The theft of Syrian oil by US forces illegally occupying Syria, and the US-NATO backed destruction of infrastructure and economy, have left Syrians in extreme danger of dying from cold and starvation this winter. Before the war Syria, which is the seat of one of the earliest civilisations, had a healthy economy and was host to many refugees from neighboring states.

The Syrian people have triumphed over the extremist Islamist insurgency, but paid a terrible price. By one outdated estimate, 400,000 Syrians including 80,000 members of the Syrian Arab Army perished in the conflict, which began almost 12 years ago, in March 2011. For refusing its demands that President Bashar Al-Assad allow the privatisation of Syria's nationally-owned bank and other neo-liberal economic 'reforms,' the United States and other allies began to arm and pay extremist Islamist terrorists to fight a proxy terrorist war against Syria on its behalf.

The corporate newsmedia depicted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a corrupt and murderous dictator who was hated by the Syrian people. However, the evidence, including the overwhelming support he received in two subsequent presidential elections, shows that President Bashar al-Assad has far more legitimacy than any one of the heads of state who were calling for his overthrow.

During the conflict, sanctions, which prevented Syria from being able to import materials and products to sustain its economy, were illegally imposed by the United States and its allies, including Australia. They were never authorised by the United Nations or by any other international body and are therefore in violation of international law.

In December 2022, as winter approaches, the illegal sanctions remain in place. As Kevork Almassian, aka 'Syriana,' explains, in the video embedded below, the continuation of these sanctions - in particular oil sanctions, whilst Syria's own oil fields are illegally occupied by US forces which are stealing the oil - is making it impossible for much of the Syrian economy to work and threatening many Syrians with hunger and illness. As a matter of urgency, everyone in any one of these countries which are continuing to impose these illegal sanctions, must tell their governments to lift them.

The video below includes analysis, from within Syria, by Vanessa Beeley and by Patrick Henningsen

IT IS SERIOUS! Contact your representatives in the local parliaments - Vanessa Beeley