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Multilateral Foreign Policy > Published by Shamik Das, January 2nd 2012 at 9:00 am

Syria: When will the West act?

With each passing day, at the dawn of a new year, the future for Syria looks ever bleaker, the tsunami of revolution springing across the Arab world stalled upon the blood-soaked hands of the Damascus despot and his appeasers in the West, writes Shamik Das

More than 5,000 – five thousand – people have died since demonstrations, huge outpourings of public disgust at President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, began in March, with several thousand Syrians detained, injured and tortured. Not even patients and doctors are safe from Assad’s death squads, who appear to be finding ever more heinous ways to silence the protesters’ voices.

Syria-pro-democracy-protesters-Aleppo-30-12-11
Hamza Fakher, a pro-democracy activist, describes the sickening reality thus:

“The repression is so severe that detainees are stacked alive and kicking in shipping containers and disposed off in the middle of the sea.

“It is so bad that they’ve invented a new way of torture in Aleppo where they heat a metal plate and force a detainee to stand on it until he confesses; imagine all the melting flesh reaching the bone before the detainee falls on the plate.

“It is so bad that all demonstrators have opted for armed resistance. They know it is about survival now, not about freedom any more. This needs to be highlighted: Syrians are fighting for their lives now, not for freedom.”

While a surgeon, who uses the pseudonym Omar al-Hakim, told the Sunday Times (£) that doctors were having to set up secret hospitals to avoid the regime’s brutal crackdowns:

“Many people went into those [regular] hospitals with minor injuries, and came out dead… The most important thing is that the place [the secret hospitals] should have two exits, so that we can escape easily if the security forces find us.”

The ST adds (£):

The crackdown has intensified as the regime moves to silence those with first-hand knowledge of the violence being inflicted on Syrians…

Hakim was forced to watch, helplessly, as a 28-year-old victim in need of surgery died before his eyes. “He was bleeding so badly and the security forces had closed all the roads. I couldn’t do anything more for him,” he said.

“All I did was hold his hand and tell him everything would be all right; that he was going to a better place now and that we would continue the revolution – till the last one of us.”

The evidence, of which the above testimonies are only a part, is clear: unless action is taken, and soon, thousands more will die, with many more tortured, jailed and injured. Following the overwhelming success of Operation Unified Protector in freeing Libya, the time has surely come for the West to give voice to the voiceless, heed their calls to strike against Assad and undertake its responsibility to protect.

As Nick Cohen wrote in the Observer, the consequences of inaction, of non-intervention, are dire not just for the Syrians but the wider world:

As in the Spanish civil war, when Britain and France preached non-intervention while Hitler and Mussolini sent arms and men to help Franco’s fascists, so the “international community” does nothing in Syria today while Iran and Hezbollah pour in Shia troops to slaughter civilians. Contrary to Syrian state propaganda, Sunni terrorists from al-Qaida are not in Syria to fight back against the regime just yet. But I cannot see them staying out for long.

Intervention to stop a regional war carries vast risks. But we should be honest about the consequences of acquiescing to Assad. A failed state and nest for terrorism will sit on the edge of the Mediterranean. Foreign mercenaries and Alawite paramilitaries will continue to massacre a largely defenceless population and the conflict may spread into Iraq, Israel, Turkey and Jordan.

As the news that escapes the control of the Syrian censors reminds us every day, those who say we should do nothing also have blood on their hands.

That people can be buried alive in shipping containers, tortured on hot metal plates, slain in hospitals, in 2012, in 2012, today, now, in our time, in our lifetime, defies belief. It’s time to act; the Syrians, nay all men and women, deserve freedom, democracy and liberty every bit as much as we do.

