{"id":12429,"date":"2011-10-05T15:56:47","date_gmt":"2011-10-05T19:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/?p=12429"},"modified":"2011-10-05T16:09:14","modified_gmt":"2011-10-05T20:09:14","slug":"reactions-to-the-u-n-vote-and-is-the-e-u-about-to-sanction-syrias-central-bank-by-ehsani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joshualandis.com\/blog\/reactions-to-the-u-n-vote-and-is-the-e-u-about-to-sanction-syrias-central-bank-by-ehsani\/","title":{"rendered":"Reactions to the U.N Vote And Is the E.U. About to Sanction Syria’s Central Bank? (By Ehsani)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U.S. and the E.U. are still smarting from last night\u2019s veto decision at the U.N.<\/p>\n

The British Foreign Secretary had this to say at his party\u2019s conference today:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision of Russia and China to veto this resolution, and to side with a brutal regime rather than with the people of Syria, is deeply mistaken and regrettable. We will redouble our efforts to work with other nations to increase the pressure on the regime wherever we can, and we assure the people of Syria that they will not be forgotten\u201d.<\/p>\n

The German foreign minister issued this statement from Berlin:<\/p>\n

\u201cGermany will continue to push, both internationally and especially within the European Union, for a clear position and pressure on the Syrian regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Obama administration continued to admonish both Russia and China by saying that countries have to take responsibility for the votes on the council as well as any implications such votes may have on the ground.<\/p>\n

Using his spokesman, the U.N. Secretary General<\/strong> also weighed in on the subject this way:<\/p>\n

“The secretary general regrets that the UN Security Council has not been able to agree and he hopes that the council will overcome the division and find a collective way to address the situation,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said.<\/p>\n

“He believes we have a moral obligation to prevent further bloodshed and help the people of Syria out of this crisis,” Nesirky said.<\/p>\n

Countries that abstained from last night’s votes also had to hear this today:<\/p>\n

\u201cBy abstaining, [Brazil, India, and South Africa] have not only failed the Syrian people, but [have] also failed to offer a credible alternative to end the bloodshed,\u201d says Philippe Bolopion, UN director of Human Rights Watch in New York. \u201cThis vote erodes their credibility in the global arena and might come to define their tenure in the Security Council and undermine their claim to permanent membership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Predictably, the Syrian government \u201chighly appreciated\u201d the veto which \u201csent a message of trust from the Security Council to the people of the world in whose eyes international organizations have turned into tools of colonial hegemony for decades”.<\/p>\n

Are new EU sanction on the way?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having used and amended its sanctions against Syria seven times, it seems that the E.U. is preparing for number eight.<\/p>\n

According to the Dow Jones newswires, EU diplomats said that there is a broad consensus among European Union member states in favor of adding Syria’s central bank to its sanctions list<\/strong> and the EU is also set to extend sanctions on close to 30 Iranians over human-rights abuses in that country.<\/p>\n

The E.U. has already made the decision to ban the exporting of bank notes and Coins to Syria’s central bank. The new measure, if approved, would freeze any European-based Central-bank assets and could make it harder for Syria to get its hands on Foreign currency.<\/p>\n

Back in August, the governor of the Syrian Central Bank said that US sanctions h?? \u201cforced Syria to ?t?? all transactions ?n US dollars, ?n? th? country h?? turned completely t? euro deals.\u201d This came after ?n executive order the week before ordered th? freezing ?f ?ll Syrian state assets ?n th? United States ?n? forbade investment ?n? exports t? th? country.<\/p>\n

Since then, the Syrian commercial banks have held their mandatory reserves with the Central bank in Euros. If the E.U. sanctions the Syrian Central Bank, it would mean that the local commercial banks will not be able to hold their mandatory reserves in Euros either. Moreover, they will not be able to do any buying or selling of both Euros and Dollars from the Central Bank. It is worth noting that the Syrian Central Bank has not sold any foreign exchange to the local Banking system over the past few days. Following the lifting of the import suspension, importers can source foreign currency using their private accounts overseas or by going to the local black market. The current rate in this market is still stable at SYP 51.50 or so. It is unclear where the rate will settle in the weeks ahead once importers renew their appetite to stock up.<\/p>\n

Bible Manuscripts From Damascus Go On Rare Display<\/a><\/p>\n

JERUSALEM (AP) \u2014 Precious Bible manuscripts originating in the Jewish community of Damascus, Syria, went on display for several hours Wednesday, offering a rare glimpse at a collection that includes books spirited to Israel in clandestine operations before the ancient community disappeared at the end of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

The books are held at Israel’s national library. Because of security and conservation concerns, most of the collection has been on display just once before, also for just a few hours, more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

The collection includes 11 volumes. Three, including the oldest and most important book in the collection, were brought out of the library’s vaults and displayed during a symposium Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n

Ranging from 700 to 1,000 years old and written in the Middle East and Europe, the parchment manuscripts include meticulous Hebrew penmanship and illustrations in ink and gold leaf. Some boast intricate micrography \u2014 decorations made up of thousands of tiny Hebrew letters.<\/p>\n

None were written in Damascus, but rather came to be held in synagogues in the city over the centuries. They are known collectively as the Damascus Crowns, “crown” being a Hebrew term sometimes used to describe particularly important and venerable biblical manuscripts.<\/p>\n

The Jewish community in Syria’s capital had been there for more than 2,000 years before its members were driven out by government persecution and mob violence linked to the rise of Arab nationalism and the establishment of Israel in 1948. A second ancient community in the country’s business center, Aleppo, met the same fate, as did others across the Arab world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. and the E.U. are still smarting from last night\u2019s veto decision at the U.N. The British Foreign Secretary had this to say at his party\u2019s conference today: \u201cThe decision of Russia and China to veto this resolution, and to side with a brutal regime rather than with the people of Syria, is deeply […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nReactions to the U.N Vote And Is the E.U. 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