GENEVA – UN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Saturday warned Syria that a violent crackdown on reformist protests risked plunging the country into a downward spiral of violence. The High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Syria “to draw lessons from recent events across the Middle East and North Africa which clearly demonstrate that violent repression of peaceful protest not only does not resolve the grievances of people taking to the streets, it risks creating a downward spiral of anger, violence, killings and chaos.” “The Syrian people are no different to the other populations in the region. They want to enjoy the fundamental human rights which they have been denied for so long,” Pillay added in a statement.
