Russia and China veto UN resolution against Syrian regime

[xchrom]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/05/russia-china-veto-syria-resolution

Russia and China have vetoed a European-backed UN security council resolution that threatened sanctions against the Syrian regime if it did not immediately halt its military crackdown against civilians.

The resolution would have been the first such legally binding move adopted by the security council since President Bashar Assad's military began using tanks and soldiers against protesters in mid-March. The UN estimates there have been more than 2,700 deaths.

The European sponsors of the resolution had tried to avoid a veto by watering down the language on sanctions three times, to the point where the word "sanctions" was taken out. The eventual vote was 9-2 with four abstentions: India, South Africa, Brazil and Lebanon.

It is the first double veto by Russia and China since July 2008 when they rejected proposed sanctions against Zimbabwe. In January 2007 they both vetoed a resolution against the Burmese regime.

[pinboy3niner]

1. Blocking of Security Council resolution on Syria a "shocking betrayal"--Amnesty

5 October 2011


Permanent members of the Security Council that used their veto yesterday to block a binding resolution on Syria have utterly failed in their responsibilities to protect the Syrian people, Amnesty International said today.

"It is shocking that after more than six months of horrific bloodshed on the streets and in the detention centres of Syria, the governments of both Russia and China still felt able to veto what was already a seriously watered down resolution," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Director.

"Those countries which ducked this decision by abstaining must also bear a heavy responsibility for allowing the brutal crackdown on legitimate dissent in Syria to continue unchecked."

"Attempt to justify this position by referring to the military intervention in Libya are utterly irresponsible. The Syrian people should not have to suffer because of political disagreements about the situation in a different country. Yesterday's veto was nothing short of a betrayal of the Syrian people."

...


http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/blocking-security-council-resolution-syria-shocking-betrayal-2011-10-05

[Distant Observer]

2. Well, Gaddafi was the evil monster. Nothing happening in Syria, Bahrain, Yemen

:sarcasm:

Actually, the Syrian regime's record and actions make Gaddafi look like a babe in the woods.
But after the West manipulated the UNSEC to justify their Oil-grab in Libya, there is no way Russia and China is going along with another Western "humanitarian" resolution.

Nothing comparable to the Syrian crackdown was documented in Libya prior to the Nato intervention. A simple comparison with Syria exposes the perversity of the Western/Oil Potentate SCAM in Libya.


But Libya has soooo muuuch untapped oil reserves and was soooo troublesome.