Syria dismissed recent French statements that accused Damascus’ forces of war crimes.
On August 12, the French Foreign Ministry published a statement, “Fight Against Impunity”, saying it received important documentation of possible crimes committed by Syrian regime forces.
An official source at Syria’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the “fabricated videos of unknown source”, saying they lack the lowest degree of authenticity.
The world is no longer deceived by the false values of fake democracies, Russia Today quoted the source as saying.
In its statement, Paris said: “These documents, which include a large number of photos and videos, provide evidence of atrocities committed by pro-regime forces during the 2013 Tadamon massacre in Damascus.” Several dozen civilians were reportedly killed in the violence.
“The alleged actions are likely to constitute the most serious international crimes, specifically crimes against humanity and war crimes,” the statement added.
The Ministry reported these actions and passed on the information to the National Counterterrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) in accordance with article 40 of the Criminal Code, which deals with the jurisdiction of French courts with regard to crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The documents were collected thanks to the determined efforts of several human rights defenders, the ministry stressed, applauding their bravery.
The fight against impunity is a matter of justice for the victims and an essential prerequisite for building a lasting peace in Syria, the statement stressed.
After a decade of crimes against the Syrian people, France stressed it remains fully mobilized to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.
The Syrian source deemed the French statement as “not surprising”, alleging that the French government, “through its full involvement in its unlimited support for terrorism in the war on Syria, bears primary responsibility for the shedding of Syrian blood and the crimes committed against Syrians.”
France is among the staunchest opponents of normalizing relations with Damascus without holding the regime to account for its role in the decade-long conflict.
It argues that the regime has not made any concessions in terms of political reforms and openness to a political solution that includes all parties to the conflict.
Paris, like other western capitals, also links any contribution to the reconstruction process to constitutional changes and new, transparent elections that include all Syrians.
