Al-Jaafari Says Confronting Poisonous Extremist Ideas is as Important as Fighting Terrorism

NEW YORK, (ST) Syria has repeatedly stressed its support for confronting the threat of terrorism and its poisonous ideology and to enhance the values of peace, dialogue and amity as well as religious and cultural diversity, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari has underscored.

“We still believe that terrorism is one of the most serious challenges facing the world today and it is a common enemy of the entire humanity, so the United nations and the Security Council should shoulder their responsibility as to consolidate international cooperation and coordination to eliminate this danger,” al-Jaafari said Wednesday night during a Security Council session on “the Dangers Threatening International Peace and Security because of Terrorist Attacks”.

 He stressed that the international community should shoulder its responsibilities away from  double standards policies or selectivity, noting that it is not acceptable to describe the terrorists who launch attacks in France, Belgium, Spain, United States, Britain, Australia or Tunis as terrorists while describing other terrorists and mercenaries committing horrible crimes in Syria as “Jihadists”, “moderate opposition” or armed non-state groups and further providing protection and support to them.

The Syrian diplomat said that the so-called anti-ISIS international coalition led by Washington lacked credibility and seriousness and its real goal was to complete the scene of creative chaos in the region.

“Instead of striking Deash terrorist organization, the US-led coalition targeted the infrastructure of the Syrian state and people under the pretext of fighting terrorism and it also ignored the terrorists’ illegal trade in the Syrian oil and antiquities which were smuggled in cooperation with the Turkish authorities to Israel and European countries,” al-Jaafari said.  

Addressing the countries which have been supporting terrorism in Syria and exporting terrorists to the country, al-Jaafari said “hands off my country Syria and stop interfering in our internal affairs.”

Al-Jaafari affirmed that confronting the poisonous extremist ideas promoted by terrorist organizations and their supporters is not less important than fighting the terrorists’ use of chemical and biological weapons.

The Security Council adopted yesterday a statement urging counter-terrorism committees to work together with influential UN bodies and member countries to present, before April 30, 2017, a suggestion on an international framework to face the narratives and ideas on which the terrorist groups depend to recruit members and use them in launching terrorist attacks.

Hamda Mustafa