Syria's civil war is expected to be one of the main subjects at the GH summit that's underway currently in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, the conflict there is expanding. Assad troops have made significant advances in recent weeks, but this could soon be over after the US offered backing for the Syrian opposition with lethal support. Let's get some thoughts on this [and] go live to Brussels and talk to the chairman of the British National Party, Nick Griffin, who's a recent return for a fact-finding mission in Syria.
Hi There, Nick. Thank you for being with us. It's [a] funny thing, isn't it? Trying to work this out, uh, instead of trying to calm the conflicting sides are some international supporters here that I've just been talking about trying to balance the battlefield as they put it rather than doing something more calming.
Yeah, I'm afraid so. [You know] when [?] and the Americans say that, uh, we should arm the rebels, what they're saying is that a lot of people are being killed in a war, so the solution is to send more guns like it's madness.
The opposition remains emboldened by, uh, the supporters in the West. Um, does this support come at a price? How far does that support influence what the opposition does?
Um, in a way, I think it's unfortunate. If it - there has to be help from the West that it won't influence them at all because the vast majority of the rebels aren't, uh, Liberal Democrats who respect America or western values. They're jihadists. Here, the first invasion of Syria by foreign forces is, is the fact that at least 40,000 of the so-called Syrian rebels are in fact jihadist terrorists from North Africa, Central Asia, and even Western Europe. There's an estimated 600 Western European-born jihadists fighting against the Syrian government right now.
Another interesting question, of course: Assad's government is still the legitimate government in charge there, as voted in by the people, um, why isn't there a greater call from international, uh, forces outside calling on the opposition to talk to Assad? Why is that not happening? This has gone on for such a long time now and still you don't here that call.
Well unfortunately the, um, the Americans, the British, the French and especially the Saudis aren't playing this with a straight bat. Their interest isn't in sorting out the Syrian problem, it's overthrowing the Assad regime, which is really the last, uh, secular and tolerant regime in the whole of the middle east and replacing it with Wahhabi extremism. Uh, and politicians in France, Britain and America - they're in the pockets of the Saudis and so they do what they're told.
Will Britain eventually do you think support Washington's idea to send lethal weapons to the opposition?
I certainly hope that Britain doesn't go down that road, but Cameron and Hauge, seem determined to do, the British powers interfered with disastrous results in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and especially before the Tories get us into further trouble in Syria they really need to answer the question of what did their attack on Lybia do ? Did it succeed or not? And the answer is no; it turned a little harmless secular dictatorship into a howling wilderness of Islamic fundamentalism and future violence against the west. And Syria is going to be ten times worse.
Nick Griffin, Chairman British National Party, thanks for your thoughts.