See also:

• Syria ‘safe havens’ point to growing likelihood of civil war – Alex Hern, November 25th 2011

• Syria: Both Assad and the demonstrators announce ‘no compromise’ – Alex Hern, October 31st 2011

• A Syrian civil war is becoming ever more likely – Alex Hern, October 27th 2011

• Syrian government uses hospitals against protesters – Alex Hern, October 25th 2011

• Exposed: The pro-Assad useful idiots in our midst – Rupert Read, October 22nd 2011

http://twitter.com/cutchswife/status/153762976774631425 cutchswife

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/bowlingatvinny/status/153763194278649856 Rick Walton

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/shanedgj/status/153763589201727489 shane

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/LKPSY2Z4
http://twitter.com/shanedgj/status/153763731585765376 shane

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/jomccarron/status/153763885508341760 Jo McCarron

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/skiptonriponclp/status/153764084687450112 Skipton&Ripon CLP

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/mark_brophy/status/153764340980391936 Mark Brophy

@medialens MT @leftfootfwd: #Syria Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed When will the West act? http://t.co/4u8SH1qU
http://twitter.com/politicalplanet/status/153766605262819328 Political Planet

Syria: When will the West act?: With each passing day, at the dawn of 2012, the future for Syria looks ever blea… http://t.co/lEOs4Y6M
http://twitter.com/leftlinks/status/153766652578762752 leftlinks

Left Foot Forward – Syria: When will the West act? http://t.co/P4i1KPl5
http://twitter.com/turtlewoman777/status/153775527352745984 TurtleWoman

Syria: When will the West act? | Left Foot Forward http://t.co/FKJyg3Te via @addthis
http://twitter.com/turtlewoman777/status/153776034620260353 TurtleWoman

RT @tweetmeme Syria: When will the West act? | Left Foot Forward http://t.co/lkQalyb2
http://twitter.com/turtlewoman777/status/153776043885461505 TurtleWoman

Syria: When will the West act? | Left Foot Forward http://t.co/PoM4NbmM
http://twitter.com/billmcdonald123/status/153776134264340480 Bill

A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/GbYJUjtm
http://twitter.com/syriamonitor/status/153776337490944000 Syria Monitor

Syria: When will the West act? – Left Foot Forward http://t.co/RtXvZGkQ #Syria
http://twitter.com/jonathanfryer/status/153777102355824640 Jonathan Fryer

Yes but how? RT @ianbirrell: Question we'll hear more often in coming weeks: Should West act to stop #Syria atrocities? http://t.co/lVt9upBh
http://twitter.com/patronpress/status/153778740067975168 Patron Press – #P2

#UK : Syria: When will the West act? http://t.co/m1jExi2M
http://twitter.com/kingofmanutd1/status/153779354722254848 Osama ALMadani

#UK : Syria: When will the West act? http://t.co/m1jExi2M
http://twitter.com/hens4freedom/status/153779748970053632 Hens4Freedom

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/war4freedom/status/153780035470360577 FREEDOM

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/endarken/status/153780661675769856 Occupy Auckland

#UK : Syria: When will the West act? http://t.co/m1jExi2M
http://twitter.com/benjaminfgray/status/153781985477804032 Benjamin Gray

A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/GbYJUjtm
http://twitter.com/occupynltweets/status/153782976814125057 OccupyTheNetherlands

#UK : Syria: When will the West act? http://t.co/m1jExi2M
http://twitter.com/cllrpetebowyer/status/153783659785228288 Pete Bowyer

RT@ianbirrell: A qu we'll hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/txL1hgfp < err, yes!
http://twitter.com/chirpycockney/status/153783852773548033 Anna Hubbard

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
Eddy Canfor-Dumas

The opposition to Assad could be a lot more effective, and lose fewer lives, if they read Gene Sharp on non-violent resistance. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12522848
http://twitter.com/phillip_blond/status/153785287783350273 Phillip Blond

A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/GbYJUjtm
http://twitter.com/paddingtonbaby/status/153785657154736128 paddingtonbaby

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/LKPSY2Z4
http://twitter.com/mlittlec/status/153786251680550912 Martin Littlecott

A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/GbYJUjtm
http://twitter.com/udenharry/status/153789332694638592 Harry Uden

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/nervana_1/status/153791995083632641 Nervana Mahmoud

RT“@ianbirrell: A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/9OK1KycD
http://twitter.com/politaire/status/153792340643942400 I-AM

RT“@ianbirrell: A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/9OK1KycD
http://twitter.com/fouadmd/status/153792447720329217 Fouad, MD

