Turning a blind eye to human rights abuses is out of the question. However, those who now speak out against the atrocities in Syria find themselves burdened with the grim reality that their actions may exacerbate the suffering of millions of Syrians already devastated by war.🧵
By maintaining sanctions aimed at the Assad regime, the West sends a damaging message to those reporting on the abuses: that speaking up may lead to further hardship, that it might be a better option to shut the fuck up. This dilemma threatens to silence those who seek to protect human life.
Meanwhile, whether through incompetence or deliberate neglect, the authorities in Damascus have done little to prevent Syrians from being pitted against each other or to advance the civil peace process. The international community should not be complicit in this failure by pursuing policies that exacerbate divisions and suffering.
If the West is genuinely committed to protecting human rights in Syria, it must lift these sanctions immediately, not as a sign of endorsement for the current authorities, but while simultaneously pressuring Damascus to take concrete actions to protect all civilians, with transparent public and international oversight.
As for my personal reasoning moving forward, the suffering of Syrians under sanctions cannot be used as leverage to overlook or accept atrocities against more Syrians. History has shown that regimes left unchecked in their human rights violations inevitably grow bolder, exploiting impunity to tighten their grip on power. Silence, therefore, is complicity.
It's a fucking ugly choice to make. On one hand, Syrians are suffering under sanctions; on the other, authoritarianism is being nurtured, with human rights abuses and atrocities growing unchecked, cultivating a culture of impunity. No matter which path you choose, you're guilty of overlooking one in favor of the other, and so I wrote this thought.
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