Syrian War A Crime Of Aggression With Britain Complicit Throughout

Following last night’s vote in the British House of Commons, in effect to extend the Iraq war into Syria, the Thomas Ashe Society Omagh have issued a statement calling on those involved to desist from their actions with immediate effect.



With the British Parliament having ‘authorised’ the extension of its Iraq war into Syria, its military arm preparing as we speak to launch airstrikes inside its sovereign borders, a war crime of industrial scale is unfolding before our eyes. All right-thinking people must stand together and oppose this for what it is, a reactionary and illegal war of aggression without justification or merit. Those responsible are guilty of war crime and should be held to account before the international community.

At the local level, the Thomas Ashe Society view with utmost alarm the decision of politicians in the Six Counties to partake in this criminality, with the Democratic Unionist Party and Ulster Unionists endorsing and thus colluding in the proposed military strikes, which are without UN mandate, have not been approved by the internationally recognised Syrian government and thus then represent an illegal and criminal enterprise under the international law.

Under both the UN Charter and the Rome Statute, ‘The Crime of Aggression’ is listed to include ‘bombardment by the armed forces of a state against the territory of another state or the use of any weapons by a state against the territory of another state’. Of equal import to the Syrian instance, they likewise describe the ‘sending by or on behalf of a state of armed bands, groups, irregulars or mercenaries, which carry out acts of armed force against another state’ as meeting the definition of aggression.

Britain and others have been waging these self same acts, amounting to a campaign of terror by proxy, against the people of Syria for nearly five years, resulting in the deaths of over 300,000 and the displacement of over half the population. They are now intent on adding to that suffering, their murderous plans to bomb what remains of a country in near-ruin railroaded through the House of Commons late last night.

The British establishment, with its imperialist allies in the NATO powers, are in clear violation of international law, their continuing assault on Syria – first through the coordinating of extremist proxies and now by an unsanctioned bombing campaign – a supreme war crime as defined by the United Nations. With that in mind, we call on the British government and its allies to respect Syria’s national sovereignty and desist immediately from their actions.

Furthermore, those who have sanctioned, coordinated or otherwise participated in the reign of terror waged against the Syrian people, whether by proxy or directly and including Britain, should be held accountable for their crimes and prosecuted at the International Criminal Court. The Syrians are entitled to justice having been subject to prolonged aggression by outside powers, among them the United Kingdom, who remain determined to effect a change to the Syrian rule, itself a further crime and illegal under international law.

We extend fraternal sympathies to the victims of this war, with ongoing support to the survivors. Having witnessed first hand the nature of imperialism and its callous disregard for human life, we are compelled to oppose what is a war of conquest, cloaked though it be in the language of ‘humanitarian intervention’. Those behind this violence know not the meaning of such words and as the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria know full well, it is from these same criminals the world community in fact needs protection.

No comments