Response: Christians in Syria

Alan sent me this:
"I live in Ireland and before you ask what does he know about Syria he's in Ireland, likewise I can say you’re in America but I am sure we both know how to use a telephone to reach a source in the Middle-East :-) the biggest difference is I am uneducated and your and academic.

This is important please even if you have that weird Mother Teresa thing doing on you might read.

I believe the best explanation for the problem of the Christians in Homs is that the FSA entered and took control of the old district of the City Diwan Al Bustan and Hamidieh, where the majority of Christians lived. From there they fired on Government forces who fired back. The Churches in the old city are now half ruined. While the Government Army can be blamed for the bombardment damaged nothing other than the FSA can be blamed for the closer range damage as no other armed group ie Government forces had got into the area. but there are bullet holes internally in Church court yards and inside the Church buildings.
As regards Qusayr two priests from Qusayr confirm the expulsion order of Christians from Qusayr their names are not given, but if half the world can take the word of "activists" with no names I am prepared to equally take the word of "priests" with no names. The expulsion order was given by a man named as Abdel Salam Harba and I am now informed (yesterday) bombardment aside that many Muslims are also fleeing the town as they realise that FSA rule is not all it’s cracked up to be and their homes are now being systematically looted.

ASIA/SYRIA - Christian killed in Qusayr, where two priests confirm the ultimatum to Christians

ASIA/SYRIA - A Greek Catholic Church desecrated in Qusayr: an alarm signal

As regards the case of Fr. Philippe Tournyol Clos somewhere along the line his title of Archimandrite (honorary title of high rank) was mistranslated as Bishop and this mistake was used to discredit him as someone masquerading as a Catholic Cleric under false pretences. His report was very strongly worded and highly critical of the French government. He said the former French ambassador to Syria Eric Chevallie (recalled by France in Nov. 2011) had tried to report his views on the situation which did not match that of the French government and he was ignored. The priest criticizes former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and also the actions of Denis Pietton the French Ambassador to Lebanon and also France on aspects of its historic role in Syria. While his report speaks about Homs I don’t think in the report he actually claimed to have been in the city rather he was in a village, which I think was somewhere in Wadi al Nasara. Now that the Vatican’s Fides agency has confirmed that he is a cleric in good standing he has been labeled a “Catholic extremist”. Indigenous Christians in the Middle – East are as susceptible to manipulation by western governments as Muslims are to the manipulations of Saudi Arabia or Iran. And some Catholic aid agencies / NGO’s working in the region are in part funded by the French Foreign Ministry and are following their “official” line. Thus the piece in French referenced by your informant. While you do not have to accept what he says you will understand why it might ruffel a few feathers. 

There is more to all this and its geo-politics within the Church where certain agencies are used as foreign policy instruments of their governments. But right now I am not going in to more detail on this but believe me there is dirty work at hand."