@RonanLTynan proposes Ireland support Syrians in their demands for freedom & justice for #SyriasDisappeared by adopting principle of Universal Jurisdiction

This wd allow Syrians, Ukrainians & others to bring cases here for war crimes committed elsewhere irishtimes.com/opinion/letter… '@sallyhayd shows in a very moving way, thru an interview with Fadwa Mahmoud whose husband & son were disappeared by Assad regime 10 yrs ago, the agony endured every day by millions of Syrians who have loved ones, relatives & friends among more than 100,000 disappeared in Syria'

@sallyhayd excellent article

'Remembering the 100,000 who have disappeared in Syria’s 11 years of war'

(Note: True number of #SyriasDisappeared probably a multiple of 100,000)
irishtimes.com/opinion/2022/0… 'Fadwa Mahmoud is preparing to be reminded of her own private tragedy.

September 20th will mark 10 years since the disappearance of her husband Abdulaziz al-Khair & her son Maher Tahan who were taken from a car outside Damascus airport in 2012'
& have not been seen since

'A relatively small number of conspiracy theorists – aided by Russian disinformation campaigns – managed to distort the facts, endanger people’s lives & cast doubt over policy debates on Syria, stalling political action when it was sorely needed'

deadlydisinformation.org @TheSyriaCmpgn
'Policymakers said disinformation attacks on Syria have enabled anti-asylum policies, harassment & abuse of humanitarian workers & frontline responders, encouraged normalisation of the Assad regime & emboldened Putin to employ the same tactics in Ukraine'

Excellent letter from @RonanLTynan
Director of superb #BringingAssadToJustice

Impunity for crimes vs humanity in Syria emboldened Putun in #Ukraine, impunity must end

(Watch the film, even more crucial than ever, link on bringingassadtojustice.com)
irishtimes.com/opinion/letter… ' @IrishTimes editorial “Russian atrocities in Ukraine: Bucha must be a turning point” crystallised the huge moral question facing the EU & Ireland: “If the evidence of apparent war crimes committed in Ukraine is not sufficient to justify the harshest possible measures, what is?”

A new report by the Association of Detainees and the Missing of Sednaya Prison reveals that the Assad regime confiscated a $1.5 billion US dollars’ worth of assets from Syrian detainees since the revolution first began in 2011.
diary.thesyriacampaign.org/assad-robbed-d… 'ADMSP’s report

‘They took everything’: Confiscation of detainees’ assets & funds in Syria'

how the Assad regime uses detention & disappearance not just as a systematic tactic to evoke fear & crush dissent but as a source of revenue for its ongoing war against its own people'

Open letter to Danish Statsminister Frederiksen @Statsmin

Irish Syria Solidarity protest decision by Danish govt to cancel residencies & issue deportation notices to Syrian refugees

No part of Assad controlled Syria is safe for returned refugees

This action is illegal 2. Danish decision is in conflict with stated policy of EU

'Conditions inside Syria at do not lend themselves to voluntary return, in conditions of safety and dignity in line with international law. Many obstacles & threats still faced by returning refugees'
#SyriaNotSafe

#SyriaNotSafe #FAC #Syrian #refugees #Lebanon -arrest, torture,deportation Thread syacd.org/syrian-refugee… /2 'Recently, there has been increased discriminatory discourse against Syrians, especially from Lebanese officials, such as Deputy PM Zeina Akar who called for the return of Syrian detainees to Syria,

A real blow that @IrishTimes on the anniversary of the beginning of 10 years of slaughter in #Syria chose to publish another thoroughly misleading article by their regular contributor on the Middle East Michael Jansen whose columns differ little from the official Assad narrative Jansen's is the main voice on Syria published by @IrishTimes for the past 10 yrs, & through her ongoing omission of 90% of what people need to know - rarely if ever mentioning atrocities, war crimes, massacres by Assad & allies -greatly contributes to the misinforming of readers

Thank you @BarryAndrewsMEP & colleagues in the European Parliament for your prodigious work in putting forward this
Resolution on the Syrian conflict – 10 years after the uprising
(2021/2576(RSP))
#10YearsofBloodandTyranny
#JusticeandHopeforSyria
#SyriaRoseforFreedom🌹 Proposed Resolution

The European Parliament

1. Conveys its support for the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people who, 10 years ago on 15 March 2011, peacefully demonstrated for democratic reforms in Deraa, Damascus and the rest of the country;

@kierancuddihy @TheHardShoulder

Re the situation in Syria please see Irish Syria Solidarity Movement detailed letter to @simoncoveney and accompanying press release which will provide background to inform future discussions you may have on Syria Very strange in discussion about the horror of Syria for Assad to be mentioned once, in passing, as far as we heard

Syria is not a civil war but a war of subjugation & extermination by Assad regime vs civilian population, plus actions of other countries pursuing own agendas

Attending session with extremely courageous survivors & family members of #SyriasDisappeared

5 organisations have come together - based on their shared suffering & hope - to demand & explain what is needed to achieve #TruthandJusticeFirst in Syria

@irishmissionun @NorwayUN Ahmed Helmi from @taafi_SY, a survivor of Assads detention system speaks

This Charter describes the justice victims aspire to. The victims are at the core, they are the cornerstone, they have a central role as active actors not just victims or witnesses.

