Syria ceasefire doomed from beginning: Activist

Press TV has interviewed Ryan Dawson, a human rights activist in Nara, Japan, to discuss the upcoming UN-sponsored peace talks on the conflict in Syria.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: There were hopes when the ceasefire came into effect that it could lead to a more concerted effort and finding a more lasting and durable solution to the crisis in Syria. Why do you think the High Negotiations Committee though is not looking at it that way?

Dawson: Well there were a lot of hopes for that but it was pretty much doomed from the beginning and even with the peace talks that started back in February without the Saudis and the Turks at the table it really did not matter. We saw Turkey break the ceasefire immediately even during the moratorium when they said the deadline will be midnight on Saturday and of course on Saturday Turkey started shelling Kurds in northern Syria, they were breaking the ceasefire immediately.

It also did not involve Daesh or ISIS or al-Nusra, any of the major players on the ground were not even part of the peace talks. They’re basically asking the Russians to stop bombing terrorists and have the Americans to stop pretending to bomb terrorists. That is all they could really do.

Press TV: So what next then? How long can this ceasefire hold if there is nothing being done to bring about a more durable solution?

Dawson: I think that has to be pointed out as well, I mean how sincere can the Americans be in getting their Saudi partners to cooperate when Saudi Arabia has had an ongoing assault on Yemen for over a year and they are getting their armaments from the United States and the United Kingdom. It is one of the richest countries in the Middle East attacking the poorest country in the Middle East. They are losing that fight however.

They are insincere about this. Turkey is the same thing, [it is] part of NATO, they shot down the Russian plane, they are openly getting illegal oil from ISIS flowing into their country, they openly break the ceasefire, they never agreed to it to begin with but you cannot have a ceasefire without these players being involved.

The purpose of it though is not pointless. They were supposed to get humanitarian aid into these areas which is desperately needed. However, in the past when they have sent humanitarian aid in the terrorist groups have gobbled it up and then resold it at exuberant prices to the public who actually needs it.

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