By Michael Weiss

What’s the point of diplomacy no one believes in? The Emir of Qatar has given Kofi Annan’s six-point plan for bringing peace to Syria and opening political “dialogue” a three per cent chance of success, which is several points higher than I’d give it. Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, sounds fed up with the regime of Bashar al-Assad: “They have lied to the international community, lied to their own people. And the biggest fabricator of the facts is Assad himself.” The Kremlin counters that this pessimism is the real catalyst for ongoing violence; this as opposed to, say, the regular consignments of Russian armaments dispatched to Assad for killing people. “There are countries – there are outside forces – that are not interested in the success of current UN Security Council efforts,” complained Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, subtly echoing the regime’s propaganda narrative of a “conspiracy” against Syria. Many have been begging the United States and Britain and France to make this conspiracy real for some time now, lest the slow-motion creation of a failed state bordering Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan succeeds. Instead, six unarmed UN observers have just arrived in the country, and stand a fair chance of being shot themselves if they venture into Homs or Idleb, where helicopter gunships and artillery shells are still being used against civilian populations.

I spoke this morning to Saif al-Arabe, an activist based in Homs affiliated with the Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC). He told me that he woke up to spy planes flying overhead and a barrage of shelling, particularly of the Khalidiya and Bayada neighbourhoods. “There are three sources of the mortar fire,” Saif said. “The military factor in Al-Wah-ir, the ancient castle near the Old City and Wadi al-Dahab, a pro-regime neighbourhood.” Saif sent along a few videos, too. This one shows 14 mortars falling on Homs within the span of four minutes:

I asked Saif which party started the violence after the brief lull last Thursday when the ceasefire euphemistically described as ‘fragile’ or ‘tenuous’ was said to have taken effect. Were Free Syrian Army units attacking regime forces or did the regime fire first? He replied that the FSA had abided by the ceasefire: “I can emphasize to you that they did not start any attack on Assad’s forces, which are shelling all the neighbourhoods randomly. But FSA elements are now trying to stop any storming of the city by Assad’s gangs.” The notorious shabbiha, which the regime has employed as death-and-rape squads since the start of the uprising, are manning military checkpoints alongside army personnel, as displayed in this video:

So why is the regime bombarding Homs again? Saif said the reason was simple: residents who fled Baba Amr after the month-long siege there last February mainly wound up in other Homs neighbourhoods such as al-Qarabees and al-Kusr. And so these, too, must be now pummelled. “There are no cool districts in Homs,” Saif said. “All areas are hot.”

And as in Baba Amr months ago, food and water is scarce and electricity is cut for most of the day. Field hospitals are suffering severe shortages of medicine and equipment. They’re staffed by civilian volunteers, not doctors.

Only a sadist or a fool would call this a truce.

Editorial Board 22/03/12

AFTER THE U.N. Security Council endorsed a six-point diplomatic plan for Syria by former secretary general Kofi Annan on Wednesday, U.S. ambassador Susan Rice sounded almost jubilant. “Annan’s proposal,” she said, “is the best way to put an end to the violence, facilitate much-needed humanitarian assistance and advance a Syrian-led political transition.” We can only hope that the envoy does not take her own words too seriously.

In fact, there is virtually no possibility that the new initiative will accomplish any of those aims — as the Obama administration should know by now. Instead, it will likely provide time and cover for the regime of Bashar al-Assad to continue using tanks and artillery to assault Syrian cities and indiscriminately kill civilians. That’s exactly what the regime was doing Thursday — pounding the city of Hama, where at least 20 people have been reported killed in army attacks in the past two days.

The Annan plan won’t work because, like the Arab League plan before it, it calls for the Assad government to take steps that would lead to its swift collapse — and the regime has no intention of capitulating. It says that Syrian forces should stop using heavy weapons in cities, begin a pullback of troops, permit a daily “humanitarian pause” for the delivery of aid and accept a U.N.-supervised cease-fire, while allowing freedom of assembly and the free circulation of journalists. To buy time last year, the regime accepted nearly identical demands by the Arab League, admitted its monitors — and then proceeded to ignore its obligations completely.

The resolution does provide for Mr. Annan to report back on his progress and for the Security Council to “consider further steps as appropriate.” But thanks to Russia — Mr. Assad’s still-faithful ally — there is no enforcement mechanism. The resolution contains, as Syria’s official news agency pointed out, “no warnings or signals.” Nor does it explicitly call for Mr. Assad’s departure from office. Instead it proposes dialogue between the Syrian government and opposition — something that both sides have repeatedly rejected.

For Russia and China, the Security Council statement offered a face-saving way out of the embarrassing position of appearing to be unconditionally backing Mr. Assad. It gives Moscow hope of achieving the outcome it hopes for: a U.N.-brokered “peace” that leaves the regime in power. For the Obama administration, Mr. Annan’s mission allows the illusion that its diplomatic strategy is producing results — and that more decisive measures, such as arming the opposition or creating a protected zone inside Syria, are unnecessary.

What the Annan mission does not offer is “the best way to put an end to the violence.” It is just the opposite: a guarantee that the bloodshed will continue, and probably worsen. The fighting in Syria will end only when Mr. Assad is forced to stop — or he succeeds in killing his way to victory.

