Assad’s regime should be finished. There have been numerous defections: a Syrian pilot, a brigadier general, and a high ranking diplomat. Assad’s grip on power has been crumbling. His regime even desperately lashed out by attacking a Turkish fighter jet. This is likened to a wounded animal that is taking vicious last bites before it dies. Meanwhile, the U.N. is doing pretty much nothing about ending his regime sooner. Instead, we are letting the regime inflict extraordinarily heinous crimes against humanity in the form of murder, rape and torture. This even includes the use of children as human shields!
While the regime is bound to end, it should be finished off because in the time it takes for the final blow to be landed on Assad, countless more atrocities will have taken place. The people in Syria have been in desperate need for our assistance and all they will remember is that all we did is sat back and “observe.” Have we not observed enough?
Russia wants the U.N. to observe even more. Isn’t it time that we give some kind of support to the Syrian people? Not only will it help nations become friends with the people near this oil-rich region, but it is simply the right thing to do. The international community cannot just sit back to let this happen.
Russia and China, as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, are holding back. So what? They have been quite counter-productive in the past as well. By and large, the international community agrees that something must be done. When the Serbian government had a policy of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, Russia and China were holding back even then, so they were circumvented by the U.S. and NATO allies. Do Russia and China have a legitimate reason to oppose action in Syria?
Russia and China may hold to a principle of non-interference. However, in the case of Syria, the Syrian people are asking/begging for our immediate assistance. Also, the atrocities committed are manifestly evident.
Russia and China may be afraid of possible future uprisings in their own countries because of human rights violations where other countries rush to their aid. China certainly is no pioneer of human rights, especially with the abominable forced abortions prevalent throughout their country. Also, the re-election of Putin in Russia has questionable legitimacy.
They may point out: who’s to decide which countries’ leadership is legitimate? Yet, I think Assad’s regime is quite a clear-cut case of illegitimacy due to its murdering the very citizens it is supposed to protect. Russia and China are also trade partners with the Syrian regime. They may even want to represent an anti-American policy. Even if all of the above are their reasons, it is in their interests to come to the aid of the Syrian people because the opposition force is the future of their Syria.
But their support appears unlikely. Russia and China don’t ever want to cooperate even in the most reasonable matters. What business is it of Russia and China to be in the U.N. if they are not going to respect or uphold international justice? Also, what use is the U.N. if it is ineffective in doing so? With the support of the U.N. or not, perhaps, just as U.S. Secretary of State Clinton has called for, it is time for a “Friends of Syria” meeting (the countries who are not concerned need not come).
Whatever China and Russia’s petty reasons are, they should make way for international justice. This on the whole, will make for a better, more stable world. The demands of justice are prior and more important than surrendering decisions to an ineffective international body. If it cannot administer justice, than what’s this body even for?
Assad and the other criminals, who are killing the Syrian people, will be brought to justice and stand trial for their crimes (if they don’t die in the fighting). This is inevitable. The people of Syria will not forget and will continue fighting until Assad’s regime is toppled. While there may be no easy immediate resolution, let us help. Let us not solely depend on Russia or China to help now. Let us please do more than just sit back and observe a massacre.
By Taylor Hall
Taylor Hall is an English teacher living in the Gangnam area of Seoul, Korea. ― Ed.
