US Embassy official writes to Editor on Ghana and Syria
Dear Editor:
Just as we were recently compelled to commend Ghana for its commitment to the rule of law and democratic processes, as demonstrated by the peaceful resolution of the election dispute through the judicial process, we are compelled to condemn nations that repudiate international norms as Syria did last week when the regime of Bashar Assad unleashed an unconscionable chemical attack on an opposition stronghold in the suburbs of Damascus. US Secretary of State John Kerry has rightly called the August 21 attack, which left 1,429 people, including 426 children, dead, a “moral obscenity” and a crime against humanity.
On August 30, the White House released an unclassified intelligence assessment which determined that the Syrian government was responsible for the use of chemical weapons against its own people on August 21st. This assessment is based on a wide variety of sources, including: human, signals and geospatial intelligence; multiple accounts describing chemical-filled rockets impacting opposition-controlled areas; accounts from international and Syrian medical personnel; thousands of social media reports; and information from a highly credible international organization reporting that three hospitals in the Damascus area received approximately 3,600 patients displaying symptoms consistent with nerve agent exposure. We believe that the Syrian regime must be held accountable for its actions.
The Arab League declared that they have decided “to hold the Syrian regime fully responsible for this crime.” The Organization for Islamic Cooperation has said that the regime must be held “legally and morally accountable for this heinous crime.” NATO’s North Atlantic Council declared that “any use of such weapons is unacceptable and cannot go unanswered. Those responsible must be held accountable.”
Secretary Kerry has emphasized that, “The question is not what we know but what are we going to do about it?“ More than 180 countries have signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, including Ghana and the United States. As President Obama noted, “The world has an obligation to make sure we maintain the norm against the use of chemical weapons.”
We urge the people of Ghana to join the international community in condemning the Syrian government’s use of internationally-banned chemical weapons and in urging the international community to hold the regime accountable for this violation of a bedrock of international norm.
Sincerely,
C. Patricia Alsup
Charge d’Affaires
United States of America Embassy to Ghana