WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today, for the first time, called upon Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down amid the violence that is currently wracking that country.
In the past few months, U.S. officials have repeatedly condemned the actions of the Syrian regime and the military crackdown on democratic protesters, but have stopped short of specifically calling on President Assad to leave his post as president.
“The transition to democracy in Syria has begun, and it’s time for Assad to get out of the way,” said Clinton in prepared statement to reporters. “It is up to the Syrian people to choose their own leaders in a democratic system based on the rule of law and dedicated to protecting the rights of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, religion, sect, or gender.”
The Syrian uprising — the Syrian component of the wider Arab Spring wave of protests across the Middle East and North Africa — began earlier this year as a social and democratic movement against the Syrian Ba’ath leadership. Syrians in dozens of cities engaged in protests that were at first peaceful, but later turned violent as the Syrian military cracked down on the protesters.
Starting in June, the Syrian army, with tanks and artillery pieces, has laid siege to the city of Hama, which is the epicenter of the uprisings. Over 200 Hama residents have been killed in the violence, while across the entire country over 2,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed by security forces since the uprisings began.
“I strongly condemn this brutality, including the disgraceful attacks on Syrian civilians in cities like Hama and Deir al Zour, and the arrests of opposition figures who have been denied justice and subjected to torture at the hands of the regime. These violations of the universal rights of the Syrian people have revealed to Syria, the region, and the world the Assad government’s flagrant disrespect for the dignity of the Syrian people,” said Obama.
“For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside,” he added.
He also introduced new sanctions against the Syrian government through executive order, while stressing that no foreign intervention will take place. The newest sanctions will freeze the Assad regime’s financial assets, prohibit Americans from engaging in economic and financial transactions with Syria, and will prohibit the U.S. import of Syrian petroleum.
Earlier sanctions have already targeted the Syrian government’s security and intelligences apparatuses, and the EU has also imposed sanctions on Syria. None, however, are expected to stop the violent military crackdown by the Syrian government on its people.
The United Nations is expected to meet to discuss the issue later today, and the Obama administration is working to schedule a special session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Also today, the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Syria, which was created by the UN Human Rights Council in April, released a 22-page report detailing the violations of international human rights by the Syrian government.
The report accuses the Syrian military of deliberately targeting civilian protesters with snipers and having a “shoot-to-kill” policy, and details other gross human rights violations such as torture, summary executions, and using mass graves to cover up the killings.
To view the full report, please visit: www.ohchr.org
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