Simone Weil Center
By Paul Grenier
April 1, 2020

Sharon Tennison, director of the Center for Citizen Initiatives, has called for an end to the U.S. policy of sanctions against dozens of nations during a deadly global pandemic. We urge everyone to read her appeal, sign on to it, and distribute it further. *

CCI’s statement notes the foolishness of a policy which “affects the ability of [other] countries to contain the [COVID-19] outbreak, leading in turn to more infections” and the likelihood that the virus will then spread beyond  those nations’ borders, restarting the global outbreak

CCI’s appeal draws attention to the obvious inhumanity of the United States’ actions against Iran in particular, a country whose economy was already in shambles thanks to the so-called ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions regime imposed by the Trump administration in 2017 after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal.  The resulting economic crunch and blow to the country’s medical system had already, before the pandemic, precipitated a humanitarian crisis in Iran.   It is worth adding that, according to a recent prognosis from researchers at the Sharif University of Technology in Iran, the coronavirus death toll in Iran could ultimately end up numbering in the millions.[1]

Although even U.S. allies such as the UK have now called on the United States to remove its sanctions against Iran, the Trump administration has, to the contrary, tightened them further. At a recent press conference on the subject, President Trump can be heard repeating, “They know what to do” even as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asserts that food and medications are exempt from the sanctions.

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The German government has declared a complete stopping «Defender Europe 20»

The Duran
By Edgars Palladis
March 28,2020

According to the official Bundestag representative, the the U.S.-led multinational Exercise «Defender Europe 20» has been cancelled.

At the meeting of the Defense Committee, Inspector General Zorn and Bernd Schütt, Head of the Strategy and Deployment Department at the Federal Ministry of Defense commented on the manoeuvre:

«All the exercises in Poland, Lithuania and Germany have been cancelled. The US soldiers and the equipment currently in Poland are to be transferred back to Germany «at some point». The US personnel and equipment currently in Germany are to be transferred back by the summer, if Corona allows it.»

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In Letter to American People, Iranian President Raps Sanctions

Tasnim News Agency
March 21, 2020

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sent a message to the people of the United States of America on Friday, saying the time has come for the American nation to end the “dark chapter” of Washington’s sanctions in the US history to contribute to the global battle with the coronavirus.

Following is the full text of the Iran president’s message to American people released by his official website on Friday, March 20:

In the Name of God, the Compassionate the Merciful

On behalf of the great Iranian nation, I write to the people of the United States of America on the occasion of the Iranian New Year (Nowruz). The coronavirus outbreak has endangered the health of—and even presented a considerable threat to—humanity with no distinction as to nationality, or gender or religious backgrounds. This presents an opportune moment to further contemplate our common pains and our human principles. 

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End All Sanctions Now

To Assist with the Fight Against Coronavirus

As of today, March 23, 2020, Italy’s death toll from the Coronavirus reached 6000, surpassing that of China. New numbers from Iran are very grim, with a 15% hike in deaths, amid a total of 23,000 confirmed cases thus far. Venezuela remains on lockdown after dozens of people tested positive for the virus. As a result of the U.S. Sanctions, the health care system in Venezuela is in shambles since many hospitals do not have basic medical supplies, let alone water or electricity. Cuba confirmed its first cases of Covid-19 last week, and is now dealing with another crisis after its food supplies were dramatically reduced as a result of the U.S. Petrol Blockade. The common thread in all of this human suffering are the U.S. Sanctions.

Is the Coronavirus not the ultimate leveler that can teach the world the lessons that national ego, pride, and so-called “exceptionalism” do not teach us? Are the U.S. Sanctions not feeding the Coronavirus epidemic right now, by hampering the ability of many countries to respond?

As we all know, the U.S. imposes some form of Sanctions against 39 different countries, including Russia, thus affecting over one-third of the world’s population. These Sanctions cause immense humanitarian suffering, are a violation of international law and are especially immoral at times like these when we are facing a global pandemic.

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Dear CCI Friends,

March 5 to 15 was to be downtime with my four adult kids, spouses and the youngest five grandchildren in Bend, Oregon. I flew from a near-empty SFO to Portland on a helicopter-type of small plane, then to Bend on a compact, two-engine plane … apparently due to few passengers.

Arriving in Bend at my youngest son’s home (two sets of twins, ages 8 and 3 years), I found him exhausted with the flu. The older twins brought it home from school, 3 year olds next, parents next… I was last to get a mild version. Meanwhile, the coronavirus was being followed on all the networks. Despite it all, visiting and cooking with my kids and grandkids was healing and wonderful.

As for COVID – 19, it’s tragic to learn about those fighting for life on respirators, health care workers exposed to the coronavirus everyday, and the loss of income for millions of young people and families struggling to survive even before this contagion interrupted our lives.

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