Syria slams Clinton comments

Damascus, Syria (CNN) -- The embattled Syrian government lashed out at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her criticism of Bashar al-Assad's regime Tuesday and hailed the political leadership's initiative to pursue reforms, one of which is the just-completed "national dialogue" meeting.

Quoting an official Syrian source, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency Tuesday upbraided Clinton, who criticized Syrian authorities Monday for not protecting the U.S. and French embassies in Damascus, which were attacked by demonstrators.

Clinton said President al-Assad "has lost legitimacy" and wants to deflect attention from the government's four-month, internationally-reviled crackdown on peaceful protesters. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that about 1,400 civilians and 350 security and military forces have died since the unrest began.

The Syrian source, calling the comments "additional evidence of the flagrant U.S. interference in Syrian domestic affairs," are the latest criticism of U.S. officials since last week, when U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford visited the city of Hama and met protesters there.

Clinton insisted that Syria meet its "international obligations immediately" to safeguard diplomats and property, hours after U.S. officials say that hundreds descended on its embassy for the third time in four days, scaling its walls and inflicting considerable damage.

While not calling for al-Assad's ouster, Clinton offered strong language condemning his government and stressing that its leader is "not indispensable." She said his regime "will not succeed in deflecting attention" from the violence.

"From our perspective he has lost legitimacy, he has failed to deliver on the promises he's made. He has sought and accepted aid from the Iranians as to how to repress his own people and there's a laundry list of actions that have been, certainly concerning and should raise the issue with not only his behavior but those who are supporting him in the international community and we would like to see even more countries speaking out as forcefully as we have," she said Monday.

Despite reports to the contrary from eyewitnesses and human rights groups, the government insists it is not behind the violence since demonstrations erupted nationwide, blaming the problems on armed groups.

Citing the official Syrian source, SANA said Clinton's statements "are an act of incitement to further fuel the internal crisis and serves interests that do not serve the interests of the Syrian people and its legitimate aspirations."

The source said the United States and its representatives must not interfere in Syrian affairs and must "refrain from any actions that could provoke the sentiments of the Syrian people and the pride that they have in their national independence."

The "legitimacy of Syria's political leadership is not based on the U.S. or others, and rather comes exclusively derived from the will of the Syrian people who expresses, on a daily basis, its support for its political leadership and the radical reforms that have been presented for discussion and dialogue," the source said.

The government-backed "national dialogue" conference, which started Sunday at the Sahara Hotel complex in Damascus and ended Tuesday, is among the reforms.

It was designed to take into account viewpoints of a cross-section -- not only of al-Assad's loyalists, but also those wanting real change.

Many activists have boycotted the meeting, calling its stated mission to address calls for reform a farce given their claims that the government behind it has violently targeted hundreds who have openly made such demands since mid-March.

A main result of the conference is a plan to establish a committee that will look into redrafting the constitution and laws involving political parties, media and elections.

A statement issued at the end of the meeting addressed a range of principles. It said dialogue and forgiveness are key to ending the crisis and the voices and demands of Syrian youth should be heard.

It also called for the necessity to free political prisoners and "prisoners of opinion who have not been released in amnesty decrees and haven't committed crimes punishable by law."

Freedom of expression should not be violated and should be respected under the constitution, it said. Human rights should be respected as well, and a suggestion was made to establish a "higher council for human rights."

The statement said Syria is a state for everyone, national opposition is an integral part of the country, and voting should be the base for "political representation."

The dialogue stressed the importance of the rule of law and said that no one suspected of crime should avoid accountability.

It also called for respect of the state and rejected any foreign intervention into affairs of the state. The statement also declared that the "liberation of the Golan" is "one of the aims that represents national consensus." Israel took the Golan Heights in the 1967 war.