Give Peace
a Chance
Syria is
now widely regarded as the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation. The
Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict between forces loyal to the
Ba'ath government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March
2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. Protesters demanded the resignation of
President Bashar al-Assad, whose family has held the presidency in Syria since
1971, as well as the end of Ba'ath Party rule, which began in 1963. After
months of military sieges, the protests evolved into an armed rebellion.
Opposition forces, mainly composed of defected soldiers and civilian
volunteers, remain without central leadership. The Arab League, the United
States, the European Union and other countries, condemned the use of violence
against the protesters. According to the United Nations, about 4 million
Syrians have been displaced within the country and 2 million have fled to other
countries. In addition, tens of thousands of protesters have been imprisoned
and there are reports of widespread torture and terror in state prisons.
International organizations have accused both government and opposition forces
of severe human rights violations, concluding they were the greatest in
gravity, frequency and scale. The Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged
that a lack of reforms from the Syrian government may have led to the current
strife. He stated that:"Syria as a country was rife for some kind of
change. And the government of Syria should have felt that in due time and
should have undertaken some reform. Had they done that, what we're seeing in
Syria today would have never happened”. In times of bacteriological wars that
caused numerous deaths, violent conflicts should be solved with peaceful
solutions.
The clear message has to be
that of seeking peace through diplomatic means.
As regards the present conflict, the Pope is leading a strong offensive
against a possible military intervention. He condemned the use of chemical weapons
and called for “peace breaks out" in society and "special
strength". In the G20 meeting he asked the Great Powers to avoid military
solutions and sent a letter to President Putin, in which he prayed the world
leaders to find "a peaceful solution through dialogue and
negotiation." Russia, an ally of Syria, together with the whole
international community, maintains the opposition to prevent an attack. The
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, stated “ We have turned our backs on
military intervention to help the children…the very least this country can do
now is ensure every other possible step is taken to help them through aid and
diplomacy – and hope we show more gumption when that next chemical attack rains
down.”
Another serious matter is the
alarmed number of casualties and exiles since the beginning of the conflict. As
statistics show, the estimates of deaths in the conflict vary widely, with
figures, per opposition activist groups, ranging from 83,260 to 110,370. On 2
January 2013, the United Nations stated that 60,000 had been killed since the
civil war began. The High Commissioner for Human Rights
Argumentative
Thesis Statement
Navi Pillay
said "The number of casualties is
much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking”. As Sir John Bright, the
19th-century British Radical, famously remarked, “Force is not a remedy”. He
also stated that a remedy for the appalling situation in Syria is certainly
needed, but without the addition of more destruction and more misery. His exact
words were: “…unavoidable collateral damage to civilians will not provide a
remedy…(T)he consequences of the measures are unpredictable, and the scope and
the implementation out of control”. He thinks just like the parents of the
7,000 children who have been killed so far in the Syrian conflict. In his last
trip to Jordan, he met some of the 130,000 Syrian refugees living at the
Zaatari Camp and saw how they were being supported by Save The Children and
other charities. Each had a story of loss and grief. Apart from that, an
important number of Syrians were forced to flee the country. The amount doubled
in just six months to 2 million. The United Nations describe the refugee crisis
as the worst in history. The High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres,
said Syria had become "a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering
and displacement unparalleled in recent history."
The lack of evidence about the
use of chemical weapons must be assumed seriously when deciding on the proper
measures to take. The US President, Barack Obama, is said to have proof of its
use against civilians, and advocated the use of a "tailored, limited"
military strike in response. While he accused Syria of having violated an
international law, the real fact is that the conflict hazards American
interests in the area. Although Obama accepts that more people may die, he
stated, while referring to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Damascus where
355 people were killed, that “President Assad has used poison gases which have
caused mass deaths… and has vast stockpiles of this stuff …a bully who isn’t
challenged will strike again … despite being outlawed by international
humanitarian law”. He announced to the US-based Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS): "We have concluded that the
Syrian government in fact carried these out… there need to deter the government
from repeating such an attack”. Although they did not present any direct
evidence to back up his assertion, they would take action without the backing
of Allies or the United Nations. The Syrian Government has strongly denied the
accusations, and has challenged the West to come up with "a single
piece" of evidence. They warned that any military intervention in Syria
could spark a "regional war". Moreover, they blamed rebel
"terrorists" for releasing the toxins with the help of the US,
Britain and France, and explained that in case of an attack, it would be a
"graveyard of invaders". As
regards the participation of other countries, Russia and China led the decisive
rejection of retaliation by the United States. Vladimir Putin, the Russian
President, stated in the French newspaper Le Figaro: "The Middle East is a
powder keg, and today the fuse is getting shorter." Besides, the Chinese
State Media said that any military intervention "would have dire
consequences for regional security and violate the norms governing
international relations". The British Prime Minister, David Cameron,
promised British lawmakers he would not go to war, until a United Nations
chemical weapons team on the ground in Syria, has a chance to report its
findings. A ComRes survey for The Independent British newspaper, has underlined
public opposition to military intervention in Syria. Two–thirds of those polled
said they were against American plans for military strikes against the Assad
regime.
To conclude, after the two
World Wars of the 20 th century, international organizations were created in
order to avoid military interventions. They ensure a space for rational
negotiation and they represent those who are damaged in the conflicts. It is
unbelievable that countries, without the support of the United Nations,
maintain the position of attacking, no matter the number of innocent people
that are killed. International Representation that advocate peace are to be
respected without exception. In the resolution of crisis, examples of peace and
diplomacy are essential as a reference for the future. As a result, the Great
Powers Countries in conjunction with Humanitarian Organization should attempt
for solutions that do not imply the use of violence. It is inadmissible that
there are still families that are torn apart or suffer the loss of a relative
due to violent civil wars. There has to be always a possibility for dialogue
and diplomacy. A non violent resolution, that avoids more deaths and seeks the
welfare of civilians, could be attained by the mediation of the United Nations
and the powerful countries with both
parts of the conflict.
Outline
Introduction
→ Thesis
Statement: “In times of bacteriological
wars that caused numerous deaths, violent conflicts should be solved with
peaceful solutions”.
Supplementary
material
→
Diplomatic solutions
→ Avoid
deaths and exiles
→ Lack of
evidence in the use of chemical weapons
Conclusion
→ A non
violent resolution, that avoids more deaths and seeks the welfare of civilians,
could be attained by the mediation of the United Nations and the powerful
countries with both parts of the conflict.
Graphic
Organizer
Sources
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