Al-Jaafari: Coercive economic measures prevent Syrians from obtaining their basic needs, hinder efforts of confronting coronavirus, must be lifted immediately

New York, SANA-Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari reiterated that the unilateral coercive economic measures which some countries are using in their terrorist war against Syria prevent the Syrians from obtaining their basic living needs and hinder the state’s efforts to confront coronavirus, calling for lifting these measures immediately and without any conditions.

“The illegitimate economic measures prevent the medical and health bodies in Syria to obtain the necessary equipment for the test, diagnosis and prevention and treatment of coronaviruis, al-Jaafari added, during a UN Security Council session via video on the humanitarian situation in Syria on Tuesday.

“The sanctions also prevent Syria from importing lung ventilators, intensive care beds, ambulances, labs equipment, equipment for quarantine centers, health and protection supplies which are needed for the workers of the health sector, in addition to oncological drugs and other medical accessories, ”he explained.

He pointed out that some UN Security Council’s members are still exploiting the Council as a tool for their foreign policies and for hurting Syria under the pretext of their keenness on the situation in Syria.

Al-Jaafari stressed the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports are biased, and lack credibility,  they are also over-politicized and  flagrantly selective in dealing with the humanitarian situation in Syria, therefore they are useless and wast of time, effort and resources of the UN.

Al-Jaafari pointed out that Syria, in cooperation with the friendly countries affected by the coercive measures, directed a number of letters to the UN Secretary-General and the secretaries of the Security Council, calling for lifting the inhuman measures which constitute an economic terrorism and a stigma for the countries which impose these measures.

“We in Syria are not only facing COVID-19, we are also facing a more dangerous virus which is terrorism that some countries insisted on ignoring for too long and to maneuver the facts when it falsely called it “Moderate Armed Opposition Groups” or “Non-State Armed Elements” , and this virus has many names as “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” and “Huras Addin” and “Sultan Murad” and Kataeb al-Zunki” and “Maghauer Al-Thawra” and many other more. This is the virus we are facing since nine years,” al-Jaafari underlined.

Hala Zain