Security – can promises be delivered?

05 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment

by jemelikova in Uncategorized

Protests in Syria claimed over 5400 lives over the course of less than a year. After the veto of Russia and Syria the representatives of the Security Council were outraged, claiming that any further bloodshed will be on hands of Russia and China. But who is to blame for those 5000 lives wasted already? It has been a year without any action but „condemnation“, while the first month and a half caused a death toll of 1000 people, which is the frontier of most of the monitors to consider the conflict a war.

There is no doubt that the international relations are still influenced by national interests rather than will to create a peaceful world. While we know that the institutions, such as Security Council, which should be a grant of international security and embrace the tools of early warning and prevention of conflicts, is still a playground of national interests, are there any security guarantees then?

It is true that interventions did not prove themselves as being very effective. And while the UN remains the highest instance for spreading its values of peace, development and security, it is being easily ignored in the cases of national interest in danger or it remains powerless, when some of its members decide not to act.

We are being told more often how insecure and dangerous the world around us is. And we are told the international guarantees exist, that we are not alone. However in the end the promises are not delivered. Maybe it’s a good thing after all. Maybe battles for freedom should be fought by those who strive for it, because it seems that given freedom from the outside is not being appreciated. But the problem is that these battles will never be free of outside influence. The fact that „the West“ cannot act because its tight hands does not mean that the loads of arms and support to the Assad regime will stop. Why is it always so much easier to help those in power than help those looking for a better future?

When the Arab spring began last year, I felt a lot of optimism and I thought about Czech Republic and its Velvet revolution. I hoped this revolution will also be Velvet. Non-violent struggle without bloodshed. Power of people overrunning the dreadful regimes. People are very powerful, when given voice against oppression. However they remain powerless, when part of the collision of interests of states around them. How long would the conflict last without ANY foreign involvement? And what would be the result? When help cannot be delivered, could fuelling of the conflict from outside be stopped?