Guyana was one of the United Nations (UN) countries that voted in favour of a resolution condemning the situation in Syria. The resolution backs a plan put forward by the Arab League to end the 11-month long suffering of Syrians, who oppose current President Bashar al-Assad, at the hands of armed Syrian forces. The UN has said that more than 5,000 of them have been killed.
According to the UN General Assembly website, Guyana and sister Caribbean nations Barbados Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago voted in favour of the resolution.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett could not be reached for comment on Guyana’s stance on the resolution. Her office informed that she could be contacted on Monday. She was a part of the delegation that accompanied President Donald Ramotar yesterday on a working visit to Suriname.
Of the 193 UN members, 137 voted yes, 12 voted no and 17 abstained. China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Bolivia were among countries that opposed the resolution.
Syrian forces, disregarding the UN’s condemnation of the violent suppression of the revolt, renewed a bombardment of the opposition stronghold of Homs and attacks on rebels in Deraa yesterday. Demonstrations against Al Assad were reported by activists in several cities across Syria, including Damascus and the commercial hub Aleppo, after Friday prayers, despite the threat of violence from security forces.
The immediate focus of the UN now has shifted to relieving the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria.
France has proposed opening a humanitarian corridor into the country, and Moscow at first said it was willing to listen. But such a corridor would probably require a foreign armed presence to protect aid shipments from government and rebel forces.
