EDITORIAL: SA sees no evil amid Syrian brutality
SA’s foreign policy stance has been shaped by opportunistic political alliances
When it comes to the war in Syria, the official stance of the South African government — that there can only be a political solution to the conflict — is on the surface appropriate and correct. The militarisation of what began as a popular uprising against Bashar al-Assad in the context of the Arab Spring, in a region fraught with armed conflict and sectarian violence, has amplified the human cost and suffering enormously. Half the Syrian population of 22-million are now displaced, 5-million of them outside of Syria. Three-quarters of a million people have been killed and entire cities laid waste. While war is always cruel and brutal, Assad has bombed rebel-held areas with no holds barred, using chemical weapons (nerve agents), causing horrible and indiscriminate death among civilians, including children. Civilians have also been dying not just through violence, but because they cannot get enough food to eat, medicines to treat illnesses and other humanitarian assistance. But while ...
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