Syrian Uprising
Some Background information: Syria has been ruled by the Baath Party since 1963, the majority of that time under the dictatorship of Hafez Assad. Like the U.S. has the parties of Democrat and Republican (and others), Syria has the Baath party. Syria is Socialist; the word Baath means "rebirth, resurrection, restoration, or renaissance”. Its motto is "Unity, Liberty, Socialism." After Assad’s death in 2000, his son Bashar Assad, The current ruler, quickly proved he would continue his father’s harsh policies.
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The Syrian people are fed up with this dictatorship. Protesters are demanding an end to corruption, and to the end of the domination of the ruling Baath party. They want a multi-party system where people can vote freely. The first public demonstration or protest took place on 26 January 2011, when a man poured gasoline on himself and set himself on fire. Two days later, two soldiers were killed as another protest. Later on in the year protest began to escalate.
The uprising has been going on since last January. The government has now responded by attacking towns and cities with tanks, snipers, and army troops. They have also shut off electrical power and have been confiscating flour and food. The death toll has reached 3 to 4 thousand today, with thousands more imprisoned and injured.
The United Nations describe the use of deadly force against protesters by the Syrian authorities as "unacceptable” and that is a violation of human rights. The U.S. will “not intervene in Syria's affairs beyond placing political and economic pressure on Assad to leave power.”(Obama)
My views are that the U.S should help Syria as much as we can and increased pressure on the Syrian government.
(picture of current dictator Bashar Assad being burned; above)
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Comments
Well done!