Kofi Annan meets with #Syria’n president; Qatar says it’s time to send troops

Deaths mount in #Syria as General Assembly meets

United Nations (CNN) — The United Nations General Assembly passed Thursday by an overwhelming margin a nonbinding resolution endorsing the Arab League plan for the Syrian president to step down. The vote was 137 in favor and 12 against, with 17 abstentions.

“Today, the U.N. General Assembly sent a clear message to the people of Syria: the world is with you,” said U.S. Ambassador Susan E. Rice in a statement. “Bashar al-Assad has never been more isolated. A rapid transition to democracy in Syria has garnered the resounding support of the international community. Change must now come.”

The symbolic resolution that condemns President Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown in Syria was introduced into the assembly after China and Russia blocked the Security Council from approving enforceable measures aimed at curbing the violence. China and Russia were among the no votes on Thursday.

Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari lashed out at the vote, calling the League of Arab States “broken, both politically and morally.” He added that, “If things continue in this manner … the United Nations will collapse — morally first and entirely second.”

The resolution marks the strongest U.N. statement to date condemning al-Assad’s regime. It calls on Syria to end human rights violations and attacks against civilians immediately, and condemns violence by al-Assad’s forces and the opposition.

For nearly a year, al-Assad has denied reports that his forces are targeting civilians, saying they were fighting armed gangs and foreign fighters bent on destabilizing the government.

But the vast majority of accounts from within the country say that Syrian forces are slaughtering civilians as part of a crackdown on anti-government opposition calling for al-Assad’s ouster.

It is unclear what, if any, effect the resolution will have on what many world leaders see as a relentless campaign by al-Assad’s forces to stamp out opposition.

The General Assembly’s vote followed news that France is bringing another resolution before the U.N. Security Council. “We are currently renegotiating a resolution at the U.N Security Council to see if we can persuade the Russians,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told radio station France Info on Wednesday.

Russia is seen as the linchpin in winning passage of a resolution that could force change in Syria because it could open al-Assad’s regime up to U.N. sanctions. It also could expose the president and his inner circle to possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court.

Syria is not a signatory of the Rome Statute that established the ICC’s authority. The Security Council is the only world body that can refer crimes against humanity to the international court.

Russia, a Soviet-era ally with trade and arms ties to Syria, has been adamantly opposed to a resolution that calls for al-Assad to step down, saying it amounts to a mandate for regime change.

Russia has given mixed messages as to whether it would accept a U.N. arms embargo or economic sanctions, even though it has said it is concerned about the prospect of a Syrian civil war.

Meanwhile, China announced Thursday that it was sending an envoy to Syria in an attempt to help defuse the crisis, according to state-run China National Radio (CNR).

Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun is scheduled to travel Friday to Syria for a two-day visit, CNR said. The report did not say with whom the minister would meet.

The diplomatic developments come amid reports Thursday that Syrian forces shelled the flashpoint city of Homs for a 13th consecutive day, targeting the opposition stronghold neighborhoods of Bab Amr, Inshaat and Khailidya, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition activist group.

But Syrian security forces appeared to be losing their tight grip in the northern region.

Government troops were stretched thin in their effort to control all fronts in the volatile country, where the revolt has entered its 12th month.

Heavy sustained bombardment that resumed around 5 a.m., and dozens of injuries were reported.

In Idlib province in the northwest, people appeared to be preparing for the possibility of a military offensive. Much of the region is in open revolt with villages and towns in the north out of government control for months.

At least 70 people died Thursday across several provinces, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist group. They include 38 in Idlib, 12 in Hama, and others in Rif Damashq — the Damascus suburbs, Homs, Daraa , Deir Ezzor and Raqqah. The LCC said the casualties included 36 unidentified bodies, 13 soldiers and three women, at least one of whom was pregnant.

Col. Malek Al Kurdi, deputy head of the Free Syrian Army, reported shelling by government forces in Hama and Daraa province. He cited civilian and FSA casualties.

Among the dead are 10 military defectors in Hama, activists say.

In Idlib, the bodies of 19 people who had tried to flee to Turkey were found. The LCC said they were arrested and executed by security forces.

The LCC also said security forces and pro-government militias attacked mourners at a funeral in Damascus.

Security forces raided homes in the city of Zabadani, outside Damascus, and arrested more than 250 people. Shops were looted, houses were burned and regime gunfire rang out in the city, in its 20th day without access to medicine, water or electricity, the LCC said. The LCC said a father and son died in Zabadani after regime forces burned their home.

CNN cannot independently confirm opposition and government reports of violence because the Syrian government has severely restricted the access of international journalists. Arrests in central Damascus on Thursday reportedly targeted local journalists.

The regime’s security forces raided the office of activist and journalist Mazen Darwish, the director of the Syrian Center for Media and Free Expression, the LCC said.

Darwish, his wife, U.S.-born blogger Razan Ghazzawi, and freelance journalist Hanada Zahlout, blogger Hussein Ghreir and 10 others were arrested.

The Committee to Protect Journalists voiced alarm at the arrests and said the group has played a “key role in getting out information about daily developments in Syria, as foreign journalists are virtually banned from the country.”

