WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The United States is deeply
concerned by reports that Libyan and Bahraini security forces
have attacked peaceful pro-democracy protesters, U.S.
Ambassador the United Nations Susan Rice said on Sunday.
Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Rice rebutted accusations that the response of President Barack Obama's administration to a wave of pro-democracy protests in the Middle East and North Africa has been inconsistent. She stopped short of calling for regime change in either Libya or Bahrain, two countries with vital security importance for the United States where protests -- and reports of violence -- have been gathering momentum in recent days.
"There's no place for violence against peaceful protesters," she said. "What we're encouraging Bahrain and other governments in the region to do is to recognize that this is a yearning for change and reform that is not going to go away, that it needs to be respected and that they need to get ahead of it by leading rather than being pushed." Protests have flared across the region as pro-democracy activists are emboldened by the overthrow of long-standing dictatorships in Egypt and Tunisia. Security forces in the Libyan city of Benghazi killed dozens of people as they fought to crush an uprising against leader Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule, the bloodiest of multiple revolts now rocking the Arab world.
In the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet's naval base has helped America project military power across the Middle East and South Asia since 1958, thousands of anti-government protesters camped over Saturday night in a Manama square. But after days of violence in the Sunni-ruled island state, the mood appeared to be more conciliatory, with talks due to take place on Sunday between the opposition and crown prince. Unrest has also hit Yemen, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Algeria and Djibouti over the weekend as people took to the streets demanding political and economic change.
(Reporting by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa; editing by Todd Eastham)
Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Rice rebutted accusations that the response of President Barack Obama's administration to a wave of pro-democracy protests in the Middle East and North Africa has been inconsistent. She stopped short of calling for regime change in either Libya or Bahrain, two countries with vital security importance for the United States where protests -- and reports of violence -- have been gathering momentum in recent days.
"There's no place for violence against peaceful protesters," she said. "What we're encouraging Bahrain and other governments in the region to do is to recognize that this is a yearning for change and reform that is not going to go away, that it needs to be respected and that they need to get ahead of it by leading rather than being pushed." Protests have flared across the region as pro-democracy activists are emboldened by the overthrow of long-standing dictatorships in Egypt and Tunisia. Security forces in the Libyan city of Benghazi killed dozens of people as they fought to crush an uprising against leader Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule, the bloodiest of multiple revolts now rocking the Arab world.
In the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet's naval base has helped America project military power across the Middle East and South Asia since 1958, thousands of anti-government protesters camped over Saturday night in a Manama square. But after days of violence in the Sunni-ruled island state, the mood appeared to be more conciliatory, with talks due to take place on Sunday between the opposition and crown prince. Unrest has also hit Yemen, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Algeria and Djibouti over the weekend as people took to the streets demanding political and economic change.
(Reporting by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa; editing by Todd Eastham)
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