TURKEY IMPOSED A raft of economic and financial sanctions on Syria today – and also froze the regime’s assets – in response to the Syrian government’s failure to cease its brutal crackdown on protesters.
The move comes following the decision of the Arab League to suspend Syria over its continued mistreatment of civilians since demonstrations began last March, reports the New York Times. The League also announced sanctions on Syria on Sunday.
The United Nations has accused Syrian troops of committing hundreds of cases of crimes against humanity – estimating that at least 3,500 people have been killed in the violence of the past eight months, including 256 children.
In a report published by the UN Human Rights Council, the Syrian government is accused sanctioning the torture of both adults and children.
“Every bullet fired, every bombed mosque has eliminated the legitimacy of the Syrian leadership and has widened the gap between us,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, today.
Turkey and Syria conducted $2.4 billion worth of trade last year, according to the Turkish embassy in Damascus. The sanctions will bite an already ailing economy in Syria, where President Bashar Assad is trying to crush a remarkably resilient uprising against his autocratic rule.
“Syria must immediately cease using force on the people and the forces must immediately withdraw from the cities,” Davutoglu said.
The Turkish foreign minister announced a set of nine sanctions, including a travel ban on Syrian leaders and the freezing of their assets. Businessmen “strongly supporting” the regime would also be sanctioned, Davutoglu said, in a direct threat to a mainstay of regime support.
Davutoglu also said that Turkey was imposing a travel ban and freezing the assets of “certain officials who are members of the main cadre of leaders, who are the subject of claims of exerting violence against the people or of resorting to illegitimate means.”
“All shipment of arms and military equipment through Turkey’s land, airspace and seas … will be prevented,” he said.
He said Ankara was suspending all ties to the Syrian Central Bank, freezing any Syrian government assets in Turkey and suspending any loan deals. Future dealing with the Syrian Trade Bank would be suspended, while current deals would continue, Davutoglu said.
He also announced the suspension of a joint economic and political cooperation council between the two countries “until a legitimate leadership that is in peace with its people comes to power in Syria.”
Additional reporting by the AP
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