“These arrests are a blatant attempt to close off a vital source of information not only for Syrians but for the international media,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “Anyone, whether a professional journalist or citizen with a mobile phone, who dares to report on the unrest in Syria is in danger of arrest or physical violence. Damascus should immediately release all those detained and stop its brutal crackdown.”

Syria map

The uprising in Syria — influenced by the Arab Spring movement that forced regime change in Egypt and Tunisia — was sparked about a year ago in the southern city of Daraa with demonstrators angered by the arrests of young people who scrawled anti-government graffiti.

Their grievances and calls for reforms were met with a violent security crackdown, and the unrest there served to catalyze anti-government protests across the nation.

Thousands have died in the crackdown — more than 5,000, according to the United Nations, but the LCC puts the toll at more than 7,000.

Syria’s actions have been denounced around the world. But international powers have backed the Arab League’s efforts to deal with the uprising and some countries and groups, such as the Arab League, Turkey, the United States and the European Union, have initiated sanctions against al-Assad’s government.

James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, predicted that Syria’s president will not leave or change course, short of a coup. Clapper testified Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, saying the regime, despite economic problems, continues to have the support of the military.

Prior to Thursday’s vote, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that he “is now considering all the necessary options once either the General Assembly or the Security Council takes a decision on Syria.”

He met Thursday with Juppe. Ban said the top priority was to stop the violence and establish humanitarian access. He said all relevant U.N. agencies were coordinating efforts to provide humanitarian help to the people of Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has indicated Moscow may be open to supporting a Security Council resolution that stipulates — under certain conditions — that peacekeepers could be deployed to Syria.

“If the issue is about stopping gunfire, everything is possible,” Lavrov said at joint a news conference with his Dutch counterpart Uri Rosenthal, according to state-run RIA-Novosti news agency.

CNN’s Richard Roth reports from the United Nations. CNN’s Ivan Watson reports from northern Syria. CNN’s Arwa Damon reports from Homs. CNN’s Saad Abedine, Joyce Joseph, Joe Sterling, Mick Krever, Adam Levine, Salma Abdelaziz and journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report.

(CNN) — As violence raged in Syria, U.S. officials made clear Tuesday that the United States has lost patience with President Bashar al-Assad.

“Your days are numbered,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said in comments directed at the Syrian leader. “It is time and past time for you to transfer power responsibly and peacefully.”

In an interview with CNN, Rice said that, “Before we start talking about military options, we … want to make sure we’ve exhausted the diplomatic methods at our disposal.”

Her remarks came shortly after U.S. Sen. John McCain, a leading Republican and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the United States “should start considering all options, including arming the opposition. The bloodletting has got to stop.”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the United States has no immediate plans to arm the opposition.

“We are not considering that step right now,” he told reporters. “We are exploring the possibility of providing humanitarian aid to Syrians. And we are working with our partners, again, to ratchet up the pressure, ratchet up the isolation on Assad and his regime.”

GPS: Al-Assad hangs on by being ruthless

Carney added that U.S. officials were “seeing a lot of indications of a lack of control over the country by the regime, of interest by senior officials within the military and the government in separating themselves from the regime.”

But State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland did not rule out the possibility of arming the opposition. “We never take anything off the table,” she told reporters.

“However, as the president himself made absolutely clear and as the secretary has continued to say, we don’t think more arms into Syria is the answer. We think the answer is to get to a national democratic dialogue, for the violence to stop, for the regime’s tanks to come out of the cities, and then for monitors to be able to go back in.”

The heightened vitriol came as images on social media showed children dead in the streets and a group of Arab nations announced they are calling home their ambassadors.

Wolf Blitzer: This is an international disaster

The Gulf Cooperation Council said it made the decision “with deep sorrow and anger” at the increased pace of killings in Syria “that did not spare a child, old man, or woman — heinous acts that can be described as a collective massacre against the defenseless Syrian people without any mercy or pity, and without considering any rights or feelings of humanity or morality.”

The United Nations’ Children’s Fund said there have been “deaths and injuries of hundreds of children.”

“There are reports of children being arbitrarily arrested, tortured and sexually abused while in detention,” the organization said in a written statement.

On the ground in Syria: “For God’s sakes, this is too much”

The six Gulf Cooperation Council nations — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait — also expelled Syria’s ambassadors, saying “their presence became useless after the Syrian regime has rejected all attempts, and thwarted all Arab sincere efforts to resolve this crisis and stop the bloodshed of the Syrian people.”

Spain, France and Italy called home their ambassadors as well. Britain did so on Monday, the same day the United States closed its embassy in Damascus, saying the Syrian government was refusing to address its security concerns.

The Gulf Cooperation Council also called on Arab League nations, at a meeting next week, to “take decisive action against this dangerous escalation against the Syrian people.”

The council may pursue another step. Use of the term “collective massacre” in the statement indicates that the members are ready to begin building a case against the Syrian regime for consideration by the International Criminal Court, a council diplomatic source told CNN.

By calling for “decisive action,” the council is pressuring members of the Arab League, such as Sudan, Algeria, and Iraq, to withdraw their support for the al-Assad regime and facilitate more aggressive decisions, the source said.

