07/08/2011
The US State Department was dismayed Friday by criticism from Syria over a visit by the US ambassador to Hama, slamming as “absolute rubbish” the charge that his presence in the restive city was a provocation.
Ford left Hama at midday Friday after meeting several demonstrators and returned to Damascus, said State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, adding the Syrian authorities had been informed in advance of the visit.
“Frankly we’re a little bit dismayed,” Nuland told reporters in Washington, adding the idea that Ford’s trip to the flashpoint city was a surprise for the Syrian government “doesn’t make sense.”
A senior US official speaking on condition of anonymity Thursday said Ford had ventured to the city some 210 kilometers north of the capital “to make contact” with opposition leaders.
Nuland acknowledged Ford was there in part to witness the mass demonstrations, which drew hundreds of thousands of anti-regime protesters into the street after Friday prayers.
Damascus swiftly denounced the move as an incitement to violence and a meddling in Syria’s internal affairs.
The State Department responded swiftly in turn, saying Ford met with “lots of average citizens.”
“He witnessed average Syrians asking for change in their country,” Nuland said, adding that Syria’s complaint that his visit was a provocation is “absolute rubbish.”
Nuland said Thursday that Syrian authorities had been notified in advance of Ford’s trip to the city.
Hama has been a symbol of opposition since the 1982 crackdown on a revolt by the banned Muslim Brotherhood against then-President Hafez al-Assad, father of the present leader, in which some 20,000 people were killed.
