CONDEMNING THE SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR; Congressional Record Vol. 164, No. 40

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CONDEMNING THE SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

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HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

of florida

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, as the Ranking Democratic Member of the

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki

Commission), I rise today to denounce the human rights abuses taking

place across the globe. In particular, I call attention to the ongoing

Syrian Civil War.

Since 2011, it is estimated that almost 500,000 Syrians have been

killed with millions more displaced, creating a refugee crisis across

Europe and the Middle East. On March 15th, we will sadly mark the

seventh anniversary of the Syrian Civil War, which is one of the

bloodiest wars of the last 70 years.

I traveled to Syria in January 2010 and personally met with President

Bashar aI-Assad. As I pressed him on the importance of honoring the

right of his people to exercise their civil liberties and fundamental

freedoms, I knew immediately that he would not give in. Many others,

like me, recognized this long before civil war erupted. And yet, years

have passed without the necessary effort by the international community

to stop the violence.

On May 28, 2013, I sent a letter to former President Barack Obama and

Ambassador Susan Rice, urging them to support imposing a no-fly zone

over Syria, particularly in light of the continued indiscriminate

shelling of innocent civilians and the use of chemical weapons by the

Assad regime. I renewed my calls for a no-fly zone to President Obama

again on September 25, 2015.

Mr. Speaker, what we have witnessed since the start of this civil war

is indiscriminate, brutal attacks against civilians. The international

community must no longer sit idly by and let more families be torn

apart and more civilians become refugees.

According to the United Nations (UN), nearly 3 million Syrian

children have lived their entire lives gripped by civil war. This is

absolutely outrageous, and something needs to happen, and it needs to

happen now.

Mr. Speaker, it has been seven years, let me repeat myself, seven

years, since this civil war began. This crisis, in which millions of

innocent Syrians find themselves today, demands our full attention and

fervent commitment to creating a strategy that will bring an end to the

deplorable conditions facing the Syrian people. The need for immediate

and strong action remains. With each passing day, the violence has

grown more sectarian, militarized, and radicalized at the cost of

innocent Syrian lives.

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