Christian Solidarity International Applauds Trump for the Removal of Economic Sanctions against Syria
For Immediate Release (Westlake Village, CA) — Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has released a statement from CSI President Dr. John Eibner welcoming the “overdue removal of broad economic sanctions on Syria.”
First imposed by President Obama in 2011 to hasten the overthrow of Syria’s dictatorship under Bashar al-Assad, Eibner says “the sanctions have been, as a Christian leader from Syria commented to CSI as recently as last month, ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ In pushing millions of Syrians into hunger, illness and destitution, they killed, maimed, and dehumanized civilians of all religious communities and ethnicities.”
At the request of Syrian Christian leaders, CSI has been advocating since 2016 for the U.S. and its allies to remove their broad economic sector sanctions on Syria.
Eibner says that six months into its rule, Syria’s new, jihadist-led government has already been implicated in mass atrocities against religious minorities. Targeted killings resulted in the massacre of thousands of Alawites in March, more recently followed by attacks against the Druze. Christians are also increasingly threatened and discriminated against in the “new Syria.”
Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa and many of his lieutenants are still under individual sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations Security Council, because they are leaders of an al Qaeda-linked group.
Eibner says, “These individual sanctions against terrorist-designated leaders should not be removed until the perpetrators of the massacres of Alawites and Druzes in Latakia, Tartus, Hama, Homs, Rif Dimashq, and Suwayda governorates are brought to justice, and the United States can ensure firm guarantees for fundamental human rights and religious freedom.”
Following the massacre of Alawites in March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to “stand with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities.” Vice President JD Vance said, “We do not want to see another Christian community erased from the face of the earth… There are a lot of things we can do diplomatically and economically to protect some of those groups.” And during his campaign, President Trump pledged, “When I am President, I will protect persecuted Christians.”
See the full statement here: https://www.csi-int.org/news/statement-end-of-sanctions-syria/.
First imposed by President Obama in 2011 to hasten the overthrow of Syria’s dictatorship under Bashar al-Assad, Eibner says “the sanctions have been, as a Christian leader from Syria commented to CSI as recently as last month, ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ In pushing millions of Syrians into hunger, illness and destitution, they killed, maimed, and dehumanized civilians of all religious communities and ethnicities.”
At the request of Syrian Christian leaders, CSI has been advocating since 2016 for the U.S. and its allies to remove their broad economic sector sanctions on Syria.
Eibner says that six months into its rule, Syria’s new, jihadist-led government has already been implicated in mass atrocities against religious minorities. Targeted killings resulted in the massacre of thousands of Alawites in March, more recently followed by attacks against the Druze. Christians are also increasingly threatened and discriminated against in the “new Syria.”
Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa and many of his lieutenants are still under individual sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations Security Council, because they are leaders of an al Qaeda-linked group.
Eibner says, “These individual sanctions against terrorist-designated leaders should not be removed until the perpetrators of the massacres of Alawites and Druzes in Latakia, Tartus, Hama, Homs, Rif Dimashq, and Suwayda governorates are brought to justice, and the United States can ensure firm guarantees for fundamental human rights and religious freedom.”
Following the massacre of Alawites in March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged to “stand with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities.” Vice President JD Vance said, “We do not want to see another Christian community erased from the face of the earth… There are a lot of things we can do diplomatically and economically to protect some of those groups.” And during his campaign, President Trump pledged, “When I am President, I will protect persecuted Christians.”
See the full statement here: https://www.csi-int.org/news/statement-end-of-sanctions-syria/.
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Founded over 40 years ago, CSI is an international Christian human rights organization, campaigning for religious liberty and human dignity, and assisting victims of religious persecution, victimized children and victims of catastrophe. CSI delivers emergency food assistance, medical treatment, and other lifesaving aid to victims of religious persecution and natural disasters in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Nigeria, South Sudan, Pakistan, and other hotspots around the globe. CSI is currently the only organization working to liberate Christians and other South Sudanese forced into slavery by government-backed forces during the Sudanese civil war. For more information visit https://csi-usa.org.