Russia Calls for Halt to Violence in Syria

[pampango]

Source: Moscow Times

The Foreign Ministry said Monday that it was concerned by reports of bloodshed in the Syrian city of Hama and called for an end to the violence.

The UN Security Council scheduled closed-door consultations for later Monday as Syrian tanks shelled Hama for a second day, killing at least four civilians, residents said, in an assault to try to crush protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The killings in the city's residential Hamidiyah district brought to 84 the number of civilians reported killed in a tank-backed crackdown on the central Syrian city.

It was unclear how Russia would respond to any new push for sanctions in the UN Security Council, where practical action on Syria has been paralyzed for weeks by disagreements within the 15-nation body. Western European countries circulated a draft resolution two months ago that would condemn the Syrian crackdown on protesters, but Russia and China, both allies of Damascus, have threatened to veto it.

Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russia-calls-for-halt-to-violence-in-syria/441432.html

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Amnesty International: UN SECURITY COUNCIL MUST TAKE ACTION OVER SYRIA BLOODSHED

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/un-security-council-must-take-action-over-syria-bloodshed-2011-08-01

The UN Security Council must urgently respond to the ongoing crackdown in Syria by referring the situation to the International Criminal Court, Amnesty International said today, amid reports that security forces continued to shell the city of Hama, where dozens of people have now been killed.

Elsewhere across Syria, people took to the streets today in massive protests against the latest killings.

“The Syrian authorities have unleashed their deadliest assault yet on mainly peaceful protesters calling for reform,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “It’s clear that President Bashar al-Assad is unwilling to halt his security forces, so the UN must take decisive action to stem this violent campaign of repression.”

“This should at the very least include imposing an arms embargo, freezing the assets of President al-Assad and other officials suspected of responsibility for crimes against humanity, and referring the situation to the ICC Prosecutor.”

Reuters: Arabs angry over Syria crackdown but governments silent

Arabs reacted strongly on Monday to the deaths of dozens of Syrians in Hama at the hands of the Syrian army but most Arab governments kept silent, apparently fearing the power of protest movements that have spread throughout the region this year.

"What happened yesterday in Syria is terrifying. If the international community is silent then many of the Arab rulers could commit similar massacres," said Jalal Shujja, a Yemeni activist at Change Square where activists have been demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule since January.

"I am certain that Assad will not have an easy exit and could end up killing half of his people before he agrees to give up powers but he will lose eventually as the people always win," said Gamal Eid, head of the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

In the Gulf Arab region, where Saudi Arabia has led what analysts have called a "counter-revolution" to bolster allies against protests, media reflected popular revulsion of Assad's attempt to crush opposition but seemed to contrast that with the paternalistic rule of the Gulf ruling dynasties.

Saudi Arabia has had bad relations with Assad because of his close ties to Iran and the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, but analysts say the Saudi royal family, which managed to deter mass protests at home, is conflicted over the possibility of seeing another Arab ruler fall.