Since the passing of these sanctions by the Arab League, the Syrian Government has stepped down, a tremendous victory for the people of Syria. What is still important here though is that the pressure from the Arab League helped make that happen, when pressure form western powers could not. As Americans, we are known for having stereotypical view of the middle east, that all of these countries abuse human rights and are foes of democracy. But regardless of their motivations, this story proves otherwise. If you read the quotes from the Syrian delegate, he says he is shocked that the Arab nations would turn on another Arab nation. This goes to show that while they do support each other, at some point there is a limit. Syria's human rights abuses against the protesters finally crossed a line that the rest of the League would not tolerate. This is a huge step forward not only for the people of Syria, but for the League itself and for any other people that might be joining this movement spreading through the Middle East.
Avi Yudkowsky
Ryan, 9am
It comes to no surprise that Iran and Lebanon abstained from voting for the sanctions against Lebanon, being prime economic powers with Syria.
ReplyDeleteThe Syrian government, as you said the human rights of the it's protestors, and these actions could no longer be tolerated by the Arab League. I also agree that the Arab League being the one to put all this in motion is an important aspect of this process.
Cailie Swillum
RYAN, 9AM
I believe this will help the human rights system as this comes from close to home, the Arab League rather than NATO etc. This is the century for human rights and Syria has been lagging in that regard. Hopefully this has some effect on their policy.
ReplyDeleteQian Wu
Ryan Mannas F 9am
POLS 184