The protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Syrians is undeniably paramount in the civil war that is gripping that country. That the Syrian government should immediately desist from using force against its own people, stop arrests and executions of activists, and the persecution of protesters is not in question either. The UN resolution that was vetoed by China and Russia this week demands that the government of Bashaar Al-Assad put an immediate end to abuse of its people's rights. It demands that Assad step down immediately, hand over power to a deputy and allow the democratic negotiations process to start. All this sounds reasonable, but to who would Assad be handing power? When the Arab Spring broke out, Syrian protesters began consolidating numerous opposition councils. The Syrian National Council quickly found recognition from Western countries, having been born in Turkey, whose Muslim leader has been hailed as the new face of the Arab world -- modern, capitalist and pro-West. It is made up of a diverse grouping, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Damascus Declaration's exile wing, the Assyrian Democratic Organisation and some Syrian dissents along with Kurdish dissidents. What then will be the role for the internal National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, comprised mostly of secular leftist and nationalist groups, independent dissidents and some Kurdish parties? Assad asserts that he is fighting an Islamic insurgency. We have seen the rise of rightwing parties such as the Salafists in Tunisia and in Egypt on the back of a people's revolution. We have also seen the opposition to Mubarak, the now-dominant Muslim Brotherhood act in unison with the military that the liberal and leftwing revolutionaries oppose in Egypt. And they have come to be there with the help of UN-backed forces. South Africa has sided with the UN here, and although it is obviously not the intention of Assad to step down and allow a peaceful transition to democracy, it is still necessary to try to find a different way to deal with this than the military bombardment of Libya. And it is still necessary to be wary that whoever takes over does not do so to the detriment of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Syrian people.