Protest in Australia against Syria War

Local Editor

Hundreds of people protested in Australia on Saturday against a possible US military strike on Syria, after President Barack Obama said Washington was weighing "limited, narrow" action against the country.

Carrying placards reading "Hands off Syria" and "Stop the war in Syria", some bearing the face of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, about 300 people gathered in Sydney's Martin Place to voice their concerns about any US military assault.

"Today we all stand here united. We stand here in solidarity with the Syrian government," said speaker Jasmine Saadat to sustained applause.

"Today we are all the voice of the Syrian people, and we are here to tell you Obama that you have the nerve to call President Bashar al-Assad a dictator, yet you make decisions for the Syrian people, and for the people of the United States and for the people of the world on your own accord.
"Obama hear us now and hear us loud, hands off Syria."

Obama has emphasized he has made no "final decision" on unleashing military strikes targeting Syria, but his comments on Friday gave his clearest indication yet that an attack was imminent.

Protesters in Sydney denied that al-Assad was responsible, with one man saying he wanted to tell the US to "stop your lies about the chemical weapons".
"We don't believe that he would have gassed his own people," said fellow demonstrator Rania Ali, adding that she supported al-Assad.

She further noted that "America just can't go in and bomb a sovereign country."
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Australia expected any US response to be swift and limited, and claimed Washington's position was reinforcing an international norm that chemical weapons never be used.

"We think that if a government in this day and age uses chemical weapons against innocent men, women and children, it deserves a response," Carr said.
"We are confident the Obama administration has weighed carefully what that response will be."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team