Meanwhile, Syria tried to project an image of support for the regime.

Throngs of supporters shown on state TV cheered the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for a meeting with al-Assad in Damascus, three days after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have demanded al-Assad stop the violence against the opposition in his country.

“Every leader in every country should understand their responsibility. You understand yours,” Lavrov told al-Assad, according to Russia’s state-run Ria Novosti news agency. “It’s in our interests that the Arab peoples live in peace and harmony.”

In a statement reported by the state-run news agency SANA, Lavrov said al-Assad affirmed his commitment to the Arab League plan “of putting an end to violence regardless of its source. To this end, Syria affirms its interest in continuing work with the Arab League observer mission and increasing observer numbers to cover all points and verify any breaches or violations to the principle of not allowing violence regardless of source.”

Asked about Lavrov’s visit, White House Press Secretary Carney said, “Well, we’re not sure what the goals of his visit are. But the point we’re making is that Russia must realize that betting everything on Assad is a recipe for failure, not just for Russia’s interests in Syria but for the stability of the region and for Syria’s future.”

But in an interview Monday with PBS’s Charlie Rose, Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said Moscow had been trying to work with Western countries, including the United States, to stop the killing in Syria.

Opinion: World must aid Syria’s rebels

“Unfortunately, from the outset they decided that it was a regime-change opportunity, so from the outset they were announcing that Assad has lost his legitimacy,” Churkin said.

The Arab League had suspended its observer mission because of the sharp increase in violence.

The Syrian government, which routinely blames the violence on “armed terrorist groups,” said such groups were behind violence in parts of the country Tuesday.

“Terrorist groups continued armed attacks in Homs, Idlib and Damascus countryside targeting civilians and military personnel, and shelled residential areas with mortar shells and vandalized public and private facilities, not sparing even mosques to which citizens turned for protection,” SANA reported.

The Syrian Interior Ministry, in a statement on state TV, vowed that “the operation of pursuing the terrorist groups will continue” until security is restored Homs. The mission includes “terminating anyone who carries a weapon and is terrorizing the citizens,” the statement said, adding that “the opportunity is still there for members of these groups to surrender.”

At least 35 people were killed Tuesday in Syria, including 19 in Homs, the city which has seen some of the worst violence in recent days; 10 in Damascus suburbs; two each in Idlib; Daraa and Aleppo, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria. Among the dead were a father, mother and their three daughters, ages 24, 16 and 12, LCC said.

Separately, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based opposition group, said late Tuesday that new clashes had erupted between defectors and security forces at a checkpoint in the city of Daeel in Daraa province.

“The entire world should be ashamed of what’s happening here,” a Damascus-based opposition member told CNN.

“Children are hungry,” and people are without power, said the activist, identified only as Zaidoun for his safety. “For God’s sake, this is too much.”

He added, “Everybody is just silent and looking at us being slaughtered every moment, for no reason — just for asking for our freedom.”

Several countries issued new calls for Syria to halt the violence.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had some of the sharpest words, calling on al-Assad “to return from this wrong path before taking the lives of more innocent civilians.” In comments broadcast live on Turkish TV, Erdogan said he had a message for al-Assad “in a way he can understand: … What goes around comes around.”

Erdogan also called events at the U.N. Security Council “a fiasco in terms of the civilized world.”

Opposition activists and several of the 13 U.N. Security Council member nations that voted for the resolution have said Russia and China have blood on their hands for vetoing it as more members of the opposition are killed.

Lavrov described Western condemnation of the veto as “hysterical,” according to Ria Novosti.

Both China and Russia have said they oppose the violence and want the situation resolved through dialogue.

“We believe in continuing the efforts to reach a resolution for the Syrian crisis,” Syrian state TV quoted Lavrov as saying. “Russia needs peace and an agreement has to be reached, away from any foreign interference.”

While world leaders seek ways to mount pressure on the regime, the situation inside Syria “is beyond description,” according to the opposition Syrian Revolution General Commission. The group reported 128 deaths Monday, mostly in Homs.

“Some of these martyrs were killed with shrapnel and the others were under the rubble, and their bodies couldn’t be identified because they were in remains,” the group said.

Mousa Azzawi of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, speaking to CNN in London, said, “The situation is very dire,” and Monday was almost “like a bloodbath.”

“We have pictures of children under the age of 14 with half of their faces blown away; with children under the age of 4 with all of their bodies with nail bombs. We have pictures of one child who was dying on the lap of his mother under the age of 1,” Azzawi said.

U.N. officials estimate 6,000 people have died since protests began nearly a year ago. The Local Coordination Committees, a network of opposition activists that organizes and documents protests, said at least 7,339 people have been killed.

CNN cannot independently confirm opposition or government reports from Syria because the government has restricted journalists’ access to the country.

Al-Assad’s British-born wife has been largely quiet during the Syrian uprising. But an article published Monday in The Times of London said Asma al-Assad appears to support her husband, while also seeking dialogue and comfort for the bereaved in the country.

