To: Hassan Rouhani, President, Islamic Republic of Iran and Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran

End the Siege of Yarmouk Camp

A siege of tens of thousands of civilians is cruel and improper. It violates international law and religious teachings. Attacks on civilians by any side in the conflict must be condemned. We ask that Iranian government representatives contact the Assad government and insist that it end its siege of Yarmouk and all predominantly civilian areas.

Why is this important?

We are people who have spoken out and protested against war or sanctions on Iran. We are people who have opposed the Obama Administration’s plan to bomb Syria. We know the sorry results of U.S. and European interventions in the Middle East.

We also have spoken out against mistreatment of Palestinians by Israeli forces and the denial of basic Palestinian human and national rights for many decades.

We write to you about the situation of Palestinians in Yarmouk. The camp and its tens of thousands of residents have been under total siege for around six months. The Washington Post reported in mid-January that 48 Palestinians have died from hunger and related causes. We have seen pictures from Yarmouk of people reduced to near skeletons from malnutrition.

We are not offering a solution to Syria’s problems; however we are united in saying that a siege of tens of thousands of civilians is cruel and improper. It violates international law and religious teachings. Attacks on civilians by any side in the conflict must be condemned.

We ask that your representatives contact the Assad government and insist that it end its siege of Yarmouk and all predominantly civilian areas.

Initial Signers:

Mongi Dhaouadi, Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations - CT, Noam Chomsky, Mazin Qumsiyeh, Ali Antar, president of the Berlin, CT mosque, Nada Khader of Wespac, Augusta Girard, Program Director, Promoting Enduring Peace, J. Kehaulani Kauanui, PhD. Professor of American Studies and Anthropology, Wesleyan University , As‘ad AbuKhalil, Department of Politics, California State University, Stanislaus, Felice Gelman Wespac Middle East Committee, John Mahoney, Executive Director, Americans for Middle East Understanding, Stanley Heller, Executive Director, Middle East Crisis Committee and the group Promoting Enduring Peace.

(colleges and group names listed with individuals are for identification purposes only)