The Real World: Syria, The World Looks The Other Way…
A British national paper, The Independent on Sunday, has a stark, all-text cover, black on white: “SYRIA: THE WORLD LOOKS THE OTHER WAY. WILL YOU? More than 90 people were massacred in Houla late on Friday, 32 of them children under the age of 10. Many of them had their throats cut. To convey the full horror, we publish a shocking image of the defenseless victims on page 3. There is, of course, supposed to be a ceasefire, which the brutal Assad regime simply ignores. And the international community? It simply averts its gaze. Will you do the same? Or will the sickening fate of these innocent children make you very, very angry?”
–ROMNEY STATEMENT THIS A.M. : “The Assad regime’s massacre of civilians in Haoula-many of them young children-is horrific. After nearly a year and a half of slaughter, it is far past time for the United States to begin to lead and put an end to the Assad regime. President Obama can no longer ignore calls from congressional leaders in both parties to take more assertive steps. The Annan ‘peace’ plan-which President Obama still supports-has merely granted the Assad regime more time to execute its military onslaught. The United States should work with partners to organize and arm Syrian opposition groups so they can defend themselves. The bloodshed in Haoula makes clear that our goal must be a new Syrian government, one that contributes to peace and stability in the Middle East and that truly represents the brave Syrian people.”
–WHAT HAPPENED — AP/Beirut: “Gruesome video … showed rows of dead Syrian children lying in a mosque in bloody shorts and T-shirts with gaping head wounds, haunting images of what activists called one of the deadliest regime attacks yet in Syria’s 14-month-old uprising. … The attacks sparked outrage from U.S. and other international leaders, and large protests in the suburbs of Syria’s capital of Damascus and its largest city, Aleppo. It also renewed fears of the relevance of a month-old international peace plan that has not stopped almost daily violence.”
–WIRE LATEST — Syrian authorities deny carrying out Houla massacre” — Reuters/Amman: ”Facing growing world outrage over the killing of at least 109 people in a restive town, Syria on Sunday accused rebels of carrying out the massacre, in which dozens of children perished. Images of bloodied and lifeless young bodies, lain carefully side by side after the killings in Houla on Friday, triggered shock around the globe and underlined the failure of a six-week-old U.N. ceasefire plan to stop the violence.
“Syrian authorities blamed ‘terrorists’ for the massacre, among the worst carnage in the 14-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which has cost about 10,000 lives. … The carnage underlined just how far Syria is from any negotiated path out of the 14-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.”
