Fiddling while Syria burns

The revelation that more than 60,000 people have been killed in Syria’s 21-month-old civil war underscores the need for Russia and China to no longer prop up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

The United Nations’ estimate of the death toll is more than one-third higher than even those fighting the tyrant had calculated, emphasizing the need for Russia and China, which have a strategic interest in seeing al-Assad stay in office, to put human life ahead of politics.

Russia and China have vetoed action against Syria three times at the UN Security Council — votes that have only delayed a change in Syria’s regime while adding to the death toll. It’s a voting record that no nation should cultivate while remaining a pillar of a global body dedi- cated to peace and human dignity.

“The failure of the international community, in particular the Security Council, to take concrete actions to stop the blood-letting, shames us all,” said Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights on Wednesday. “Collectively, we have fiddled at the edges while Syria burns.”

There are legitimate concerns about what political forces will replace al-Assad, but Russia, in particular, cannot countenance the endurance of a barbaric regime simply to protect billions of dollars in arm sales and over uncertainty of its role as a global power. At some point, Russia, which has the ability to guide al-Assad’s hand, must recognize that doing the right thing trumps more base motives.