On Syria - CPI

Statement by the Communist Party of Ireland on Syria

1 September 2012

The continuing struggle in Syria is not for democracy or the rights of the Syrian people but has to do with the strategic interests of US imperialism and those of Britain, France, and the European Union. The removal of the Syrian government has been part of the long-term strategy of imperialism, and in particularly of the United States, from the time of President Reagan onwards, with their characterising it as part of the “axis of evil”—the list of governments to be forcibly removed in US global strategic interests.

     Syria, strategically positioned in the region, is an obstacle to the strategic interests of imperialism and to the shifting of the balance of forces in that region in its favour. The global mass media continue to beat the drums of war, manipulating public opinion about the events now unfolding.

     More and more evidence is coming to light of the role being played by western intelligence agencies in giving intelligence and logistical support on the ground to the insurgents, a role they successfully played in bringing about “regime change” in Libya.

     The Syrian state is an obstacle not alone to the strategic plans of imperialism but also to both the Zionist state of Israel and a number of reactionary Arab states, such as the Saudi Arabian autocracy and Qatar, which have not been happy with the progressive role played by Syria for many years. They have no scruples about using the most backward, mediaevalist Islamic forces, including Al-Qa‘ida, ironically consistent with the promoting of Islamophobic religious hatred in Europe and the United States.

     Turkey equally is now fully compliant with the interests of imperialism in the region and its central role in arming and giving succour to the foreign Islamist jihadists who are now playing a pivotal role in the struggle to overthrow the government.

     Thousands of Syrians have died, and many more will die, as the United States and its allies ignore all efforts to bring peace and a just settlement to the crisis in Syria. They will continue to manipulate the United Nations and to present the role of Russia and China as contributing to and prolonging the war and the suffering of the Syrian people.

     The British government has been to the fore, as it was during the overthrow of the Libyan government, in its bellicose language and its active involvement with the the continuing war against the Syrian government. The Irish government has played its usual role of hiding behind the joint positions of the European Union.

     Progressive opinion must demand:

     (1) respect for the sovereignty and independence of the Syrian state;

     (2) an end to the arming and financing of terrorist groups;

     (3) the ending of all sanctions against the Syrian people;

     (4) that peace and national reconciliation be undertaken solely by the Syrian people themselves;

     (5) an end to imperialist intervention in Syria.