UN: Syria has committed 'crimes against humanity'

[News_Editor]

UN: Syria has committed 'crimes against humanity'

2011-11-29 06:41:49 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- Syrian security forces have committed "crimes against humanity" since widespread anti-government protests began earlier this year, a United Nations commission of inquiry on Syria said on Monday.

The three-member commission released a report alleging that Syria is responsible for "wrongful acts," including crimes against humanity which were committed by members of its military and security forces. The three panelists, from Brazil, Turkey, and the Unites States, interviewed 223 victims and witnesses of alleged human rights violations, including defectors from government forces.

"The commission is thus gravely concerned that crimes against humanity of murder, torture, rape or other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty, enforced disappearances of persons and other inhumane acts of a similar character have occurred in different locations in the country since March," the 39-page report said.

The commission urged the Syrian government to immediately end "gross" human rights violations and bring the perpetrators to justice. It also reiterated its call for immediate and unhindered access to Syria, noting that the Syrian government, despite many requests, failed to engage in dialogue and to grant the commission access to the country.

The report comes days after the United Nations Committee Against Torture said it had received credible reports from sources that children are being tortured by Syrian security forces. Claudio Grossman, who heads the 10-member expert panel, said the reports about children being tortured and mutilated while in detention are of particular concern, but gave no specific details to substantiate the claims.

Pro-democracy demonstrations have spread across the country since mid-March, resulting in a fierce government crackdown which has left more than 3,500 people killed, including some 200 children. The Syrian government has claimed violent acts against protesters have been carried out by 'terrorists dressed as soldiers,' although international observers have rejected these claims.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-11-29

[Steely Dan]

The countdown is well underway for Assad's removal by force, the UN report is part of the process legitimizing this action - the trouble is Assad has vowed to start a regional war if attacked with Iran and Hezbollah joining in, but most worrying of all both U.S and Russian warships are in Syrian waters.

http://www.debka.com/article/21521/

Who will blink first?

[Gers1873]

Nice to see the West finally waking up after THIRTY YEARS.

Friedman wrote in his 1982 book From Beirut to Jerusalem, "President Assad decided to end his Hama problem once and for all. With his sad eyes and ironic grin, Assad always looked to me like a man who had long ago been stripped of any illusions about human nature. Since fully taking power in 1970, he has managed to rule Syria longer than any man in the post-World War II era. He has done so by always playing by his own rules. His own rules, I discovered, were Hama Rules."

Hama is Syria's fourth largest city after Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs. It is located in the northwestern part of the country. In the early 1980s, it was a stronghold of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, which was working to topple the minority, Alawite regime of then-Syrian President Hafez el Assad. In February 1982, Assad ordered his military to demolish the city. New York Times reporter Thomas Friedman called the tactic "Hama Rules."

Over 20,000 murdered - DOUBLE the anount killed in the T'Min Square carnage.

Perhaps we will finally get rid of this brutal family.

[midas]

Nice to see the West finally waking up after THIRTY YEARS.

Friedman wrote in his 1982 book From Beirut to Jerusalem, "President Assad decided to end his Hama problem once and for all. With his sad eyes and ironic grin, Assad always looked to me like a man who had long ago been stripped of any illusions about human nature. Since fully taking power in 1970, he has managed to rule Syria longer than any man in the post-World War II era. He has done so by always playing by his own rules. His own rules, I discovered, were Hama Rules."

Hama is Syria's fourth largest city after Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs. It is located in the northwestern part of the country. In the early 1980s, it was a stronghold of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, which was working to topple the minority, Alawite regime of then-Syrian President Hafez el Assad. In February 1982, Assad ordered his military to demolish the city. New York Times reporter Thomas Friedman called the tactic "Hama Rules."

Over 20,000 murdered - DOUBLE the anount killed in the T'Min Square carnage.

Perhaps we will finally get rid of this brutal family.

But why is it more urgent to deal with this person as opposed to others like Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, Kim Jong-il in North Korea who are equally brutal?

[maidu]

It's tough trying to get rid of a ruthless dictator. My best wishes go out to the brave Syrian people. However, I can't help but be pessimistic - even if their civil (uncivil) war erupts further, which looks likely, and even if the good guys (the regular people) win - they're bound to get another slew of thugs at the top echelons of power.

It happened in Egypt. The regular people protested mightily, and finally got the dictator to leave - only to be replaced by his crony top brass of the military who were there all the time. The Middle East has sooooooo far to go, before getting decent leaders, because they have such a long and indelible tradition of having tough mafia types in charge. As soon as they get rid of an oppressive dictator, his henchmen take over. It's like a collective bad dream which they can't wake up from. And their religious dictates don't help in the equation - indeed their mean-spirited religion only exacerbates their inherent problems.

[Gers1873]

Nice to see the West finally waking up after THIRTY YEARS.

Friedman wrote in his 1982 book From Beirut to Jerusalem, "President Assad decided to end his Hama problem once and for all. With his sad eyes and ironic grin, Assad always looked to me like a man who had long ago been stripped of any illusions about human nature. Since fully taking power in 1970, he has managed to rule Syria longer than any man in the post-World War II era. He has done so by always playing by his own rules. His own rules, I discovered, were Hama Rules."