According to an e-mail sent through an intermediary from Asma al-Assad’s office, “The president is the president of Syria, not a faction of Syrians, and the first lady supports him in that role,” The Times reported.

“The first lady’s very busy agenda is still focused on supporting the various charities she has long been involved with and rural development as well as supporting the President as needed,” the e-mail continued, according to The Times. “These days she is equally involved in bridging gaps and encouraging dialogue. She listens to and comforts the families of the victims of the violence.”

SANA reported Tuesday that a national committee has completed a draft constitution for the country.

Protesters and rebel fighters are demanding an end to al-Assad’s rule and democratic elections. Al-Assad has been in power since 2000; his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for three decades before that.

An opposition activist in Homs, identified only as “Danny” to protect his safety, said government forces fired rockets on the city after the U.N. draft resolution failed over the weekend.

“You have rockets landing next to your house. I’m next to a window and a rocket might kill me,” he said.

Opposition group calls for strike as Syrian violence grows #Syria

United Nations (CNN) — Last year, the U.N. Security Council authorized “all necessary measures” to stop the violence when the nation in question was Libya. It has come nowhere close to that on Syria, where the United Nations estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed since March. Why?

Diplomats say the answer is simple: Russia. Tensions between Russia and the other permanent members of the Security Council have always been a factor. But diplomats say that Russia’s conduct in its refusal to condemn Syria, or even negotiate on resolutions in good faith, have reached new lows.

At this point, the only way Western diplomats believe the Security Council will be able to pass a resolution on Syria is with a request for intervention from the Arab League. Russia and China abstained from the vote on Libya after the Arab League and the African Union requested UN involvement in that country.

In October, Russia and China issued a rare double veto of a sanction-less resolution that would have condemned the violence in Syria.

Though China joined Russia in its veto on Syria, and India, Brazil and South Africa abstained, diplomats say that it is Russia that has been taking the lead in opposition to action.

In Russia’s view, NATO overstepped the Security Council’s mandate in Libya, and they fear a similar mistake being made in Syria. Though Western diplomats insist they have not proposed anything approaching military intervention, Russia insists that the Syria crisis should be solved internally.

“I think Libya has been beat to death, overused and misused as an excuse for countries not to take up their responsibilities with respect to Syria,” Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said.

Last month, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin pushed the Security Council to open an investigation into civilian deaths in Libya. European and American diplomats immediately called foul.

“Is everybody sufficiently distracted from Syria now?” Rice asked the media after a meeting called by Russia. “Let us see this for what it is. That this is duplicative, it’s redundant, it’s superfluous, and it’s a stunt.”

“This is not the kind of issue which can be drowned in expletives,” Churkin countered the next day. “You cannot beat a Stanford education, can you?” referring to Rice’s alma mater, saying she should be “more Victorian.”

Shortly thereafter, Rice’s communications director tweeted a picture of Churkin’s face superimposed on the Grinch, with the text “rough day at the Security Council.” (Churkin later said that he “thought it was a nice joke.”)

Despite Rice’s high-profile tit-for-tat with Churkin, it is the four European countries on the Security Council, not the United States, that have taken the lead on issues Libya and Syria.

Those countries — France, Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom — have expressed deep frustration at Russia’s scuttling of attempts at a resolution.

In December, Russia held the rotating presidency of the council, which gave it significant power to determine the agenda. Diplomats complained of having to fight tooth and nail for even routine briefings.

A senior Western diplomat said that Churkin routinely interrupted other diplomats and cut off debate. Churkin’s conduct was “outrageous” and “disrespectful,” the diplomat said, who had “never seen anything like the atmosphere in the Security Council now.”

Western Diplomats admit that Russia has been using its close relationship with Syria to apply pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But their criticism of Churkin’s conduct at the Security Council is unequivocal.

“Churkin is practicing shoe diplomacy,” another senior Western diplomat said, referring to Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev’s famous shoe-banging speech in the General Assembly.

“Russia and Syria are the last two members of the Warsaw Pact, and Russia is behaving in an imperialistic manner,” another Western diplomat said.

Churkin does not disagree that the mood is contentious. But he says that the root cause is a “my way or the highway” attitude. He called December the toughest of his five separate month-long terms at the helm of the Security Council.

“There is a lot of nervousness, a lot of expectations that things are going to be done my way or no other way,” Churkin said. “That what I need to have, I must have now. … I think that if this trend were to continue it might seriously hurt the ability of the Security Council to work.”

Russia surprised even its allies last month when it introduced its own draft resolution condemning the violence in Syria. Publicly, Western diplomats seemed encouraged by the move but privately were deep cynical.

Western Diplomats said Russia had expected the Europeans and Americans to reject the draft out of hand, because it did not include some of the provisions they consider non-negotiable. (And, for example, they say it drew an unacceptable equivalence between violence perpetrated by the government and violence perpetrated by protesters.)

Since then, Western diplomats say that Russia has not engaged in negotiation on their proposed additions.

They also complain that Churkin has misrepresented to the media the content of closed Security Council meetings. He claims productive work on the draft Syria resolution, they say, when in fact he has been stonewalling.

“We are working all the time,” Churkin said Tuesday of Russia’s draft resolution.

