The Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation has expressed its full support for efforts by the South African government to ensure a peaceful intervention in Syria.
This followed a briefing by Ambassador Jerry Matjia, the Director-General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, in Parliament yesterday. He informed the Committee that the South African government wanted the matter to be handled through negotiations where all parties involved in the conflict could negotiate a settlement to the conflict.
Ambassador Matjila added that the SA government maintained its call for the Geneva 2 International peace conference to be initiated urgently. “We are even saying we should call for a ceasefire in Syria and condemn all killing of innocent people as we do not want to see the further destruction of Syria,” he said.
With the Syrian government having expressed its willingness to negotiate a peaceful solution, the committee believes that the rebels should do the same and go to negotiations. The committee further calls on those supporting the rebels to push for a negotiated solution.
“We believe negotiations are the only way out of this crisis and we condemn any suggestions of a military solution, The people of Syria and the Middle East have suffered for too long,” said Mr Tisetso Magama, Committee Chairperson.
The Committee also backs government’s position on condemning the use of weapons of mass destruction or chemical weapons. The Committee also believes the Syrian conflict can be resolved through negotiations by Syrians themselves, supported by the international community.
The committee and the department are concerned about the pouring of arms into Syria, and further concerned that the aftermath (of this) could be catastrophic post the Syrian conflict as experienced in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya in the recent past.
The committee reiterates government’s call of ensuring that all protagonists of the civil war participate in any peace initiative to find a lasting and durable solution.
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Temba Gubula
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E-mail: tgubula@parliament.gov.za.
