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Power to the Government or Power to the People

Decent Essays

Power To The Government Or Power To The People? In Syria, there is a crisis between the common people and the government in power. The people are rioting because the government failed and refused to uphold their promises of democratic reform. The Ba’ath government ultimately holds power over the citizens, however when they lack the responsibility to care for the well-being of their citizens, those citizens are entitled to a right to overthrow this government. March 15th, 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian crisis. The conflict began due to a series of riots by the citizens demanding that the government release certain political prisoners. Although these riots began as peaceful and nonviolent demonstrations, the Assad government made the decision to respond with violence. Many troops were ordered to shoot down these civilians and subdue the protests. The Shabiha, armed state troopers, were a factor in detaining and injuring many innocent protesters. The government ordered their armies to use force in taking down these nonviolent demonstrations, yet they have refused to take responsibility for the actions of the army. Bashar al-Assad, the current president of Syria, has denied various accusations that he is responsible for the killings. Fouad Ajami, an expert on the Middle East, quoted him stating, “They are military forces that belong to the government. I don’t own them. No government kills its own people unless it is led by a crazy

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