Online social networks report that Syrian police break up protests across the country after Friday prayer. Two activists was arrested
Plain-clothes Syrian police broke up a protest after Friday prayers at the main mosque in central Damascus, dragging away at least two activists, as videos purportedly of rallies in other cities began to surface online.
"There is no God but God," a crowd inside the men's section of the Omayyed Mosque started chanting in crescendo after Friday prayers at noon.
Dozens of security forces, who had gathered outside the mosque during the prayers, pulled out batons as soon as the chants broke out and detained at least two people, dragging away one who resisted while beating him and kicking him in the nose, AFP reporters witnessed.
At least 200 people immediately gathered in a square outside the mosque, chanting support for President Bashar al-Assad and waving Syrian flags. Some carried portraits of his late father and predecessor Hafez al-Assad.
Terrified families could be seen fleeing the square, with many children in tears.
It was unclear what had sparked the chaos, but a video posted on Facebook group The Syrian Revolution 2011 -- which called for demonstrations after Friday prayer during a "Day of Dignity" -- showed a crowd of men inside the mosque chanting "there is no God but God," while a few calls of "freedom" could be heard before being drowned out.
Another video showed one man being dragged out of the mosque by other men who had attended the prayer.
The Facebook group also posted a video of a rally outside a landmark mosque in Homs, a main city 150 kilometres (about 100 miles) north of Damascus, where dozens of protesters marched, chanting "God, Syria, freedom."
Another video showed hundreds of protesters, mainly men, chanting "Its protector, its thief" in a city the Facebook group identified as Daraa, some 100 kilometres south of the capital. AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.
Small impromptu protests have erupted for three days in a row in the Old City of Damascus, demanding political reforms in the Middle Eastern country.
On Thursday, Syrian authorities charged 32 activists with attacking the reputation of the state, a day after a rally outside the interior ministry, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The protesters, including rights activist Suhair Atassi, were detained a day earlier at a Damascus rally organised by the relatives of political prisoners to petition for their release.
Human Rights Watch has called for the release of all detained demonstrators, and independently confirmed that 18 people had been taken into custody.
Participants in Wednesday's rally said 34 activists had been detained by authorities in Syria, which is still under a 1963 emergency law that bans demonstrations.
Awesome video. People who don't know much about Syria might say “so what”, thing is over turning a Police vehicle and just hanging out like that is huge in Syria, actually unprecedented.
Syria the land of 300,000 informants, and the land that reads every single email (well they did a few years ago).
Posted by this (Member # 17234) on :
Syrians hold defiant march for protest victims, shout ‘No more fear!’
DARAA, Syria — Syrians chanting “No more fear!” held a defiant march Monday after a deadly government crackdown failed to quash three days of massive protests in a southern city — an extraordinary outpouring in a country that brutally suppresses dissent.
Riot police armed with batons chased away the small group Monday without incident, but traces of earlier, larger demonstrations were everywhere: burned-out and looted government buildings, a dozen torched vehicles, an office of the ruling Baath party with its windows knocked out. Protesters burned an office of the telecommunications company Syriatel, which is owned in part by the president’s cousin.
The unrest in the city of Daraa started Friday after security troops fired at protesters, killing five people. Over the next two days, two more people died and authorities sealed the city, allowing people out but not in as thousands of enraged protesters set fire to government buildings and massed in their thousands around the city.
Among the victims was 11-year-old Mundhir Masalmi, who died Monday after suffering tear gas inhalation a day earlier, an activist told The Associated Press. The activist asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals.
On Monday, an Associated Press team was allowed into Daraa, accompanied by two government minders who kept them away from protesters and would not allow photographs of the demonstrations. Army checkpoints circled the city and plainclothes officers were dispatched in key areas.
A lawyer told The Associated Press that criminal records were destroyed as people ransacked and burned the two-story Palace of Justice, which houses a criminal court and a police station. Every room in the building was burned and more than 20 computers were stolen, lawyer Samir Kafri said.
Municipal workers hosed down charred courtrooms covered in soot and ash, and security officers hung Syrian flags outside broken, scorched windows.
