Reuters Soundbite:
Amb. Rice (Jan. 24): "The United States fully supports the Syrian peoples demand for a democratic, representative, and inclusive government that respects human rights and provides equal protection under the law for all citizens regardless of sect, ethnicity or gender. The United States continues to call on the opposition to refrain from violence while recognizing that exercising such restraint becomes more and more difficult as the regime ratchets up its repression."
“The Arab League Secretary General stated very clearly in his report this week, and I quote 'The opposition had to carry arms in response to the excessive use of force by the Syrian government to counter protests, the use of repression, detentions, and torture and violations of human rights by security agencies.' unquote.
“We hold the Syrian regime fully responsible for the worsening cycle of violence. Mr. President we are concerned by recent reports of shipments of arms and munitions to the Syrian government. We call on supplier countries to voluntarily halt arms transfers to the regime and we encourage all nations to join the widening effort to stop the flow of weapons to the Assad regime.” Full Text»
