Samstag, 21.04.2018 / 21:56 Uhr

'Kirchen in Syrien sind Geiseln Assads'

Die Kirchen in Syrien, die sich so vehement hinter das syrische Regime stellen, täten dies in Wirklichkeit keineswegs freiwillig, sondern seien de facto Geiseln des Assad Regimes. Das jedenfalls meint Stephen Griffith, der lange Zeit selbst in Damaskus als Kaplan tätig war:

For generations, the Assad regime has led the ethno-religious minorities in Syria to believe that the regime protected them. It warned that, after him, there would be bloodshed.

Among the first acts of President Bashar al-Assad at the beginning of the uprising was to open the prison gates to let the imprisoned jihadi thugs out. He was creating the chaos which he had predicted, leading to the creation of Islamic State and many other violent groups who would target Christians.

On every Christian feast, for decades, the heads of the Churches in Syria have read out statements praising the Syrian government. They were written by the government. In my days in Damascus, between 1997 and 2002, I sometimes heard them read badly; but, as the State Security were in the church, no comment was possible.

The Churches of Syria are in captivity. Their leaders dare not criticise the government of Syria for fear of the consequences, both personally and for their communities.