Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Friday for an international
freeze of Syrian assets and a boycott of its oil as part of a campaign
to end the country's incessant violence and force President Bashar al
Assad to step down. In remarks prepared for delivery to an
international "Friends of Syria" conference in Tunis, Clinton declared,
"The Assad regime's brutal assault must stop and a democratic transition
must begin." "The people of Syria are looking to us in their hour of need. We cannot let them down," she declared.

The
Secretary of State minced no words, saying "the Assad regime has
ignored every warning, squandered every opportunity and broken every
agreement." She added that trusted humanitarian organizations had
"pre-positioned humanitarian supplies at hubs in the region and they
are already on the ground poised to distribute this aid if safe access
can be arranged." If the Assad government refuses to allow the
humanitarian aid to reach civilians "it will have even more blood on its
hands," she declared. "So too will those nations that continue to
protect and arm the regime." She announced the US was providing
$10 million to "quickly scale up humanitarian efforts, including support
for refugees" and would provide more support in the future. Clinton also called for a travel ban on senior government members and a suspension of new investments.

She
suggested that the 70 nations attending the conference in the Tunisian
capital should "consider closing embassies and consulates. For nations
that have already imposed sanctions, we must vigorously enforce them."

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