Schiller Institute: Lift the Sanctions Against Syria Now

Is it not paradoxical that the same leaders who can’t stop talking about “human rights” and “western values” refuse to lift the murderous sanctions on Syria, despite the horrendous consequences of the earthquakes that hit Turkey as well? And yet, the spokesman for the U.S. State Department, Ned Price, stated coldly on Feb. 6 that it would be “counterproductive” for Washington to reach out to the Assad government to provide aid. Similarly, the European Union has not considered lifting the punitive measures, although they prevent vital supplies as well as financial donations from reaching the stricken areas.

To bolster the efforts to help Syria, the Schiller Institute held an emergency webcast on Feb. 21, with Col. (ret.) Richard Black, former head of the US Army Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon; and former Virginia State Senator; Vanessa Beeley, a British activist and writer, who has written extensively on and from Syria; Marwa Osman, Lebanese author and TV presenter; Chandra Muzaffar of Malaysia, leader of JUST (International Movement for a Just World)and Helga Zepp-LaRouche. The full three hour round table can be watched here.

Col. Black also made a short video statement on Feb. 7 blasting the U.S. government’s attitude toward the earthquake victims in Syria, stating he has “never seen such a barbaric response to a tragedy”. The State Department “looks at this as an opportunity to simply ratchet up the regime of starvation and freezing that we have imposed on Syria through the cruel Caesar sanctions. … It is really unbecoming of any civilized nation that they would choose this moment to take out their vengeance on the poor suffering people of Syria.”