Peaceful Change Path Movement holds Damascus authorities responsible for massacres

The Peaceful Change Path Movement (opposition) issued a statement on Sunday condemning a series of sectarian massacres and violations witnessed in various Syrian regions, holding the Damascus authorities fully responsible for these crimes.

The statement indicated that the horrific scenes of killing and violations, such as those that occurred in Rabia, Daliya, Qarfais, and other areas in Damascus, and before that in Mashqita, in addition to what happened at the Palace of Justice in Aleppo, indicate a collapse of social security, with reports of the involvement of security personnel in some incidents, and the absence of any accountability or official response from the Ministries of Defense and and the Interior Ministry.

The statement emphasized that the Damascus government, which derives its legitimacy from itself and from factions "mostly fundamentalist jihadists," bears full responsibility for providing security. It called for a transition from the rule of arms to the rule of law, and emphasized the need to hold perpetrators accountable publicly.

The statement also noted that what is happening reinforces the demands of minorities for international protection and threatens Syria's unity. It criticized the silence of the Damascus government and the failure to conduct investigations, which the statement considered "tacit approval of the crimes."

At the conclusion of the statement, the Peaceful Change Path Movement put forward a set of urgent demands, most notably:

- Implementing transitional justice according to international standards, including all perpetrators of massacres over the past decade.

- Reactivating local protections, withdrawing individual weapons from civilians, and rehabilitating dissolved police forces.

- Rejecting divisive rhetoric and criminalizing all forms of sectarian and regional incitement.

- Dissolving current unions and democratically re-electing them, and guaranteeing the rights of the working classes.

- Calling for a comprehensive national dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations, as a prelude to implementing the international resolution. 2254 and political transition.

The movement concluded its statement by emphasizing that Syria has no future except through a democratic state based on equal and participatory citizenship and the peaceful transfer of power, far removed from tyranny and violence.

T/S
ANHA