Hama is Syria's fourth largest city after Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs. It is located in the northwestern part of the country. In the early 1980s, it was a stronghold of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, which was working to topple the minority, Alawite regime of then-Syrian President Hafez el Assad. In February 1982, Assad ordered his military to demolish the city. New York Times reporter Thomas Friedman called the tactic "Hama Rules."

Over 20,000 murdered - DOUBLE the anount killed in the T'Min Square carnage.

Perhaps we will finally get rid of this brutal family.

But why is it more urgent to deal with this person as opposed to others like Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, Kim Jong-il in North Korea who are equally brutal?

True but they dont have the active support of Iran nor are the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards' external wing, which has been active in Iraq and Syria active in these countries.

So thre reasons 1)oil, 2) oil 3) oil

[elgato]

Nice to see the West finally waking up after THIRTY YEARS.

Friedman wrote in his 1982 book From Beirut to Jerusalem, "President Assad decided to end his Hama problem once and for all. With his sad eyes and ironic grin, Assad always looked to me like a man who had long ago been stripped of any illusions about human nature. Since fully taking power in 1970, he has managed to rule Syria longer than any man in the post-World War II era. He has done so by always playing by his own rules. His own rules, I discovered, were Hama Rules."

Hama is Syria's fourth largest city after Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs. It is located in the northwestern part of the country. In the early 1980s, it was a stronghold of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, which was working to topple the minority, Alawite regime of then-Syrian President Hafez el Assad. In February 1982, Assad ordered his military to demolish the city. New York Times reporter Thomas Friedman called the tactic "Hama Rules."

Over 20,000 murdered - DOUBLE the anount killed in the T'Min Square carnage.

Perhaps we will finally get rid of this brutal family.

But why is it more urgent to deal with this person as opposed to others like Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, Kim Jong-il in North Korea who are equally brutal?

True but they dont have the active support of Iran nor are the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards' external wing, which has been active in Iraq and Syria active in these countries.

So thre reasons 1)oil, 2) oil 3) oil

Ya think?

[midas]

Nice to see the West finally waking up after THIRTY YEARS.

Friedman wrote in his 1982 book From Beirut to Jerusalem, "President Assad decided to end his Hama problem once and for all. With his sad eyes and ironic grin, Assad always looked to me like a man who had long ago been stripped of any illusions about human nature. Since fully taking power in 1970, he has managed to rule Syria longer than any man in the post-World War II era. He has done so by always playing by his own rules. His own rules, I discovered, were Hama Rules."

Hama is Syria's fourth largest city after Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs. It is located in the northwestern part of the country. In the early 1980s, it was a stronghold of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, which was working to topple the minority, Alawite regime of then-Syrian President Hafez el Assad. In February 1982, Assad ordered his military to demolish the city. New York Times reporter Thomas Friedman called the tactic "Hama Rules."

Over 20,000 murdered - DOUBLE the anount killed in the T'Min Square carnage.

Perhaps we will finally get rid of this brutal family.

But why is it more urgent to deal with this person as opposed to others like Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, Kim Jong-il in North Korea who are equally brutal?

True but they dont have the active support of Iran nor are the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards' external wing, which has been active in Iraq and Syria active in these countries.

So thre reasons 1)oil, 2) oil 3) oil

Ya think?

i dont think so

Edited November 30, 2011 by midas

[Steely Dan]

It's tough trying to get rid of a ruthless dictator. My best wishes go out to the brave Syrian people. However, I can't help but be pessimistic - even if their civil (uncivil) war erupts further, which looks likely, and even if the good guys (the regular people) win - they're bound to get another slew of thugs at the top echelons of power.

It happened in Egypt. The regular people protested mightily, and finally got the dictator to leave - only to be replaced by his crony top brass of the military who were there all the time. The Middle East has sooooooo far to go, before getting decent leaders, because they have such a long and indelible tradition of having tough mafia types in charge. As soon as they get rid of an oppressive dictator, his henchmen take over. It's like a collective bad dream which they can't wake up from. And their religious dictates don't help in the equation - indeed their mean-spirited religion only exacerbates their inherent problems.

It is a paradox that replacing an odious tyrant is sadly most likely to result in replacing autocracy with theocracy, which would be an even greater disaster for human rights. I do expect this to be the outcome though as western policy appears to be (mistakenly imho) that by reaching out to come to some accommodation with the Islamic theocracy might serve to moderate their behavior. A major war draws nearer and is best fought before the enemy can perfect nuclear weapons.

[maidu]

The UN comes to a watered down conclusion - a conclusion that most of us came to months ago. Even then, the UN Security Council's announcement is somewhat toothless, because China and Russia are digging their heels in and clutching at its coat-tails, while it's trying to move forward. Russia is probably entrenched (in favor of Syrian dictators) because Syria is one of its few trading partners in the Middle East. China defense of Syrian thugs is more understandable: China doesn't like to see any popular uprising against dictatorship, because it fears the same scenario internally. China didn't even like it when Bosnia or E.Timor or South Sudan declared independence, because it reminded it too much of what could happen with Tibet.