BICOM

Britain is among four countries promoting a UN Security Council condemnation of the Syrian regime’s violence against protesters. The UK, France, Germany and Portugal, circulated a draft document that calls for a serious Security Council condemnation and calls for an immediate secession of violence. “The situation in Syria is extremely serious and it requires a very clear condemnation from the international community,” said Portugal’s ambassador to the UN, Jose Moraes Cabral. However, the ability of the Security Council to agree on a statement is in doubt following opposition last week to a council position on the violence in Yemen. Statements such as the one being proposed require the unanimous consent of the panel’s 15 member governments.

Foreign Secretary William Hague strongly condemned the actions of the Syrian regime. “I deplore the increasing violence in Syria, and am appalled by the killing of demonstrators by Syrian security forces,” the foreign secretary said in a statement.The US Administration is also considering steps against the Syrian regime, including targeted sanctions, according to a statement yesterday by White House Spokesman Tommy Vietor. US officials said that sanctions could include the freezing of the assets of senior officials and a ban on business ties with the US. The US statements present a significant change of policy from previous US attempts to engage with the Syrian regime.

This American move comes after the Syrian regime sharply intensified its attempts to quell protests. Friday saw widespread demonstrations following the latest killings of protestors by Syrian President Bashar Assad. The protests were met with a harsh response form the regime’s security forces and unprecedented levels of violence. On Monday, troops and tanks of the 4th Armoured Division entered the town of Dera’a, the southern Syrian town where the protests began. The 4th Division, headed by the Syrian president’s brother, appeared to be engaged in an attempt to terrorise the populace. Reportedly, 39 people were killed in Dera’a in the course of the day. Eyewitnesses described tanks firing at random, snipers targeting civilians and troops entering homes and opening fire. Heavy repression also took place in the Damascus suburb of Duma, apparently in a determined attempt by the regime to snuff out the possibility of the rebellion reaching the Syrian capital.

Throughout the period of unrest in Syria, President Assad has sought to avoid large-scale bloodshed, cognisant of the fact that a large number of casualties would attract international condemnation toward his regime. The persistence and increasing intensity of the protests, however, appears to have led to the change of policy toward more brutal repression. It is an indication that the regime fears for its future, and is fighting for its survival.