Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the offer of partial amnesties by President Assad of Syria.

Baroness Warsi

The limited amnesties on prisoner release offered by President Assad do not offer a genuine solution to the problems in Syria. While the British Government has been consistent in calling for the release of political prisoners it is as yet unclear who these amnesties will affect and how prisoners’ safety will be assured. The lies and brutality of the Assad regime, as set out in the UN’s Commission on Inquiry reports, mean that this amnesty will not provide reassurance to the Syrian opposition. If the Syrian regime is serious about bringing the conflict to an end, then they should release political prisoners unconditionally and negotiate seriously within the framework set out in the Geneva communiqué.