RT“@ianbirrell: A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/9OK1KycD
http://twitter.com/kayabendroth/status/153796001931595776 Kay Abendroth

RT“@ianbirrell: A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/9OK1KycD
http://twitter.com/modditydodds/status/153798935096459264 Knut Cayce

RT @leftfootfwd: #Syria: When will the #West act? http://t.co/3debzA4d
http://www.markpack.org.uk/ Mark Pack

I think the political reality is that the West will only act if the Arab world first calls for action (cf Libya). That means I’ve got very mixed feelings about the apparent failure of the Arab League monitors so far – it would be great if their appearance had stopped the murders, but it may well be that their failure is a necessary step to ending the dictatorship.
Anonymous

AH you men the UK, tell you what let the others have a go.
http://twitter.com/kantian3/status/153803552844816385 Gary Banham

Syria: When will the West act? http://t.co/n3zMpajP via @zite
Lancrad

I’m joining in the moment Blair/Straw/Brown children join up to fight
http://twitter.com/adamcorlett/status/153815413908713472 Adam Corlett

A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/GbYJUjtm
http://twitter.com/BarryTSprout Barold

This piece seriously makes me angry. This seems to be a post written from the perspective of western journalists. Western journalists who for the most part have not entered the country, citing that they are not allowed. They are allowed, they just have to apply for a visa. The 5000 number is not backed up, treats all those deaths as that of non-violent protestors and ignores the fact that there has been sectarian violence and terrorist acts in the country since at least March. See what happened with Joshua Landis’s cousin in law for at least one piece of supporting evidence.

In addition, it is clear that the majority of the country supports the regime. There have been constant huge rallies in support of the regime since the problems started. I am very interested as to how you fit this into your argument for intervention.

Speaking of Libya: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/world/africa/scores-of-unintended-casualties-in-nato-war-in-libya.html?pagewanted=all I don’t know what the answer is to the problems in Syria, but I know one thing for certain, I am incredibly fed up of people who are not in Syria telling me that we should intervene.
http://twitter.com/BarryTSprout Barold

I also missed the casual racism involved in Nick Cohen’s piece. “Alawite paramilitaries” is not a true appraisal of the Syrian military, which are mainly made up of conscripts from across the country. Such shoddy journalism only serves to further sectarian conflict.

As an aside, this does make me wonder why there have not been huge amounts of defections if they have been used against non-violent protesters for the past nine months
Anonymous

“The repression is so severe that detainees are stacked alive and kicking in shipping containers and disposed off in the middle of the sea.
“It is so bad that they’ve invented a new way of torture in Aleppo where they heat a metal plate and force a detainee to stand on it until he confesses; imagine all the melting flesh reaching the bone before the detainee falls on the plate.

I don’t know about you, but this sounds like the usual babies on bayonets pro-war propaganda. Any evidence for this Shamik?
hctinsley

Does anyone seriously believe that the Syrian government are anything but a bunch of torturers and murderers? The evidence is overwhelming. You can’t just dismiss this as ‘pro-war propaganda’.
Brumanuensis

Appalling as the Assad regime is, if you are calling for military intervention then I can only conclude that you have lost your marbles. It is telling that you quote Nick Cohen, but neglect to mention that the main opposition grouping has come out against foreign military intervention: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/31/syria-opposition-plan-democratic-future

Diplomatic and economic pressure? Absolutely. Injecting a western military operation into a volatile and confusing situation, without a clear picture of how to accurately target government militias, the Syrian army and other repressive agents, whilst avoiding hitting civilians or even revolutionaries? Madness. Personally, I supported the original intervention in Libya. Infuriatingly, it is the very fact that NATO overstepped the UN mandate in that instance, that has made coordinating international opinion against the Assad regime so difficult.

Think too of what the regime will be able to do with a nice nationalist rallying point to gather wavering civilians: ‘Look at those nasty revolutionaries. See how the Western/Zionist/Imperialists/Crusaders, etc. are backing them’. How will that help the people being murdered in Homs, Hama or Aleppo? I sympathise with the impulse to intervene, but it would have horrible and very predictable consequences.

