The Assad regime’s attempts to conceal traces of the massacres it is committing in Syria are a cynical ploy which must not be allowed to succeed, said a Guardian editorial Tuesday.
The article referred to reports by the US State Department that the Assad regime has built a crematorium at the notorious Sednaya Prison to dispose of the bodies of murdered detainees.
“Burning bodies was a tactic used in Bosnia in the mid-1990s. It took years to find and prosecute those responsible, but it was done,” said the Guardian.
“Terrorizing one’s own population is an old habit for the Assad dynasty. Since 2011, it has done so relentlessly with the full force of its military arsenal. It has been increasingly propped up by Russia and Iran.”
The editorial went on: “The Assad regime in Syria is not only responsible for the worst state-orchestrated mass killings so far this century, it now appears to be trying to cover up at least some of its tracks in the belief that this will one day help it evade accountability when the war is over.”
“It may seem paradoxical that the Assad dictatorship should go to such lengths to conceal the traces of the massacres it commits. After all, when it targeted civilian areas with barrel bombs, when its army imposed starvation sieges on entire neighborhoods, or when it fired Grad missiles at cities whose inhabitants had defied it with calls for freedom, there was little effort to hide its responsibility.”
“International justice may seem entirely impotent today on Syria, not least because of Russian and Chinese vetoes in the UN – but that doesn’t mean it will for ever be paralysed.”
The editorial concluded by stressing that “there can be no peace without justice in Syria. No one should turn a blind eye.” (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
