Activists Protest Ghouta Massacre in Martyrs Square, Hope World 'Would Notice' Syria's People
Independent social activists staged a sit-in on Wednesday evening at Beirut's Martyrs Square to protest the massacre of the Syrian Ghouta town in Reef Damascus.
The sit-in was held with the participation of National Struggle Front MP Akram Shehayeb, al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Ahmed Fatfat and a number of social activists and Syrian non-governmental organizations.
It took place amid strict security measures around the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) headquarters in downtown Beirut and Martyrs Square.
"We decided to file a complaint with the United Nations, hoping that the world would notice the Syrian people,” Shehayeb told MTV.
He expressed: “The Arab and European silence, the American loss and the Russian and Iranian firmness are killing the Syrian people.”
Fatfat said “everyone is responsible for what is happening and history will hold accountable all who cooperated and allied with (Syrian President Bashar) Assad.”
"What is happening stigmatizes the silent Arab conscious.”
Meanwhile, Syrian activist Sarah al-Sheikh Ali said the protest aimed at condemning the Ghouta massacre, and saving “what is left of Syria's children.”
Activist Assem Hamcho called on the U.N. to task its chemical experts to probe the Ghouta massacre.
“We also demand holding an urgent U.N. Security Council session to condemn this striking violation and take the necessary preemptive measures to stop the committing of massacres,” he stated, pointing out to the importance of allowing humanitarian organizations, such as the Red Cross and the Red Crescent to "enter the disastrous locations, save the wounded and provide the necessary medications."
The participants marched silently while lifting banners and lighting candles towards the ESCWA headquarters.
Syria's main opposition group accused the government of "massacring" more than 1,300 people in chemical weapons attacks near Damascus on Wednesday, saying many of the victims choked to death.
Videos distributed by activists, the authenticity of which could not immediately be verified, showed medics attending to suffocating children and hospitals being overwhelmed.
More footage showed dozens of people laid out on the ground, among them many children, some of them covered in white sheets.
The claim of chemical weapons use, which could not be independently confirmed, was vehemently denied by the Syrian regime which said it was intended to hinder the work of the U.N. weapons inspectors already in the country.
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