Furthermore, Cohen’s Spanish Civil War analogy is weak. The Spanish Republicans were defending a democratically elected government. The Syrian opposition is an amorphous grouping with an unclear leadership structure, which still lacks organisational coherence. This is not a reason to ignore it, but it should give us pause for thought before drawing trite historical parallels.
http://twitter.com/creativecrip/status/153933143240491008 TheCreativeCrip

Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/ALgQKmre by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/june4th/status/153946629886582785 Noxi

RT @leftfootfwd: #Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/pgjBuiGD by…
http://twitter.com/krisw6/status/153966486178889729 Kris Adrian

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/genevieveflight/status/153979445848444929 Genevieve Flight

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/FrgTPOp9 by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/Newsbot9 Newsbot9

Oh yes, because getting shot in the head is so much more “effective”.

What part of “brutal repressive dictatorship happy to have a bloodbath” did you miss, again?
http://twitter.com/arabica11/status/154054510170472448 FE

RT @leftfootfwd: #Syria: When will the West act? it is about survival now, not about freedom any more.
http://t.co/MnU2qLVR
http://twitter.com/war4freedom/status/154054751410077696 FREEDOM

RT @leftfootfwd: #Syria: When will the West act? it is about survival now, not about freedom any more.
http://t.co/MnU2qLVR
http://twitter.com/rubahachim/status/154056205940166656 Ruba Hashem (Hachim)

RT @leftfootfwd: #Syria: When will the West act? it is about survival now, not about freedom any more.
http://t.co/MnU2qLVR
http://twitter.com/a22523/status/154056929499549696 Alex (أليكس)

Shamik Das calls for West to intervene in Syria- http://t.co/Kn7JlXtp Via @Arabica11
http://twitter.com/qusairrev/status/154108789656797185 تنسيقية القصير

#syria : http://t.co/johZKhZQ
http://twitter.com/pseudodeviant/status/154112282551525376 Emma

Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/ALgQKmre by @ShamikDas
Eddy Canfor-Dumas

Engaging in non-violent struggle against repressive regimes does not call for demonstrators to offer themselves as live targets for government forces – quite the reverse. And I have since learnt that Gene Sharp’s ideas are indeed being employed by some opposition groups in Syria.

See http://howtostartarevolutionfilm.com/index.php/video
http://twitter.com/janeayres/status/154152841601228800 Jane Ayres

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/J41iBZLw by @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/caroclarkson/status/154177047206440960 Caroline Clarkson

#Syria: Protesters burnt, tortured and drowned alive, doctors killed… When will the West act? http://t.co/J41iBZLw by @ShamikDas
Johnslinger1

Superb article Shamik.
Anonymous

Shamik Das has failed to provide evidence for his outrageous claims. It’s the plastic people shredders all over again.
http://twitter.com/aiprny/status/154244612771430400 Auschwitz Institute

#R2P #MAPrev #Syria: When will the West act? | Left Foot Forward http://t.co/tpd8n8lg
http://twitter.com/seherrafiq/status/154383074522697728 Seher محمود Rafiq

A question we will hear more often in coming weeks: Should the west act to stop Syrian atrocities? http://t.co/GbYJUjtm
http://twitter.com/sara0075/status/154454648953126913 sara

#Syria: When will the West act? | Left Foot Forward http://t.co/YGzVDgT5
http://twitter.com/ourvoicess/status/154454950523572224 Adam

RT @sara0075: #Syria: When will the West act? | Left Foot Forward http://t.co/ozhIxJ5l
http://twitter.com/alexburrett/status/155355313736921088 Alex Burrett

RT @leftfootfwd: When will the West act Re: #Syria? http://t.co/zLuSL4SL
http://twitter.com/modditydodds/status/155537622700277760 Knut Cayce

RT @leftfootfwd: #Syria: When will the #West act? http://t.co/3debzA4d
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[...] the heinousness of Assad’s regime knows no bounds; as Hamza Fakher, a pro-democracy activist, recently revealed: “The repression is so severe that detainees are stacked alive and kicking in shipping [...]
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