As revolutions and oppositions have been popping up all over the Middle East and Northern Africa, one opposition has been making headlines all over the news. The Syrian government, ruled by a long line of brutal dictators, is now the talk of many international news agencies as the United Nations Security Council recently failed to pass a proposal made by the Arab League.
The proposal called for, according to Randa Slim's article on CNN, "an orderly transfer of power from the president to his deputy, formation of a unity transition cabinet to oversee the writing of a new constitution, and the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections." The stoppage of this proposal was caused by a double veto from China and Russia.
Just last week, an article also surfaced on CNN explaining the ties Russia and China both have to Syria and why they intend to deter international involvement from the current opposition. It turns out that Russia and China are the biggest suppliers for Syria's military which overwhelmingly outnumbers the rebel military opposition.
According to Slim's article, the military opposition is estimated to range from 10 to 30 thousand while Syria's army is said to be in the hundreds of thousands range. With an army of this magnitude engaged in constant battle with a rebel opposition, it only makes sense they will need a steady replenishment of weaponry. Therefore, I can understand the logic in Russia and China voting against stopping the opposition, for that would mean stopping their steady income.
However, despite this logic, it doesn't mean that the current predicament between the Syrian army and the military opposition should persist. In fact, it is dire that a resolution be found quickly, seeing as 7,000 people have already died since the revolution began, and more numbers are coming in. Looking back at the history of dictators that are a part of the al-Assad family, it is no question that the current dictator will go to any means to maintain his power and keep that power with his family.
In Hama, in the year 1982, Hafez al-Assad, the father of current Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, shut down an Islamist uprising using the Syrian army, including warplanes, and killed an estimated 10,000 people. In doing this Hafez al-Assad also demolished one third of the city's buildings, all to keep out any sort of revolution and maintain control. If things do not change quickly for the country of Syria, this very well could be the fate of the country.
I can understand Russia and China wanting to preserve their assets from a business standpoint; however, is all of this fighting really worth it? I, personally, would like to know why China feels the need to continue these transactions when, economically, I would think they would do just fine losing one buyer in their business.
Quite frankly, the United States is one of their biggest buyers, and we are only one of the many countries that are their customers. China's economy is incredibly proficient, considering their size and man power behind it, and I would have no doubt they would be able to take a loss, considering the grim circumstances facing Syria.
I believe other countries would have more respect for China if they were willing to take a loss for the betterment of Syria. However, because of their veto, they give off the impression that their money is far more important than the lives of people. Sadly, this shouldn't be much of a surprise, but one can always look for hope in situations like these.
If the vetoes from Russia and China aren't scary enough, Syria's other foreign relations are becoming more and more daunting, as Iran is making moves to not only help Syria but become their ally in the long run. Iran is another supplier for weapons to Syria, and they are also helping build electronic and telecommunication equipment. Just a reminder, this is the country that we have been watching carefully, seeing as they now have nuclear weapons at their disposal and have been testing their effectiveness regularly. We now have a developing country with nuclear weapons that also probably is not aware of their power, assisting a third-world country undergoing a revolution. Well, this should be exciting.
I'm proud that Syria is standing up and fighting for what it believes the people of Syria deserve. I only wish other countries around the world would see their cause and support it. Bashar al-Assad is a brutal dictator bent on keeping control because a change would mean the people would get a say in what goes on in their lives. It is a shame that money and personal affairs are what is holding the UN back from making an effective decision. My hope is that the rebel military opposition keeps the promises they have made as well as their faith because others cannot.