They have not held a single negotiation on the text since Christmas, Western diplomats say.

Western diplomats admit that when it comes to Syria, they are at a “dead end.” The only way around it — the “only game in town,” as French U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud says — is the Arab League.

The Arab League has a group of observers in Syria, who were sent there to gauge the situation on the ground. Their report is expected on January 19.

If that report is unequivocal about the Syrian government’s culpability — an outcome Western diplomats admit is a long shot — then they may have enough political capital to push forward. And in-person briefing from the Qatari prime minister, who has been very outspoken on Syria, or the secretary general of the Arab League, may help to push Russia, they say.

The Arab League report, a Western diplomat said, is a necessary condition for action. But it may not be sufficient.

Posted By Colum Lynch Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 6:35 PM

Over the past two days, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ridiculed the Arab League monitors he invited into his country to assess the ongoing violence there, and pro-regime elements have mounted an attack against a group of Arab monitors visiting the town of Latakia, according to an Arab League statement.

The U.N.’s undersecretary general for political affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, meanwhile, told the U.N. Security Council in a closed-door meeting today that more than 400 people have died in Syria since the Arab League first deployed its monitors there on Dec. 27 to assess the violence, according to U.S. and U.N. officials.

But the developments have done little to spur action by the U.N. Security Council, which has been unable to act on Syria since early October, when China and Russia vetoed a Western-backed resolution threatening possible sanctions against Damascus if it didn’t stop the violence.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, continued today to hold off a Western campaign to impose U.N. sanctions against Syria, urging the United States and its European allies to show restraint. “Patience may be the key word now,” Churkin told reporters outside the Security Council.

Before Christmas, Russia introduced its own resolution calling for political talks between the government and the opposition. But Moscow has put the conversations on hold until the Arab League concludes its assessment on Jan. 19.

But U.S. and European officials voiced frustration with the slow pace of Russian diplomacy. “We think it is long past time that the council passes a strong resolution that supports the Arab League and all of the elements of the Arab League initiative, including its call for sanctions,” Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters today. “Unfortunately, after a bit of a show last month of tabling a resolution, the Russians inexplicably have been more or less AWOL in terms of leading negotiations on the text of that resolution.” 

The Western case for action — that it is needed to halt the government’s one-sided brutal crackdown on unarmed civilians — has been complicated by the emergence of an armed opposition movement. Russia has backed Syrian claims that anti-government forces are responsible for a pair terrorist attacks in Damascus recent weeks, though opposition representatives have denied responsibility.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, told the Security Council last month than more than 5,000 civilians have been killed since anti-government protests began early last year, most of them at the hands of government security forces. The figures presented to the Security Council today by Pascoe were compiled by Pillay’s office, and are based on accounts from local and international human rights groups. Pascoe did not say whether the latest killings were carried out by government forces, or whether they included a terrorist bombing in a crowded intersection in Damascus last week that left at least 25 dead and dozens more injured, according to a U.N. source.

Rice said the current rate of killing, about 40 deaths per day, marked an intensification of the Syrian crackdown from the period preceding the arrival of the Arab League observers. “Syria, rather than using the opportunity of its commitment to the Arab League to end the violence and fulfill all of its commitments, is stepping up the violence despite the presence of monitors,” Rice said.

Rice also said the United States is concerned by “reports that at least two of the monitors of the Arab League today — two Kuwaitis — were roughed up, harmed, harassed, hurt, in the context of their work.”

She also denounced the “vitriol of President Assad’s speech today and further belittling by him of the Arab League, which we found offensive.” The “entire international community, the United States and all members of the Security Council are united in support of the Arab League initiative,” she said.

Syria’s U.N. ambassador, Bashar al Jaafari, countered that the attacks against the Arab monitors were carried out by armed opposition forces, not by pro-government forces. “There is no Syrian interest whatsoever to harm the credibility and the safety and the security of the Arab envoys,” he said.

Germany, backed by Britain, sought to ratchet up pressure on Syria, proposing that the Security Council invite Arab League representatives to brief the Security Council on their faltering efforts to rein in its military.

But most council members, including France, said that the council would need to wait until the Arab League filed a formal report on its findings in Syria before considering any fresh action in the council. “Everybody agrees that for the moment the only game in town in political terms is the Arab League mediation,” said Gérard Araud, the French U.N. ambassador.

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Russia surprised U.N. Security council members by producing a draft resolution critical of the Syrian government in what appears to be an effort to put some distance between Moscow and the increasingly discredited Damascus government.

Or was this a tactical move that will not result in a vote since Europeans and the United States want a stronger measure to highlight the 5,000 people killed in Syria this year? They also want to threaten or impose sanctions but not military intervention.

Some diplomats believe Russia, which supplies Syria with arms and has a naval base there, does not want to be isolated if or when President Bashar al-Assad’s government falls. Protestors in Syria are already burning the Russian flag. Others believe the move is a tactic to buy time.

Repeated reports of atrocities and gross human rights violations by the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, has found resonance throughout the Arab world.

Equally as important, the Arab League, which has already suspended Syria’s membership, may ask the Security Council to impose sanctions, which some of its members have already done. If that happens, the West will put a stronger resolution to a vote and see if Russia and China will use their veto power as they did in October. (Syria was reported by Reuters on Monday to have agreed to the terms it rejected earlier but no one is sure of the precise details).

