We offer our deepest condolences to the victims and the families of those affected in the terrorist attacks in Paris. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time. We condemn the attack in the strongest possible terms. As Syrians, we have experienced this horror on a daily basis for the past five years in the form of barrel bombs, regular massacres and sieges within cities perpetrated by the Assad regime.
Isis is a nefarious terrorist organisation with no credibility and no support on the ground. A few points must not be forgotten. First, among the main reasons for its existence are the crimes of Assad. The failure of the international community to solve the Syrian crisis at a much earlier stage meant radical groups had space to grow within the chaos. One of the Assad regime’s top religious supporters, Ahmad Hassoun, threatened to send suicide bombers to Europe and the US in October 2011 as a result of the west’s condemnation of the regime. What took place in France – a state that has supported the Syrian people in their struggle – diverts attention to the problem of Isis in Europe therefore shifting the focus away from the crimes of the Assad regime and Isis in Syria.
We, representing the Syrian community in Britain, sincerely hope that this atrocity will not be used for political gain, against welcoming Syrian refugees fleeing from Assad and Isis atrocities.
Mohammad Tammo Kurds House
Dr M Najjar Peace and Justice for Syria
Dr H Alhamwi Rethink Rebuild: Syrian Community of Manchester
Dr A Masri Scotland4Syria
Dr SK al-Ghazal Syrian Association of Yorkshire
Dr M Alhadj Ali Syrian Welsh Society
Clara Connolly Syria Solidarity Movement UK
• Is it time to reflect on the west’s policies in the Middle East. Isis, al-Qaida and all similar hate-preaching organisations are to some extent a creation of the west’s regime-change policies. This policy has resulted in attempts to destroy some dictatorships in the Middle East (Libya, Iraq, Syria), leaving others intact. It is precisely in these countries that the nihilist ideologies of Isis are flourishing. In other dictatorships, such as in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and even Chechnya, the nihilists are under control, by “repressive” ideologies. It is time to learn some lessons. Give up the attempts to dislodge Assad. If we tolerate Saudi Arabia, then surely we can tolerate Assad, at least temporarily.
Or is it that ordinary citizens are paying the price of the rich and powerful destroying the dictatorships for commercial benefit?
Kamaljit Sood
Publisher, Plurus Books, London
• Solving the problem in Syria with “boots on the ground”... Yes, that’ll work. It always has done – in Iraq and Afghanistan – and does anyone remember Vietnam? Think again.
Liz Brandow
Leicester
• Concentrating on the logistics – how these barbarous acts were orchestrated etc – seems to leave out the core of the matter: that without young men and women willing to give their lives for the cause, nothing would be possible. How sane 17 to 25-year-olds can be so brainwashed that they can lose all feelings of humanity is difficult to comprehend. Unless we seriously tackle this issue, there will always be more suicidal jihadists to take their place. Poor Parisians, to have to undergo this massacre. Its core in fanaticism must be faced, not only where the Isis killers came from, but how they are so willing to die.
Christina Naylor
Languenan, Brittany, France
• The horror that is Islamic State arose from the ashes of the Twin Towers. It arose from the decision made by “civilised” countries to invade and occupy foreign countries and to prioritise military solutions. Merciless military responses following the horror in Paris will be equally futile and counterproductive. Islamic State is not a religion or a race, there is no territory that can be surrounded and blasted into oblivion. Islamic State is a borderless ideology and violence births its followers. Sadly, the horror that is Paris today is the horror that has been Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria for a decade.
Jan Tate
Hayling Island, Hampshire
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