Extract of the 2nd statement of the international initiative:
We, a movement of peace-activists, intellectuals and members of the
international civil society, have established contacts with the Syrian
political forces who are willing to engage a POLITICAL DIALOGUE under
conditions which eventually could lead to a cease-fire and a political
transition acceptable to all people who truly want peace in Syria and in
the whole area. We also established contacts with members of the Syrian
civil society and people on the ground.
Not very long ago these goals seemed to be completely utopian, since
neither of both sides inside Syria proved its serious will to start
political negotiations. Since about one month this situation suddenly
started to change: first, a high level personality of the regime broke
the silence of more than one year openly declaring that a military
victory was impossible to achieve and that the government should look
out for a political solution. And now even Washington seem to look for
possibilities of a negotiated settlement.
On the other side the Coordinator of the Syrian National Coalition all
of a sudden declared that he was ready to start a dialogue even with the
Assad-regime under the condition that it would release the prisoners it
is keeping in jails since the outbreak of the conflict, whereupon
president Assad himself said he was ready for a “dialogue without
preconditions.” Other personalities from the opposition seem also to be
ready to make their contribution to a dialogue process.
This is also the main reason why the undersigned members of the
international civil society believe that these efforts from above have
to be accompanied by a solid, coherent, representative and honest
(sincere) PEACE-MAKING PROCESS FROM BELOW in order to enhance a
negotiated settlement for a democratic transition. We, therefore,
continue our efforts, preparing -as a first step- our visit to Damascus
in the near future in order to meet civil society representatives of all
sides, to express our support and solidarity to all those striving with
political means, to present them our main ideas and to exchange our
thoughts. Last but not least to render our services:
* for a transition towards democracy
* against the sectarian civil war
* preserve the national sovereignty and to oppose foreign military
intervention.
entire statement:
www.peaceinsyria.org/statement2nd.html
Signatories:
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Price Laureate, Argentina; Raúl Vera,
Catholic bishop, Mexico;
Manolis Glezos, Resistance Fighter against Nazi occupation, Greece; Hans
von Sponeck, Retired UN diplomat, university professor, Germany; Walden
Bello, MP Akbayan, professor for sociology, Philippines; Norman Paech,
Professor for Int’l Law University Hamburg, MP for the „Linke“, Germany;
Annette Groth, MP for the „Linke“, Germany; Odysseas Voudouris, MP,
Greece; Vicent Garcés, Diputado Europeo, España; Jesus Iglesias
Fernández, Senator, Spain; Manuel Garcia Fonseca, former MP and speaker
CSCA (Committee for the Arab Cause), Spain; Gaspar Llamazares Trigo, MP,
Spain; Lyssaridis Vassos, former President of Parliament, Cyprus;
Nikolaos Houndis, Member of EU Parliament, Greece; Santiago Alba Rico,
writer, Spain / Tunisia; Tariq Ali, writer, Britain; Jan Myrdal, Writer,
Sweden; Gretta Duisenberg, Free Gaza Movement, Stop the Occupation,
Netherlands; Paul Larudee, Free Gaza Movement, Free Palestine Movement,
Global March to Jerusalem, USA; Pedro Rojo, president of Foundation Al
Fanar, member of CEOSI, Spain; Alejandro Bendana, sociologist,
UN-officer for peacemaking, Nicaragua; Francois Houtart, sociologist of
religion and co-founder of the World Social Forum, Belgium; Gilberto
López y Rivas, social anthropologist, Mexico; Leo Gabriel, social
anthropologist, journalist,member of IC of the World Social Forum,
Austria; Vangelis Pissias, Professor, leading organiser of Gaza Freedom
flotilla, Greece; Mireille Fanon Mendès-France, journalist and activist,
France; Werner Ruf, Retired university professor, Germany; Carlos Varea
González, CEOSI, www.iraqsolidaridad.org, Spain; Heike Händel, MP “Die
Linke”, Germany; Reiner Braun, International Association Of Lawyers
Against Nuclear Arms, Germany
Delegation participants:
www.peaceinsyria.org/delegation.php
Founding platform of the initiative:
www.peaceinsyria.org/mission.html
Endorse the platform:
www.peaceinsyria.org/support.php
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Syria – Yes to democracy, no to foreign military intervention!
