Xinhua News Agency, Damascus, February 10th (International Observation) Western sanctions have made the earthquake disaster in Syria worse
Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jian Ji Ze
A strong earthquake hit southern Turkey near the Syrian border on the 6th, causing heavy casualties to Turkey and Syria. The blockade and sanctions imposed by the United States and its Western allies have exacerbated the disaster in Syria, which has attracted widespread attention from the international community. Under the pressure of international public opinion, the U.S. government announced on the 9th that it would temporarily lift part of the sanctions against Syria. At this time, the 72-hour golden rescue period had passed.
Analysts pointed out that the United States and the West have long imposed unilateral blockades and sanctions on Syria under the banner of protecting the Syrian people, which has caused local people’s livelihood to decline and their ability to deal with disasters is insufficient, and it has caused immediate obstacles to rescue work after the disaster. The United States announced the relaxation of sanctions under the pressure of international public opinion, highlighting that the United States is fully aware that its so-called sanctions against Syria will not affect humanitarian aid is false, and it is still unknown how much effect this long-overdue temporary measure will have on the disaster relief work.
refusal to provide assistance
According to sources from the Syrian government and aid agencies, the death toll caused by the earthquake in Syria has exceeded 3,500 on the 9th, and this number may rise further. In Aleppo, a city in northern Syria that was severely affected by the disaster, relevant staff told reporters that more than 50 buildings collapsed in the city alone.
In the face of severe disasters, Syria is “stretched” in terms of emergency supplies, disaster relief capabilities, and medical resources. Syrian Health Minister Hassan Garbash said that the disaster has put additional pressure on the Syrian medical system, and there is a serious shortage of medical supplies and equipment. The reporter saw at the scene of the Aleppo disaster area that the local rescue team has relatively simple equipment, and the types and quantities are very limited, and the victims also lack essential living materials.
After the earthquake, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately issued a statement calling on the international community to extend a helping hand to help Syria deal with the disaster, but the United States and the West did not respond positively. The Syrian President’s special adviser Busena Shaban said in an interview with the British Sky News Channel, “The West only pays attention to the areas where the terrorists and the ‘White Helmets’ are located, and they don’t care about the areas where most Syrian people live.” The Syrian government has received no assistance from the West at all.
weakened ability to cope
In 2011, the Syrian civil war broke out. The United States and its Western allies imposed sanctions on Syria in order to support the opposition to overthrow the Syrian government. In 2019, the United States introduced the so-called “Caesar Act”, which set up numerous obstacles for foreign investors to invest and build in Syria, and further strengthened the economic blockade against Syria. Under years of sanctions, the reconstruction process in Syria has been repeatedly hindered, the currency has depreciated rapidly, prices have soared, the production and operation activities of local enterprises have been severely frustrated, and foreign investment projects have been stranded.
The United States and the West claim that these sanctions are to protect the Syrian people, but in fact, the sanctions continue to aggravate the crisis of people’s livelihood, and the Syrian people pay a great price. According to data from the World Food Program, 90% of the Syrian population lives below the poverty line, two-thirds of the population depend on humanitarian assistance for their livelihoods, and more than 12 million people are in a state of “food insecurity”. Not only that, the U.S. military also occupied the main grain-producing and oil-producing areas in Syria, looting and plundering Syrian national resources, which made the local humanitarian crisis worse. Before the earthquake, the shortage of energy, food, drinking water and key medical supplies in Syria was already very serious.
According to Kamal Jafar, a Syrian political analyst, years of war and Western sanctions have made it “beyond Syria’s national capacity” to deal with the disaster. “The impact of the sanctions has become so evident today in the absence of advanced machines, engineering teams, rebuilding and retrofitting tools, and modern equipment.”
A statement issued by the Syrian People’s Assembly recently pointed out that the unilateral blockade and unfair sanctions by Western countries have affected all aspects of Syria’s economy, society, health, education, and people’s lives, greatly weakening the ability of local coordination in Syria, and greatly hindering It also casts a huge shadow on post-disaster recovery and reconstruction work.
cause a direct obstacle
Western sanctions not only exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Syria and weakened Syria’s ability to respond to disasters, but also directly hindered the post-earthquake rescue work. Although the U.S. argues that Western sanctions against Syria have humanitarian exemption clauses, which do not target aid work and “will not hinder” post-earthquake relief, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Al-Sabaq pointed out that many cargo planes refused to fly in Syria because of Western sanctions. Landing at domestic airports prevented humanitarian aid from reaching Syria. Peter Morell, the former chairman of the International Committee of the Red Cross, also said that many humanitarian relief supplies needed by Syria have been hindered in the process of overseas procurement and delivery, including infrastructure supplies and medical equipment, many of which are crucial to the provision of basic services. goods “are either not defined as ‘humane’ or require lengthy procedures to clear customs”.
“We need heavy machinery, firefighting and emergency vehicles to speed up the rescue process.” Khalid Hoububati, chairman of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, said at a press conference on the 7th that the Western blockade and sanctions on Syria have hindered the progress of the rescue. Post-earthquake rescue process. He called on Western countries to lift sanctions as soon as possible.
United Nations Secretary-General Guterres stressed at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the 9th that sanctions should not hinder the relief work in Syria after the earthquake. On the 9th, the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for Syria, Jill Peterson, also urged Western countries not to set up obstacles to Syria’s post-earthquake rescue operations, calling for not to “politicize” aid.
Under the pressure of international public opinion, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on the 9th that it will temporarily cancel the part of the sanctions against Syria that involves earthquake relief for a period of 180 days. However, when the United States announced this measure, the 72-hour golden rescue period has expired, and it is still unknown when it will be implemented and which sanctions can be identified as involving earthquake rescue. What effect will the relaxation of sanctions have on rescue work? It remains to be seen.
Mohammad Omari, an expert on Syrian political issues, commented that the US statement actually admitted Washington’s previous claim that sanctions would not affect humanitarian assistance was “false and misleading.” Kamal Jaffa pointed out that this decision shows that the United States is fully aware that the sanctions against Syria are unjust and have damaged the livelihood of the Syrian people for many years.
[Responsible editor: Xu Dan]