UN veto club out to protect self-interest

A week after China and Russia caused an international furore by casting vetoes against a UN Security Council resolution on Syria, a new draft is circulating among General Assembly members.

Vetoes don’t exist in the Assembly. Nonetheless, China and Russia are undoubtedly going to use their dragon-and-bear-like viciousness to ensure the Saudi Arabia draft flops.

Both countries’ efforts aren’t solely to protect President Bashar al-Assad.

Trade and geopolitical interests aside, they suffer from an ailment that afflicts all Security Council permanent members. Additionally, they face possible Assad-like scenarios.

Western powers and the Arab League supported the failed council resolution. In fact, 13 of the 15 council members voted in favour.

The resolution sought to dilute Assad’s powers and hopefully end 11 months of violence in which, deities know, many people have died.

The violence is an offshoot of protests known as the Arab Spring. It began in Tunisia early last year to attempt to supplant authoritarianism. It spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria.

Spring was peaceful

Initially, the spring was peaceful. Authorities reacted with state violence euphemistically described as “restoring law and order”.

Some leaders gave up, were defeated, of are still wiggling through. Assad just wants a bloody winter.

As council resolutions “condemning, urging and demanding all concerned parties” do this and that, the failed council resolution amounted to a Sunday school or a Madarasa rhyme.

It was drafted as such to get China and Russia on board. For the second time since October, both countries stayed put.

They argued the resolution was unbalanced because it failed to apportion the opposition any blame for ensuing violence.

Additionally, the resolution amounted to the council taking sides in a domestic conflict and would open doors to external — read Western — intervention.

According to Reuters, the Saudi draft broadly follows the failed council resolution. It calls upon all parties to end violence.

However, it lays blame on the government and condemns it for “continued widespread and systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. That’s enough to provoke China and Russia.

However, to China and Russia self-interest comes first. Geopolitically, Russia has no interest in losing its sole ally in the Middle East, indeed in the Arab world.

As Syria’s leading arms supplier — and armament industry is big business in Russia — it would lose money. The new Libyan rulers have not only refused to pay for past deliveries, but have said Nyet! to future orders.