Following are excerpts from a statement by the Union of Arab Syrian Clans and Tribes, posted on the Internet on March 21, 201. The statement was read by lawyer Sheik Ali Issa Al-Ubeidi.
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Sheik Ali Issa Al-Ubeidi: "In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. This is a communiqué by the Union of Arab Syrian Clans and Tribes. We declare a revolution against the regime. [...]
"The winds of liberation and change have blown against the sectarian dictatorial regime in this country. 41 years of the illegitimate rule of the Al-Assad family have passed. This regime has tormented our Syrian people in the most horrific ways – killing them, torturing them, imprisoning them, displacing them, violating their honor, and stealing their public and private property. The toll of victims exacted by this criminal regime has exceeded 100,000 martyrs, a similar number of missing people, and three million displaced people.
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"In addition, this regime has destroyed the national economy, stealing the country's resources, turning them into private property of the Al-Assad family, the Makhlouf family, the Shalish family, the Al-As'ad family, and the Al-Akhras family.
"The regime has starved the Syrian people, in order to keep them preoccupied with the search for bread, instead of engaging in politics, and making the regime accountable for its crimes. [...]
"[The tribes we represent,] which constitute more than 50% of the Syrian population, declare a revolution against the corrupt Al-Assad regime. We have pledged before Allah to conduct a revolution against this dictator – as well as his helpers and mercenaries – in order to get rid of him completely. [...]
"Victory belongs to the great Syrian people, while shame and humiliation will be the lot of this [regime] of tyranny, subjugation, and corruption.
"The general secretariat of the Union of Arab Syrian Clans and Tribes.
"Aleppo, March 21, 2011.
"Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Syrian Clans and Tribes, lawyer Sheik Ali Issa Al-Ubeidi."
