Sunday 20th Rabi'l Awal, 1433
Your Royal Highnesses, Your Excellencies
Secretary General
May God's peace and mercy be upon you
Since the beginning of the crisis in 11 March 2011 and until today, it was evident that the events in Syria began falling apart tragically and violently. I imagine that the bodies of those killed were as if enquiring why they were sent to fatality and asking the help of every pious Muslim and the chivalry of every Arab person. On the other hand, the moaning of the injured and the wailing of mothers who lost thier dears echoed a day and night decry for what we have done to protect and support them. What did you do to protect and support us? Don't you see that the number of deaths among us reached more than 6,000? Don't you witness that the elders, women and hundreds of children have been affected as well as tens of thousands wounded, some of them with permanent disability? Again, What did you do to protect us after the number of our prisoners exceeded more than 70,000 without being accused or conviced guilty?
What did you do to support us after the number of displaced people reached more than 10,000 seeking safety outside their homeland?
What did you do to support us after entire neighborhoods in Hama and Homs especially in Khalidiya, Bab Amr and others were exterminated and the people were displaced?
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has warned of this tragic result when he sent a massage last Ramadan to the brothers in Syria, asking them to deal with these events with wisdom and reason, considering the events in Syria to be far from the true religious teachings and Arab values and ethics. At the same time, the King pointed out that the situation in Syria has reached a crossroads point. He stressed that what is happening in Syria is unacceptable to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The events are greater than could be justified, stressing that the future of Syria now lies between two options only: to choose the path of wisdom willingly or drift the country into the darks of chaos and loss.
We have found that the Syrian leadership, unfortunately, preferred the second option and decided to continue killing its people and destructing their country in order to maintain power.
What is happening in Syria shows beyond any doubt that it is not ethnic, sectarian or guerrilla war. It is a collective clean-up campaign, harassing the Syrian people and imposing the state control without any considerations of humanity or morals or religion. To maintain security, as claimed by the Syrian regime, is to destruct the entire neighborhoods with heavy weapons and rockets. How could we accept the Syrian regime's notion that the what we see by our own eyes is an alleged terrorist war. On the contrary, we imagine that the terrorists are those who use tanks to bomb the cities and people.
Dear Brothers,
Following the historic message of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques warning of the tragic results of the Syrian authorities acts against the innocent people, the subsequent meetings of the Arab Foreign Ministers over the past months, have made unequivocal continuous attempts to resolve the crisis within the Arab framework to convince the Syrian leadership, in various ways and means, to stop killing the Syrian people and to start a comprehensive national dialogue with various parties and opposition forces to conceptualize comprehensive political reform process that restores Syria's security and stability and achieves the legitimate rights for the Syrian people, including the formulation of Arab initiative sparing the bloodshed of the Syrians and maintaining their unity and territorial integrity. However, all these peaceful efforts were hit by the stubborn rejection of the Syrian leadership that turned a deaf ear to the voice of reason and wisdom. The Syrian leadership decided to go shedding the blood of its people.
It should be noted that the passive action and the failure of some foreign countries to deal positively towards the developments in Syria as well as the failure of the UN Security Council on the question of keeping international peace and security in this crisis, led to shake the confidence of the whole world in the United Nations, as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques put it. This move encouraged the Syrian regime to further indulge in suppression and killing of its people without pity or mercy.
After all, we have the right to wonder how long we remain spectators to what is happening to the Syrian people and until when we continue to give extra time for the Syrian regime to commit further massacres against its people.
Our meeting today is promptly demanded to take decisive measures to resolve the Syrian impasse, lift sufferings of the Syrian people and spare their bloods after the previous measures have failed of stopping a massacre in Syria, which, instead, continued worsening without any glimmer of hope.
In this regard, I see that our Council today should not disregard the size of the dangerous escalation witnessed in Syria in light of the disappointing stance of the UN Security Council. Arab League should reconsider its initiative in a manner consistent with the aggravating developments, and take immediate and strict measures against the Syrian regime, including enforcement of economic and political sanctions and to usher open channels of communications with the Syrian opposition including the provision of all forms of support.
We should give priority to responding to the difficult humanitarian conditions of the Syrian people. We have to alleviate their humanitarian sufferings, provide them with needed medicine, food and shelter, and urge all concerned international organizations to carry out their responsibilities and duties in this regard.
We have stressed in various occasions and at forums and we still emphasize our rejection of the military intervention due to any circumstances. We call sincerely to spare Syria the risk of civil conflict or sliding into chaos and destruction, but, at the same time, it is clear to all of us that the lack of commitment of the Syrian government to take serious steps or show productive cooperation to save the people and country, and, instead, opt for continuing the destruction of Syria, will lead to otherwise.
Are we still standing silent in the face of this disastrous event? Are we satisfied that the Syrian regime continues to abuse, kill and torture its people? Is anyone among us still wishes to give another opportunity for the Syrian regime to continue its practices?
If so, it is shame on us as Muslims and Arabs to give in to this matter and accept it. The pure blood being shed every day on the land of Syria cannot go in vain and that the tears shed every day from the eyes of mothers, children and elderly cannot be in vain. Everyone proved involved in these heinous acts must be sanctioned by the international justice and the International Criminal Court.