China’s veto over Syrian truce resolution aims to restore faith in humanitarianism

By Zhong Sheng from People’s Daily

 

China and Russia recently vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution that calls for a seven-day humanitarian truce in Syria’s Aleppo. Some media accused China of “being anti-humanitarian” and someone even pointed an accusing finger at China.

 

The draft resolution tackles a temporary ceasefire in Aleppo in order to clear ways for humanitarian aid. It seems like a reasonable choice to demand ceasefire at first sight, but such “humanitarian aid” loses all its meaning when putting in the context of current Syrian situation.

 

After the turmoil broke out Aleppo, which the second largest city in Syria, the rebels occupied the city and created a large number of refugees. In the past, not a single Western country raised humanitarian draft decisions. They only started calling for humanitarian aid after the government forces fought back in Aleppo.

 

After Russia intervened in the Syrian crisis in September last year, the Western world used widening humanitarian access as excuses to seek compromises from Russia and Syria.

 

Rightly after Syrian military announced that they have taken most parts of the urban areas and the battle would be soon ended, the Western countries jumped out to preach the urgency of the “humanitarian issue.” The time they chose is pretty “interesting.”

 

Among all kinds of forces against Syrian government, the most ferocious Al-Nusra Front has been deemed as a terrorist group by the UN. Russia, on many occasions, proposed the West to separate the Al-Nusra Front from the rebels, but no response has been heard yet. It makes the outsiders wonder whether they couldn’t or wouldn’t separate them.

 

Russia met rebuttals from the Western countries again when it suggested that all the armed rebels should be withdrawn from the controlled area by Al-Nusra Front and from Aleppo.

 

Things were pretty clear now: the Western countries only want to use humanitarian aid as an excuse to retain the controlled area by the rebels in Aleppo. Because it is obvious that the upper hand is in the party who controls Aleppo.

 

Some media pointed out that some countries are using Aleppo as leverage to achieve their political hidden agendas instead of protecting humanitarianism.

 

Humanitarianism is a responsibility for both parties engaged in the war. Some Western media blamed Russia for the Syrian crisis in an one-sided manner, but seldom covered the anti-humanitarian behaviors of the other party.

 

The recent on-the-field coverage of rebels in Aleppo showed numerous large-sized barns and arsenals. With the refugees starving outside the warehouses, the goods and materials held them show nothing but irony.

 

Those who learn about the history of the Middle East must know well who have caused these hot potatoes. Before pointing their fingers at China, those countries should understand their own role in the turmoil of the Middle East.

 

China’s permanent representative and ambassador to the UN said that “humanitarian issue should never be a political one” in his speech given after vetoing the draft resolution. The words were quite to the point. China, always a practitioner of humanitarianism, has inherited the humanitarian spirit from its traditional culture. What China vetoed are those under-the-table agendas in the name of humanitarianism.

 

Speaking of the Syrian crisis, there exist so many distorted facts and hidden truth. Faced with instability, disasters and tortures, it requests the international society to view the facts in an objective way in order to defend justice and restore people’s faith in humanitarianism.

 

(People’s Daily)