There was an uncomfortable moment last night at the Olympic opening ceremony when the Syrian team entered the stadium. The athletes – who are there as competitors, not apologists for the Assad regime – did not receive the same raucous cheer as many of the other nations. The BBC commentators at least, who had been peppering the procession with helpful comments such as ‘ah, X country: very rich in precious gems, and of course, overcoming appalling human rights abuses to be with us today – marvellous’, barely mentioned the Syrian Arab Republic as its ten athletes paraded around with their coaches.
Away from the excitement of the Games, politicians are warning of an impending massacre in the city of Aleppo. David Cameron and William Hague yesterday both condemned the ongoing violence.
The regime has deployed war planes over the city, according to the Independent, which witnessed ‘two fighter-bombers repeatedly appearing low overhead during the battle at the town of Al-Bab near Aleppo’. The newspaper said the planes appeared to be firing at the ground.
Cameron says he plans to seize the opportunity of Vladimir Putin arriving in London to watch the judo on Thursday to challenge the Russian president. He wants Putin to support a new UN security council which would open the door for non-military intervention. Putin will be wary of this, though, arguing that Britain and France pushed matters too far on Libya. Rebels in Aleppo are appealing for help, telling the Telegraph that ‘we really don’t have anything to prevent the tanks or bombing by fighter jets’. What help the international community can give them now swings on how well the ringside discussion goes at Thursday’s Olympic judo match.
Comments