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Expert: NZ slow to speak out on Syria

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Sun, 19 Feb 2012 8:49a.m.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has confirmed officials from the Syrian Embassy in Australia have been called to Wellington for urgent discussions

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has confirmed officials from the Syrian Embassy in Australia have been called to Wellington for urgent discussions

An international relations expert believes New Zealand has been too slow to speak out against the violence in Syria.

About 50 protestors gathered in Auckland yesterday urging the government to crack down on Syria's leadership.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has since confirmed that officials from the Syrian Embassy in Australia have been called to Wellington for urgent discussions.

Professor Robert Patman from Otago University is surprised the government has taken so long to take action.

“We may have felt we couldn’t make any difference, but I think given our diplomatic standing internationally, New Zealand’s seen as a country that believes in a fair go. I think sometimes it’s incumbent on small countries, as well as the big ones, to speak out on issues we think are unacceptable,” says Mr Patman.

Syrian forces fire on funeral in Damascus

Thousands are thought to have died since unrest began rippling across Syria nearly a year ago.

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Comments

19 Feb 2012 10:19p.m.

brian wrote:

I posted comment on this long before the 3 other "posts" yet my comment - that agrees in principle - with 'the others' isn't posted, why? Will this be "posted"? Doubt it.

19 Feb 2012 07:10p.m.

Samuel Hill wrote:

Given the intensity of the region at the moment, NZ is going to support US-UK no matter what. It will be interesting to see our government's response if Britain and the US officially (as opposed to not-so-secretly) sponsor rebels with weapons or other means of bringing down the regime. For me, this is a lose-lose situation for Syria either way. One of two things will happen. Al-Assad could smash the various rebel groups and retain power, which will mean a very uneasy peace followed by a slow move towards a more democratic regime. Or alternatively (and more likely) the defense of the Syrian regime becomes too much in the face of increasing protests, violence and international pressure. Unfortunately, this also doesn't bring out a very good result for Syrians. The various rebel groups have extreme differences in their motives. Sunni fundamentalists are battling with secular democracy seekers to lead the revolution. Minority Christians and Alawites now fear for what will come when Al-Assad's regime falls, as the Al-Assad's have managed to protect minority groups for a long time. Either way, this is a blood bath. The Chinese and Russians were abominated by the West for their stance on intervening in Syria, but at least they showed caution to the wider geopolitical context of the Syrian crisis.

19 Feb 2012 06:57p.m.

Jim Seaview wrote:

Quote: "Professor Robert Patman from Otago University is surprised the government has taken so long to take action".
Has Professor Patman asked why the 22 oil rich Arab States have not formed their own Peace Keeping Force? It is an Arab problem in the Arab region of the world and such a force would have a far better understanding of general Arabic protocols and language. Little old NZ is not going to have much influence on Syrian problems.

19 Feb 2012 04:49p.m.

Mike Thomson wrote:

The so called international relations expert is not credible. Patman of Otago University is a notorious apologist for US interference in other countries. In his 2010 book about the US invasion of Somalia he claims firstly that the US was justified in attacking another country which posed no threat to it (a violation of international law), and secondly that the US didnt go far enough in suppressing the Sudanese, and that this "weakness' paved the way for 9/11. No, we do not wish to support any attack on Syria. The media reports we get about Syria are one-sided -unproven reports from the anti-govt groups - are therefore unreliable.