New evidence of Syrian slaughter: Ambassador, DIRCO must account to Parliament

Brutal video footage of a slaughtered Syrian family released late yesterday must surely compel South Africa to finally take a stance on the ongoing violent oppression in Syria.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will today call on Parliament's International Relations Committee to summon both the newly appointed Syrian ambassador, Bassam Darwish, and Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane to brief the committee on the situation in Syria and account for South Africa's positioning on Syria at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

The UNSC is now set to vote on a new resolution aimed at ending the violence in Syria. In its current form, this resolution calls for Bashar al-Assad to step down to pave the way for political reform. It also proposes frameworks for economic pressures to encourage the Syrian regime to meet the demands of the people and to protect civilians from state-sponsored violence. 

South Africa needs to come out strongly on this. Syrian nationals with a desire to be ruled by a democratically elected government continue to be sacrificed on the altar of diplomatic indecision. 

The indecision of the international community on appropriate steps to promote political reforms in Syria is contributing to the steady rise in civilian deaths resulting from state-sponsored violence. 

United Nations (UN) reports indicate that 5 400 Syrians have died in crackdowns on civilians by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. International news channels are currently running disturbing evidence of torture by Syrian security forces. 

In October 2011, a UNSC resolution on Syria was blocked by Russia and China. South Africa abstained from voting, thus effectively siding with China, Syria's second  largest non-Arab investor, and Russia, whose booming arms trade with the Syrian government made it unwilling to support any resolution that may result in arms embargoes.  

DIRCO must explain its wavering stance on this issue to the portfolio committee. Every day that the international community fails to act is another day at work for Syria's "killing machine". 

Statement issued by Bill Eloff MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of International Relations, February 2 2012

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