Russia’s U.N. envoy Vitaly Churkin said not all of the 5,000 dead were peaceful demonstrators and a resolution had to condemn all violence.

His new draft, however, toughens Moscow’s stand and refers to a “disproportionate use of force by Syrian authorities.” It also urges Syria “to put an end to suppression of those exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.”

And it demands “that all parties in Syria immediately stop any violence” and expresses concern over the “illegal supply of weapons to the armed groups in Syria.”

France’s U.N. Ambassador Gérard Araud summed up the European view :

We are positively surprised that eventually Russia has decided to move on the resolution project, on the resolution draft. We think that it is because Russia has felt the pressure of the international community especially after the shocking report of Mrs. Pillay. Of course, after eight months of violence now, some demonstrators are shooting back, but we can’t simply put them back to back, and say that they are all “acts of violence”. The primary responsible of the violence is the behavior of the armed forces, and secondly the refusal of the Syrian regime to engage into a genuine reform.

The Arab League’s initiative calls for an immediate cessation of all violence and the withdrawal of the military from the streets; release of political prisoners; accelerated political reform with a specific timeline; serious dialogue with opposition representatives; and a follow-up mechanism including an Arab team of observers.

Children killed
Pillay, the U.N. human rights commissioner, delivered a closed door briefing to the Security Council after a tumultuous discussion in which Churkin insisted she brief on the Palestinians also, something the Council had never asked her to do in the past. (Both British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant and US deputy Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo called it a “red herring.”)

In her statement (see text) she updated her August report, prepared by an independent commission, saying 5,000 people had been killed, including 300 children, torture abounded and military defections were increasing. She suggested a referral to the International Criminal Court preceded by a probe organized by the Security Council itself.

Credible information gathered by my staff demonstrates patterns of systematic and widespread use of torture in interrogation and detention by security forces. Extensive reports of sexual violence in places of detention, primarily against men and boys are particularly disturbing.

In response, Syria’s U.N. ambassador Bashar Jaafari castigated Pillay, saying she meddled in the internal affairs of a U.N. member state, relied only on accounts of defectors and “trespassed her mandate.” Churkin said Western powers want to topple Assad’s government.

But U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said time was up for the Security Council to act:

Through condemnations issued by the U.N. General Assembly and Human Rights Council and bold steps taken by the Arab League and the Government of Turkey, international bodies are starting to match their severe disapproval of Syria’s bloody crackdown with concrete steps to bring it to an end. It is past time for the U.N. Security Council to do the same.

Name and Shame
While the European Union and the United States have imposed their own sanctions, Human Rights Watch in an 88-page report, By All Means Necessary! Individual and Command Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity in Syria, has identified 74 commanders and officials responsible for attacks on unarmed protesters. The report names those who allegedly ordered, authorized, or condoned widespread killings, torture, and unlawful arrests during the protests

Now what?
Germany’s U.N. ambassador, Peter Wittig, said all decisions of the Arab League should be backed by the Security Council, which should authorize its own investigation and then hold accountable those responsible for abuse.

Despite the months of delay in issuing a strong rebuke, Wittig believes that “A joint, united message by the Council can be very powerful and isn’t easily dismissed. That’s why we want to overcome the current split of the Council on Syria — and avoid further bloodshed in Syria.”

But nothing is easy. A resolution that would suit all sides is still in doubt, particularly after the Libyan experience. Russia is still smarting from NATO’s intervention, although war was approved by the Security Council.

No one so far is calling for military intervention in Syria. Instead it is expected that arms will be smuggled to the opposition, possibly through neighboring Turkey where more than 12,000 Syrians have fled — unless the Arab League manages to institute a genuine peace.

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The UN Human rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay told the world on Monday that more than 5000 civilian have been killed by the Syrian security forces since March. At least 300 children have been killed.

Pillay said she recommended that the council refers the Syrian regime to the International Criminal Court, the permanent war crimes tribunal, for investigation of possible crimes against humanity.

US ambassador Susan Rice said Pillay’s briefing “underscores the urgency of the present moment.”

“Through condemnations issued by the UN general assembly and human rights council and bold steps taken by the Arab League and the government of Turkey, international bodies are starting to match their severe disapproval of Syria’s bloody crackdown with concrete steps to bring it to an end,” Rice said.

“It is past time for the UN security council to do the same.”

The representatives of France, Britain and Portugal also said it was time for the council to take strong action on Syria.

Two months ago, Russia and China vetoed a western-backed UN Security Council Resolution condemning the bloodshed in Syria.

I stated previously in other articles that Russia and China are not known for their respect of human rights. Frankly they don’t give a damn. For China, commercial interests are more important than principles. For Russia a naval base in the Syria coastal town of Tartous is more important than the lives of thousands of Syrians.

In January 2007 Russia and China vetoed a resolution against the Burmese military junta in Myanmar. In July 2008 both Russia and China rejected sanctions against the Robert Mugabe’s odious regime in Zimbabwe. In October 2011 they vetoed a resolution condemning Syria which would have been the first such legally binding move adopted by the Security Council since the Syrian Regime began using its military machine against protesters in mid-March in the town of Deraa.

