[ad_1]
The patriarchs of the three major Christian denominations in Syria – the Eastern Orthodox John X, the Syro-Jacobite Ignatius-Ephrem II and the Roman Catholics of the Eastern Rite (Uniates) Joseph – sent yesterday, February 7, a call for the lifting of sanctions against Syria because of the catastrophic earthquake in the country. The statement said:
“We, the three patriarchs, together with the church hierarchs in Syria, are making a request after the earthquake that struck northern Syria on Monday, February 6, 2023, and caused thousands of casualties among Syrians, enormous damage and great destruction of homes, temples , church institutions, deprived a large number of families of shelter.
This natural disaster adds to the suffering of the Syrian people, who have borne the tragedies of war, crises, disasters, epidemics and the great economic burden resulting from financial inflation and lack of basic products and medicines and the most basic means of life for a person to secure his bread and preserve his human dignity.
We appeal to the UN and the countries that have imposed sanctions on Syria to lift the blockade and the severe sanctions on the Syrian people and to take extraordinary measures and a quick initiative to ensure the delivery of the necessary humanitarian and rescue aid. We also call on people of conscience to speak up to end the suffering of the Syrian people and give them the opportunity to live in dignity under human rights law.
As we pray for the victims and their families, and ask for forgiveness and mercy for the dead, and healing for the wounded and injured, we also pray for all those working in the field of humanitarian aid and medicine and in clearing the rubble. We call upon governments, international official governmental and non-official non-governmental organizations, charitable societies, benefactors and peace-lovers wherever they may be, to hasten to support the efforts being made to help and save the victims, away from any political prejudices’.
International humanitarian work in the affected areas in Syria is currently carried out by non-governmental organizations, among which is the organization of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch. Their activity is hampered by the fact that the country is divided into different spheres of influence and is under different control. International rescue teams have been reluctant to enter the worst-hit areas controlled by various Islamist groups, and the refusal of Turkey, Russia and Syria to open cross-border posts for international aid has also hurt efforts to get food and medicine to the victims.
The US has officially stated that because of the earthquake, it will not change its policy towards the regime in Damascus and will not communicate with it. A State Department official reminded, however, that “all US or international sanctions include exemptions for humanitarian, medical, food and other aid. US President Joe Biden has made it clear that the US is ready to provide any kind of assistance to the people of Syria, and the US does not prevent any country from doing so.”
The statement comes amid claims by supporters of President Assad and Hezbollah that sanctions against Syria should be lifted because they are preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the affected areas.
The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee also called on Monday for sanctions to be lifted, noting that while NGOs working on the ground are doing commendable work, “the lifting of sanctions will open the door to additional aid that will provide immediate relief to those in need.”
[ad_2]
Source link