legitimate aspirations of the syrian people. and while these events have broken the heart of every syrian, it imposes syrians of different stripes and associations to choose the road of wisdom, and to be guided by their conscious, patriotic feeling so that the homeland, all of the homeland and not part thereof for that to be victorious, the syrian people who presented the world with the first alphabet knows the scent of jasmine damascus rather than the scent of blood. the syrian people were always capable of solving its crisis and problems alone.

it never accepted any form of foreign intervention in internal affairs and affairs of homeland, syria. it stood proud, refusing undermining its cultural and national assets. the syrian people will do that once again by the participation of all syrians to leave them away from the crisis and to contribute to national construction. putting as their primary objectives, the interest of the homeland and nothing else, in an atmosphere of reconciliation among all the homeland is the property of all. and in syria, we don't have a majority and a minority. there are syrians only in syria. i say "the homeland" it is owned by all and it is the property of

all and it is a trust, a trust even if somewhere misled and even if some defied what is right. syrian patriotism rejects external intervention and stresses that syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity is a red line. syrian patriotism stresses that syrians will stand one rank against descent. rejecting violence and rejecting resorting to arms while calling for reform. homelands are built by their citizens. we, as syrians, have have an tupt to undertake a sincere national dialogue and expedite the pace of reform. so that we can establish a genuine national partnership that preserves the security of

the homeland and that of the citizen as the only way out of the crisis. one that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the syrian people without necessarily undermining the homeland. future generation also hold everyone who lost this opportunity accountable. mr. president, the arab people would have very much hoped that the presence of the secretary general of the league of arab states and the current chairman of the minister of councils in the security council we would have hoped that this presence would have been for requesting the council to shoulder its responsibilities in ending israeli occupation of occupied arab territories in putting an end to the israeli settlers. how strange it is for us to see

some members of the league of arab states having to resort to the security council, seeking support against syria, syria that's never thought twice in providing the ultimate sacrifice in defense of arab causes. those who believe that the states that i'm referring to and who have always stood in the face of arab just causes in the council and outside, those who look like being enthusiastic for the arab league out of respect for the decisions, those who believe that the states are with us are really falling into illusions. the fact is that this enthusiasm comes exactly in the same context that is contrary to the

interest of arab causes but what is new is that the arab league decided to take its decisions to the security council that took hundreds of vetoes against arab causes. the new, the arab league transferred the decisions, the unjust decisions that it took against syria and transferred these to syria in syria's absence and without consulting with its leadership in a way that transcountered to the charter of the league of arab states and paves the way for a continued scenario of interfering aggressively in the internal affairs of syria. these plans have crossed other plans and interests of nonarab states aimed at destroying syria and destabilizing it. this is happened for no other reason other than syria doesn't want to depend on anyone, nor

would syria accept that its sovereignty will be compromised and because it insists on the independence of its decision and on the preservation of its sovereignty and the interests and security of its people. mr. president, after some powerful circles imposed on this international organizations a policy of double standards and made this part and parcel of its work even if it were undeclared or unwritten, we're witness to another stage that is based on creating in terms of reference based on the policy of imposing force facts. some try to convince the public opinion that those who try to defend the independence of their countries, following on the road of simone bolivar and mandela

and george washington, and degall and sultan bashar and they are classified as terrorists and pariahs working outside national legitimacy. those who are trying to preserve their countries, safe from creative chaos and terror, have become violators of human rights and killers of their own people. those who win the support of the majority of their people have lost legitimacy and have to step down. it is really strange these days, many president, that some oligarchy states cosponsor draft resolutions promoting the at

nation of power. the freedom of assembly. the promotion of democracy. and the protection of promotion of human rights and that those very states who don't even have a constitution let alone a genuine electoral system and who have only exercised democracy through satellite stations and fancy conference halls, those same countries, i say, unfortunately, resort to the security council to ask for reform and for democracy. syria, mr. president, had a parliament, in 1919. by that time, in one year after the fall of the empire. while lawrence of arabia was wreaking havoc with the destinies and the resources of the states and was trying to turn the clock back to

obscurism. mr. president, syria signed the protocol of arab observers because we were keen on keeping this issue under the arab roof. syria proved its full and accurate commitment to the arab plan and the protocol signed between syria and the secretary yacht of the league of arab states and the support of the arab mission confirmed as fact in paragraphs, 37, 38, 39 and 73 of the report and it confirmed clearly what we said in the past. it confirmed that there is a media political misleading, deliberate and systematic campaign to distort and fabricate facts and here i refer to paragraphs 29, 68 and 69 of the report. -- 28, 68 and 69.

