Geneva, (SANA delegate) – Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said that the political communiqué presented by the Syrian official delegation contained articles no two Syrians can disagree upon, no matter how much they differ or are far apart or fight among each other, stressing that the rejection by the coalition delegation of so-called "opposition" of national sovereignty, political pluralism, and democracy constitutes blatant rejection of the first Geneva communiqué.
In statements to journalists on Monday, Minister al-Zoubi said that the political communiqué presented by the Syrian Arab Republic delegation does not contain any reference to the presidency or the person of the president at all in any of its articles, noting that the communiqué was distributed in English and Arabic to media outlets who can verify its contents.
He wondered "Can we imagine that there is a Syrian who can disagree with another Syrian on the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic, its territorial integrity, and the unity of its national soil, unless one of those who disagree isn't Syrian, but an Israeli, for example?"
The Minister went on to ask if it's possible to assume that a single Syrian refused to reject and combat terrorism and work to ensure that terrorists aren't armed or provided with safe havens in neighboring countries, asserting that no two Syrians should disagree on these points unless one of them is actually a Saudi, a Turk, a Qatari, an Israeli, or a conspirator against Syria.
Al-Zoubi said he was surprised that any Syrian would refuse to talk about democracy, ballot boxes, public freedom, human rights, political pluralism, and the right to citizenship, noting that if some of the "opposition" forces were supposed to have included these points in their political discourse, adding that these points are already in the current constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic as well as in the previous constitution and in the discourse of national forces and parties in Syria, including national opposition forces.
He stressed that this discourse should be the bare minimum to express the Syrian identity, patriotism and national affiliation, as no Syrian can reject calls for protecting public and private properties and not attacking the Syrian state's infrastructure, schools, hospitals, universities and so on.
"What's amazing is that they rejected this communiqué in less than two minutes. All it cost them was that one of them left the room and made a phone call, then came back to whisper in the ear of the one they called "chief negotiator" to say that they reject this statement part and parcel," the Minister said, adding that this shocked the Syrian official delegation.
Al-Zoubi said that if there were points which they could have viewed as contentious, maybe a specific sentence or phrase taken in context or out of context, the least they should have done was to discuss them or even say that they will discuss this issue and return tomorrow to state their opinion, but to reject the communiqué outright in this manner clearly means that the one who actually rejected the communiqué and whom they called is at least Robert Ford, Ahmet Davutoglu, Saud al-Fayssal, or someone like them.
He went on to note that the first Geneva communiqué talks about the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, along with pluralism and other points, adding "it seems that they haven't read it, because when they reject these points, they also reject a main part of the first Geneva communiqué on the basis of which this conference is held."
Al-Zoubi said that the Syrian official delegation is open to discussing any political issue, and that it came with the intent of succeeding in posing formulae, ideas, new methods and an in-depth reading in order to launch the track, saying that the other side doesn't want this track at all.
"They came here, believing and thinking along with their masters, that we will come and become angry, get provoked and withdraw, which didn't happen and we promise them wouldn't happen… in politics, we don't get angry or provoked, therefore we continue to exert efforts and will continue to do so with UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and all those we believe we should be in contact with to ensure the success of this conference," he asserted.
The Minister said that according to his personal estimation and political rationalism, he assumes that Brahimi was not pleased, and perhaps even surprised and disappointed, because the communiqué wasn't read or discussed and they didn't take the time to read it, noting that the communiqué came in one page that needs at least five minutes to read casually and half a day at least for an in-depth political reading, yet the rejection came in two minutes.
He concluded by saying that talks were held in the afternoon between Brahimi and each side separately, and that everyone is waiting for their results.
Information Minister : Syria considers all its citizens equal wherever they are
Earlier, Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said that in the eyes of the Syrian state, all Syrians are equal wherever they are, stressing that talking about Homs is a humanitarian issue which shouldn't be exploited politically for achieving gains or political victories.
"No-one wants to achieve a political victory using this issue… we won't allow others to imagine that they're achieving this, and this issue is outside political calculations, investments and discussions, and we will continue to say this," al-Zoubi told reporters on Monday.
"There are civilians in the old city in Homs which they are talking about, regardless of the disparate estimations of their numbers. Those could leave the area, and the state will provide them with all services all the time," he said, noting that it's not the first or the last time that the state provides humanitarian support in compliance with the response plan between the Syrian government and UN organizations.
He clarified that the response plan isn't a recent thing that is implemented or begins today; rather it began a long time ago and is being implemented literally and systematically all over the country, pointing out that there are areas in need for humanitarian support including Homs, Maaloula, Nebbel, al-Zahraa, and Adra, among other areas across Syria, adding "all areas in Syria are, in the end, part of our country and people, regardless of any consideration."
The Minister stressed that nobody should think that what is going on in Homs is associated to what has been discussed in Geneva Conference.
He noted that a month ago, 800 Syrian citizens were evacuated from al-Zara area where gunmen had been holding them hostage, with the state providing them with shelter, food and medical services, adding that there are people besieged in Maaloula and Adra, in addition to Nebbel and al-Zahraa which have been blockaded for two years.
Al-Zoubi pointed out that the Syrian government is providing aid to areas via dignitaries, selectmen and civil committees, stressing that work for providing aid to the old city in Homs is underway with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross, reiterating that this process is independent form discussions in Geneva.
"All that some are trying to market through mass media that an achievement was made by the coalition members regarding this issue is baseless, because preparations were made in advance and work was underway," he added.
The Minister said that there are efforts being exerted in Damascus with the UN through the Syrian government to address all blockaded areas and help or evacuate civilians, adding "all talk outside this context is morally, humanely and patriotically reprehensible… Not a single patriotic Syrian, regardless of the opposition group they belong to, has the right to talk about those people as number and try to make political investments from their suffering."
On the coalition delegation's claims that they have lists of children detained in Syrian prisons, al-Zoubi said that these claims were made on Sunday evening during the session, yet they failed to present any lists or names, and if they can't provide them in closed session, then they will certainly say that they can't present them to the media because these claims are baseless, stressing that the state does not arrest children nor women, unless the woman in question transported weapons or was complicit in killing.
"We don't arrest children, even the children which armed groups recruit for their battles… when the authorities apprehend them, they are treated as children, not as combatants or arrestees or detainees; rather we take their age into consideration as well as the moral and psychological influences they were subjected to," he said, asserting that there are specific state establishments which deal with such issues and lies regarding this matter must cease immediately.
On prospects of beginning discussion of the political process today, the Minister said that the meeting is underway and the details will be discussed later, stressing that the Syrian official delegation in Geneva will continue to act according to its patriotism, its faith in Syria, and according to the directives of President Bashar al-Assad which affirm the need to stem bloodshed, defending national and pan-Arab standards, and preserving Syria's Arabism, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Al-Zoubi noted that there are many lies and allegations by mass media outlets which falsify what the Syrian official delegation says, yet the delegation members remain optimist, serious and determined.
On alleged side meetings between the Syrian official delegation, the coalition delegation and western delegations, the Minister said that talking about such things to the media isn't possible, but the goal of being at the conference is to meet with the coalition delegation according to set procedures and rules and to work towards progress in any direction.
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