By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 4 -- With the UN Security Council proposed press statement on the shell on Turkey draft by Azerbaijan stalled, Syria's Permanent Representative Bashar Ja'afari has written to the Council; the letter is below
Russia has proposed its own press statement. Meanwhile the Council was meeting on Thursday morning, being briefed about Sudan by Haile Menkerios and Herve Ladsous, the UN official who refuses to answer Inner City Press questions.
When at 5:35 pm on Wednesday Security Council president Rosenthal read out a press statement on the killing of four UN Peacekeepers in Darfur, he did not answer a Press questions about Darfur but on Turkey said yes the Council might issue a statement, we are waiting to hear from the Turkish Ambassador.
Inner City Press conveyed this to joint UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, what Rosenthal had said about a Council statement. Brahimi replied, "On Turkey? That's good."
Syria's Permanent Representative Bashar Ja'afari on the other hand, when Inner City Press told him Rosenthal said we are waiting to hear from Turkey, replied "But that is not sufficient, Turkey is shelling us."
Here is the text of the Syrian letter:
"The competent Syrian authorities confirmed that they are seriously investigating the source of the fire which led to the death of a Turkish citizen and her children. Deepest condolences of the Government Syrian Arab Republic were presented to the families of the martyrs and to the friendly and brotherly people of Turkey. In cases of border incidents that happen between any two neighboring countries, states and governments should act wisely, rationally and responsibly, particularly given the special and delicate situation on the Syrian-Turkish borders, where there are undisciplined armed terrorist groups spreading on those borders which have different agendas and identities. Those groups pose a threat to the security of Syria, also to regional security of the countries of the region. The Syrian-Turkish borders are long borders, and exploited in the smuggling of arms, ammunition and armed terrorists who committed massacres in Syria, most recently of which the massacre in Aleppo committed by al-Qaeda that claimed the lives of a number of civilian martyrs. Syria bases its behavior with neighboring countries to the rules of good neighborliness and respect for national sovereignties of states, and it invites, in return, those states to respect the national sovereignty of Syria, and to cooperate in border control and prevention of the infiltration of insurgents and terrorists, according to what Syria has always done.
"We also point out that at seven o'clock in the evening of Wednesday 3 October 2012, Turkish troops had launched artillery shells towards the south of the village of Tal Abiad in the Syrian territory, and stopped at midnight. Turkish troops, then, resumed artillery shelling until seven o'clock of Thursday morning, 4 October 2012, injuring two Syrian army officers, while our forces practiced self-restrain and did not respond to this Turkish artillery shelling.
"The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic calls for the need of cooperation from Turkish government in borders control for the benefit of the two parties, within the framework of respect for national sovereignty and good neighborly relations."
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