The violence in Daraa has fast become a major challenge for President Bashar Assad, who has tried to contain the situation by freeing detainees and promising to fire officials responsible for the violence.
One human rights activist said pro-democracy demonstrations spread Monday to the towns of Jasim and Inkhil, near Daraa where thousands of people protested to demand reforms.
Syria, a predominantly Sunni country ruled by minority Alawites, has a history of suppressing dissent. Assad’s father and predecessor, Hafez, crushed a Muslim fundamentalist uprising in 1982, killing thousands.
A city of about 300,000 near the border with Jordan, Daraa is a Sunni city that has been relatively peaceful, although it is suffering sustained economic effects from a drought.
Prolonged disturbances in Syria would be a major expansion of the unrest tearing through the Arab world for more than a month after pro-democracy uprisings that overthrew the autocratic leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.
But protesters in Syria would face a tough time trying to pull off a serious uprising along those lines.
Despite the political repression and rights abuses, Assad remains popular among many in the Arab world, in particular, because he is seen as one of the few Arab leaders willing to stand up to Israel.
It is also not clear how much support any uprising would have within the country. A few earlier attempts to organize protests through social networking sites fell flat.
يعتقد النظام بأنه من أذكى الأنظمة حيث يستطيع بسهولة أن يتجاوز أي محنة يتعرض لها بقول كلمات منتهية الصلاحية والمصداقية مثل: خونة ,مندسين, عملاء, خدام, حريري, اخوان, طائفية, اسرائيل... ولكن الشعب السوري والاعلام العربي أستيقظ من تلك الغيبوبة وباذن الله سنتخلص بسهولة من هذا النظام الفاشي الهش والمهترء سلفاً وستستمر المظاهرات التي تنادي بالحرية والاستقلال من هذا الاستعمار الى حين تحقيق مطالبنا ولآخر رمقة دماء فينا
The revolution that was sparked in Tunisia has given birth to a new pan Arab-movement, a "neo-Arabism", which privileges freedom and democratic participation of the people over ideology, sectarianism and the interest of dictators.
As we witness a rebirth of a revolutionary neo-Arabism that has infected millions from Morocco to Bahrain, we cannot ignore the birth-place of the original pan Arab movement of the past century – Syria.
Much has been written about Syria and why it cannot be next in line of the modern day Grand Arab Revolution. Very few have asked the question: "Why not?"
On March 15, the Syrian Day of Rage,[/b] as its Facebook group put it, hundreds were reported to have taken to the streets of Damascus, the capital.
On March 17th, "The Friday of Dignity", the momentum picked up. Hundreds of Syrians protested in Homs, Aleppo, Dara'a and the coastal city of Banias. In Dara'a, a southwestern city on the Jordanian border, protests have turned deadly and the regime has sealed off the city in a hurried attempt to quell the spreading unrest.
Challenging the regime
Compared to footage of thousands, and sometimes millions, of protesters on the streets of Tunis, Cairo, Manama, Sana'a and Tripoli, the numbers in Syria might seem low. It should be noted, however, that what has taken place in Syria over the past few days is simply unprecedented. The only mass public expressions that Damascus has seen in the past few decades have been demonstrations co-opted by pro-regime supporters.
For anyone, let alone thousands of Syrians to call out in the open for freedom and dignity is simply unheard of: It is understood by every Syrian to mean a challenge to a once set-in-stone status quo.
A forty year old red line has been crossed and there is no turning back.
Some have made the argument that Syria is immune to unrest because the country has a popular president, who is generally considered to be in-tune with the sentiments of the Arab street on foreign policy and who is a young idealist that has introduced a "reform" agenda. Some others claim that Syria will side-step revolution because the social and economic conditions in the country are more tolerable than those of Tunisia or Egypt.
While these explanations may have some merit, they assume a false frame. Tunisians, Egyptians, and now Libyans, have demonstrated to the Arab world, and Syrians in particular, that people cannot be placated with hand-me-downs per the discretion, or the timeline, of the regime. It is about proactively taking what is rightfully theirs – from holding their government accountable to having a real choice in who governs them in the first place.
