Syrian Coalition Urges Friends of Syria Group for Greater Support

Nasr al-Hariri, Secretary General of the Syrian Coalition, criticized the reluctance of many friends of the Syrian people to provide sufficient financial and economic support, describing it is as “a serious problem that slows the wheel of the revolution. More precisely, the problem does not only lie in the scarcity of financial support we receive, but also that it is not channeled through one source. In other words, financial support achieves the required results only when it is constantly channeled through the Syrian Coalition, which has executive bodies working on the ground in Syria.” Hariri criticized the United Nations’ decision taken in mid-October to cut humanitarian aid it provides to 4.2 million Syrians ravaged by Assad’s war machine, describing this move as “unrealistic and unfair.” Hariri also said that the timing of taking such a decision did not take into account the latest changes taking place in the Syrian crisis. “While billions of dollars are being budgeted to fight terrorism, the UN has decided to cut the humanitarian aid which is considered of the most important tactical steps that cannot not be ignored in this decisive phase. Moreover, this decision runs contrary to the strategy that the international community has adopted to fight terrorism because it would create the suitable conditions for the production of extremism and terrorism among the displaced and refugees. We therefore call for the UN to reconsider its decision and shoulder its responsibilities in the face of the social and political unrest that is sweeping the region. It is unreasonable how the world has collectively rushed to form the anti-ISIS coalition while failing to feed hungry children and provide shelter for the homeless woman.” Hariri’s remarks followed the UN announcement that it would start cut food aid to Syrians because of a shortfall in funding. “We decided that because of the funding shortfall, we will provide food to everybody but its cut down to 60%  of the normal (food) basket,” the World Food Program’s assistant executive director Elisabeth Rasmusson told AFP in an interview. (Source: Syrian Coalition)