Prague, March 5 (CTK) – The Group in Support of Syria (IPS) demands that Czech ambassador to Damascus be withdrawn, activist Michal Majzner told journalists on Monday, adding that the Czech Republic is the only EU country to support President Bashar al-Assad, accused of war crimes.
So far, the Czech diplomacy has been rejecting such an interpretation of the Czech position.
“We are appalled at the repeated crimes against humanity in Syria, largely committed by al-Assad’s regime. We are also appalled at our being the only EU country with the supreme representation in Syria in this situation,” the letter from the IPS said.
“There is no reason for our having the supreme representation there since this is a token support for the regime,” Majzner told CTK.
However, the Foreign Ministry said the Czech representation in Damascus could not be interpreted as its support for Assad.
“The presence of our diplomatic office and ambassador in Syria cannot be interpreted as preferring any of the sides in the Syrian conflict and certainly not as a legitimation of the current regime about which we have had reservations for long,” ministerial spokesman Irena Valentova told CTK.
She said the Czech Republic was also maintaining contact with the opposition.
The work of the Czech embassy and the role of Ambassador Eva Filipi is indispensable, Valentova said.
Along with providing consular services for the USA and the EU, the embassy also gains information on the development in the country, she added.
The signatories of the letter warn that the diplomacy can continue with this even without a representation on the ambassadorial level.
