New York, Oct. 5: India, Brazil and South Africa (Ibsa), the world's emerging pole of Third World democracies, yesterday broke the vice-like grip of the big powers on the UN Security Council, even if temporarily.
The chain of events also prompted the first-ever walkout in the UN's history by a Council member ' the United States of America ' even as the West failed to get a hard line resolution on Syria passed by the 15-member body.
A day of dramatic developments at the Security Council's famous horse-shoe table was preceded by hours of intense backroom consultations during which Europeans cajoled Ibsa ambassadors to vote for what would have been the first resolution against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since protests against his rule began in March.
India, Brazil and South Africa, along with Lebanon, abstained. India's permanent representative to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri, regretted that the resolution, which died on the Council floor when it attracted a double veto from Russia and China, did not address a variety of New Delhi's concerns.
"It does not condemn the violence perpetrated by the Syrian Opposition. Nor does it place any responsibility on the Opposition to abjure violence and engage with the Syrian authorities for redressal of their grievances through a peaceful political process…. The resolution under the Council's consideration does not accommodate our concern about threat of sanctions," Puri told the Council in an explanation of India's vote.
The resolution has been in the making for five months with no meeting ground between the western powers which are seeking Iraq-Libya-style regime change in Damascus and others like Russia, China and the Ibsa countries advocating moderation.
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The chain of events also prompted the first-ever walkout in the UN's history by a Council member ' the United States of America ' even as the West failed to get a hard line resolution on Syria passed by the 15-member body.
A day of dramatic developments at the Security Council's famous horse-shoe table was preceded by hours of intense backroom consultations during which Europeans cajoled Ibsa ambassadors to vote for what would have been the first resolution against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since protests against his rule began in March.
India, Brazil and South Africa, along with Lebanon, abstained. India's permanent representative to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri, regretted that the resolution, which died on the Council floor when it attracted a double veto from Russia and China, did not address a variety of New Delhi's concerns.
"It does not condemn the violence perpetrated by the Syrian Opposition. Nor does it place any responsibility on the Opposition to abjure violence and engage with the Syrian authorities for redressal of their grievances through a peaceful political process…. The resolution under the Council's consideration does not accommodate our concern about threat of sanctions," Puri told the Council in an explanation of India's vote.
The resolution has been in the making for five months with no meeting ground between the western powers which are seeking Iraq-Libya-style regime change in Damascus and others like Russia, China and the Ibsa countries advocating moderation.
READ MORE...
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