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Ramos-Horta sees another Somalia in
making


WASHINGTON — Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta warned on Monday that Syria risked becoming a new Somalia as he voiced pessimism at any quick solution to the bloodshed that has left tens of thousands dead.

The man who helped bring independence to East Timor saw a dangerous mix in Syria, saying the rebels lacked democratic credentials and President Bashar Al Assad was determined to fight for the survival of himself and his community.

“It is becoming a vicious civil war involving many — too many — outside interests, governments and non-state interests,” Ramos-Horta said on a visit to the United States.

“We are going to see a prolonged civil war, almost a Somalisation of Syria, but in a much more dangerous region of the world. Unfortunately I cannot see a better scenario,” he said. Somalia has been bereft of a central government and torn by fighting for two decades. Ramos-Horta said another parallel to Syria was the Iran-Iraq War, with the 1980-88 war leaving more than one million dead and ending “only when both sides were exhausted.”

Ramos-Horta, who has been active on international peace initiatives, said the United States and European nations were right to treat Syria’s opposition cautiously. But he said it was “too simplistic” to pin blame on Russia and China, which have blocked Western-led UN bids to pressure Assad.

Assad has ample firepower and there is “no incentive for the regime to back down” after witnessing the killing of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the prosecution of Egypt’s deposed president Hosni Mubarak, he
said.