Political Quotes

“I want to take a moment to say a few words about a situation in Syria that is of particular concern to me and people of my State. Going on 2 weeks ago, a young Middlebury College student, Pathik ``Tik'' Root, disappeared in Damascus, Syria, where he was studying Arabic. As anyone who is following recent events in Syria knows, there have been large public demonstrations, some of which have resulted in arrests and casualties. Thanks to the efforts of U.S. Embassy Damascus and the Syrian Ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, it was determined that Tik had been arrested and is being held in a Syrian jail. By all accounts, it appears that Tik was arrested simply because he was taking photographs at one of the demonstrations. As an avid photographer myself, I would hope that the Syrian Government recognizes the innocent conduct of a young, curious American student who is fascinated, as we all are, by the extraordinary events taking place across North Africa and the Middle East. I and my staff have had multiple conversations with Tik's father, with Ambassador Moustapha, with U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford, and other State Department officials about Tik's situation. We are optimistic that he will be released, because he was doing nothing wrong and at most he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But so far, no one from the American consulate in Damascus has been allowed to see Tik, which is unacceptable.…”