We met with Stockport Councillor Iain Roberts on 2 December and had a very productive discussion on Syria. We stressed to Councillor Roberts that the Syrian conflict, in its essence, is simple: it consists of a popular uprising against a brutal dictatorship.
We issued a statement along with a number of Syrian community and advocacy groups in the UK following Parliament's decision to extend anti-ISIS airstrikes over Syria.
In the lead up to the government vote on whether or not to bomb Syria, Rethink Rebuild were interviewed by BBC Breakfast on 2 December to discuss the alternative options to UK military airstrikes. Alternatives included a no-bombing zone to protect civilians from indiscriminate air attacks, which are the root cause of the Syrian conflict.
On 2 December, we took part in a radio interview with BBC Radio Manchester. We implored listeners to realise that ISIS emerged out of the chaos caused by the Assad regime and therefore if the UK is serious about tackling ISIS, it needs to address the root cause of the humanitarian crisis, namely the Assad regime's indiscriminate aerial bombardments.
On 2 December, Rethink Rebuild was interviewed by the BBC Victoria Derbyshire about its views on the UK Government’s decision to bomb Syria. We called for a comprehensive, international approach to tackling the problem of ISIS, namely by beginning with the root cause of the conflict which is the Assad regime's indiscriminate aerial bombardments.
We signed an open letter to MP’s written by Manchester University Student Union on 2 December saying that we hoped that they would vote against the decision to authorise UK military airstrikes in Syria. The letter went on to say that there is a high risk of innocent civilians dying in these airstrikes, worsening the refugee crisis.
Rethink Rebuild issued a briefing on 1 December regarding the resettlement of refugees into the UK. The briefing outlines what Rethink Rebuild believes the government should do in order to make the integration of refugees with society easier, quicker and more accommodating for Syrians. This briefing was disseminated in a Parliamentary event on 1 December.
On 1 December, iTV News Correspondent Ben Chapman visited the offices of Rethink Rebuild to talk with our staff and ‘Hassan’ (name changed), who has been in the UK for just a month after fleeing Syria.
We were interviewed by BBC Radio Scotland on 1 December to voice concerns over the impending government decision to bomb Syria. We implored the government to realise that ISIS emerged as a result of the Assad regime and that focussing on civilian protection should be the aim of any UK policy on Syria.
البرلمان البريطاني سوف يصوت يوم الأربعاء على انضمام بريطاني للتحالف الامريكي لضرب داعش في سوريا، وللأسف لم يتطرق أحد لإجرام الاسد. نريد تفاعلكم معنا بسرعة حتى نقنع البرلمان ان أي خطة جديدة يجب ان تتضمن حماية المدنيين في سوريا كأولوية وهدف اساسي. نرجو منكم جميعاً مراسلة عضو البرلمان في منطقتكم باتباع الخطوات التالية:
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