#TruthandJusticeFirst

Thread #Musthear the excell @lukeharding1968 re lack pressure #Russia "The European Union needs a hard, tough strategy to deal with Russia" newstalk.com/podcasts/highl… via @newstalkfm ‘you mentioned in your introduction about the expulsion of three European diplomats,a German,a Pole anda Swede a couple of days ago.And of course, this happened when Josep Borrell , the foreign policy chief, was in town.And it was essentially done deliberately to humiliate him/2

Thread
V. interesting webinar marking launch @snhr 10th report "The Bleeding Decade"& expert panel suggestions on how to avoid another one ,includes reflections on failure of #UNSC & #R2P

https://twitter.com/snhr/status/1358793206075449346

"Moving into the murky dirty world of geopolitics,there needs tob recognition thatRussia&Turkey have interests inSyria &how those r factored into any initiative.Russia obviously best placed tob communicating with senior figs in regime..but they want their interests maintained/2

In 2018 @rte ignored our protests re the What in the World episode from Aleppo which was part funded by the Right wing actively pro Assad group SOS Chrétiens d'Orient who have links to militias in Syria suspected of war crimes

lexpress.fr/actualite/mond… The first of those thanked by the maker of that film was Beatrice Challan Belval, Chef de Mission of SOS CdO in Syria

'Around one of the tables is Hala Chawi a businesswoman & personal friend of Asma al-Assad, the wife of the Syrian President'
lexpress.fr/actualite/mond…

'A litany of failures by the UN has resulted in the Syrian people feeling abandoned by the international community. An argument could be made that the UN did not simply fail but is complicit in the murder of Syrians on a huge scale' middleeastmonitor.com/20210206-has-t… https://t.co/VIAVRunySj 'A recent revelation that the World Health Organisation, a body that feeds into the UN, has been using the Rami Makhlouf-owned airline "Cham Wings" to deliver aid to Libya is deeply disturbing. Makhlouf, a cousin of Bashar Al-Assad, is on the EU & the Caesar Act sanctions' lists'

Noone knows how many have been disappeared & tortured to death by Assad regime. Well over 100,000. Families are afraid to speak. When someone is arrested, they disappear. They are not charged or tried. No one can find out where they are, or talk to them - ever
#SyriasDisappeared 'There is no shortage of evidence of the horrors of detention in Syria. Witnesses describe inhuman conditions, torture & brutal deaths. The UN has accused the Syrian government of the murder, rape, torture & extermination of detainees'

#SyriasDisappeared

amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Irish Syria Solidarity Movement is among 30 organisations
calling on UN Secretary General, UNHCR & international community to prevent forced return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Syria

Syria is not safe, returnees are at risk of detention, torture & even death
#SyriaNotSafe

https://twitter.com/ACHRights/status/1347469034921590784

France Germany US & UK declare: “safe, dignified, informed & voluntary return” to Syria not possible at this time

Despite ongoing concerns, Lebanese Min of Social Affairs stated that Lebanon’s “plan” to return Syrians was approved at Damascus Conference on displaced in November'

The Irish Syria Solidarity Movement 'has called on @sinnfeinireland to clarify its position on Syria after social media posts from its two of its TDs emerged questioning whether President Assad gassed his own citizens'

thetimes.co.uk/article/sinn-f… We are very concerned that SF Foreign Affairs spokesperson has a track record of characterising opposition to Assad as 'terrorists' since 2012, before ISIS was even in Syria, & casting doubt on Assad CW attacks. This is not one thoughtless tweet. We seek clarification from SF

As #Obama A Promised Land no 1 bestseller #Dublin #bookshops ,timely piece by @bassamva to remind us of his Syria policy&urgent appeal to US president elect @JoeBiden for change .@ABlinken Thread thenationalnews.com/opinion/commen… via @TheNationalNews “The incoming administration certainly needs a different approach to the Syrian crisis”- #Obama "red line"threat did little to deter President Bashar Al Assad,who used chemical weapons against his own civilians. Mr Al Assad's military operations went on to displace millions /2

“It’s important to make clear for all the world what really happened in Syria. No one can say this is a fake court.”The remarkable #Syrian human rights lawyer @anwaralbounni re #Koblenz trial. #truthmatters (Thread)
theguardian.com/world/2020/dec… 'Syria’s war has now raged for nearly a decade, and in the course of its struggle to stay in power the government of Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly broken international law, using torture and chemical weapons attacks, targeting hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. /2

thank you ambassador Byrne Nason&colleagues @irishmissionun 4 tremendous work2get #Ireland elected onto #UNSC .Good to hear Ambassador's commitment that #Ireland will speak out when int humanitarian law eroded& will try2ensure #unsc does not stand idly by

https://twitter.com/MartinGal/status/1281570102719188993

Question from DrCaraConnolly ,member @syria_irl to Ambassador4webinar @iiea "Please canyou use your influence to apply urgent pressure to the Assad regime for the immediate release of all detainees held in prisons&unofficial detention centers amid global rapid spread #coronavirus