Syria, not too brutal for China and Russia

In a move that many in the US and Europe are criticizing, Russia and China joined forces to veto an important UN Security Council resolution on Syria. On Tuesday the UN Security Council held a vote on a resolution calling for an immediate halt of the crackdown in Syria against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad and his brutally repressive regime.

NEW YORK, NY (Catholic Online) - Nine of the 15 countries on the UN Security Council, including the United States, voted in favor of adopting the resolution. India, Brazil, South Africa, and Lebanon abstained from the vote.

The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said that security council action would be, "an intervention" that would send the wrong message to the world. He continued, "I understand that my European colleagues are upset, having not obtained a resolution which they were trying to obtain...Some capitals are being overly hasty in passing their judgment about the illegitimacy of the leaders in Syria."

Many are outraged. US Ambassador Susan Rice said, the United States is outraged that this council has utterly failed to address an urgent moral challenge and a growing threat to regional peace and security."

The resolution, if it had been passed, would have called upon Syria to stop oppressing its citizens. One must wonder what part of that message is too hasty to satisfy the Russian and Chinese ambassadors.

Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Ja'afari said, the aggressive discourse reveals the prejudice in certain Western capitals against my country's political leadership."

The vote failed amid the backdrop of further violence in Syria. Reports of more deaths have surfaced as the government continues its relentless crackdown on protesters. The nearly seven month-long conflict has drawn worldwide condemnation. Syrian President al-Assad has been blamed for the extensive violence. Sources within Syria say that the full might of the military including aircraft, tanks, and soldiers, has been deployed to quell the protests. Most of the people killed by the government have been unarmed civilians.

Meanwhile, a new group of army deserters, including high-ranking officers, is pleading with the United Nations to do something about the widespread violence. The officers have coalesced into an opposition group called the Free Syria Army. They have warned that the regime will not leave power except by force.

It is unclear what atrocities the Syrian government will be allowed to commit before Russia and China agree that the brutality in Syria must stop.

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