“Free free Syria”: Sydney siders stand with Aleppo
Image: Two young girls hold signs condemning President Assad. Photo: Angira Bharadwaj
BY ANGIRA BHARADWAJ
Sydney residents gathered in protest to show support for civilians in Aleppo, as rebel forces retreated from the war-torn city’s east.
Held on Saturday 17 December in Town Hall, the protest called on Australians to stand in solidarity with Syrians against the Assad regime.
The crowd demanded for the removal of President Bashar Al-Assad with the slogans “Free free Syria” and “Down Down Assad”.
Greens MP David Shoebridge said the current situation in Syria’s former financial hub is truly brutal.
“What we see at the moment is a regime that most international human rights organisations say has breached each and every one of the accepted norms of international behaviour, the accepted norms of the so called rules of war.
“Each and every one of those rules has been breached by the Assad regime assisted by Vladimir Putin and the brutal indiscriminate bombing that we see undertaken by Russia,” he said at the protest.
Mr Shoebridge MP also criticised Australia’s response to the crisis in Aleppo, saying the government’s approach is not helping.
“From day one when the Australian government announced that it was going to be part of the problem in Syria and join with the United States and engage in the bombing of Syria, the Australian Greens declared it a shameful policy.
“We say again today, withdraw the Australian troops, we must no longer be part of the problem in Syria,” he said.
President of the Australians for Syrians Association, Dr Anas Natfaji, was born and raised in Aleppo. He said the international community needs to speak out against the Assad regime.
“I know every corner, every stone and every old house in the old city. It breaks my heart every day and every night when I see the destruction.
“What has been happening for the last six years is just beyond the imagination. It’s not humane, it’s unbelievable that the world is still silent about it,” he said.
Another protestor, Yousra Yatim said she came to stand in solidarity with the civilians who are currently being brutally killed and massacred in the city
Originally from Daraa, a city in southwestern Syria, Ms Yatim said, “I don’t need to be Syrian, I just need to be a human to feel my fellow human’s pain.”
Similar protests have been held in cities around the world, including Milan, London and Berlin, as the Assad government’s victory on the formerly rebel-held eastern Aleppo was announced.
