[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 22 (Thursday, February 9, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONDEMNING THE ONGOING VIOLENCE IN SYRIA

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                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 9, 2012

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn the unspeakable 
violence that the Government of Syria has committed--and continues to 
commit--against its own citizens. For the past eleven months, the 
Syrian people have engaged in peaceful demonstrations to demand their 
basic, universal human rights. These demonstrations have been met with 
unrelenting bloodshed and torture. Thousands of Syrian men, women, and 
children have been slaughtered. There can be no question: President 
Bashar al-Assad must step down, or be removed from power.
  Last week, the United States, the Arab League, and a growing 
international coalition together called for a United Nations Security 
Council resolution that would end the crisis and begin a transition to 
democracy in Syria. I am appalled that Russia and China have chosen to 
veto this measure, and stand with a brutal dictator rather than the 
Syrian people. This veto is an outrage, and serves only to endorse 
President Assad's ongoing massacre. On February 4th, the day of the 
U.N. Security Council vote, the Syrian military launched a devastating 
attack on the city of Homs that continues today. Hundreds of unarmed 
civilians have been killed.
  I strongly support President Obama's efforts to work with America's 
western and Arab allies to stop the bloodshed. Though China and Russia 
have chosen to stand with Assad, the world will not. Already, nations 
across the Middle East and throughout the world are expelling Syrian 
diplomats, tightening sanctions, and ratcheting up pressure on the 
Syrian government. The time has come for President Assad to step down, 
and for the Syrian people to determine their own future.

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