UGTT called for support for the Syrian president in his ‘war against terrorism’
A delegation from the Nobel-prize winning Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) has sparked controversy after a delegation of leaders met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
According to a statement put out by the union, a delegation chaired by general secretary Bouali M’Barki and composed of 21 trade union leaders, met Assad in Damascus on Saturday.
It said the visit aimed to show solidarity with the Syrian people in their “war against terrorism”.
More than 3,000 Tunisians have reportedly left the country to join the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria, the largest number from any single country.
Assad reportedly told the Tunisian delegation, however, that they should not feel responsible for militants fighting in Syria and that Syria’s “position vis-a-vis Tunisia has not changed”.
The UGTT has previously expressed opposition to foreign intervention in Syria – in April it condemned the US air strikes on the Khan Sheikhun airbase describing the Syrian civil war as “an internal conflict which can only be resolved by political means”.
They also called for opposition to “the policy of exporting terrorists from an Arab country to another for the sole purpose of sowing destruction”.
Middle East Eye
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