A media release from AMEC: Syria distressing incidents.

6 March 2025

The fall of the Al-Assad Government in Syria on 8 December 2024 immediately raised questions as to the cohesion of what had been a religiously and ethnically diverse society.

The interim government assured the international community that the rights and safety of minorities would be maintained.  The concerns expressed following these statements appear to have not been unjustified.

At present the recent comparative stability would seem to be much endangered. Reports coming from within Syria speak of attacks against religious and cultural minorities. Whilst sporadic, the nature of these incidents raises grave concern for the future.

Syria has long been an example of political and cultural stability. However, there is now reasonable fear that unless a peaceful resolution is reached between the various conflicting parties, the situation could slip into irreversible chaos. The situation becomes more urgent when we consider the speed with which the political landscape can change in the Middle East.

It is necessary for the nations which hold to the international charters promoting human rights to act before an irreversible catastrophe overtakes a nation the origins of which are to be found in far antiquity. Is the five-thousand-year history of Damascus to be washed away in a bloodbath? A catastrophe lamented only when too late.

We, the representatives of the Australasian-Middle East Christian Apostolic Churches (AMEC), are especially fearful for the safety of the many Syrians, of all communities, men women and children, the very young and the elderly, who through no fault of their own, are now trapped in a seemingly impossible situation.

We urge the Australian Government to raise the present matter wherever and whenever possible. There is a human, religious and cultural tragedy unfolding in Syria; there is still an opportunity to prevent it.   

✠ Robert Rabbat, DD

 President of AMEC