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Western Diplomats Threaten Syria With Tougher Action Over Crackdown

11.08.2011 12:41

International pressure is building against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime as Damascus continues its bloody crackdown on antigovernment protesters across the country.

European members of the UN Security Council on August 10 threatened Syria with tougher action unless the government in Damascus ceases its onslaught.

Western diplomats say sanctions would be the next logical step in dealing with Damascus. Nevertheless veto-wielding Russia and China -- backed by Brazil, India, and South Africa -- have opposed the idea.

Russia has urged Damascus to implement promised reforms as soon as possible. But there were no signs that the five so-called BRICS states would drop their opposition to Security Council action, despite the five-month-old crackdown by Syrian troops on protesters across the country.

Syrian rights activists say the army sent tanks and troops on August 11 into the central Homs province and in northwestern Idlib province which borders Turkey.

Activists and witnesses said the columns of tanks entered the town of Qusayr in Homs, killing at least 11 people and injuring 16.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the troops stormed Saraqeb early today, detaining dozens of people. Explosions and gunfire were heard soon after the troops entered the town.

Idlib has witnessed intense protests against Assad's regime.

'Chilling' Report

Western diplomats say UN deputy political-affairs chief Oscar Fernandez-Taranco told a closed-door Security Council session on August 10 that nearly 2,000 civilians had been killed in Syria since antigovernment protests began in March.

Fernandez-Taranco was also quoted as saying there had been no letup in the killing of protesters since last week, when the Security Council called for an "immediate" halt to the violence.

In a bid to keep Syria high on the Security Council agenda, Western states pressed for a new report next week that would include briefings from the top UN human rights and humanitarian officials.

Western envoys say the council will have to consider "further action" if events do not improve by the next report.

Britain's deputy UN ambassador, Philip Parham, told reporters after the closed-door session that Fernandez-Taranco's briefing had been "depressing and chilling."

"Just to remind you of the scale of what we are talking about -- some 2,000 civilians have now been killed, the vast majority of them unarmed. Some 3,000 civilians have [been] forcibly disappeared. Some 13,000 remain detained," Parham said.

"Tens of thousands have fled their homes and their land in northern Syria in the face of the offensive. Several thousand Syrian refugees remain in Turkey," he added. "There is no access for the media, no access for humanitarian organizations."

Syria: Just 'Gangs'

But Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, dismissed the European criticism of the crackdown, comparing the political protests in his country to this week's riots in Britain.

"It's very indicative and informative to hear the prime minister of England describing the riots and rioters in England by using the term 'gangs,'" Jaafari said. "While they don't allow us to use the same term for the armed groups and the terrorist groups in my country. This is hypocrisy. This is arrogance."

The remark drew a quick rebuke from British envoys at the UN, who immediately branded it an "absurd comparison."

Meanwhile, Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, made one of the most strongly worded statements yet from Washington against Assad's regime.

"We are working across the board to underscore that the behavior of Assad is absolutely unacceptable," Rice said. "He has lost any legitimacy to lead and we think it would be much, much better for the people of Syria, and Syria would be better off, without Assad."

Officials in Washington say the administration is preparing for the first time to explicitly call for Assad to step down as a direct response to his decision to escalate the crackdown by sending in tanks and snipers to attack cities considered to be strongholds for the opposition.

The Obama administration on August 10 also announced a fresh round of unilateral U.S. sanctions against Syria.

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/west_threatens_syria_with_tougher_sanctions_as_violence_continues/24293627.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.