[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 7, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CONDEMNING THE SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 7, 2018

  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, as the Ranking Democratic Member of the 
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki 
Commission), I rise today to denounce the human rights abuses taking 
place across the globe. In particular, I call attention to the ongoing 
Syrian Civil War.
  Since 2011, it is estimated that almost 500,000 Syrians have been 
killed with millions more displaced, creating a refugee crisis across 
Europe and the Middle East. On March 15th, we will sadly mark the 
seventh anniversary of the Syrian Civil War, which is one of the 
bloodiest wars of the last 70 years.
  I traveled to Syria in January 2010 and personally met with President 
Bashar aI-Assad. As I pressed him on the importance of honoring the 
right of his people to exercise their civil liberties and fundamental 
freedoms, I knew immediately that he would not give in. Many others, 
like me, recognized this long before civil war erupted. And yet, years 
have passed without the necessary effort by the international community 
to stop the violence.
  On May 28, 2013, I sent a letter to former President Barack Obama and 
Ambassador Susan Rice, urging them to support imposing a no-fly zone 
over Syria, particularly in light of the continued indiscriminate 
shelling of innocent civilians and the use of chemical weapons by the 
Assad regime. I renewed my calls for a no-fly zone to President Obama 
again on September 25, 2015.
  Mr. Speaker, what we have witnessed since the start of this civil war 
is indiscriminate, brutal attacks against civilians. The international 
community must no longer sit idly by and let more families be torn 
apart and more civilians become refugees.
  According to the United Nations (UN), nearly 3 million Syrian 
children have lived their entire lives gripped by civil war. This is 
absolutely outrageous, and something needs to happen, and it needs to 
happen now.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been seven years, let me repeat myself, seven 
years, since this civil war began. This crisis, in which millions of 
innocent Syrians find themselves today, demands our full attention and 
fervent commitment to creating a strategy that will bring an end to the 
deplorable conditions facing the Syrian people. The need for immediate 
and strong action remains. With each passing day, the violence has 
grown more sectarian, militarized, and radicalized at the cost of 
innocent Syrian lives.

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