Version imprimableFor the first time in six years, the army of the war criminal El Assad has been the target of air strikes. 59 US missiles destroyed the Shayrat air base, from base of the aircraft responsible for Tuesday’s attack on chemical weapons against the civilian population of Khan Sheikhoun, which killed at least 86, including 27 children.
For us who are in solidarity with the Syrian insurgent people, this surprise operation of Trump leaves a feeling of disgust. Just a week ago, his team amplified its previous position by indicating that an agreement with Bashar Al-Assad was envisaged within the framework of the "war on terror", as was confirmed by other oppressive powers like those of Putin, Sissi or Nethanyahu. These signals were clearly interpreted by the Syrian regime as an encouragement to pursue its course, and after Obama, Trump therefore has his share of responsibility in the atrocious chemical attack and the deaths of Khan Cheikhoun.
Butcher El Assad with the Iranian and Russian armies has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians, constantly bombarding the civilian population and resistance forces with his bloodthirsty regime. They have been able to justify themselves to a section of public opinion by relying on the so-called "fight against terrorism" and the bombing of Western and regional powers in the Middle East.
The NPA is opposed to all foreign military interventions in Syria. They helped El Assad to stay in place. On the other hand, we have always demanded the lifting of the embargo on arms sales to non-denominational resistance, an embargo that left it without real defence, only the fundamentalist jihadists have been able to procure arms - and not in anti-aircraft weapons - from the Gulf countries and Turkey.
The militants of the Syrian revolution would be wrong to hope that the American president is on their side. We fear that Trump’s military "coup d’éclat" will serve as a cover for upcoming opportunistic diplomatic maneuvers in alliance with other oppressive powers, serve new adventurous - and counterproductive - military operations in the world, and economic attacks, all to the detriment of the oppressed peoples and the American people itself.
Therefore, without any support for or hope in the American army strikes, we will not join the protests of the French political parties, who, in order to advocate a "reasonable" peace with El Assad and his minions, close their eyes to the hundreds of thousands of deaths killed by the dictator and the millions of displaced and refugees.
Montreuil, April 7, 2017
