Syria: Diplomats wives urge Asma al-Assad to stop bloodshed (VIDEO)
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s wife Asma gestures is pictured at the Bristol hotel on December 11, 2010 in Paris.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The wives of the British and German ambassadors to the United Nations have released a video calling on Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, to "stop being a bystander" and urge her husband to end the violence in Syria.
The video begins with the words "Dear Asma, some women care for style. And some women care for their people. Some women struggle for their image. And some women struggle for survival." The words are dubbed over images of the uprising in Syria.
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It follows a clip of a speech Asma al-Assad made about human rights with the question, "What happened to you, Asma?"
Noting the "hundreds" of children who have been harmed in uprising in Syria, it warns of being judged poorly by the future. "What will your answer be, Asma?"
"These children could be your children," the video says, over images of maimed and dead children.
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"Huberta von Voss Wittig and Sheila Lyall Grant say the video was made on their own initiative," the BBC wrote.
Al-Assad worked to polish her image before the Syria uprising ended the détente her country was enjoying with the West. Last August, The Hill revealed that an American lobbying firm was paid to facilitate a glowing story about her in Vogue magazine that was published just as the uprisings began. The story has since been purged from Vogue's website, but it is still available on a Bashar al-Assad fan website.
Al-Assad's image dimmed further when The Guardian published emails between her and her husband, which included records of lavish shopping and jokes about the uprising, including one in which she said "I am the real dictator."
The video ends with a plea for viewers to sign a petition calling on Asma al-Assad to "stop the bloodshed in Syria."
"Stand up for peace, Asma. Speak out now for the sake of your people. Stop your husband and his supporters. Stop being a bystander. No one cares about your image. We care about your action," it said.
The video can be seen below. WARNING: some images in the film are extremely graphic.
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