Testimony:
Frederic C. Hof
Special Coordinator for Regional Affairs at
the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for
Middle East Peace, State Department
Notable Quotes:
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“ In a desperate attempt to preserve itself,
this regime is willing to sacrifice the
safety of the Syrian people, the unity of
the Syrian nation, the institutions of the
Syrian state and the stability of the
region.”
-
“The regime's money is running out, but if
given the choice the regime may well elect
to hang on, reduced to presiding over a
Levantine North Korea.”
-
“…the United States, the Syrian opposition
and the international community are making
the protection of civilians their top
priority.”
-
“The regime claims to have accepted an Arab
League plan to deploy monitors but continues
to bicker with the Arab League to buy time,
clinging to the misguided notion that it can
kill, beat, and torture its way out of this
crisis.”
-
“We ask those governments that are
insulating this regime from the will of
Syria's citizenry: do not make innocent
civilians pay the price for your political
calculations.”
-
“Peaceful protest will not stop until Assad
and his inner circle are gone. Nor will
international pressure relent until the
violence has ceased and Syrians are afforded
the dignity and good governance they
deserve…The United States continues to urge
against violent resistance not because we
are naïve, but because we firmly believe the
effort to extract this regime from the
Syrian state will succeed more quickly and
bloodlessly if the revolution remains
entirely peaceful.”
-
“We will not support the replacement of one
form of tyranny with another. We share the
opposition's vision of a Syria governed by
the consent of the governed in accordance
with a Syrian formula for democracy. We want
citizenship to rule over distinctions of
ethnicity, sect and gender. We want a Syria
where everyone, from the president to the
pupil in school, is protected by and subject
to the rule of law. We want a Syria where
majority rule is tempered by minority
rights. We want a Syria in which the state,
to borrow from the words of Turkey's prime
minister, is secular and equidistant from
all faiths.”
-
“Those currently trying to serve the Syrian
state with dignity and honor should persuade
the regime to leave while it can. Upstanding
officers, soldiers and officials should be
joined by business and religious leaders in
demanding that the regime release its grip
on Syria. Those who act to protect the
Syrian people and state will earn the
gratitude of millions of Syrians and will be
on the right side of history. By contrast,
those who aid or abet the regime's
predations should know that they will face
certain justice. They must choose between
serving Syria and serving a murderous and
ultimately doomed criminal enterprise.”
-
“This regime is already part of the
past. Syrians and their international
partners are already hard at work
building Syria's brighter future.”
Mr. Hof began his testimony emphatically,
stating that the Assad regime, through its
appalling use of violence, “wrote and signed
its own political obituary.” He briefly
summarized the recent events in Syria over
the last six weeks to highlight the
international community’s involvement in the
crisis: the Arab League’s decisions on
suspending Syria’s membership and imposing
comprehensive sanctions on the regime;
actions by Turkey, the United States, and
Europe in calling for Assad to step down and
implementing severe financial measures; and
the U.N. Human Rights Council Resolution
condemning the Syrian government’s abuse of
its civilians.
Mr. Hof emphasized that the United States
and Europe are working with “international
partners to identify and freeze regime
assets, while taking diplomatic action to
ensure that third parties do not help the
regime” in evading these sanctions. He
stated that these efforts have been
successful, leaving the regime in an
increasingly difficult financial position.
Bashar al-Assad, however, continues to
contradict reality by insisting that he
enjoys “overwhelming popular support,”
rejecting claims of regime brutality, and
denying that he gave his armed forces orders
to shoot on unarmed civilians.
As the death toll rises to over 5,000 and
increasingly brutal human rights violations
are revealed, the U.S., the Syrian
opposition, and the international community
have made the protection of civilians their
top priority. Mr. Hof expressed his support
of the Arab League’s tough action against
the Assad regime and its plan to deploy
human rights monitors into Syria despite the
Syrian regime’s best efforts at buying time
and “tortur[ing] its way out of this
crisis.” Even without the implementation of
the Arab League plan, Mr. Hof affirmed that
the U.S., the international community, and
the Arab League would work together to
“ensure Syrian civilians are not abandoned
to a regime that is willing to spill their
blood in a futile effort to save itself.”
Mr. Hof then addressed the actions of some
states, namely, Russia, China, and India,
against U.N. efforts to protect Syrian
civilians. He asked such countries to
consider several simple questions, including
whether the regime permits its civilians to
gather peacefully and to organize
politically or allows the Arab League’s
human rights monitors or the Commission of
Inquiry to examine the current situation in
Syria. He warned these countries to refrain
from making “innocent civilians pay the
price for [the countries’] political
calculations.”
