SOHR Exclusive | Human aid file in Syria: politicization…blackmail…commission…manipulation
The Syrian people have suffered more than ten years of conflicts after a peaceful revolution that demands living with dignity. Still, the ongoing tensions have caused displacement, hunger, loss of houses, living in streets and camps, and left millions under the mercy of humanitarian aid.
In light of the Syrian deplorable conditions, Volkan Bozkir, president of the UNSC, called for continuing the humanitarian aid to Syria without a cut, noting the rising demand for the aid by 20 percent compared to 2020.
The UN warned against the situation in Syria will come out of control, reiterated the increasing humanitarian needs exceed the capabilities of the international organization, while the World Food Program, on May 15, announced that 12.4 million persons in war-torn Syria who have been struggling to find enough food are in increase, describing it as “worrying rise.”
The Bab al-Hawa border crossing is the only opened crossing to enter humanitarian aid due to the Russian intransigence, but its working license ends in the incoming July.
Syrian prominent opposition politician Michelle Satouf, told SOHR, “the issue of not opening the crossings is similar to a game with multi-parties, backgrounds, and goals.”
“The issue of the borders is not new, and not only a political or economic problem. Each of the border crossings has its special features and common factors,” Satouf said.
“The borders also don’t only belong to al-Assad, but to Putin authority in the first place amid market and race of conflicts, which means that issue is a confrontation among Russia, US, UN, and the west to limit the margin of intervention of the UN and relief organizations as an attempt to stress the Russian dominance,” the opposition politician explained out.
He highlighted the pressure of pulling the rob by the Russian side with Turkey- Astana third elements- and the discontent of deepening the comprehensive Turkish influence in north Syria on the pretext of al-Assad legitimacy on full Syrian territories and borders as well as the pressure practiced on Turkey and the armed opposition forces to open arteries of basic roads “M4” and “M5” to achieve economic and political gains that matter the Russians and al-Assad regime. They want to apply similar deals on the eastern border crossings with Iraq to put pressure on the Autonomous Administration-held are in northeastern Syria where the SDF, with the Kurds majority and the US foe, are located.
On the contrary, there is a conscious conflict between the US and the west from one side and Putin from the other side, which is consistent with the climate of complicating the Syrian issue, along with escaping the assumed international and UN liabilities.
Satouf added, “practically, in case of the Kremlin’s persisted manipulation and dealing with the Syrian issue, and opposition of any element or context of the Syrian revolution as the opposite of al-Assad power and detector of his illegitimacy.”
The Russian stand with regards to the borders doesn’t take into consideration any humanitarian aspect or difficulties in north Syria, ordeals elsewhere, and the challenges of COVID-19 and means of relief.
Satouf added, “the situation of kremlin remained to hover over the field of seemingly unmatured swaps now, with transient and temporary details. It continued practicing the exercise of the known traditional Russian pressures that couldn’t succeed in imposing concessions on the official opposition structures that complains of weak presence, independence and impact.
On the other hand, opposition activist and member of the preparatory committee of “Goud Front”, Soliman al-kafiry told the Syrian Observatory, “the humanitarian aid since the beginning of the revolution has carried absolute political objectives and not humanitarian purposes either from the regime or the different international powers.”
“Accordingly, the aid hasn’t reached the deserved people,” he said lamenting the aid hasn’t responded to the needs of the Syrians, who suffered hunger, in camps, considerable shortage of medicines and food because of the officials’ failure in distributing it.
Al-Kafiry added the aid was not only humanitarian but services for different agendas and has formed a tool of commission by Russia, Iran, and some powers that considered as allies to the revolution like Turkey, noting that “the international society remained remised which deepened the Syrian people crisis.”
Concerning the elections, al-Kafiry, said “the aid file formed an atmosphere that has been exploited by the regime who control the non-governmental and service associations.”
He reiterated, “we couldn’t ignore the negative role of the concerned officials in distributing the aid, in looting, trafficking and selling the aid in the black market openly.”
He called on the international society to ensure the reach of the aid to the deserved people and not letting some sides manipulate or loot it.
On the other hand, Syrian and opposition activist, Mahmoud Hamzah, told SOHR “Russia that backs the regime in the UNSC, works on limiting dealing with the external world on the regime only, which is an exaggerating matter.”
On the real ground, the east of Syria is in hands of the SDF and the US, while the north of Syria is under the control of Turkey, while the regime controls only 17 percent of the Syrian borders, Hamzah said.
He wondered “how Russia wants to force the international community and the US to present aid via the regime and entitled it to control the borders which are deemed as impossible because the regime doesn’t control the crossings?”
He added that Moscow, last year, has sought to shut the border crossings through which the aid enters, and only the Bab al-Hawa border crossing at the Turkish border remained working to provide the aid to northwestern Syria and Idlib province that still out of the Syrian regime control. The UN permission to use the crossing will end next May.
Hamzah added, “there are bids to close the Bab al-Hawa border crossing or putting it under the regime control to regulate all the trade relations, the most important factor for the regime and its allies, to gain money, taxes, and customs tariffs especially amid the difficult economic conditions that challenge the regime given Moscow isn’t able to help.
According to Hamzah, the US and the EU are seeking to press Moscow in the UNSC to open a new crossing for humanitarian aid which is rejected by al-Assad and his proxies.
He referred to the regime open of domestic borders area with Idlib for return of refugees and participation in the “farce elections” that are clearly realized by the Syrian people.
He described the UN stance as languid, noting that most of the aid was entering through Damascus and were going to the proxies’ areas and the gangs that have sold them in the market with imaginary prices.
Hamzah asserted that the UN bureau in Damascus and all the staff were recommended and accepted by the regime, adding that “Russia has been practicing political blackmail to achieve economic gains for Moscow and the regime.”
From his side, Fouad Aliko, a member of “Yakity Party” told SOHR “the aid file is pressure card from Russia and the regime on the opposition to offer certain concessions like opening the borders with Turkey in the opposition region, the same request that the Russian demanded before and was completely rejected by the opposition.
As for the UN, it is the nations of strong powers that wouldn’t lean to anyone, Aliko said adding that “the Russians have rejected all the international decisions over Syria for reaching a political solution and they also used the veto right for ten times even in the humanitarian cases while the Syrian people have been paying the bill of the international and regional conflicts in Syria and the Middle East in general.
Badran Gia Jurd, deputy to the joint presidency for the Autonomous Administration for north and eastern Syria, said “the UN aid all pass through Damascus, and even the allocations programmed for east Syria are not sent but used by the regime in the areas it holds to ease the living condition crisis and high prices,” noting that the UN agents don’t move without the approval of the Syrian regime.
Jurd highlighted that aid is monopolized by the regime and Autonomous Administration has focused on that issue in its negotiations with the UN where the aid file was politicized and the administration was forced to deal with Damascus which was rejected by the east areas in Syria in all discussions.
He mentioned 200,000 doses of COVID-19 were sent to Syria, with 10 percent of which were allocated to eastern Syria, which means 20,000 doses.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said the Autonomous Administration-held areas had only 650 doses of vaccine, and that the Autonomous Administration has rejected that quantity considering it as humiliation and disregard of the people’s life.
He blamed the regime for the difficult conditions and the shortage of the humanitarian aid that it really control, describing it as “endangering the life of civilians.”
The ongoing Syrian war that started ten years ago has destroyed the economy and increased inflation across the country.