,
25 tweets,
9 min read
Read on Twitter
/1 Another article questions the new sanctions by the #EU & #US against the regime in #Syria as well as its affiliated businessmen. It is stated that the sanctions continue to aggravate the suffering of the ordinary population, which contributes to ecfr.eu/article/commen…
/2 strengthening the regime instead of weakening it. I have to ask a few questions, which are always up for discussion. The author claims at the beginning of the article that outrage alone cant be a policy from which to expect any useful results.
/3 Its clear that to execute these sanctions across all sectors, without a formulation of a real political vision, is a breeding ground for the propaganda of the regime. In this thread, I have also made aware of it.
/4 The quotation of an unknown Syrian official regarding the brutality of the sanctions against the entire Syrian population may provide the necessary drama, but is ultimately just cynical, considering that pro-regime forces have made areas of land unlivable by the use of
/5 chemical weapons & barrel bombs. In addition, the question should be asked: Does the author really believe that the upper echelons are really affected by this cold, which ordinary Syrians are suffering? This should really be considered critically.
/6 But sorry for this short outbreak of whataboutism. Lets get some facts, which are substantiated with some sources: The lack of needed medicines & equipment for hospitals must be judged in the context of the regime's strategy of warfare, which weaponized medicine.
/7 Here I can only urgently refer to the articles by @annie_sparrow , who has been intensively concerned with the deprivation of UN relief supplies and medicines by the regime. foreignaffairs.com/articles/syria…
&
foreignaffairs.com/articles/syria…
&
foreignaffairs.com/articles/syria…
/8 The regime also actively engages in biological warfare, using its control over relief through the Syrian Red Cresent as a weapon against dissidents foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/24/bas…
/9 In addition, the branches of the Syrian Mukhabarat did not hesitate to convert hospitals into torture centers. washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e…
These facts are widely known and it is doubtful that those methods have changed
These facts are widely known and it is doubtful that those methods have changed
/10 Crucial, however, is the passage that the sanctions have so far accomplished nothing and therefore continue to accomplish nothing, because the war has created a war-related bus. elite, which benefited from the sanctions, because they were able to engange in the war economies
/11 This is a bit short-sighted. The tactic of co-opting new business people into the regime for a mutual cooperation to generate cash flow, was part of the authoritarian upgrading during the inauguration of Bashar al-Assad.
/12 Here I can only warmly recommend the chapter of Caroline Donati in this book, which deals intensively with this topic sup.org/books/title/?i…
To the nature of the economic structures of the regime, its also worth to look into this piece by @SHeydemann brookings.edu/wp-content/upl…
To the nature of the economic structures of the regime, its also worth to look into this piece by @SHeydemann brookings.edu/wp-content/upl…
/13 The war economies within the pro-regime areas are either dominated or supplied by the regime-affiliated businessmen. @WillTodman has written a very good paper about the perversions of this trade during the war mei.edu/publications/s…
/14 "A major flaw in the recent EU sanctions and the proposed US sanctions is that they fail to distinguish between the regime, the government, and non-official institutions." - This sentence really leaves me speechless as it completely underestimates the authoritarian phenomenon
/15 in #Syria. Which institutions within the regime really operate outside the strict observations & instructions of the regime's security structures? All institutions and NGOs are subject to strong surveillance and control. No organization acts without authorization or strong
/16 selection of the regime. SARC is the best example. Here I can again only refer to the articles by Annie Sparrow. The most problematic, however, is the section on legitimate businessmen, who are wrongly condemned for the atrocities of the regime and the portrayal of Samer Foz.
/17 First of all, it has to be made clear that every businessmen who has come to wealth in #Syria so far cooperates directly with the regime and, in most cases, also finances pro-regime militias. Here some input to this content: syriauntold.com/2016/09/24/the…
/18 This is the logic of the political marketplace that was initiated by the Syrian regime to combat the insurgency. Foz is not accused of doing so because he is engaging in simple business,
/19 but because he is actively involved in the financing of pro-regime militias in Latakia and having friendly connections to the power elite in Damascus.
nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-ea…’s-reconstruction-mirage-syria-29962?page=0%2C1
&
aljumhuriya.net/en/content/sam…’s-new-favorite-handyman
nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-ea…’s-reconstruction-mirage-syria-29962?page=0%2C1
&
aljumhuriya.net/en/content/sam…’s-new-favorite-handyman
/20 Finally, the question should be asked whether this advanced political marketplace, the pronounced war economies and the shortages will even dissolve if the sanctions are repealed. The Pandora's box is by far not easy to close.
/21 In addition to the fact that gas shortages have been a major problem since 2008, as already reported by @reviewintl international-review.org/syrias-unrepor…
The question is whether these well-established black market structures are not too lucrative for many, that they can be changed by
The question is whether these well-established black market structures are not too lucrative for many, that they can be changed by
/22 lifting sanctions. In addition, the question arises: does the regime have the power to break these monopolies? Summarized. This topic is not an easy one. Even though the intentions for such considerations have no evil intent, they should not forget what social space the
/End Assad regime has created to assure its resilience.
->
->
