The tyrannical Assad regime has pushed the Syrian people in to the arena of international conflict just to avoid meeting the demands of the people for freedom, dignity and justice.
After failing to achieve victory over our people, the regime engaged its militias alongside the Syrian army, using all types of heavy weapons against the people.
More recently, the regime committed massacres using chemical weapons, managing to provoke the international community, which in turn exposed the country to the threat of a devastating foreign military strike.
But the regime vigorously accepted the option of delivering its chemical weapons after the United States and Russia reached an agreement on this issue. In fact, this represents the first real concession by the regime since the start of the Syrian revolution.
The Syrian Democratic Platform takes into account the Russian-U.S. agreement which was signed in Geneva on 14 September and prevented a war which no one could predict an end to, nor the number of victims it would claim.
However, the Platform calls for continued pressure on the Syrian authorities to implement a ceasefire immediately and put an end to the massacres which have been committed daily against the people.
It makes no sense to stop the use of chemical weapons in Syria while remaining silent about the continuous killing using other varieties of conventional weapons. Nor does it make sense that international teams should enter the country for chemical disarmament while militias from both sides, the regime and the extremist groups, continue to operate in an internal war that has caused lawlessness and provocation.
A ceasefire should be agreed and all parties should immediately enter into negotiations based on international consensus reached at Geneva 1. The Syrian National Coalition has reached consensus on the instruments of the National Constitution and the transitional phase, known commonly as the "Instruments of Cairo."
Tyranny will not win a battle against the Syrian people, neither militarily nor through negotiations.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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