Mr. Hof commended the Syrian protestors on
their bravery and determination, stating
that their peaceful protests and the
pressure imposed by international community
will not cease until the regime’s violence
has stopped and Syrian citizens achieve the
“dignity and good governance they deserve.”
He did, however, stress the importance of
speedy action on Syria, especially as the
regime’s repression worsens, and of
maintaining non-violent resistance in Syrian
protests in order to ensure a quicker and
less bloody end to the Assad regime.
The Syrian opposition is working hard to
preserve the peaceful nature of the
uprising. Mr. Hof cited his recent trip with
the Secretary of State to Geneva, in order
to meet with the Syrian National Council
(SNC), which has proven to be a leading and
legitimate representative of the Syrian
people. He mentioned several steps that the
Syrian opposition is taking in order to
protect civilians and preserve the Syrian
state: the inclusion of more Christians,
Alawis, and Kurds into the leadership
structure of the SNC; planning for the
establishment of a legitimate, democratic,
and pluralistic government through a
peaceful transition; and maintaining that
although Syrian institutions need reforms,
they should be salvaged in order to preserve
the Syrian state.
Mr. Hof expressed his hope for a Syria
governed by its people, with a population
“protected by and subject to the rule of
law,” where “citizenship rules over
distinctions of ethnicity, sect, and
gender,” all “in accordance with a Syrian
formula for democracy.” Although these goals
will take time to achieve, a speedy exit for
Assad and his regime would minimize further
costs for the Syrian people. Mr. Hof urged
upstanding Syrian officials, soldiers,
businessmen, and religious leaders to act on
the right side of history and demand for the
regime to leave, while warning those that
continue to serve the regime and its hostile
tactics that they will face justice. He
closed with a strong statement that the
Syrian regime “is already part of the past,”
while “Syrians and their international
partners are already hard at work building
Syria’s brighter future.”
Remarks:
Representative Steve Chabot (R-OH)
Chairman of the House Foreign Relations
Subcommittee on the Middle East and South
Asia
Notable Quotes:
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“The
English language does not have words strong
enough to adequately condemn the horrifying
abuses that have been committed by the Assad
regime and its allies against the Syrian
people. Beyond questions of legitimacy,
these despicable acts are proof that the
Assad regime is morally depraved and it is
my belief that we—and all other responsible
nations—have a moral imperative to ensure
that Assad and his ilk are removed from
power as soon as possible.”
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“It
is not our prerogative to tell the Syrian
opposition to eschew armed resistance
against the Assad regime when it is that
very regime that continues to torture, rape,
and murder the very citizens who comprise
the opposition’s ranks. It must be pointed
out to those who maintain that only
non-violent opposition is legitimate that it
was the Assad regime and not the opposition
which initiated the violence.”
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“The
Syrian people—like all people—have the right
to defend themselves against the brutality
of an illegitimate and repressive regime.”
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“When this uprising began, many in
Washington were fond of pointing out
that, unlike his father who murdered
over 20,000 of his own citizens to quell
an uprising, Bashar al-Assad does not
have the stomach for such brutality.
They were wrong. It is time for us to
face the fact that there are no depths
to which Assad and his regime will not
resort to remain in power and to crush
all legitimate opposition. Asking Syrian
protestors to remain peaceful in the
face of Assad’s brutal crackdown is
tantamount to asking them to commit
suicide and I fear that doing so may
eventually pit us against a legitimate
opposition instead of against an
illegitimate regime.”
Rep. Chabot stressed the severe and
appalling nature of the human rights
violations in Syria, calling these
violations “despicable acts” perpetrated by
a “morally depraved” regime. He also
emphasized that the United States has a
“moral imperative to ensure that Assad” is
removed from power. Rep. Chabot then cited
the U.S. administration’s decision in August
to call for Assad to step down and its more
recent decision to impose targeted sanctions
on Syrian officials and firms, but affirmed
that these steps would not suffice in the
face of increasing violence.
The growing number of confrontations between
the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian regime’s
forces represents a need for the Syrian
opposition to protect itself against the
regime’s brutal tactics. Rep. ChabotHehhh
criticized the Administration’s policy on
the armed opposition, stating that a policy
of non-violence when confronted with such
brutality “grows more untenable by the day.”
