How many times do you think about your rights being taken? Delay in our police case or application without reply makes us think that we are being exploited, ignored and just not subjected to the rights we are granted. But doesn’t it amaze you that the population of millions can’t even roam leisurely outside their homes and are in a great dread of leaving their families and homes just counting their breaths. The condition of the natives of Syria is far worse than this. Violence between the government and armed rebels in Syria has threatened to ignite a full-fledged civil war.
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on February 26 called for a referendum on a new constitution as part of the regime’s promised reforms, however it was instantaneously dismissed by both opposition leaders and White House officials. Iran native Valentine Moghadam, director of Northeastern University’s international affairs program and a professor of sociology and anthropology, elucidated the ongoing crisis. She termed the dismal situation as a global concern.
Initially, there is international concern about the extent of violence in nation, primarily the state’s crackdown on the opposition, which some have exemplified as a major human rights violation. In some international circles, there is also distress about the turn to armed rebellion on the part of the opposition and the apparent disunity within the opposition. Second, there is concern, especially on the part of Russia and China, about internationalising the internal breakdown of trust, with the specter of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya looming large. Meanwhile, Syria’s international allies will seek alternative ways of defusing the situation and appeasing at least some of the opposition, although it may be too late to do so.
Harminder Singh