Editorial: Colvin a symbol of Syria brutality
Long Island-bred reporter Marie Colvin, left, and freelance French photojournalist Remi Ochlik, two Western journalists killed in Syria on Feb. 22, 2012. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
In Syria, the violent crackdown on dissent continues -- and the tragic fate of Long Island-bred Marie Colvin has become a symbol of its brutality.
Colvin is the American journalist who was killed last week while covering the violence in the Syrian city of Homs. Her body and that of French photographer Rémi Ochlik were kept refrigerated by anti-government activists, using precious fuel they could ill afford, because there was no way to get the two slain journalists out of their besieged section of the city. Yesterday, Colvin and Ochlik were buried in Homs, amid the death and destruction wrought by a devastating government assault.
In a welcome show of international revulsion, the UN Human Rights Council yesterday condemned Syria's "widespread and systematic" violations of human rights and demanded a halt to the killing. It cited arbitrary executions, the killing of human rights defenders and journalists, torture, sexual violence, and mistreatment of children.
That's what it's come to in Syria. It's as if the regime of Bashar Assad is doing everything it can to demonstrate its depravity to the world. Predictably -- and shamefully -- China and Russia, along with Cuba, voted against the resolution.
Syria's war on its people has claimed more than 7,500 lives. In the name of decency, Assad must stop the killing and step aside. Perhaps then Marie Colvin can be brought home to Long Island, where her mother waits.