it spoke about the presence of terrorist groups that used the legitimate demands by the syrian people for reform -- to destabilize syria and undermine its security and to undertake terrorist attacks against the institutions of the state. and against civilians and military personnel alike. paragraphs 26, 27, 71 and 75. and paragraph 44 of the report clearly indicates that the french journalist was killed as a result of mortar attacks fired by the opposition. syria finds it strange that the this tragic event did not the french diplomacy to indignation, particularly when syria established a committee to investigate the details of the event chaired by a judge and through the participation of a

representative of the french channel in which this journalist used to work. the secretary general of the league of arab states read some paragraphs in his statement. i regret that he selected items from the report and left others. i would only like to read paragraph 26. paragraph 26 says -- in certain instances, government forces use force as a reaction to attacks against its personnel, the observers, arab observers, that notice that there are armed groups using thermal bumps and anti-armor bombs.

end of quotation. the secretary general of the league of arab states is a dear colleague. objected to requests by members of the council to invite general to participate in today's meeting. the report of arab observers was not sent to you as part of the documents that were dispatched from the headquarters of the league of arab states. mr. president, the decision by the league of arab states to go to the council is only an attempt to by past the task of arab observers and attempt to ignore the report. the report, unfortunately, came

against the plans by some arab and nonarab parties who falsely claim attachment to the arab rule in settling the syrian crisis at a time when they worked by different means to abort the mission of the observers and they waged a political and media war against it. some arab officials and some europeans have doubted the meaning of the -- the meaningfulness of the mission, including the prime minister of qatar who visited only two weeks after the beginning of the work of the mission, making statements that the continuation of the mission of observers is useless and asked that the syrian issue be transferred to the security council.

this happened while syria was fully committed to the provisions of the protocol, despite the two-fold increase in the number of those killed among forces of the government. and despite acts of aggression on public and private property, that is all due to instructions to armed groups from the outside, to use the presence of the mission as a time for escalation and syria rejects any decision outside the arab plan that it agreed to and the protocol it signed with the league of arab states and it considers the resolution adopted by the meeting of council of arab states a violation of its national sovereignty and a flagrant interference in its internal affairs and a blatant violation of the peppers for which the league of arab states was established. it was also a violation of article viii of the league of

arab states. strangely enough, the league of arab states requested the syrian government to extend the mandate of -- extend the mission of the observers for one month. damascus agreed, however the league of arab states soon contradicted itself when it ignored the results of the report of the mission and tried to transfer a crisis of an arab country to the security council and halted the work of the mission of observers later on. mr. president, this unbridled tendency by some foreign states to interfere in our internal and external affairs, through various means, is neither sudden for novel. it has systematically occurred since the accords of 1916 and the declaration in 1917. let alone, the infinite support

provided to the israel and its occupation of arab lands. mr. president, we all know that the international legal framework in whose parameters state's work is based on respect for sovereignty and no interference in internal affairs. these two principles were consecrated in the charter of the united nations and not article lii of the charter to which dr. layer are berefefred. also, in article viii of the charter of league of arab states, in this context we stress exclusive responsibility of the syrian government in the preservation of civic peace and security in protecting its noises from acts of destruction and sabotage undertaken by armed forces, armed by -- by armed

elements and not peaceful demonstrators. in accordance with syrian law as well as international agreements to which syria is a party, including the international covenant on civil and political rights, regretfully, and instead of respecting these found principals of international law and at the attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the syrians by cosponsors of the french resolution against syria, some of whose officials who have suddenly fallen in love with the syrian people, after an emotional hibernation -- toward our people for centuries. those, i say, foolishly dream of the return of colonialism through these resolutions and through concob this and

mimicking exactly what they did when they misled the world of public opinion when 130,000 libyan civilians were killed and a million iraqis were killed using the pretext of looking for weapons of armed destruction and under the pretext of promoting democracy and searching for weapons of mass destruction which were not there to begin with. the destruction of guns stand under the pretext of fighting terrorism and establishing prison and detention centers in guantanamo abu ghraib under the context of promoting freedom. we stress that syria gets its strength from the strengths of its people and it will stand firm in confronting its enemies. we call all of other e those who are fermenting the crisis and

bent on exacerbating it, to reconsider these policies and to end massacring the syrian people. one cannot be an arsonist and a firefighter at the same time. we call on them to support national dialogue and the syrian political reform process. implemented by syrian leadership and response to the legitimate demands by the people. by way of example, i say, that in february, we will hold a referendum on a new constitution for the country that guarantees party and political pluralism. parliamentary elections will be held in the first half of the year, leaving the final say to the ballot box. in conclusion, we expect the security council to be a platform, encouraging dialogue as a way to settle crisis.

