The resignation of Lakhdar Brahimi as the special envoy of the United Nations and Israel’s entering the arena with its inherent attitude to exacerbate the situation in the Middle East do not bode well for world peace. The Syrian situation raises a number of questions: Is this something happening in the ancient age when there is no United Nations, no world order, no Security Council and no international court? Where might is right and right is considered to be wrong? Where only the fittest survives and where one has also to take up arms for survival?
If this is not the wild age, and if this is all happening in the 21st century, then the leaders – if there are any, in the true sense of its meaning – need to sit together to decide the future course of action as they had once done following the World War II.
The United Nations today stands more as a symbol of that vision instead of offering any practical meaning to it. In the new century they must come up with a foolproof plan to ensure that no such mass killings take place as those happening in Syria; there is no politicking over genocides, as is evident from the role played by Russia and Iran on the Syrian issue; and no business deals are clinched that may precipitate death and destruction as happened in Iraq; and there is no ineffective leadership as exists everywhere.
But this will never happen as long as politics is based on self-interest. Take for example the world’s quick action against Iraq and Afghanistan, and inaction against Israel and Myanmar; criticism of Muslims for speaking against blasphemy and conferment of awards on Rushdies and Taslimas for committing acts of blasphemy.
When the top leaders of the world gathered at Davos in Switzerland earlier this year, they took up the issue of Syria like a ritual calling upon each other to take action against Bashar Assad regime. How long will this continue and how long will humanity in general suffer?
Referring to the grim situation prevailing in Syria, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies has rightly said: “Today there are more than 60,000 dead … Can we wait until it’s doubled? Can we wait until it’s tripled? That is a shame on all of us.” — Omar Javed, Aligarh
The Syria syndrome
