U.S. Urges Middle East to Respond to Protests with Reforms

22 February 2011

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calls for progress toward open political systems in the Middle East.

The United States urges Middle Eastern countries to take concrete action and work toward political reform in response to protests across the region, says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“Across the Middle East, people are calling on their governments to be more open, more accountable and more responsive, and the United States believes it is in the interest of governments to engage peacefully and positively in addressing their demands, and to work to respond to them,” Clinton said in Washington February 22.

“Without genuine progress toward open and accountable political systems, the gap between people and their governments can only grow and instability can only deepen,” she said.

Clinton welcomed the processes that are creating a new Tunisia and a new Egypt, and said the United States looks to them for more political change.

“We will continue to be a supportive partner to the peoples of both countries as they seek a better future,” she said.

The secretary repeated the U.S. concern over violent clashes in Libya. She said the United States has received “reports of hundreds killed and many more injured.” The bloodshed is “completely unacceptable,” and it is the responsibility of the Libyan government to “respect the universal rights of their own people, including their right to free expression and assembly,” she said.

The United States continues to watch the situation there with alarm, and joins the international community in condemning the violence, Clinton told reporters.

In a statement February 21, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed “outrage at press reports the Libyan authorities have been firing at demonstrators from war planes and helicopters.”

Ban said such attacks, if confirmed, “would constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law and would be condemned … in the strongest terms.” The U.N. Security Council met in an emergency session February 22 to discuss the violent crackdown on protesters in Libya.

Clinton said the United States is also “gravely concerned by reports of violence in Yemen and elsewhere.” She urged governments across the region to exercise restraint, underscoring that there is no place for violence against peaceful protesters.

In Bahrain, the secretary said, the United States has welcomed significant steps taken “to initiate a meaningful dialogue with the full spectrum of Bahraini society,” including the decision to release a number of prisoners. She called the initiative a constructive path to preserve Bahrain’s stability and meet the aspirations of its people.

Clinton said the United States will continue to support the Middle East as its countries take steps toward more open, inclusive and responsive political systems.