UN official concerned over religious instigation on situation in Syria

The increasing use of rhetoric by political and religious leaders in the context of the Syrian crisis could exacerbate the violence in Syria and fuel tensions between different groups in the region, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, warned. Dieng expressed in a statement concern over recent statements by some religious leaders who have portrayed the Syrian conflict as a religious one, indicating that “History has shown that exploiting religious tensions in the context of a political and armed struggle may incite violence and could lead to large-scale atrocities. “Such rhetoric, when it constitutes incitement to violence on religious grounds, could exacerbate the already disastrous violence in Syria, lead to further war crimes and crimes against humanity and fuel tensions between different groups both in Syria and elsewhere in the region.” Dieng stressed that all political and military leaders have the responsibility of speaking out against any hate speech that encourages intolerance and discriminatory stereotyping, or that constitutes incitement to violence. “I urge all leaders in the wider region to act responsibly and refrain from using or condoning any language that may escalate sectarian tensions. The consequences of rhetoric that inflames these tensions will be felt by populations across the region,” he said. “All States must refrain from contributing to such crimes, including by tolerating hate speech and incitement to violence against particular populations,” he said. “If we do not act now, there is a serious risk that sectarian violence could spread across the region.” Dieng recalled the 2005 World Summit outcome document, in which all Heads of State and Government committed to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, including their incitement. The international community also committed to take collective action to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. EU countries must be ready to face the negative consequences of the influx of Islamic radicals into Syria fighting against the legitimate authority in Syria, says an expert on the Middle East and a member of the Russian Federation Council Igor Morozov. In a statement on Sunday, Morozov said that the mercenaries constitute the backbone of the Syrian opposition. ''Their number varies from six to ten thousand people and many of them are citizens of the European Union,'' he added. He said that ''Mercenaries in Syria are being trained by military specialists from the UK and other European countries.'' ”Not so long ago, the European Union under the influence of the United States had decided to lift the arms embargo on the Syrian opposition. In fact, Europe is preparing those who will turn back and attack on them armed with newer skills of militancy and terrorism,'' Morozov pointed out.