Arab League envoy on the Syrian crisis, has expressed his disappointment over the Syrian regime's failure to end its crackdown on its own citizens. On Friday, Annan urged the Security Council to close ranks and support his efforts to end the violence in Syria, which is on the brink of civil war. Annan made his call for the UN to unify as the regime of Bashar Al-Assad continues to pummel Syrian rebels and protesters with heavy artillery. The Syrian regime is emboldened to commit crimes against the Syrian people believing that the UN can never reach a unified decision because of Russia and China's unwavering support for Al-Assad. Russia's support, in particular, has given the regime a reason to believe that it will remain in power if it can weaken the Syrian people's resolve to keep on fighting. Al-Assad, who also has the backing of Iran, does not expect Russia and China to change their position on the Syrian crisis because both countries are determined to protect their vested interests in the Middle East, even at the risk of tarnishing their reputation. It is against this backdrop that the Arab League is exerting all efforts to get the UN Security Council to issue a new resolution to set up a buffer zone along the Syrian-Turkish border. The buffer zone will serve as a shelter for Syrians fleeing their country and, at the same time, as a channel of arms for the outgunned Syrian Free Army to help it win the battle. Reports said on Friday that Annan, who addressed a closed-door meeting of the 15-nation Security Council via video link, said the tougher their message in support of his efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, the greater are his chances of ending the fighting. He said that Damascus' response to his six-point peace proposal has been “disappointing so far”. Understandably, Annan's report may prove meaningless to the Syrian people who are in imminent danger of being killed day after day, but steps should be taken to ease their suffering and keep their hope alive that they will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel. The screws should be tightened on the Syrian regime. __
