[translations idioma=”ES” url=”https://archives.rgnn.org/2013/10/22/mairead-corrigan-maguire-a-favor-de-la-paz-en-siria”]
WARSAW, POLAND. ROOSTERGNN has been providing live coverage from the 13th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. Previous articles in the series can be consulted here. Today, we share the speech by Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for her work for peace and a nonviolent solution to the ethnic-political conflict in Northern Ireland, an award she shares with Betty Williams. ROOSTERGNN is also proud to provide a translation of the speech into Spanish here.

Dear Friends,

In May 2013, I led a 16-person peace delegation into Syria at the invitation of Mussalaha National Movement in what we witnessed happening inside Syria was not fairly depicted in the international media which was not reporting gross violations against international law and humanitarian international law by foreign countries and fighters that are using a proxy war for the purpose of regime change and geo-strategic benefits. We would remind those foreign governments who are training and funding foreign fighters that it is illegal under the United Nations Charter to arm forces to topple elected governments. During our visit, we witnessed that the civilian population was, and still is, suffering from the invasion of thousands of foreign fighters from many countries, who are fuelling insecurity, death, chaos, and destruction everywhere. The on-going tension in Syria is fuelled by violent sectarian Islamic ideology that pushes rebels to the cruelest acts of barbarism against their opponents.  This invasion of Syria by outside forces has caused one of the greatest humanitarian crises since World War Two. Over 100,000 people dead, thousands internally displaced, and over a million refugees fleeing Syria into surrounding countries. It is important that the UN, all international bodies, and host countries continue to give as much help to the Syrian refugees whose lives have been shattered by this on-going humanitarian tragedy. We lament the international media propaganda coverage of the Syrian crisis that did not report the truth of what was happening in Syria, but rather gave a false narrative of the true situation inside Syria.  We lament that Syria has been weakened by so much violence of insurgency groups and has been led down the path of sectarian violence instigated by the west and some gulf states. The media has a responsibility to expose the information warfare that is being carried out through fake videos, lies, and propaganda and are using the suffering of the Syrian people in a most cruel form to appeal to the emotions of the international community in an attempt to get further support in funding and arms and try to force the world community into military intervention. However, in spite of the information war being carry out by rebels and some proxy human rights groups, many people around the world remembering Iraq and Afghanistan and Libya don’t trust the simplistic narrative being fed to them by mainstream media, are saying no to military intervention and yes to supporting the reconciliation and peace movement and political dialogue as a way to solving the conflict. We support the courage of the High Commission for Human Rights for its endeavour to conduct a fact-finding mission to unveil the terrible reality of the Syrian crisis and help prevent the on-going ethnic, religious and political cleansing that is happening in this country in the name of freedom and democracy. The Syrian state should not be dismantled and the economic sanctions that are causing much suffering to the people of Syria should be lifted immediately. No outside military intervention or support for militants should be allowed.  The international community should put pressure on those countries who are fuelling terror to stop and should encourage all parties to attend the Geneva II peace conference to give the Syrian people the right to self-determination through legal elections without foreign interference to achieve an honourable transformation towards a peaceful future and participation in the free democratic world. We applaud the work of the chemical weapons team to destroy Syrian chemical weapons, and we hope it will work for the destruction of all chemical weapons, including Israel’s. The continued negotiations, which should include Syria and regional governments, should be fully supported by the west. This will include talking to President Assad’s Government and opposition forces in order to reach a negotiated settlement. The issue is not who talks to whom, but how quickly all parties to the conflict can talk together in order to save lives and save Syria from being further destroyed and divided. We encourage all those who are using violence to stop and to participate in peaceful dialogue now to save Syria. There is a growing recognition that there will not be a military and paramilitary solution to the Syrian conflict or the Middle East conflict, but only through dialogue and negotiation can peace be reached. We pay tribute to the great work of so many of the religious leaders, both Muslim and Christian, and to many in the Syrian civil society who in spite of so much suffering have continued to bravely work for an end to violence and engage in dialogue with everyone. We would encourage people to give support to Mother Agnes Mariam and the Mussalaha National Movement in Syria working with all the components of the Syrian society for peace, forgiveness and reconciliation as a preparation for a final political settlement for the people of Syria. Peace, Salaam, Mairead Maguire Nobel Peace Laureate www.peacepeople.com Follow the ROOSTERGNN series on the 13th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates here.