Syria Is No Libya: Security Council Deadlocked

The UN Security Council failed to come up with a position on the violence in Syria as it became obvious that members hold different views on the situation in the country and the extent of the reforms the government of Bashir Al Assad has introduced.

 US and European diplomats have been pushing other Council members to adopt a statement condemning the government security force’s increasingly violent crackdown on protests since last Friday.

 But after two days of closed door consultations, UN delegates were no closer  to agreeing on a statement.  

 American Ambassador Susan Rice told an open session of the council the US was considering its own targeted sanctions and called on the international community to condemn the Syrian government’s actions 

 “The Syrian government’s actions until now have not been serious responses to demands of its people.” Rice said “Casting blame on outsiders instead of  addressing its own internal failures is no way for a government to respond to legitimate calls for reform from its people.”

 But other council members, such as China and India, weren’t as quick to condemn the Syrian regime and said they were pleased to see the government make political and civil reforms. 

 Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong said his country was concerned by developments and the regional instability any escalation could create, but noted the al-Assad regime’s reforms as a positive step.

 “We welcome the fact that recently the government of Syria has lifted the state of emergency and announced it will carry out political reforms and start a national dialogue” said the Chinese Ambassador.

 Some delegations also questioned the peaceful nature of the protests.

 Russia’s Deputy Ambassador Alexander Pankin argued that while demonstrators had legitimate demands, casualties suffered by Syrian security forces were evidence of violent elements 

“It is increasingly clear that some of the demonstrations both in Syria and other countries hope that a deteriorating situation could force the international community to help them and take sides. Such approaches lead to a never ending cycle of violence. This is a type of invitation to civil war.” Pankin said, warning that any foreign interference could further destabilize the region.

 UN Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe told the Council he had received reports that Syrian security forces were carrying out military operations around the town of Daara and several other villages outside Damascus, where they were reportedly shelling civilian populated areas. 

 Pascoe said the al-Assad regime has made communication and access to affected areas exceedingly difficult but that most preliminary reports indicate the great majority of casualties are peaceful protesters and civilians.

 Pascoe said there had only been one recorded incident in which demonstrators seized weapons from an abandoned military checkpoint and returned fire, killing Syrian security forces.

 Latest reports from rights groups on the ground indicate more than 100 people have been killed since Friday, bringing the death toll from the start of protests in mid-March to well over 300.

 Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari defended his government’s actions, blaming armed extremists for the escalation in clashes and the death of several dozen members of the country’s security forces. 

 “Authorities have stopped many arms shipment that had been sent to those groups attempting to undermine stability and security in the country. It has been proven that those weapons were sent from overseas by extremist religious groups to their agents inside the country to kill innocent people , to burn private and public institutions and to cause chaos generally” he told the Security Council “It was thus natural under such circumstances for the state to undertake its fundamental responsibility, just like any other state facing such threats and dangers” 

 Jaafari argued that state department had been financially supporting Syrian opposition groups and their mouthpieces for years now, with the intent of taking down the Al Assad regime.

 The Syrian Ambassador also dismissed American accusations that Iran had a hand suppressing the protests, saying that such charges were worthy of a Hollywood film and in fact exposed the American administration’s intent on using the crisis to further its own foreign policy objectives against Tehran.

 The United Nations Human Rights Council is scheduled to convene this Friday to further discuss the situation.