He stressed that “the Syrian people – like
all people – have the right to defend
themselves against the brutality of an
illegitimate and repressive regime,” and
that “asking Syrian protestors to remain
peaceful in the face of Assad’s brutal
crackdown is tantamount to asking them to
commit suicide.” Rep. Chabot also expressed
his worry about the lack of international
consensus on the Syrian crisis and
specifically referred to Russia and China’s
veto of a November United Nations Security
Council Resolution on Syria as “outrageous
and indefensible.”
In a somber conclusion, Rep. Chabot warned
that “there are no depths to which Assad and
his regime will not resort to remain in
power and to crush all legitimate
opposition” and that continuing to ask the
Syrian opposition to remain unarmed could
pit the United States “against a legitimate
opposition instead of against an
illegitimate regime.”
Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
Ranking Member of the House Foreign
Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East
and South Asia
Notable Quotes:
-
“The
international sanctions organized by the
Administration in consultation with allies
in Europe and with Turkey, together with
subsequent sanctions by the Arab League,
have made clear that the Assad regime’s days
are numbered.”
-
“I
would say to all those Syrians distraught by
the lack of unity and common purpose,
welcome to the wonderful world of democratic
self-government. Your freedom will not come
easily and certainly not without as great a
struggle to create a common front as in
throwing off the Assad tyranny.”
-
“It
often seems to me that many of those most
insistent that the conflict between mosque
and state is irreconcilable seem to also be
among the most enthusiastic when it comes to
lowering the wall between church and state
here in America. Perhaps they know something
the rest of us don’t.
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“But I
believe there is reason for hope as well.
Democratic norms that are won by people who
have championed these principles in their
own voices, and who have won their freedom
with their own courage, may prove difficult
to set aside, in the Middle East as much as
anywhere else.”
-
“Just
as we cannot assume success, it would be
equally unwise to assume that the Arab
revolutions cannot ultimately flower into
democratic forms. These new Arab governments
will likely take different forms than we
would desire for ourselves, but may still
remain legitimate and acceptable to their
owners.”
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“Our role in these momentous events is
to lend what aid we prudently can and to
remain consistent advocates of the
truths declared to the world on July 4,
1776: that all people are born free and
equal; that governments derive their
just powers from the consent of the
governed; and that each of us is endowed
with inalienable rights. If we believe
these things are as right and true today
as they were on that glorious July 4th,
we must also believe they are right and
true everywhere, and not least where the
bloody hand of oppression lies most
heavily.”
Rep. Ackerman commenced his remarks by
commending the U.S. administration on the
measures it has taken, alongside Turkey,
Europe, and the Arab League, against the
Syrian government thus far. “The Assad
gang’s rule,” he asserted, “which has been
characterized at home by unparalleled
brutality and endemic corruption, and abroad
by support for Iranian hegemony, the
subversion of Lebanon’s independence, state
support for terrorism against Israel, and
illicit efforts at nuclear proliferation, is
doomed and deservedly so.”
Rep. Ackerman then addressed the Syrian
people, wishing for them “a democratic
government, circumscribed by law [and]
accountable to the public.” Recognizing the
divisions among the Syrian population and
the opposition, Rep. Ackerman acknowledged
that their freedom would come with a great
struggle and that self-government would
prove difficult and complex. However, he
asserted, opting for a system that was
“simple and easy” meant conserving “Bashar
al-Assad and his piggish band of crooks,
killers, and torturers of children.”
With regards to post-Assad Syria, Rep.
Ackerman admitted that the most
well-organized forces in Syria’s society are
typically of a religious nature, and that
“those who replace the Assad tyranny may not
be Jeffersonian democrats.” Although these
individuals may not consider the United
States a natural ally, this does not imply
“that they are, or need to be, our enemies.”
Rep. Ackerman expressed his hope that the
democratic principles apparent in the Syrian
revolution will not be set aside by the
future Syrian government, commenting that
non-Arab Islamic countries have developed
legitimate governments bound by the rule of
law.
Rep. Ackerman concluded his remarks by
insisting citing the fundamental principles
of the Declaration of Independence: “that
all people are born free and equal; that
governments derive their just powers from
the consent of the governed; and that each
of us is endowed with inalienable rights.”
He insisted that the United States must
remain a strong advocate of these values,
especially “where the bloody hand of
oppression lies most heavily.”
Questions and additional remarks by Members
of Congress, and specifically
Representatives Dana Rohrabacher (R), Robert
Turner (R), Gus Bilirakis(R),
Ben
Chandler (D), in addition to Chairman Steve
Chabot(R) and Ranking Member Gary Ackerman(D)
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