we don't expect it to provoke or to aggravate crisis. we believe that an compass bracing and to sponsor a dialogue in moscow to find a solution to this crisis. thank you, mr. president. >> the represent of the syrian arab republic for a statement and i'll give the floor to members of the security council. i give the floor -- hillary clinton, secretary of state of the united states of america. >> thank you very much, mr. president, and let me begin by thanking prime minister and secretary general larraby for their thorough briefing.

the arab league has demonstrated important leadership in this crisis. and for many months, the people of the region and the world have watched in horror as the assad regime executed a campaign of violence against its own citizens. civilians gunned down in the streets. women and children tortured and killed. no one is safe. not even officials of the syrian arab red crescent. according to u.s. estimates, more than 5,400 civilians have already died and that number is rising fast. the regime also continues to arbitrarily detain syrian citizens, such as the activists. simply for demanding dignity and

universal rights. to date, the evidence is clear that assad's forces are initiating nearly all of the attacks that kill civilians. but as more citizens take up arms to resist the regime's brutality, violence is increasingly likely to spiral out of control. already, the challenges ahead for the syrian people are daunting. a crumbling economy, rising sectarian tensions, a cauldron of instability in the heart of the mideast. now, fears about what follows assad, especially among syria's minority communities are understandable. indeed, it appears as though assad and his cronies are working hard to pit syria's ethnic and religious groups

against each other, risking greater sectarian violence and even descent into civil war. so in response to this violent crackdown on peaceful descent and protest, the arab league launched an unprecedented diplomatic intervention. sending monitors into syria's beleaguered cities and towns and offering president assad many chances to change course. these observers were greeted by thousands of protesters, eager to share their aspirations for their universal rights and, also, the stories of what had befallen them and their families. but as the arab league report makes clear, if you read the entire report, the regime did not respect its pledges or the

presence of the monitors and, instead, responded with excessive and escalating violence. now, in the past few days the regime's security forces have intensified their assault. shelling civilian areas and homes in other cities. and this weekend, the arab league suspended its monitoring mission, pointing to the regime's in transigence and the civilian casualties. so why is the arab league here before this security council? because they are seeking the support of the international community for a negotiated peaceful political solution to this crisis. and a responsible democratic transition in syria. and we all have a choice. stand with the people of syria

and the region, or become complicit in the continuing violence there. the united states urges the security council to back the arab league's demand that the syrian government immediately stop all attacks against civilians and guarantee the freedom of peaceful demonstrations. in accordance with the arab league's plan, syria must also release all arbitrarily detained citizens, return its military and security forces to their barracks, allow full and unhindered access for monitors, humanitarian workers and journalists. and we urge the security council to back the arab league's call for an inclusive syrian-led political process, to effectively address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of syria's people.

conducted in an environment free from violence, fear, intimidation and extremism. now, i know that some members here may be concerned that the security council could be headed toward another libya. that is a false analogy. syria is a unique situation that requires its own approach, tailored to the specific circumstances occurring there. and that is exactly what the arab league has proposed. a path for a political transition that would preserve syria's unity and institutions. now, this may not be exactly the plan that any of us, ourselves, would have designed. i know that many nations feel that way. but it represents the best effects and efforts of syria's neighbors to chart away forward

and it deserves a chance to work. i think it would be a mistake to minimize or understate the magnitude of the challenge that syrians face in trying to build the rule of law and civil society on the ruins of a brutal and failed dictatorship. this will be hard. the results are far from certain, success is far from guaranteed. but the alternative, more of assad's brutal rule, is no alternative at all. we all know that change is coming to syria. despite its ruthless tactics the assad regime's rein of terror will end and the people of syria will have the chance to chart their own destiny. the question for us is -- how much more innocent civilians will die before this country is able to move forward toward the

kind of future it deserves? unfortunately, it appears as though the longer this continues, the harder it will be to rebuild once president assad and his regime is transitioned and something new and better takes its place. citizens inside and outside syria have begun planning for a democratic transition. and the syrian national council so the the courageous grassroots local councils across the country, who are organizing, under the most dangerous and difficult circumstances. but every day that goes by, their task grows more difficult. the future of syria as a strong and unified nation, depends on th thwarting a cynical divide and conquer strategy. it will take all syrians working together, christians hand in hand with sunni and drews,

side-by-side arabs and kurds, to ensure that the new syria is governed by the rule of law, respects and protects the universal rights of every citizen, regardless of ethnicity or sect, and takes on the widespread corruption that has marked the assad regime. for this to work, syria's minorities will have to join in shaping syria's future and their rights and their voices will have to be heard, protected and respected. and let me say directly to them today, we do hear your fears and we do honor your aspirations. do not let the current regime exploit them to extend this crisis. and leaders of syria's business community, military and other institutions, will have to recognize that their futures lie with the state and not the