International pressure on Syria continues to mount, as anti-government protests –
and a deadly government crackdown – continue. Opposition leaders from across the political
and social spectrum of Syria are planning what they are calling a “national salvation
conference” to be held in two weeks’ time, though the increasing violence, intensity
and expansiveness of the Syrian government’s crackdown is likely to make the logistics
of holding the conference extremely difficult.
US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton says the Syrian government is running out of time to implement democratic
reforms in response to the demands of protesters. Clinton told reporters the Assad
government still has a choice. “They are either going to allow a serious political
process that will include peaceful protests to take place throughout Syria and engage
in a productive dialogue with members of the opposition and civil society,” said Clinton,
“or they're going to continue to see increasingly organized resistance.”
The
United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Assad and his top officials
in response to the violent repression of the protests. On Wednesday the U.S. Treasury
Department said it would also impose sanctions against Syria’s security forces for
human rights abuses, and against Iran for supporting the Syrian security forces.