US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took Syria and Belarus to task for their human rights record on Friday, and also warned that women must not be sidelined in the Arab Spring. Speaking at a meeting of the Community of Democracies in the Baltic state of Lithuania, Clinton said the clock was ticking for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has cracked down bloodily on protests.
“It is absolutely clear that the Syrian government is running out of time,” Clinton said during the two-day session of the informal grouping of more than 100 nations. She warned that unless Syrian authorities allow a “serious political process”, they would “continue to see increasingly organised resistance”.
“Right now we’re looking for actions not words,” she added.
Clinton said other democracies must aid those just setting out on the road.
“We believe that established democracies have a special duty to help those that are emerging because these new democracies fighting for their life,” she said. “There are vicious autocrats clinging to power. There are interest groups pretending to support democracy, and only waiting until they can assume power. This is an hour of need, and every democracy should stand up and be counted,” she added.
Mohsen Marzouk, head of Tunisia’s Arab Democracy Foundation, said his country’s “first steps are pretty difficult”.
