President Obama delivered a speech on September 10, 2013 to update the nation about the Syrian crisis. As many of us know, it is alleged that Assad’s government gassed over a thousand of its own civilians to death, which included hundreds of children. The president stated, “On that terrible night, the world saw in gruesome detail the terrible nature of chemical weapons and why the overwhelming majority of humanity has declared them off limits, a crime against humanity and a violation of the laws of war.” He then alluded to the tragedies of the Holocaust which took place in WWII.
It has been established that Syria has violated an international agreement banning the use of chemical weapons during warfare. President Obama assured us, “When dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the world to look the other way until those horrifying pictures fade from memory. But these things happened. The facts cannot be denied.” However, can we consider Bashar al-Assad a dictator who is committing genocide in Syria?
Bashar al-Assad succeeded the presidency of Syria after his father passed away. The Syrian parliament elected Bashar al-Assad as president for a seven year term. He received 97% of the vote (running unopposed) in a political referendum. In 2007 he was again voted to serve a seven year term presidency. It is alleged that Assad’s government has tortured, imprisoned, and killed political opponents; Assad has publicly denied these claims. It is also suggested that Assad is attempting to “follow the example of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi… perceiving himself to be the savior of his ethnic clan, the Alawites, as well as the embodiment of the Syrian state”. And now Assad and his regime are under investigation of the chemical weapon attack. Whether Assad is a dictator or not is up for debate. In my opinion, Bashar al-Assad isn’t quite comparable to Hitler, yet.
What is a genocide?
There are many conflicting definitions of genocide. Every country has a different policy towards genocide, as well. The word ‘genocide’ comes from the Greek word ‘genos’, which means race, nation, or tribe and also the Latin word ‘cide’ meaning killing. The term ‘genocide’ was coined in 1944 by Rafael Lemkin who was a Polish-Jewish lawyer. In order to prevent genocide from taking place, the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide was an adopted resolution of the UN General Assembly in 1948. The convention defines ‘genocide’ as any of the following acts committed with intention to destroy (in whole or in part) a national, racial, ethnic, or religious group:
- Killing members of the group.
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.
- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in a whole or in part
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Persons charged with genocide shall be tried by a competent tribunal of the state in the territory of which the act was committed. The court must prove intent of genocide in order for an individual/individuals to be convicted.
It is quite difficult to prove genocide due to the intent; however crimes against humanity may be another eligible charge. The International Criminal Court (ICC) recognizes that crimes against humanity “are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of human beings”. The act of ‘crimes against humanity’ is carried out by a government. The only difference between genocide and crimes against humanity is the proof of intent behind genocide.
Can Syria Compare?
The Holocaust is the worst genocide to have ever taken place. The atrocities and annihilation of 6 million Jews is incomparable to any other genocide. I’d say that there is no evidence of genocide taking place in Syria due to the fact that there is no proof of intent thus far. President Obama is trying to prove a point and win over the support of a U.S. attack on Syria. Using such strong language to persuade a nation, such as ‘genocide’, is morally wrong. I understand Obama’s remark alluding to the Holocaust was merely to demonstrate the dangers of chemical weapons, but it was unfair to compare the chemical attack in Syria to Nazi Germany’s Holocaust. I was actually appalled by this allusion.
I think the president’s statement was a bit radical and that he shouldn’t be throwing around the term ‘genocide’. For example, many people know of the Armenian Genocide which took place from 1914-1918. The total number of people killed is estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 million. The Armenian citizens were targeted and massacred by the Ottoman government. Only 20 countries recognize the Armenian massacres as genocide, which includes the United States (as of 2010). In the United States the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day is April 24th. President Barack Obama, to this day, has not used the term ‘genocide’, but rather “Meds Yeghern” (which means “great crime” in Armenian), when referring to the Armenian Genocide. I think the president is being quite hypocritical in calling the chemical attack in Syria ‘genocide’ if he is so hesitant to use the term when speaking of the Armenian Genocide.
Though it is fine for the president to deem the chemical attack on Syria as ‘a crime against humanity’ because it clearly falls under the definition, we cannot yet deem it ‘genocide’. Thus far, there is no concrete evidence of Assad’s intent of committing genocide in Syria. Until Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government are brought up on criminal charges of genocide and then convicted, President Barack Obama should refrain from using the term ‘genocide’ so loosely.
Sources
Armenian Genocide – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bashar al-Assad – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bashar al-Assad Biography – Facts, Birthday, Life Story – Biography.com.
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide – Main Page
Crimes against humanity – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Genocide definitions – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Obama’s Remarks on Syria – NYTimes.com.
For besieged Syrian dictator Assad, only exit may be body bag – Washington Post