UN
adopts tough resolution on Syria
The
UN General Assembly has voted in favor of a non-binding resolution on
Syria pushed by several Arab states. Before the vote, Russia
announced that it would not support the resolution, calling it
unbalanced.
RT,
3
August, 2012
The
bill was passed with 133 votes in favor, 12 against, and 31
abstentions.
The
resolution, authored by Saudi Arabia and actively supported by Egypt
and Bahrain, demands that President Bashar al-Assad transfer power to
a transitional government and that the Syrian Army ceases tank and
helicopter attacks against rebel forces.
It
also demands that Syria refrain from using chemical and biological
weapons. This clause comes after a recent announcement from Damascus
alleging that Syria possessed chemical weapons, and would not
hesitate to use them against an invading army.
The
General Assembly denounced the Syrian crackdown on rebel forces while
criticizing the Security Council’s inaction.
During
the session in New York, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the
Syrian conflict had become a “proxy war,” and called on both
opposition and rebel forces to end the violence.
"The
acts of brutality that are being reported may constitute crimes
against humanity or war crimes," he
said.
Syrian
envoy Bashar Jaafari noted that countries supporting the resolution,
specifically Saudi Arabia and Qatar, were not exactly edenic oases of
human rights.
The
decision on the resolution came after the resignation of UN envoy
Kofi Annan and the failure of his six-point peace plan.
The
resolution will not be legally binding, as all General Assembly
resolutions are advisory. Passage of the bill may nonetheless have a
serious impact on the political climate surrounding Syria, paving the
way for the possibility of sanctions.
The
vote had originally been scheduled for Thursday morning, but was
postponed until Friday.
Moscow
voted against the resolution.
“It
[the resolution] is extremely one-sided and was written as if there
was no armed opposition at all,”
Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said. He also stressed that a
number of clauses, such as the one that criticizes the Security
Council, were something Russia could not agree to.
Churkin
also noted that putting a resolution on Syria to vote in the General
Assembly “was
inappropriate”
and “contravened
the UN Charter,”
as the issue was already being discussed in the Security Council.
Russia
and China have vetoed three separate Security Council resolutions on
Syria. In each case, both countries claimed the bills were
unbalanced.
‘The struggle for Aleppo and Damascus’
On
the ground in Syria, the battle for Aleppo rages on.
Rebels
said the main fighting was taking place in the neighborhood of
Saleheddine, where they estimated 20 civilians had been killed.
Others claimed they managed to capture a major police station, taking
several officers hostage, and seizing weapons and ammunitions.
In
the capital Damascus, government troops also clashed with rebels in
the neighborhood of Tadamon.
Activists
and witnesses told Reuters that most of the city was under the
control of the government by early evening.
The
Army has been trying to enter Tadamon for more than a week, but has
been continuously held back by rebel resistance.
‘Western non-lethal support’
As
opposition and government forces continue to clash, each side is
receiving pledges of loyalty from nations supporting their respective
causes.
Syria’s
Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil told AP that the country has asked
for a Russian loan to replenish its hard currency reserves, which
have been depleted by an international embargo on Syrian exports.
He
said Damascus also wants to get diesel oil and other oil products
from Russia in exchange for crude supplies.
Russian
officials have confirmed talks in Moscow, but have not indicated
whether Moscow has agreed to provide Syria with oil or a loan.
Conflicting
media reports were released, suggesting the possibility of Russian
transports calling at the Syrian
port of Tartus,
but Russia’s Ministry of Defense says its three ships in the area
have no plan to do so, unless the ships’ mission is extended.
Meanwhile,
Britain has vowed its loyalty to the opposition, by promising to
increase its “non-lethal” support to the Syrian rebels.
An
EU arms embargo prevents any nation from providing arms to any party
in the Syrian conflict, but that isn’t stopping the UK from showing
support in other ways.
In
a statement, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said,“We
will, over the coming weeks, increase our practical but non-lethal
support. We have helped [the opposition] with communications and
matters of that kind, and we will help them more."
According
to reports, Washington has also recently reaffirmed its commitment to
the Syrian opposition.
A
US government source told Reuters that President Barack Obama
has signed
a secret order allowing
the CIA and other American agencies to support the Syrian rebels.
Obama
reportedly gave the order earlier this year.
'West
trying to turn Assad into new Gaddafi'
The
UN General Assembly has condemned the Security Council for failing to
stop the violence in Syria with a majority vote. Russia has voted
against the resolution, calling it imbalanced. Moscow is also urging
the UN and the Arab League to move fast in finding a new chief
peacemaker for Syria, as Kofi Annan's stepping down. RT talks to
Patrick Hayes, reporter for the online current affairs magazine
Spiked.
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