Australia stands with Syrians fighting for freedom

Australia stands with Syrians fighting for freedom
clipped from article: ussia and China's UN veto must not ease international pressure on Syria's regime.

BELIEVE it - the human cry for freedom and democracy is universal. In Tunisia, what began as one man's protest, so desperate he set himself on fire, became a symbol of the yearning for democracy across the region.

Since then, we have been moved by the courage of the citizens who sought what is naturally theirs - in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Libya - and, right now, in Syria.

Since March, the Syrian people have protested for their basic democratic rights. The al-Assad regime's response has been brutal. An estimated 2700 people now lie dead. Still more have been harmed, imprisoned and tortured. The world was rightly sickened by this. But the al-Assad regime has shown neither remorse nor any will to change course. Indeed, the violence is escalating.
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Australia has consistently called for an end to the violence in Syria, for meaningful political change, and for international pressure on Syria to this end. That is why Australia deeply regrets the obstruction of UN Security Council action against Syria.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/australia-stands-with-syrians-fighting-for-freedom-20111010-1lhgh.html#ixzz1aQgRRMdO
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