Syrian Organization: Sanctions against Belarus Should be expanded

LONDON, Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Syrians in the UK, a human rights group that unites British citizens who were born in Syria, sent a letter to the U.S. Senate praising the fact that the U.S. government announced economic sanctions against two Belarusian companies that sold weapons to Syria and Iran.

"Belarusian companies TM Services and KBR Radar are some of the most active arms dealers and producers in the country. They produced and shipped weapons to Iran and Syria, and therefore the fact that they are put on the sanctions list is of great importance. However, we kindly ask you to consider further expanding sanctions against Belarus, and to include all companies that are state-owned or support the Lukashenka regime," the letter states. This is the only effective way to stop Lukashenka from helping Syrian leadership in their fight against Syrian people."

"It has reported that Lukashenka acts like a Swiss bank for world's dictators, channeling the money and helping Syria and Iran escape sanctions. We ask you to consider additional measures against Belarus, specifically banning export of oil and potash, as exporting these commodities constitute over 50% of Belarusian currency inflow. The sanctions must be in place until Belarus stops providing financial services and weapons to Syria," states the letter.

Boulos Kuzbari, Syrians in the UK co-founder, says: "Belarus is Syria's window to weapons and money. We believe that the US must not only ban companies that sell weapons, but ban trading with the whole country. This way we can almost ensure that Basar Al-Assad will not receive support from Belarus. We hope the U.S. will include other companies in the sanctions, especially those that are controlled by the government. We sent the letter to the U.S. Senate and members of the British Parliament," added Kuzbari. 

Syrians in the UK
http://syriansinuk.org 
[email protected] 
+44 (0) 020 8133 3275

SOURCE Syrians in the UK