Freedom, dignity and democracy can be trickle down from dictators, they are the inheritance of the people.
Culture of dissent
The revolutionary rumbles that can be heard in Syria today, indicate that revolution is not only possible, but is inevitable because Syrians have learned from neighboring uprisings that freedom is attained through exercising one's inalienable human right to self-determination and self-dignity.
Like their Arab counterparts, Syrian youth have similar grievances: unemployment, lack of government accountability and rampant corruption that forecast a bleak future. Like other Arab revolutionaries, they are neither dominated by an Islamist ideology nor a foreign agenda. They are Syrians who comprise the rich diversity of Syria – whether Christian or Muslim, Druz or Alawi, Kurd or Assyrian. The recent protests in the country have shown that these young protesters are united in purpose, and peaceful in their means.
Syrians have embarked on an irreversible path of collective political self-awareness. The slogans of March 15th, "God, Freedom and Syria, period!" cannot be unuttered. They have challenged a culture of complacency, fear and silence.
No one will be able to tell with any degree of certainty what will happen in the next few days or weeks in Syria. Will the momentum continue to snowball and bring more Syrians to the streets? Will the regime make an example of Dara'a and show the populace the price one pays for dissent? Or will a critical mass of Syrians decide the time is now for Syria to join its free brethren in Egypt, and Tunisia?
One thing, however, is for certain: If Syria does not see a full-blown uprising soon, a culture of dissent has nonetheless commenced. The fear barrier has been broken irreversibly.
People are finally realising that they are entitled to what is fundamentally theirs, and like their Tunisian and Egyptian sisters and brothers, they will know what do with it. They will organise and come together and they will learn to build a revolution and a more prosperous Syria.
Syria took the same path as Tunisa, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. They used violence against their people with 6 more deaths last night in Daraa.
A month ago Bashar stated that Syria was not like Tunisia and Egypt, same thing that Qadaffi and Saleh said. Earlier yesterday Turkey's FM phoned Bashar and frankly told him “Learn from the Lessons of what is happening in other Arab countries.”
Bashar did not heed the advice.
Posted by this (Member # 17234) on :
I don't expect them to just fold their tents and go after all these years.
i knew your dumbass was a zyonist.
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
^ Iran is a brutal regime that is isolated by the West, Arab governments and Arab society. Iran is one of the few issues that these three all agree on. Hizbollah is a proxy of Iran, and does nothing but destabilize Lebanon.
Lebanon's Shia despite being only 20% of the population have their own army (hizballah), in which civilized country does a sect of people have their own separate army? Hizbollah would be irrelevant without Syrian/Iranian backing.
The chants are by Syrian citizens, and I don't blame them. Their brutal regime, one killed more than 30,000 Syrian civilians in the 80s is aligned with another brutal regime (Iran). It is common sense that they are sick of isolation, sick of their regime's policies.
Association with Iran is a dead end, no good for the Syrian people will ever come out of it. Certainly won't help them reclaim the Golan, that's for sure. A democratic Syria will make peace with Israel and they will gain the Golan back.
Posted by anguishofbeing (Member # 16736) on :
stop pretending to be a concerned member of the arab community. you are clearly a joo.
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
quote:Originally posted by anguishofbeing: stop pretending to be a concerned member of the arab community. you are clearly a joo.
Are you able to make a rational argument?
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
quote:Originally posted by anguishofbeing: stop pretending to be a concerned member of the arab community. you are clearly a joo.
Are you able to make a rational argument?
Because calling governments you dont like "brutal regimes" and leaders you hate "mad men" is as rational as it gets right? lol
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
quote:Originally posted by anguishofbeing:
quote:Originally posted by Exiiled:
quote:Originally posted by anguishofbeing: stop pretending to be a concerned member of the arab community. you are clearly a joo.
Are you able to make a rational argument?
