Crisis in Syria

Although this blog has been mainly concerned with domestic politics, this week I will be writing about a growing international concern—the crisis in Syria. Currently, the Bashar al-Assad regime is slaughtering thousands (an estimated total of 9,000 lives) of their civilians. In addition, this year marks the highest amount of deaths and violence that Syria has witnessed in quite sometime. With this spike in violence, thousands of refugees are fleeing to their neighbor country—Turkey.

On April 1, 2012, 80 nations gathered in what was called, “Friends of the Syrian People”, to discuss measures to stop the violence. Peace agreements were discussed and sanctions were put into place. Most of the nations pledged millions and millions of dollars to Syrian’s opposition, which will then pay for the salaries and arms of the rebel fighters. The United States, however, pledged communication and humanitarian relief instead of monetary assistance, which will directly translate to support for the opposition army. Some have proposed the creation of a War Crimes Tribunal (almost like a Truth and Reconciliation Commission), but this would be extremely difficult to expedite if the violence has not yet stopped.

The United Nations is currently urging Syria to implement a peace plan urgently, and the cease-fire is supposed to take place on April 12^th according to officials, and the UN plans to send over peacekeeping troops to assure that the Assad regime stays true to their word. However, with the rapid increase in violence over the past few days, that agreement does not look like it will be reached. Even though Assad stated that he would abide by the peace agreement, he is still killing civilians and intensifying the violence, and he is even instituting airstrikes now.

So, what should we do? How can we stop the Assad regime from brutally murdering their people, and how do we turn Syria into a democratic nation?

Well, that is certainly a good question that most states in the world are currently trying to figure out.

There are pros and cons to every situation. If we do not give money to the rebel army, then how will the people protect themselves? But also, the more money we give them, the more arms they will be able to have which has the potential to pro-long the violence and killings of the Assad regime.

I think that the most diplomatic and peaceful measures should be taken. Governments should employ trade sanctions to punish Syria, and remove their diplomats in hopes of making President Assad abide by the peace agreement that is currently supposed to happen. The UN needs to send peacekeeping troops when this occurs, and it would be very beneficial if a War Tribunal or a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is created to help the civilians cope and transmission to a new era.

Whatever the solution maybe, lets hope that a ceasefire takes place on April 12.