Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Aleppo (Agenzia Fides) - Since the start of the Syrian conflict appeals not leave the country and humanitarian aid provided by the institutions related to the church "have not prevented half of the Christians of Aleppo to go away permanently". If one wants the other half of Christians to remain, the only way is to "stop the war". This is what Nabil Antaki says, a lay member of the community of Marist in Aleppo and director of one of the last two city hospitals functioning, who believes that the end of the conflict is the only way to see the millennial presence of Christians in Syrian lands. This is what he highlighted in an interview with the Coordination for peace in Syria, sent to Agenzia Fides, where he appeals directly to Pope Francis, asking him to "use his moral authority, his indisputable prestige to put pressure on various governments to cease arming and financing armed groups, so that they effectively fight against Daesh and to ask them to stop the passage of terrorists across our borders in the North".
According to Nabil Antaki, a negotiated political solution to the conflict can have a realistic chance of success only if non jihadist rebel groups recognize "the current government of Syria as interlocutor because one cannot negotiate with someone who demands, as a precondition, the elimination".
Regarding the situation in the Syrian city, Antaki said that "Aleppo is divided into two parts: the east with 300,000 inhabitants lies in the hands of armed groups and the west, with 2 million inhabitants, is under the control of the Syrian State; there is where we live and work.
We do not know what happens in the other part of the city", says Antaki, adding: "we are bombarded daily by the rebels and many hospitals in our area of the city have been destroyed, burned or damaged by their actions". Nabil Antaki expressed critical opinions on the proposal to make Aleppo an "open city" and especially on the hypothesis to introduce a no-fly-zone and have the interposition forces in northern Syria. Measures that, in his opinion, "armed groups would benefit from and would put the city and its people in danger, and at the mercy of Daesh and Nusra Front".
Also the views expressed by the lay member of the congregation of the Marists on global geo-political dynamics that fuel the Syrian conflict were significant: "Since 2011" refers Nabil Antaki "the Syrians have understood that what happened was not a revolution to bring greater democracy, greater respect for human rights and less corruption in Syria. The Syrians knew from the outset that the 'Arab Spring' was the new name of 'constructive chaos' of Condoleezza Rice and of the 'new Middle East' of the Bush administration and that this 'spring' in Syria would have resulted either in the chaos and destruction of the country or in an Islamic state. Unfortunately, the two alternatives may both succeed". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 28/05/2015)
