A decision by China and Russia to block a United Nations resolution condemning Syria’s violent crushing of pro-democracy demonstrators is not justified and only promises greater catastrophe for the Arab country, according a Middle East expert.
Bill W. Wang, a former president of CNA and Middle East correspondent, said China and Russia, two veto-wielding members in the U.N. Security Council, voted Feb. 4 against the draft resolution aimed at ending the Syrian uprising, accusing council members backing the proposal of destroying the chance to solve the crisis through political negotiations, putting lopsided blame on President Bashar al-Assad’s administration, and forcing a change of government.
The reasons cited by Russia and China for vetoing the resolution were not valid, Wang went on, adding that blocking the proposal is tantamount to acquiescing to the administration’s brutal crackdown on protesters and giving Assad’s dictatorial administration a mandate to continue to rule, which will only bring disaster to its people.
Assad, who inherited Syria’s harsh dictatorship from his father, Hafez al-Assad, has adopted brutal measures to crush the revolt against his rule since it began last March, including sending tanks into restive cities and ordering security forces to open fire on demonstrators.
According to Wang, Assad’s repeated failure to deliver on his promises of political reform while escalating his crackdown on the people, and his refusal to cooperate with the Arab League’s mediation efforts only show that Assad is unwilling to end the turmoil through political negotiations.
The Arab League, which suspended Syria’s membership last November, proposed a plan Jan. 22 calling for Assad to hand over power to his vice president and allow the creation of a unity government.
China and Russia are also wrong in saying that the Security Council puts all the blame on Assad’s administration, Wang said.
While the Security Council has condemned the administration’s brutal handling of its people, it has also condemned the armed protesters for using violence and has demanded an end to all violent and retaliatory acts on their part.
In regard to claims that the Security Council is forcing a change of government, Wang said that it has neither hinted at a military operation targeting Syria nor has it directly demanded that Assad step down.
It has only indirectly said that the council supports a decision made by the League of Arab States last month to seek a Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, plural political system, Wang continued.
After the resolution was blocked, Syrian troops only intensified their bombardment of civilians, further increasing the death toll, Wang noted.
Wang made his comments in an article that appeared on the CNA web site on Feb. 9.
Beginning as peaceful protests last March, the anti-government movement in Syria has spiraled into bloodshed that has left more than 5,000 dead. By Lucas Wang and Scully Hsiao, Focus Taiwan