WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released the following statement:
“Bashar al-Assad’s regime has committed terrible violence against the Syrian people, whose only demands have been basic human rights and democratic representation. As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, I have been outspoken against the brutality perpetrated by Assad’s regime. On August 2, at the confirmation hearing for U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, I publicly called for Assad to leave office and for the U.S. to impose additional sanctions on the regime. Today, the Obama Administration announced that Assad must step aside and allow the people of Syria to determine their country’s future. I support the Administration’s decision to impose new sanctions and asset freezes in order to further isolate Assad’s brutal regime.
“The international community must continue to pressure Assad to step down. Our allies in the Arab League and Turkey have extensive diplomatic and economic ties to Syria, and can exert a powerful influence on Assad’s regime. I strongly encourage members of the international community to lend their voices to this growing chorus, and publicly declare their opposition to the Assad regime and its brutal treatment of the Syrian people.”
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