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President Barack Obama laid out a new vision for the Middle East Thursday, saying the US is facing a historic opportunity to adapt to the rapid changes in a region bound to the country by a number of forces, from economics, to security, history and fate. Obama called for an end to the violence against protesters in Libya and Syria. The president said Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad must either lead his country through a transition or "get out of the way," in one of the most direct challenges to the Assad family's decades-long autocratic grip on power. He urged the governments of Bahrain and Yemen to work with their oppositions to resolve the unrest that has rocked their countries for months. "We must acknowledge that our friends in the region have not all reacted to the demands for change consistent with the principles" of human rights, Obama said in a key speech at the State Department. He singled out Yemen saying President Ali Abdullah Saleh "needs to follow through on his commitment to transfer power." Turning to Bahrain, another key regional ally, Obama said, "We have insisted publicly and privately that mass arrests and brute force are at odds with the universal rights of Bahrain's citizens. "The only way forward is for the government and opposition to engage in a dialogue," the US leader said. "The government must create the conditions for dialogue, and the opposition must participate to forge a just future for all Bahrainis." The US president also said his country needs to support economic development in the region along with political freedom. A first set of initiatives will focus on Egypt and Tunisia, to improve their financial standing and increase investments. Speaking a day ahead of a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president stated that the US believes peace negotiations with Palestinians should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel based on the 1967 lines, a position Israel has opposed. "The full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces should be coordinated with the assumption of Palestinian security responsibility in a sovereign, non-militarized state," Obama said. "The duration of this transition period must be agreed." However, the Palestinian leadership earlier Thursday called on the United States to blame Israel on the failure of peace talks in the Middle East. "It is the time for the US administration to announce that the Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, thwarted the US efforts to make peace," said Saeb Erekat, a Palestine Liberation Organization official. Agencies |
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