World should wake up to the crisis in Syria

How many people need to die in Syria before the government realises that it has to change its tactics? How many protesters have to be killed by the security forces before the international community wakes to its responsibilities? How many women and children are going to perish before the world insists that the present situation has to stop?

President Bashar Al Assad was wrong when he dismissed the protesters as terrorists and trouble- makers. He has failed to use the substantial popular support that he carried at the start of this process, which has been slowly frittered away by his refusal to countenance any reaction to the popular movement other than repeated harsh crackdowns by the security services and the army.

For over seven weeks, tens of thousands of Syrians have been marching to show their desire for change. But all through this time, Al Assad has only made one significant speech, when he addressed the Syrian parliament. Despite expectations of major reforms, which had been trailed by his own officials, he offered very little indeed. His speech was a serious disappointment for those protesters who simply wanted their government to become more transparent and less authoritarian. The government has unleashed its tanks and artillery to stop the marchers but they have continued. All the same now the government is keen to show that the protesters are losing their momentum, and it is hard for tens of thousands of people to go to the streets every day, week after week, in the full knowledge that not all of them will get home that night. Some people are killed every day by government forces. The international community has been very reluctant to get involved in Syria, in stark contrast to its behaviour in Libya, and the protesters in Syria have every right to be confused by the double standards at play.