The European sponsors of the resolution had tried to avoid a veto by watering down the language on sanctions three times, to the point where the word “sanctions” was deleted. India, South Africa, Brazil and Lebanon abstained. The four abstainers have some explaining to do.
China’s ambassador, Li Bandong, said his country was concerned about the violence and wanted reforms but opposed the resolution because sanctions, or the threat of sanctions, do not help the situation in Syria but rather complicates the situation.”

Of course such justifications are feeble lies. Russia and China feel confident that Bashar al-Assad will survive, cling to power and continue to be a good friend with both powers. In October when Russia and China blocked the UN Security Council resolution some 3200 people have been killed. The number is now 5200 and rising daily. Does the figure have to climb to 10 or 15 thousands before Russia and China decide enough is enough?

What message does this double action give to the people of Syria? What does it tell the Arab Street about Russia and China?

The Syrians are seething with anger at the Russian and Chinese’s stance.
The people of the Middle East see it like this; both Russia and China are giving the green light to the butchers of Damascus to carry on killing pro-democracy demonstrators. Russia and China stand with the tyrant against the people.

By their actions Russia and China will have no place in a new democratic Middle East. Their action has debunked the myth that only the USA and Western Europe are propping up the dictators of the Middle East.

Russia and China have lost Libya because they supported Muammar Gaddafi until the last minute then switched their support to the National Transitional Council when they realised that their man was doomed. By then it was too late for them to redeem their tarnished image.

The Arab Street has been disillusioned. Russian and Chinese flags have been burnt in various Syrian towns.

The Libyan and Syrian people have now discovered who their real friends are. In the final analysis Russia and China are the real losers because of their short-sighted policies of defending the killers of Damascus.

You will be forgiven if you think that China and Russia have learnt their lesson from the Libyan experience. No, they have not. They are repeating the same catastrophic errors with Syria. The Syrian regime is going to fall sooner or later. It has lost the support of its people and most of the Arab Street. Russia and China have decided to stand against the Arab Spring Tsunami and stop the clock.

The US Administration together with the UK and France has said the right things. I still believe that should Russia and China continue with their obstructive attitude, President Obama with his EU colleagues should take the lead to help the Syrian people get rid of the tyrant ruling over them. Do we have to witness large scale genocide before the world moves with or without the benefit of a UN Security Council resolution? Silence is the worst possible option. I recognize that neither China nor Russia are champions of democracy and human rights, but common sense and simple PR rules, demand that they take into account the Arab world’s public opinion and their own image in the eyes of Arabs and Muslims everywhere.

For many decades the Arab people in general looked at Russia and China as champions of the third world, the poor and the oppressed. This is no longer the case. Now we know better.

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:54a.m.

Navi Pillay says at least 300 children are among the dead as US ambassador Susan Rice urges security council to act

Walid al-Muallem, the Syrian foreign minister, condemned the regional bloc’s move, calling the sanctions “a declaration of economic war on Syria”.

The Syrian government continues to blame “armed terrorists” for the violence.

Muallem also insisted that Syria could weather the sanctions.

“I reassure you that we have withdrawn 95 or 96 percent of Syrian assets [from Arab countries],” he said. “We must protect the interests of our people.”

Some 60 per cent of Syria’s exports go to Arab countries, and analysts concede the sanctions’ effectiveness will hinge largely on whether Arab countries enforce them.

Assad’s government has already been subjected to several Western sanctions, led by the US and European Union.

Diplomats in Brussels say the EU is set to tighten its measures even further, targeting Syria’s oil and financial sectors to deprive the government of more sources of funding.

EU foreign ministers, during a meeting on Thursday, would ban exports of energy industry equipment, trading in Syrian bonds and selling of software that could be used to monitor dissidents, among other financial measures.

Call for ‘decisive action’

Following the latest UN report and the Arab sanctions, the US and Germany led Western calls on Monday for the UN Security Council to finally take “decisive action” against Syria’s atrocities. 

“It is past time for the Security Council to take much more decisive action with respect to Syria,” Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, said.

“Now with the Arab League having acted and it becoming increasingly clear even for those that would rather deny it, that the Assad regime has participated in outrageous and now documented atrocities. The patience of its neighbors and now the international community has evaporated.”

The council cannot “stand idly by”, Peter Wittig, Germany’s UN envoy, said.

The 15-member council was split last month by a European-drafted resolution condemning Assad’s crackdown. Russia and China vetoed the resolution, while Brazil, India, South Africa and Lebanon abstained.

Because of the internal divisions, the Security Council has so far only agreed to a statement, with less moral weight, against the violence in Syria. The 193 member UN General Assembly passed a resolution last week deploring the violence.

Amnesty International, the London-based rights group, has called on the Security Council to refer the case to the International Criminal Court, order an arms embargo and freeze the assets of Assad and his associates.

Human Rights Watch, the New York-based rights monitor, said the UN Human Rights Council must refer the Syria case to the Security Council and call for it “to impose targeted sanctions and refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court”.