Enabling President Assad of Syria - NYTimes.com

Enabling President Assad of Syria - NYTimes.com

article clipped:
There is a lot of shame to go around after the United Nations Security Council failed last week to pass a resolution condemning Syria’s brutal crackdown. Russia, which used its veto, clearly values its arms sales and other trade with Damascus over the lives of the more than 2,900 Syrians killed during pro-democracy protests. China, which followed Russia, clearly fears any popular movement.
Brazil, India and South Africa should also be chastised for abstaining. As democracies, they should be leading efforts to denounce President Bashar al-Assad’s brutality, not enabling it.

For months, Europeans tried to cajole Russia into supporting a United Nations resolution that would impose sanctions on the Assad regime. Even after the language was watered down, Moscow still refused to go along.

It claimed — speciously — that it feared the United States and Europe would use the resolution to take military action against Mr. Assad just as they had against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya. India, Brazil, China and South Africa made similar claims. But the Syria resolution contained only a weak reference to possible sanctions and made clear any further steps would be nonmilitary.

Despite the disgraceful outcome, the United States and Europe were right to push for a vote. It left no doubt which countries stand with Syria’s courageous opposition and which stand with the ruthless autocrat. After the vote, Russia called on Mr. Assad to either change his ways or leave office. Mr. Assad, who was undoubtedly celebrating Moscow’s veto, paid no attention.

With the Security Council paralyzed, Europe and the United States must keep stepping up the pressure, robustly enforce their own sanctions — including a European embargo on oil imports from Syria — and adding to the list. The European Union took another welcome step on Monday by agreeing to bar all transactions with the Syrian Central Bank and freeze its assets.

Turkey, which gave Mr. Assad the benefit of the doubt for too long, also has to bear down. Turkish officials say they have halted arms shipments to Syria. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised his government’s own “package of sanctions.” He needs to act now and impose whatever targeted sanctions will have the biggest impact on the regime. Mr. Assad must not be allowed to think the failed United Nations vote was the last word.