Lebanese journalists are demanding an apology from Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria, for demeaning comments he made at a press conference in Beirut.

Tom Barrack: “The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone. So, you want — you want to know what’s happening? Act civilized, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem with what’s happening in the region.”

The Union of Journalists in Lebanon called for a boycott of all future events with Barrack unless he apologizes for his comments, saying, “the content of his remarks reflects ingrained colonial arrogance towards the peoples of the region and constitutes a blatant violation of basic diplomatic etiquette and the values that diplomacy should represent — chief among them respect for press freedom and the people’s right to knowledge.”