AMP denounces Syrian regime; demands an end to siege on Yarmouk refugee camp

(CHICAGO 01/15/2014) – At least 43 Palestinian have starved to death in the past three months in Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus because the Syrian regime placed it under a total siege in July 2013. The delivery of humanitarian assistance, including food and medical supplies, has been prohibited since then, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Women are dying while giving birth, and children are suffering from diseases related to severe malnutrition, according to Chris Gunness, UNRWA spokesman.

”Residents, including infants and children, are subsisting for long periods on diets of stale vegetables, herbs, powdered tomato paste, animal feed and cooking spices dissolved in water,” Gunness said in a statement.

The American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) condemns the Syrian regime in the harshest possible terms for the starvation and suffering of the Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk, and for using Palestinians as pawns as conditions of the war it is waging on its own people. Furthermore, AMP condemns the regime for its attempts to drive a divisive wedge between Palestinians, oppressing some while collaborating with others in attempts to set up a deleterious “good Palestinian vs. bad Palestinian” dichotomy.

 “Exploiting the historical support for some Palestinian factions to facilitate the siege is deplorable and will only further fragment the Palestinian body politic and sow the seeds of distrust and animosity between the Syrian and Palestinian people, which will only serve Israel and its dictator allies in the Arab world,” said Dr. Hatem Bazian, AMP chairman and UC Berkeley professor. ”We call on all Palestinian factions in Syria to put their trust in the Syrian people and not the regime. We call on you not to allow the financial or political support for the just cause of Palestine, which historically had been extended by the Syrian government, to be monetized into accepting its atrocity against the Syrian people.” 

The siege must end now and AMP demands the Syrian regime and others complicit in the siege allow the United Nations and its subsequent agencies access to Yarmouk’s refugees in order to assess their level of need. AMP also demands the delivery of humanitarian aid and medical supplies immediately.

“The Syrian regime is still responsible under the Geneva Accords to protect the Palestinian refugees and violating their rights or using them as pawns in the conduct of war constitutes a major breach of international law and is a war crime,” said Dr. Bazian, an expert in international law.

While AMP urgently calls for help for the Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk, the education and advocacy organization has not forgotten the hundreds of thousands of other victims of the two-year-long strife.

“AMP clearly affirms that it stands with the Syrian people and their legitimate aspirations for freedom and democracy,” said Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid, expert political analyst and AMP national board member. “At the same time, the situation in Yarmouk defies comprehension and is an example of the grossest of human rights violations. The siege must end now.”

At one time Yarmouk, a suburb just south of Damascus city, was home to more than 160,000 Palestine refugees. In December 2012 and in the months since, armed conflict has caused at least 140,000 Palestine refugees to flee their homes in Yarmouk, as armed opposition groups established a presence in the area, with government forces controlling the periphery. Between December 2012 and June 2013, civilians still received UNRWA assistance at the Zahera entrance to Yarmouk. However, from mid-July 2013, Palestine refugees have been trapped in the area, with little or no access or freedom of movement.

AMP asserts is imperative that all sides in the Syrian conflict refrain from taking their fight to the Palestinian camps as Palestinians are refugees and therefore are a protected people, entitled to protection and a quality of life.