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Regime Participation Obstructs Donor Conference to Support Syria and Turkey Earthquake Victims

The French envoy to Syria denied rumours that the Syrian Red Crescent, close to the government, was invited to the conference, according to al-Souria Net.
Regime Participation Obstructs Donor Conference to Support Syria and Turkey Earthquake Victims

The European Union announced the postponement of the international donor conference to support the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6th, which left significant human and material losses.   

The conference was scheduled to take place on March 16th in Brussels. It was supposed to be attended by EU member states, neighbouring countries, and UN member states to raise the necessary funds to assist those affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

The EU announced in a statement that the conference scheduled for March 16th has been postponed until further notice due to “unforeseen circumstances.” The statement did not provide any further explanation for the postponement.  

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However, political activists attributed the reason for the postponement to the participation of the regime government in the conference, which was rejected by several countries. 

Controversy arose when there were talks about the Syrian Red Crescent, which is backed by the Assad government, participating in the Brussels conference. Activists demanded that the regime not be invited to participate due to the violations it committed against Syrians over the years.  

The French envoy to Syria, Brigitte Curmi, confirmed that the government of the regime or its affiliated organizations were not invited to attend the Brussels conference to support the earthquake victims.  

Curmi denied rumours that the Syrian Red Crescent, backed by the Assad government or any figure representing the Syrian regime, was invited to participate in the Brussels conference to support the earthquake victims. Curmi made the statement during a press conference in the Turkish city of Gaziantep on Tuesday. She emphasized that no invitation was extended to the Syrian Red Crescent or any representative of the Syrian regime. The European Union announced holding a donor conference a few days ago to raise funds to support earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.

 

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

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