This initiative consists in calling for a delegation of high-ranking
personalities with international public lives to go to Syria in order to
discuss the current situation with the main political actors and to pave
the way for a negotiated political solution of the armed conflict in
Syria which seriously threatens world peace and the existence of Syria
as an independent and sovereign nation.
All eyes are presently on the unfolding war in Syria that is drowning
its people in blood. We are highly concerned not only because the
conflict has been acquiring a dangerous geo-political dimension. The
legitimate and at the beginning also peaceful movement of the Syrian
people – along with their Arab brothers – for democratic rights is also
in danger of being converted into a sectarian civil war with massive
regional and international involvement.
We are conscious that no side can win such a war of attrition in the
near future whilst the Syrian and Arab people’s resistance against
Western and Israeli predominance as well as the regional dictatorships
is being threatened and could eventually even be destroyed.
In order to save these achievements and to continue the struggle for
democracy, social justice and self-determination of the people, a
political solution of the conflict by means of a negotiated settlement
is indispensable. Only in this way can religious sectarianism be curbed,
foreign intervention averted and the democratic mass movement prevail.
We therefore take action in support of a political solution to end the
bloodshed with the following criteria:
www.peaceinsyria.org/mission.html
Endorsers:
• Ernesto Cardenal, poet, Sandinist politician and theologian of
liberation, Nicaragua
• Gianni Vattimo, philosopher, Italy
• Hans von Sponeck, retired UN diplomat and university professor, Germany
• Mairead Maguire, peace nobel price laureate, Northern Ireland
• Norman Paech, professor for international law at the university of
Hamburg, for MP for the “Linke, Germany
• Manolis Glezos, resistance fighter against Nazi occupation, Greece
• Annette Groth, MP for the “Linke”, Stuttgart, Germany
• Margherita Hack, astro-physicist, Italy
• Gilberto López y Rivas, social anthropologist, Mexico
• Samir Amin, Egyptian-born economist, director of the Third World
Forum, Dakar, Senegal
• Werner Ruf, retired professor for political sciences researchin on
peace and conflict resolution, university of Kassel, Germany
• Paul Larudee, Co-Founder, Free Gaza Movement, Free Palestine Movement,
Global March to Jerusalem, USA
• Santiago Alba Rico, Spanish writer, resident in Tunis, Tunisia
• Carlos Varea González, university professor and leading member of the
“Campaign against the Occupation and for the Sovereignty of Iraq”
(CEOSI), Spain
• Andrej Hunko, MP for the „Linke“, member of PACE, Aachen, Germany
• Walden Bello, MP Akbayan, professor for sociology, Philippines
• Inge Höger, MP for the “Linke”, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
• Jean Ziegler, author, Switzerland
• Jesus Iglesias Fernández, senator, Spain
• Francisco Vigueras Roldán, journalist, Spain
• Manuel Garcia Fonseca, former MP and speaker of CSCA (Spanish
Committee for the Arab Cause), Spain
• Ignasi Riera Gassiot, writer and ex MP in the Catalonian Parliament, Spain
• Eren Keskin, human rights activist and layer, Istanbul, Turkey
• Richard Falk, professor emeritus for International law and UN special
rapporteur, USA
• Ignacio Ramonet, director Le Monde Diplomatique, Spanish edition, France
• Niema Movassat, MP for the “Linke”, Oberhausen, Germany
• Leo Gabriel, social anthropologist, journalist and member of the
Executive Committee of the World Social Forum, Austria / Latin America
• Vangelis Pissias, Professor in International Economic Affairs, leading
organiser of the Gaza Freedom flotilla, Greece
Full list:
www.peaceinsyria.org/endorsers.php
Endorse:
www.peaceinsyria.org/support.php
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Anti-imperialist Camp
www.antiimperialista.org
camp@antiimperialista.org
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