Is Myanmar the new Syria? Rising violence threatens a repeat tragedy Simon Tisdall © Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Anonymous/AFP/Getty Images
In August 2011, Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s then foreign minister, made a “mercy dash” to Damascus. He appealed in person to Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, to stop killing his people and talk to his opponents after five months of anti-regime protests.
Davutoglu spoke for Turkey but also, indirectly, for the US and the west. He had conferred with Hillary Clinton, then secretary of state, before making the trip. His message: it’s not too late to call a halt; the alternative is civil war. But Assad turned him down flat.
Is Myanmar the new Syria? Rising violence threatens a repeat tragedy
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Myanmar: Killings rise as Junta consolidates power
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