party to deviate him from his own mission. Brahimi was acting outside his powers when he discussed the humanitarian situation in Syria during. When he was appointed a UN envoy he was not charged with this issue.

If he wants to make success in his mission, al-Ibrahimi should not exceed his powers and job as a UN envoy and this requests him to be a neutral, even-handed and true mediator who calls things by their names.

K.Q.