President Barack Obama condemned Syria for “outrageous use of violence” against anti-government protesters as U.S. Senator John McCain visited Libya in a show of support for insurgents trying to overthrow Muammar Qaddafi.
Syrian security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition to break up protests, killing at least 81 people yesterday, Al Jazeera television reported, citing activists.
The government’s moves two days ago to lift the 48-year-old state of emergency and allow peaceful demonstrations “were not serious given the continued violent repression against protesters,” Obama said in a statement yesterday. President Bashar al-Assad must “change course now and heed the calls of his own people.”
McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee and the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, yesterday visited Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, and the center of the uprising that began against Qaddafi in mid-February. McCain called on the U.S. government to recognize the rebel Transitional National Council as the country’s government and provide financial assistance and more military aid to the insurgents.
The violence in Syria was the deadliest since protests against Assad’s government began March 15. Using force to quell protests “must come to an end now,” Obama said in an e-mailed statement from the White House.
Blaming Outsiders
“The United States has repeatedly encouraged President Assad and the Syrian government to implement meaningful reforms, but they refuse to respect the rights of the Syrian people or be responsive to their aspirations,” Obama said. “President Assad is blaming outsiders while seeking Iranian assistance in repressing Syria’s citizens through the same brutal tactics that have been used by his Iranian allies.”
Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera broadcast amateur videos of thousands of protesters across the country and people fleeing gunfire in several cities. Two boys aged seven and 10 and a 70- year-old man were among those killed in the southern town of Izzra, according to Amnesty International.
“The Syrian authorities have again responded to peaceful calls for change with bullets and batons,” Amnesty International’s Malcolm Smart said on the group’s website.
Syrian human rights activists have reported at least 200 people killed by government forces since major demonstrations began March 16, according to Human Rights Watch, a New York- based group that tracks violations of human rights.
Libyan Patriots
Libyan fighters seeking to oust Qaddafi are “patriots who want to liberate their nation,” McCain said during his visit. “They are not al-Qaeda.”
“Maybe we should be doing everything we can to help these people,” McCain, 74, of Arizona, said on Al Jazeera following a visit to a hospital. “And maybe we’re not, and they’re dying.”
White House spokesman Jay Carney responded to McCain’s call to recognize the Transitional Council by saying the Obama administration has determined that “it’s for the people of Libya to decide who the head of their country is, not for the United States to do that.”
Carney told reporters yesterday that that the administration knew about McCain’s trip and that the senator wasn’t carrying any messages from the administration.
Predator Drones
The U.S. has authorized Predator drones, made by closely held General Atomics of San Diego, to support the insurgents. France, Italy and the U.K. have sent military advisers. The U.S. has said it would provide $25 million in non-lethal aid, such as radios and body armor, to Libya’s rebels.
The U.S. rules out for now supplying arms to the rebels, ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capitol with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend.
“With the weapons that they have, the rebels are holding on,” Rice said, referring to firefights in the besieged city of Misrata. “It is natural and to be expected that it is going to take some time for them to be constituted into an effective fighting force.”
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is leading a UN- sanctioned mission to police a no-fly zone, protect civilians and enforce an arms embargo against Qaddafi’s government.
Fighting has halted most oil exports from Libya, home to Africa’s biggest oil reserves. Oil prices are up more than 30 percent from a year ago. Crude oil for June delivery rose 84 cents to settle at $112.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday.
Prices Probe
Obama said April 21 that his Justice Department would investigate whether “traders and speculators” in oil markets deserve any blame for the high prices.
Obama faces pressure over rising gasoline prices. Previous administrations have conducted similar inquiries after gasoline price spikes. Gasoline climbed to a 33-month high April 21, and crude oil was up 23 percent this year as Middle East unrest cut supply and a global economic rebound bolstered demand.
Anti-government protests in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, drew almost 1 million people following Friday prayers, according to an unidentified organizer. Demonstrators are demanding the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 30-year rule.
The president, who has rejected calls to step down, spoke to his own supporters yesterday, a day after he met with officials of the Gulf Cooperation Council in an attempt to resolve the crisis.
A total of 109 protesters have been killed in Yemen since Feb. 11, according to Majed al-Madhaji, a spokesman at the Arabic Sisters Forum for Human Rights in Sana’a.
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