Syria: EU conference to raise funds for quake victims 'theatrical'

Syria has strongly denounced as “theatrical” an international conference in Brussels to purportedly raise funds for the victims of last month's devastating earthquake, stating that the United States and its Western allies would rather lift sanctions on the crisis-hit West Asian country than to organize such sham events.

“Any improvement in the living conditions of the quake victims in Syria requires the immediate and unconditional abolition of coercive measures and collective punishment policies imposed on the Syrian nation,” Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement released late on Monday.

It went on to decry the exclusion of representatives from the Damascus government from the International Donors’ Conference in the Belgian capital, where participants pledged to provide 6.05 billion euros ($6.48 billion) in grants and loans for Turkey and 950 million euros ($1.018 billion) for Syria.

“The purported aid for earthquake victims in Syria comes as no delegate from the Syrian government was present in the conference, and no coordination was made with officials from the country where the natural disaster has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions,” the statement highlighted.

“The organizers of the conference even ruled out the participation of prominent Syrian humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the event,” the Syrian foreign ministry said.

“Such a behavior of the organizers of the conference, and politicization of humanitarian and development issues are in continuation of the unlawful, inhumane and immoral sanctions that Western governments have slapped against the entire Syrian nation, among them the people affected by the recent disaster,” the statement read.

“These coercive measures have prevented supply of relief and rescue materials to quake victim in Syria,” it added, dismissing as “spurious” the US and European allegations of exemption of food and medicine from all sanctions.

The Syrian foreign ministry also said that American occupation forces continue to plunder Syrian energy resources without paying any attention to the urgent needs of earthquake victims, notably shelters, healthcare and utility services.

“The message of Syrians to the organizes of the Brussels conference and its participants is that any improvement in the living conditions of quake-affected people would happen in light of the required political will as well as the immediate and unconditional removal of anti-Syria sanctions,” the statement said.

SS