Friday, February 10, 2012

Syria and holistic approach to peace

First off I want to thank everyone that has visited this site. I hope I have been helpful or at least entertaining enough to gain further attention.

The holistic approach to peace is the foundation of my thoughts. The holistic approach is best understood in the cliché, “be the change you wish to see”. It can also be described as the waves caused by a single drop in calm waters. That single drop is the individual and the impact reverberates throughout your surroundings.  On a more complex definition or maybe more clear, the issues in your life that cause frustration for you will reflect the changes you wish to make to yourself and the world. As you look at any situation, be it in your relationships or how you view events in Syria, Columbia, Sri Lanka, RUSA, Russia or Canada. The problems you wish to change reflect changes you wish to make in your own life on a personal level.
For me, I have been involved in many violent situations. Due to those experiences, I have grown very frustrated at such actions. That is why I am focused on such places as Syria because the violence was/is avoidable. Again there is a cliché that states, “no one dislikes war more than the warrior”. However, most warriors only have a few methods of dealing with their opposition. Add to that the psychology of leaders that wish to be seen as strong warriors yet have little experience of war, the current leader of Syria fits that definition.
I have no idea what the personal issues are for the current leader of Syria. I am sure this uprising is seen as a personal challenge. The current leader in Syria for some reason has decided to use extreme measures to supress the challenge of his authority. There are reports that he sees this uprising as a push to change the religious composition of Syria. There are also reports of a proxy war between Russia, Iran, RUSA, Israel and all the underpinnings of those relations.
For most of us we are outside looking in. There are very few reports on the ground but news is getting out to the mainstream media. Even though there are few reports we all know the situation is getting worse. It has come to a point where Russia had to make a personal visit to this country. This visit may be seen in a number of ways.
It may be seen as support for the current leader of Syria but it may also be a show of warning. We have no information as to what the conversations were like other than the media reports. In one report the Russian delegation made it known that international force was going to be used if Syria does not resolve this issue soon.  
We can not ignore the issue of sovereignty. In stark contrast though, if Canada ever has to deal with such an internal problem at this level, I hope to god the United Nations would send in a peacekeeping force to help settle the violence. I personally do not see the presence of such a force as a threat to sovereignty. I see it more as a group of friends coming in to help put things back in order. Others may not see it as that but then again I see no reason to fear a peacekeeping force.
Also in comparison to Syria we can look at Egypt, similar challenge and similar reaction. To some degree the people and the government forces in Egypt realized the uselessness of violence. They are still waging a battle but at least there is a modicum of civility.
Going back the issue of sovereignty. Look at the case of Britian and Ireland. For years these two waged a brutal civil war and yet no one even thought the need for a UN peacekeeping force would or should be deployed. For more examples we can look at Tibet in China, Chechnya in Russia, drug war in Mexico where in each case thousands have been killed as well. The international community steps back from these cases because of sovereignty.
Even more perplexing is how the UN Security Council did not prevent the war between Britain and Argentina in the Falkland Islands? This war was in direct conflict with all articles of the UN Charter that relate to the use of force. That is another issue.
Back to the holistic approach, we can see the struggle for power being played out in the streets of Syria and how that relates to the leaders. Next we can see the struggles for unity in the UN Security Council as well as fingers point blame and each country saying that it the other side that is causing all this. Same argument, different sphere and that is the ripple effect of holistic understanding.
Oh and if anyone wishes to look up the Peacekeeping Missions of the United Nations, here is a link.

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