The decision by Russia and China to veto an Arab Lea-gue backed United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a transition to a democratic regime in Syria makes a difficult situation much worse and sadly gives the Assad regime a licence to carry on slaughtering its own people.
It would have been preferable for Tonio Borg to also criticise the Russian and Chinese UN veto- Anthony Manduca
Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the UN, was absolutely right when she called the Russian and Chinese veto “shameful and disgusting”.
This is the second time that Russia and China have vetoed a UN resolution on Syria. Last October Moscow and Beijing blocked a resolution which condemned the grave and systematic human rights violations in Syria and warned of targeted measures against the regime if the oppression continued. Since that veto, another 3,000 people have been killed in Syria, bringing the total number of people killed to 6,000.
Since last week’s veto hundreds of Syrians have died as a result of a brutal crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad’s army on opponents of the regime, particularly in Homs, the country’s third largest city, which has been a leading focus of unrest during the uprising over the past 11 months. Entire families and numerous civilians are being killed as the city is bombarded with heavy artillery and mortar fire.
In dealing with the unrest in Homs President Assad is no doubt taking a leaf out of his father’s book. In 1982 the city of Hama was the scene of a massacre when then President Hafez al-Assad razed the city to the ground to crush a rebellion, slaughtering an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people.
The difference then was that the regime was firmly in place, the massacre took place during the Cold War period where Syria was a close Soviet ally and there was no social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to inform the world about what was going on. The international community hardly batted an eyelid when these crimes against humanity were committed.
Today, the whole world knows what is happening in Syria and it is only a matter of time before the Assad regime crumbles, but unfortunately there will be more bloodshed and possibly regional instability – Shi’ite Iran is a close ally of Syria – before Assad and his clique are overthrown. One thing has not changed, however; Russia has maintained its very close ties with Syria, which remains its only real ally in the Middle East.
Unfortunately, Russia has taken a journey back to the Cold War – some would argue it never really disposed of its Cold War mentality – and it looks at the Syria uprising as a US plot to extend its influence in the region, which it certainly is not.
Moscow believes it has strategic interests to defend when it chooses to back the Assad regime: Syria provides Russia with a deep, warm water Mediterranean port at Tartus, Russian arms sales to Syria are worth $5 billion and Russian business investments in Syria amount to almost $20 billion.
However, Russia’s attitude towards the situation in Syria is not only morally wrong, it is also very short-sighted as Moscow is bound to lose influence and respect in the Arab world, and it will definitely lose out in Syria when the Assad regime is eventually overthrown.
The Arab world is changing, and yes, this has created a level of uncertainty, but Moscow and Beijing have definitely positioned themselves on the wrong side of history, which they will come to regret. Russia and China have become the defenders of the status quo in this region and have clearly sided with the oppressors.
China’s traditional opposition to intervention in the affairs of other states – despite the fact that the Arab League supported the latest UN resolution – now looks like a hollow excuse for supporting suppression.
One can understand an initial hesitation when it comes to abandoning a long-term ally – after all the US was at first unsure at how to deal with the turmoil in Egypt, but then realised that Hosni Mubarak simply had to go, and France’s first instinct was to support Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, but there can be absolutely no justification for Russia to continue supporting Bashar al-Assad.
One thing needs to be made clear: Assad is a far worse dictator than either Mubarak or Ben Ali and the atrocities committed by his regime (and his father’s) places him in the same league of tyrants who committed crimes against humanity, such as Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein.
The Maltese government has rightly condemned the suppression in Syria calling the situation “unacceptable”, although it would have been preferable for Foreign Minister Tonio Borg to also criticise the Russian and Chinese UN veto. At a political party level it should be pointed out that only Alternattiva Demokratika issued a statement condemning the veto and the brutality of the Assad regime.
In the absence of a UN resolution, the international community must still continue to find ways of helping the Syrian people. One hopes the Maltese government will play its part within the EU in convincing the bloc to tighten sanctions against Syria and to consider breaking off diplomatic relations with Damascus.
The Arab League and Turkey will have to continue playing a major role in this crisis – Libya, for example, has already handed over the Syrian embassy in Tripoli to the opposition Syrian National Council.
Plans must be put in place for when the crisis gets worse. The establishment of humanitarian corridors, the arming of the Syrian rebels, the official recognition of the Syrian opposition and the establishment of secret contacts with senior elements within the Syrian military – a coup against Assad would be the ideal solution – need to be considered by the international community.
Finally, pressure must continue to be exerted on Russia and China to act responsibly before the situation turns into an all-out civil war and a possible Sunni–Shi’ite confrontation in the region.