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S/PV.6710 32 12-21919 members know why it was given that name? Surely not. It was thus named because in the 1940s French forces bombed it using air and artillery strikes, killing thousands of innocent civilians living there. That is how the neighbourhood gained its name, Al-Hariqa, which means “the fire”. The Syrian parliament building was also bombed, killing everyone inside except for one person, whom Syrians have come to call al-shahid al-hai — “the living martyr”. To all of that we would add that 45,000 Algerians were killed in a single hour in the capital, Algiers, in 1945, because they unfortunately believed that the end of the Second World War, the defeat of Nazism and Fascism and the victory of the values associated with freedom could bring the Algerians independence. A wise man once said to his son, “When you know where you came from, then you will know where you will end up.” As the proverb says, a book can be judged by its cover. Intentionally or otherwise, that applies to the Arab League, which is trying to harm Syria and the whole Arab nation. One day at the end of the nineteenth century, Émile Zola, the famous French writer whose work I like very much, defended a case in which a French army officer had suffered an injustice. He wrote a letter in French — with which I am familiar but have not spoken for some time — the French title of which is “J’accuse”. Today, before the Council, I am quoting Émile Zola, in the sense that I say the same thing: “J’accuse”. I accuse a few people, whom I will not name so as not to embarrass them. I accuse them of working to undermine Syria’s stability and sovereignty and the unity of the Syrian people by incitement and fanning the flames. In 2003, we opened our doors to 2 million Iraqi refugees who had fled the British and American invasion of Iraq. At the time, no one helped us shoulder the resulting economic burden. Subsequently, two or three years later, fully one third of the Lebanese population came to Syria after the Israeli aggression against them in 2006. No one helped us at that time. After that, economic cooperation with Turkey — our neighbour, which we hold in high regard — led to disastrous economic consequences for small-scale artisans in the countryside around Aleppo and Damascus. We had an economic partnership agreement with Turkey that cost us billions of dollars, and as a result, thousands of Syrian villagers lost their livelihoods. The representative of India was right when he spoke of the economic reasons behind what is happening in Syria, but that is not our fault. Mistakes have been made, that is true. It is true that mistakes have been made; President Al-Assad has admitted as much. He drew up a road map designed to help us move beyond the crisis. He cannot do everything alone, however. He needs help from the Arab League, Turkey, brotherly nations and the Security Council. When the Secretariat of the Arab League sent this document (S/2012/71, annex) to the Council, they said on the last page that there were other annexes, such as the Al-Dabi report, which would be sent by courier. Why will the Al-Dabi report be sent by courier later and why was it not included in the documents currently before the Council? Why was the Al-Dabi report not submitted with the extra annexes? For our part, we have done all that is necessary. We sent a letter to the President of the Security Council outlining the main points of the Al-Dabi report. As Council members are aware, however, the Secretariat of the Arab League rejected the request made by some Council members to invite Mr. Al-Dabi to speak before the Council. I think that I have spoken quite enough. The President: I give the floor to the Secretary- General of the League of Arab States. Mr. Elaraby (spoke in Arabic): I do not intend to enter into an argument. However, the Ambassador of Syria raised an issue that I feel compelled to clarify. When you contacted me, Mr. President, you mentioned that some members wanted General Al-Dabi to attend this meeting. I said then that the Prime Minister of Qatar and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States would attend at the request of the Ministerial Council of the League of Arab States in order to inform the Council about what had happened. General Al-Dabi was not requested to appear before the Council; his job is on the field and his report is before the Council (S/2012/71, annex, enclosure 4). The President: There are no further names inscribed on the list of speakers. I would like to express my delegation’s appreciation to members of the Council, especially my colleagues, the Permanent Representatives, their respective staffs and the Counci