The adoption of a near-unanimous resolution by the UN Security Council on Syria, for all its show of decisive action, clearly lacks the teeth to be effective by any measure. The resolution, supported by fourteen members, the only exception being Lebanon, has condemned the Bashar al Assad regime's use of force against Syrian citizens and the violation of human rights in these past three months of an uprising which as yet shows no sign of abating. In all these months, President Assad has made promises of reforms more than once and just as quickly reneged on them.
The insensitive manner in which the Syrian military and security forces have handled the situation has already led to the deaths of hundreds of citizens. Whole villages and towns have come under Assad's wrath. In these last few days, the brazen use of firepower to bring the small town of Hama to heel has only added to the casualty figures. The protests, despite their intensity, seem to have only hardened the regime in its use of brutality. The threat of sanctions by the West, expressions of concern by the world and exhortations for Assad to change course have not worked. And yet such a situation cannot go on.
For the West, it is time to decide if it can bring about a uniformity of policy where dealing with tyrannical governments is concerned. Its ineffectual handling of Syria and its surprising silence on repression in Bahrain when it is going out on a limb to force Libya's Gaddafi from power are clearly not helping the so-called Arab Spring any. More than a withdrawal of envoys from Damascus, there is a need for effective, sustained sanctions to force change in Syria.
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