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| Syrian Lawmakers Warn Britain Over Military Strike | Syrian Lawmakers Warn Britain Over Military Strike |
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| BEIRUT, Lebanon — Members of the Syrian Parliament issued an open letter to their British counterparts on Thursday, warning them that an international military strike on Syria would recklessly and illegally “plunge secular Syria, and indeed the whole region, into a cataclysm of sectarian mass murder” and inviting them to visit with their own chemical weapons experts to check the conclusions of the United Nations investigators now in the country. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — Members of the Syrian Parliament issued an open letter to their British counterparts on Thursday, warning them that an international military strike on Syria would recklessly and illegally “plunge secular Syria, and indeed the whole region, into a cataclysm of sectarian mass murder” and inviting them to visit with their own chemical weapons experts to check the conclusions of the United Nations investigators now in the country. |
| The letter, which the lawmakers asked be read at a British parliamentary session on Thursday on the proposed attack, was in keeping with a Syrian government strategy of stressing what it sees as values and goals it shares with the West, including secularism and fighting terrorism. The letter condemned the chemical attack last week "without reservation," without repeating the government's attempts to blame it on Syrian rebels, and promised Parliament's own investigation. | |
| The document, a copy of which was obtained from a Syrian businessman close to the government, was addressed to the Parliament speaker, John Bercow. “Mr. Bercow received the letter today and responded, saying that he has deposited it in the library of the House of Commons where it can be read by members of Parliament,” said a spokeswoman for the House of Commons, who asked not to be named in line with standard parliamentary policy. | |
| The writers invoked the 1914 assassination that set off World War I and of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, declaring, “Local tragedies become regional wars that explode into global conflict because of breakdowns in communication.” | The writers invoked the 1914 assassination that set off World War I and of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, declaring, “Local tragedies become regional wars that explode into global conflict because of breakdowns in communication.” |
| The letter noted that thousands of British soldiers had been killed and wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq, adding that the Iraq invasion was based on “the dodgy dossier” of evidence that Saddam Hussein possessed chemical weapons, which were later found not to exist. They also warned that British parliamentarians would be “held personally legally liable” for all damage, and promised to follow up with a letter to Britain’s attorney general. | The letter noted that thousands of British soldiers had been killed and wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq, adding that the Iraq invasion was based on “the dodgy dossier” of evidence that Saddam Hussein possessed chemical weapons, which were later found not to exist. They also warned that British parliamentarians would be “held personally legally liable” for all damage, and promised to follow up with a letter to Britain’s attorney general. |
| Inviting the British lawmakers echoed a strategy that Hussein’s government employed in Iraq, inviting foreign opponents of the American-led invasion to Baghdad to be a kind of voluntary human shield. | Inviting the British lawmakers echoed a strategy that Hussein’s government employed in Iraq, inviting foreign opponents of the American-led invasion to Baghdad to be a kind of voluntary human shield. |
| The letter was signed by Jihad Allaham, the speaker of the Syrian People’s Assembly, which was elected during the conflict in June 2012 in polling that the opposition regards as tainted by government restrictions on political parties. | The letter was signed by Jihad Allaham, the speaker of the Syrian People’s Assembly, which was elected during the conflict in June 2012 in polling that the opposition regards as tainted by government restrictions on political parties. |
| The communication comes on a day when American officials plan to present the intelligence evidence for their certainty that the government of President Bashar al-Assad was behind chemical attacks that killed hundreds outside Damascus last week. | The communication comes on a day when American officials plan to present the intelligence evidence for their certainty that the government of President Bashar al-Assad was behind chemical attacks that killed hundreds outside Damascus last week. |
| The writers addressed their counterparts “as fathers and mothers,” and “as members of families and communities really not so different to yours.” It praised Britain as “a very old and well-established democracy that is a model for us” — an assertion that contrasts with the lack of political freedoms and legal rights in Syria even before the current conflict, which began when the government violently suppressed a movement for political rights. | The writers addressed their counterparts “as fathers and mothers,” and “as members of families and communities really not so different to yours.” It praised Britain as “a very old and well-established democracy that is a model for us” — an assertion that contrasts with the lack of political freedoms and legal rights in Syria even before the current conflict, which began when the government violently suppressed a movement for political rights. |
| The letter said an attack would be illegal because Syria is a sovereign state that poses no threat to Britain; because the United Nations has not sanctioned an attack; and because the United Nations report has not been issued. It also reasserted Syria’s allegations that chemical weapons were used by the Nusra Front, an extremist rebel group linked to Al Qaeda, in an earlier episode and said that the United Nations had concluded there was “strong evidence” for that — an apparent reference to unsanctioned remarks several months ago by Carla del Ponte, a United Nations official not directly involved in the investigation. | The letter said an attack would be illegal because Syria is a sovereign state that poses no threat to Britain; because the United Nations has not sanctioned an attack; and because the United Nations report has not been issued. It also reasserted Syria’s allegations that chemical weapons were used by the Nusra Front, an extremist rebel group linked to Al Qaeda, in an earlier episode and said that the United Nations had concluded there was “strong evidence” for that — an apparent reference to unsanctioned remarks several months ago by Carla del Ponte, a United Nations official not directly involved in the investigation. |
| An attack on Syria, the letter said, would “strengthen our common enemy, Al Qaeda.” It urged implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 1624 against terrorism and concluded, “Instead of being enemies, we should be allies, and walk the road to peace, truth and reconciliation together.” | An attack on Syria, the letter said, would “strengthen our common enemy, Al Qaeda.” It urged implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 1624 against terrorism and concluded, “Instead of being enemies, we should be allies, and walk the road to peace, truth and reconciliation together.” |
Stephen Castle contributed reporting from London. | Stephen Castle contributed reporting from London. |