The Communist Party of Sri Lanka has condemned the attacks on Syrian sovereignty led by US-backed forces and Israel. In a statement issued yesterday CPSL declared its solidarity with the people of Syria and West Asia who continue to struggle for sovereignty in the face of a brutal and vicious enemy.

The CPSL statement: “The fall of the Syrian government has been plotted since at least 2011, through the sponsoring of extremist groups by both the US and Türkiye. Oil-rich parts of Syria have been occupied by the US and its proxies since 2015. Syria has also been placed under brutal economic sanctions by the US in order to weaken the state’s ability to defend itself and its people.

Syria under the Ba’athist government of Bashar Al-Assad and his father Hafez Al-Assad was an important centre for secular Arab nationalism. Syria was also an important part of the Axis of Resistance against Zionism and US Imperialism. It is no surprise that the fall of the Syrian government coincides with the Israeli genocide in Gaza and Israeli attacks on Lebanon. The fall of Syria to reactionary forces is a tragic setback to the forces of Palestinian liberation and anti-imperialist movements in West Asia and around the world.

Western corporate media is conducting a campaign to whitewash reactionary forces such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani as so-called “moderate rebels” and “revolutionaries”. In reality, HTS was formed out of various Al Qaeda groups in 2017, and relies heavily on foreign fighters and support from the US, Türkiye, and Israel. These extremists have conducted atrocities against minorities and will likely do so again once in power.

The CPSL extends our fraternal solidarity to the Communist Party of Syria, which has fought unrelentingly for the Syrian people and continues to do so.

Sri Lanka and Syria have had strong diplomatic ties since 1969. Both Sri Lanka and Syria are members of the Non-Aligned Movement. The fates of our two countries are linked through a shared historical struggle against colonialism and imperialism.”