New Victories for The Free Syrian Army
Usually, most of the revolutionists along with the revolution’s advocates refuse to be pointed at their mistakes that were committed in the name of the uprising. This was under the pretext that any criticism will benefit the regime, enforcing the stances and shoutouts of hesitate and half-revolutionary people those who ferret out mistakes and use them to declare their doubts and fears. More like this criticism would turn into a righteous word that fell in a swamp of falsity. As a result, the role of a critic is only possible for the revolutionists themselves and for their revolutionary bodies, coordinations, rostrums and reporters. In spite of this, the revolutionists have rarely assumed that role maybe for the exact same reason which I have mentioned earlier; fearing that their criticism will benefit the regime and to be used by its propagandists against the revolution and the rebels as well.
However, the statement issued on July 27th, 2012 by the Revolutionary Military Council in Idlib was crystal clear in its message to all of us: activists, coordinations, writers, literate, fighters and the hesitant, too. The council in this step had bypassed collectively all of our hopes.
Regardless of the details and findings of the statement, we have been told that the revolution is not weakened when we criticize the mistakes being committed on behalf of it. Also, it is not beneficial to accumulate mistakes and turn a blind eye to them till they are irreconcilable and unfixable.
The statement has also told us that the revolution does not explain for those mistakes and never ignore them due to “inappropriate timing” rather it is now the accurate, indefinite and open time to reject everything against which this revolution uprose and sacrificed lots of blood to accomplish.
One must feel sympathetic for some of the commentators on this statement; those who see in it a victory for the regime’s narrations and accusations. Such a courageous move by FSA absolutely cannot be met with less than a bow to respect those who fight and shed their blood for freedom and not forgetting the principles they are fighting for.
This statement was not an exception of the late literature of FSA. A few days ago, there was another filmed statement by the commander of the Military Council in Damascus and its Suburbs Colonel Khalid Alhaboos where he announced the principles of the council. Among the latter were: abiding by the international conventions for dealing with war prisoners, assuring a new free, democratic and diversified Syria, freedom of opinion and expression, supreme sovereignty of law, resenting terrorism and extremism and also many others.
FSA with its true commandment on the Syrian soil are making important steps at this critical time where the regime is trying to inject and spread chaos and ultimate destruction as a price for its definite fall.
Hopefully, those steps will be documented in a log or a code of conduct that includes all these stances and principles to be issued by the brigades and commandment of FSA all over the revolutionary land. Likewise, we shall all stand by FSA in its stances and give it the appropriate media attention as well as our verbal and actual support.
A Statement by The Revolutionary Military Council in The Province of Idlib
Recited by: Colonel Afeef Sulaiman, Chief of Council
On July 19, 2012 two foreign journalists (a British and a Dutchman) were abducted in the northern border area by an anonymous group. FSA has tried so hard to get their whereabouts and safely free them by pressuring that particular group. Today, they were freed by god’s will and thus the military council in the province of Idlib declares that the armed group that abducted the journalists is not a subsidiary of neither the council nor FSA and also they do not represent the revolutionary act devised by our heroes in the battlefield who stood in the face of injustice and despotism all the way through this dignified revolution. Similarly, this crime does not represent the Syrian people and does not belong to our social composition at any rate. We are welcoming all noble journalists; Arabs and foreigners; we also hope they communicate with the local military councils to coordinate and secure their trips. This is to protect their lives in addition to prohibiting the regime and its subsidiaries from taking advantage of any uncoordinated move which will result in targeting the journalists and distorting the image of the great Syrian revolution. The military council is hereby pledge before god and our nation that anyone commits such irresponsible actions will be held accountable and punished. Also, those who violate the nation’s sovereignty or dare to execute foreign or corrupted agendas under the umbrella of the revolution. Furthermore, we emphasize that those groups are facilitated and supported by the regime itself to hamper our progress but that is beyond their reach for our revolution is ongoing till victory. Long live Syria free and dignified.
Issued on Friday July 27th, 2012
The Revolutionary Military Council in The Province of Idlib
