Turkish FM and his Bosnian counterpart criticize international community inaction on Syria

WASHINGTON

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. AFP Photo

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and his Bosnian counterpart Zlatko Lagumdzija have criticized the inaction of international community on the Syrian crisis and called on them to take their places on “the right side of history” by recalling the Srebrenica massacre, in a joint article on Washington Post.

“In Bosnia and Herzegovina, civilians were attacked with heavy weapons and artillery. In Syria, civilians have dodged ballistic missiles fired on civilian areas,” Davutoğlu and Lagumdzija wrote in an article headlined “Syria shows we still don’t mean ‘never again.’”

“Ethnic cleansing was the sickening theme of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Syria, the regime ruthlessly, and apparently without shame, has massacred hundreds of civilians before the world,” the piece added.

“Why is the global community, so many people of peace and compassion, allowing this to happen again? The international doctrine of ‘responsibility to protect’ was crafted in response to the tragedy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If the responsibility to protect does not apply to Syria, where does it apply?” it said.

“How long will the U.N. Security Council continue to look the other way while such carnage goes on in full view? How long will the international community hold back while an estimated 5,000 Syrians lose their lives every month at the hands of the regime in Damascus? Is the world waiting for yet another apology by a U.N. secretary general for inaction in the face of a man-made humanitarian catastrophe, as happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina?” it also added. “It is time for all Syrians and the international community to take their places on the right side of history. After all, history will keep repeating itself if no one learns from its lessons.”