No Good Way In Syria
The crisis in Syria is going through a strange phase. The poison gas attack on civilians, poses a dilemma for New Zealand and the global community as it highlights a clash of differing norms of International Law into force.
First of all there is no doubt, that chemical weapons were used in Syria. Both American and German Intelligence also confirmed that. Thousands of dead bodies, with foam in the corner of their mouth, bodies burned beyond recognition, hunched and broken bones due to uncontrolled convulsions, soiled clothes due to nervous system failures, thousands of photos and videos are unparalleled evidence to the atrocity. The weapons inspector of the UN corroborate to that. They are not however mandated to say who used it, the government or the rebels. That would be judged with intelligence reports, circumstantial evidence like intercepted communications, use of gas masks by soldiers moments before use, delivery systems etc. Currently rebels don’t have the means…not saying they won’t in the future, but presently it is doubtful.
Meanwhile the international community battles with the perspective of which course of action to take, punitive measures in accordance with International law against chemical weapons, or wait for the craven and senile Security Council, which is blocked dead by Russia and China. Meanwhile Britain and America suffers from a massive war fatigue, with only France being the only country actively still seeking punitive actions, but unfortunately without the capability of going solo.
The situation in Syria is gruesome, however. The United Nations has confirmed that over 1 million people have now fled Syria as refugees since the civil war began 2 years ago. Over 70% of the refugees are vulnerable women and children who were forced to flee for their lives and are now surviving inside UNHCR tent cities in neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. Refugee Council of New Zealand spokesperson Gary E. Poole said, in a reply to the Indian Weekender that there are some Syrian refugees in New Zealand, most of them had arrived as asylum seekers and were victims of torture. “Many people know that New Zealand does accept an annual humanitarian quota from the UNHCR of 750 urgent protection high needs cases from the UNHCR, but so far they are from other countries (Afghanistan, Burma Iraq, Congo, Sri Lanka) and not from Syria,” he said. “The Syrian asylum seekers are reluctant to speak to media because they don’t want to be identified or have their families placed in greater risk back at home,” he said.
The joint Russian-American plan of dismantling Syrian chemical weapons is optimistic, but sketchy. It seems to be wishful thinking, a time buying technique from the master of Realpolitik, Vladimir Putin. He succeeded in protecting his client Assad, and avert an immediate American limited strike on Syrian facilities and military depot.
The New Zealand parliament has called for debate and motions on what is to be done in Syria, but like most other countries, seems to find that there is no good prudent way to go. Middle East is a place with sectarian crisis for the last three thousand years, and to choose a side in this fray, even though is emotional, is probably not realistic.
However, one needs to keep in mind that sometimes inaction has a cost thousand times more than violent action, and appeasement to barbarism makes a responsible global citizen like New Zealand an accomplice to the said act. We, being in a comparatively better socio-economic condition than ninety percent of the members of UN, must keep in mind the burden we bear. This is the first time in history, a dictator gassed his own people, in a live, televised, youtube-d civil war. Merely sixty years from Holocaust, if that act goes unpunished, it would not be judged as a proud moment by our future generations to come.
- Sumantra Maitra is an international relations scholar. You can follow him on twitter @dailyworldwatch.
The crisis in Syria is going through a strange phase. The poison gas attack on civilians, poses a dilemma for New Zealand and the global community as it highlights a clash of differing norms of International Law into force.
First of all there is no doubt, that chemical weapons were used in...
The crisis in Syria is going through a strange phase. The poison gas attack on civilians, poses a dilemma for New Zealand and the global community as it highlights a clash of differing norms of International Law into force.
First of all there is no doubt, that chemical weapons were used in Syria. Both American and German Intelligence also confirmed that. Thousands of dead bodies, with foam in the corner of their mouth, bodies burned beyond recognition, hunched and broken bones due to uncontrolled convulsions, soiled clothes due to nervous system failures, thousands of photos and videos are unparalleled evidence to the atrocity. The weapons inspector of the UN corroborate to that. They are not however mandated to say who used it, the government or the rebels. That would be judged with intelligence reports, circumstantial evidence like intercepted communications, use of gas masks by soldiers moments before use, delivery systems etc. Currently rebels don’t have the means…not saying they won’t in the future, but presently it is doubtful.
Meanwhile the international community battles with the perspective of which course of action to take, punitive measures in accordance with International law against chemical weapons, or wait for the craven and senile Security Council, which is blocked dead by Russia and China. Meanwhile Britain and America suffers from a massive war fatigue, with only France being the only country actively still seeking punitive actions, but unfortunately without the capability of going solo.
The situation in Syria is gruesome, however. The United Nations has confirmed that over 1 million people have now fled Syria as refugees since the civil war began 2 years ago. Over 70% of the refugees are vulnerable women and children who were forced to flee for their lives and are now surviving inside UNHCR tent cities in neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. Refugee Council of New Zealand spokesperson Gary E. Poole said, in a reply to the Indian Weekender that there are some Syrian refugees in New Zealand, most of them had arrived as asylum seekers and were victims of torture. “Many people know that New Zealand does accept an annual humanitarian quota from the UNHCR of 750 urgent protection high needs cases from the UNHCR, but so far they are from other countries (Afghanistan, Burma Iraq, Congo, Sri Lanka) and not from Syria,” he said. “The Syrian asylum seekers are reluctant to speak to media because they don’t want to be identified or have their families placed in greater risk back at home,” he said.
The joint Russian-American plan of dismantling Syrian chemical weapons is optimistic, but sketchy. It seems to be wishful thinking, a time buying technique from the master of Realpolitik, Vladimir Putin. He succeeded in protecting his client Assad, and avert an immediate American limited strike on Syrian facilities and military depot.
The New Zealand parliament has called for debate and motions on what is to be done in Syria, but like most other countries, seems to find that there is no good prudent way to go. Middle East is a place with sectarian crisis for the last three thousand years, and to choose a side in this fray, even though is emotional, is probably not realistic.
However, one needs to keep in mind that sometimes inaction has a cost thousand times more than violent action, and appeasement to barbarism makes a responsible global citizen like New Zealand an accomplice to the said act. We, being in a comparatively better socio-economic condition than ninety percent of the members of UN, must keep in mind the burden we bear. This is the first time in history, a dictator gassed his own people, in a live, televised, youtube-d civil war. Merely sixty years from Holocaust, if that act goes unpunished, it would not be judged as a proud moment by our future generations to come.
- Sumantra Maitra is an international relations scholar. You can follow him on twitter @dailyworldwatch.
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