Is Myanmar a new Syria? The escalation of violence threatens to repeat the tragedy

How many and disturbing are the parallels between what is happening today in Myanmar and what Syria witnessed at the beginning of its revolution in 2011, and here are predictions that follow, warning of another human tragedy of epic proportions that can be avoided, and again here are those who can stop it do not do it, instead They quarrel among themselves and search for national interests.

This is what writer Simon Tisdale sees in an article for the Guardian, highlighting that with ethnic militias supporting the popular uprising and refugees fleeing the country, the parallels with Syria are deeply disturbing.

In Syria, the author recalls a visit by Turkey's foreign minister at the time Ahmet Davutoglu in August 2011, in which he personally appealed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop killing his people and to speak with his opponents after 5 months of anti-regime protests.

Davutoglu, according to the writer, was speaking on behalf of Turkey, but also indirectly on behalf of the United States of America and the West, and he had consulted with then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before making that trip and his message was clear: "It is not too late to stop, the alternative is civil war." But Assad refused Display.

The writer adds that at that early stage of the crisis, only about two thousand people had died, and fearing the worst, Davutoglu continued to try, as the next year he urged the United States, Britain and other countries to work together to prevent a humanitarian "catastrophe" in Syria.

The Turkish minister at the time was quoted as telling him, "Millions of Syrians are in danger, so how long can this situation continue? .. In Bosnia, we now have Ban Ki-moon (the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the time) apologizing after 20 years, who will apologize for Syria after 20 years?" Years old? "

After 10 years, the writer says, Davutolu gets the answer: The failure of the West to act decisively led to the deaths of 500 thousand Syrians or more, the displacement of 13.3 million, and the country turned into ruin, and no one apologized.

Meanwhile, and in another distant world, history is repeating itself. Is Myanmar the new Syria?

The writer asks.

And he answers, saying that the similarities are many and worrying, as the experts warn of the possibility of another human tragedy of epic proportions that can be avoided.

Once again, those who can stop this disaster are not doing so. Instead, they are quarreling and looking out for their parochial national interests.

Again, the writer says, the UN alarm bells are ringing, warning of an "imminent bloodbath" as the UN Special Envoy, Christine Schraner Burgner, told the Security Council last week that the Myanmar Military Council, which seized power in a coup in February, is waging a war On the citizens of the country.

Another failure to uphold international law and respect the "responsibility to protect" of the international community could lead to "a multidimensional catastrophe in the heart of Asia," Burgner said, but again, as has always been the case with Syria, the council is divided.

The writer returns by saying that in the case of Myanmar, it is China, not Russia, that is holding the whip, and like Moscow, Beijing is playing a double game. Its ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, says that his country supports stability and dialogue and what he deceptively called "democratic transformation."

However, it is China that prevents international sanctions and other United Nations measures to rein in the military council, and like Russia in Syria, it is "the savior of the killers," in the words of the writer, who believes that it is no wonder that, as if the choice is between tyranny and democracy, then The world knows where President Xi Jinping stands, according to the author.

It is true that it is unlikely that the masses of refugees will move from this country to the shores of Europe, but this hardly makes this escalating emergency situation less urgent from a humanitarian, moral and political point of view, is the world really ready to take on a second Syria in Asia?

The writer wonders.

And the writer concludes by emphasizing that early intervention remains the best hope for eliminating conflict in its cradle, otherwise, how much horror will we accept to watch before we cry and say "enough"?