Diplomats are currently scrambling to find a solution to the problem that is Syria. The country is already in a civil war. The dictator Bashar al-Assad doesn’t look like he’s packing his bags any time soon, though plenty of pundits are quick to label him a “dead dictator walking.” Russia and China are reluctant to support measures that would precipitate regime change. Talk about a diplomatic nightmare.
Syria expects the armed opposition to take a leap of faith and turn in its weapons.
The uprising in Syria has been an inspiring demonstration of the desire for freedom, justice, and human dignity, as well as a heartbreaking reminder that such aspirations are often not achieved.
A world power equips a dictatorship that kills, tortures, and imprisons unarmed protesters. No, it’s not only Russia’s relationship to Syria. It’s also the United States when it comes to Bahrain. Two days after a U.S. coalition of national groups asked the Obama administration to publicly call for Bahrain to release a human rights defender on hunger strike, the White House issued a press statement expressing “concern for the well-being of jailed activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.”
In all likelihood, the plan as set out by Annan will not be realized, but any failure will not be his, but that of Assad.
If Assad does not cease attacks against civilians, the Friends of Syria will likely view Kofi Annan’s gambit as a failed attempt for peace.
More than a year after the onset of anti-regime protests, the Syrian uprising increasingly resembles a bloody marathon with no finish line on the horizon. With more than 7,000 people killed and ongoing deadly clashes between security forces and the armed opposition, the international community —splintered along geo-strategic lines — is still struggling to craft and establish a clear “road map” for Syria.
Many nonviolent protesters have tragically been killed as will many more. However, proportionately a far greater number of armed resisters have been killed and will continue to be killed. The question is not whether thousands will continue to die but what is the best way for the Syrian people to overthrow the hated regime, end the violence, and bring democracy and social justice.
I am here in my role as head of the Philippine House of Representatives Committee on Overseas Workers’ Affairs. My trip to Homs is part of a mission to locate Filipino overseas workers in Syria—mainly domestic workers—who are still in the country or have been killed in the fighting. The plan is to repatriate them or their remains to the Philippines. Filipino workers are among the millions of overseas workers who have been or are likely to be caught in the crossfire of the still continuing Arab Spring.
Syria possesses massive amounts of chemical weapons.