Because calling governments you dont like "brutal regimes" and leaders you hate "mad men" is as rational as it gets right? lol
Unlike you I can actually support my arguments. There are amnesty international reports, human rights reports and UN reports that support my arguments.
The fundamental basics of a “rational argument” is to make a claim and to support it. Iran and Syria being brutal regimes is universal knowledge. Unlike you I don't resort to baseless claims nor do I resort to ad hominem. Remember a rational argument must not only consist of a claim but also support (evidence) of that claim.
Posted by anguishofbeing (Member # 16736) on :
Only problem is, they are no more "brutal" than USrael, France and Britain, you know, your guys. You are a zyonist hypocrite. <--- rational logical conclusion. Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
quote:Originally posted by anguishofbeing: Only problem is, they are no more "brutal" than USrael, France and Britain, you know, your guys. You are a zyonist hypocrite. <--- rational logical conclusion.
Actually that is anything but a rational argument. It's actually an ignorant one because it does not fulfill the criteria of a rational argument. Emotion and ignorance is not substitute for fact/evidence, even if you believe otherwise.
Posted by anguishofbeing (Member # 16736) on :
Your amazing hypocrisy is whats not rational.
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
The number of dead Syrian pro-democracy demonstators in Daraa is now 32 according to Syrian Human Rights Committee.
Below are the names of the dead:
ارتفاع أعداد ضحايا درعا بصورة مروعة ذكرت الأنباء الواردة من مدينة درعا في الجنوب السوري أن عدد الذين سقطوا ضحايا إطلاق الرصاص الحي من قبل عناصر السلطات السورية على المواطنين المتظاهرين في المدينة ومحيطها والمعتصمين في المسجد العمري تتزايد بشكل مروع ، وقد تم إحصاء وتمييز الأسماء الآتية منذ بداية التظاهرات السلمية وحتى تاريخه: 1- معتز ابو زايد - خربة غزالة 2- فادي المصري - خربة غزالة 3- حيان حاج على - خربة غزالة 4- منذر رنس حواش قنبس الشمري – مدينة الحارة 5- صلاح عبد الرحمن الحريري 6-محمد عبد الرحمن الحريري 7- عيسى محمد الكردي 8- معاذ نايف الأبازيد- قرية الصورة 9- محمد أحمد السلامات- البانوراما 10- -جمال الجربوعي- الحراك 11- مهاب نايف أبازيد 12- مالك محمود مفضي الكراد 13- علي غصاب المحاميد 14- عباس سعد المحاميد 15- خالد عبد الله المحاميد 16- نايف حسين الأبازيد 18- ابتسام مسالمة 19- رائد أحمد الحمصي 20- منذر عمرو- 22سنة عسكري 21- عمر عبد الوالي 22- خالد المصري – مجند من تلكلخ أطلق عليه الرصاص من آمره لعدم مشاركته في اقتحام المسجد العمري. 23- محمد أبو نبوت 24- -حميد أبو نبوت 25- بلال أبو نبوت 26- عزيز أبو نبوت 27- أيهم حريري 28- حسام عبد المولى 29- مؤمن منذر مسالمة- 14سنة 30- أكرم جوابرة 31- محمد رشراش الجراد- مدرس- 47سنة- الحارة 32- ماهر المسالمة هذا ولا تزال الأعداد في تزايد وترد تباعاً... إن اللجنة السورية لحقوق الإنسان تدين بأقوى التعابير استخدام الرصاص الحي ضد المتظاهرين والمعتصمين المسالمين، وقتل أعداد كبيرة منهم، وتعتبر هذا التصرف قتل خارج إطار القانون السوري والمعاهدات الأممية، ولا بد تجاه هذه المعلومات المروعة من مناشدة المجتمع الدولي للتدخل وحماية المدنيين ومعاقبة المتورطين في هذه المجازر آمرين ومنفذين. اللجنة السورية لحقوق الإنسان 23/3/2011
Syrian regime launches crackdown by shooting 15 activists dead
Some were killed when security forces opened fire on protesters surrounding the Omari mosque; others were shot at a funeral
Violence escalated in the southern Syrian city of Deraa as protests entered a sixth day. At least 15 protesters are known to have been shot dead on Wednesday and scores more injured.
In a sign that the Syrian regime is using a brutal crackdown rather than concessions to quell protests, security forces opened fire on people in three separate incidents, according to human rights activists.
At 1am on Wednesday morning, at least six people were killed when security forces opened fire on protesters surrounding the Omari mosque, after cutting electricity and communications to the site that has become the focus of demonstrations. During the day, several were reported shot as they attended funerals of victims of the mosque shooting. Syrian security forces later opened fire on scores of young people from surrounding towns as they marched towards Deraa, offering support to the protests, activists said.
"The government promised it would consider its citizen's demands, and then it decided to attack them," said Mohammed al-Abdullah, a prominent activist in exile in the US who is in close contact with the Deraa protesters. "These were fully prepared and full-scale attacks."
According to human rights organisations, the government has also rounded up scores of demonstrators, activists and journalists. Yesterday, Mazen Darwish, the head of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, which was officially closed down by the authorities in 2009, was arrested. Darwish, who has been commenting on the protests in the media, was briefly detained after a protest on Wednesday last week calling for the release of political prisoners.
Amnesty International said it knows of 93 people who were arrested between 8 and 23 March who remain detained in unknown locations. It said the real number of arrests was likely to be "considerably higher".
France, which has led efforts in the past four years to bring Damascus back into the international fold, became the latest in a string of governments and organisations to condemn the violence. It called for political reforms "without delay".
But observers said the window for negotiations and reforms is quickly closing.
Leaders in Deraa had issued a range of demands to the government, including the release of political prisoners from the area, the freedom to buy and sell property without permission of local security forces and the dismissal of the governor of Deraa. So far, only the last demand has been met.
"By using such disproportionate violence against its own citizens, neither the government nor the people can be expected to negotiate," said Abdullah, adding that without talks there was no clear solution to the violence. "I am scared because I don't know how this will end. I fear escalating anger will lead to an evermore brutal crackdown."
Syria's government has continued to blame the violence on outside perpetrators. it called the shootings at the Omari mosque the work of "armed gangs". Activists dispute the claims.
Despite protesters not yet calling for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, the unrest is the biggest domestic challenge to the regime since the 1970s. There are calls for a mass protests tomorrow in solidarity with the Deraa activists.
How many dead in occupied Iraq and Afghanistan? Or French controlled Ivory Coast?
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
Simple Explanation of Daraa:
It can be confusing because Daraa is the name of a Syrian province and it's also the name of the capital city or main city in Daraa. The pro-democracy demonstrators were centered around the Omari Mosque, but since last night the protests have spread to other towns and cities in Daraa Province. Syrians from all over Daraa are now pouring into Daraa city.
They are incredibily brave and when confronting brutal security forces of the regime. They shout "we will die for Freedom."
The population of Daraa province is roughly 1 million, and Daraa city about 80,000.
Posted by anguishofbeing (Member # 16736) on :
How many died in Lebanon 2006?
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
Re: Afghanistan, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Lebanon
Start a separate thread (topic) and state what you want to state. This thread is about the Syrian Revolution.
Posted by anguishofbeing (Member # 16736) on :
What about Gaza? How many died there for freedom? I thought you loved freedom?
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
Yeah I figured as much. You can't write more than a sentence. Posted by anguishofbeing (Member # 16736) on :
West Bank? Surely you must be concerned about freedom there. How many dead?
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
Syrian president's brother Maher, taking pics with his phone of dead bodies and body parts in Daraa. I don't think simple bullets tore those bodies apart like that.
Maher al-Assad is a Lt. Colonel
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
Ok the bastard is not taking pics, he's looking at his phone.
Posted by IronLion (Member # 16412) on :
^I would have called you a liar if I did not click on the picture. And I would have been in error if I had done so.
Maher al-Assad does look a lot like his big bro.
What a shame! What a shame!
But Ghadafi did nothing like this sort though? So why are they lighting on him and passing on criminals like Assad, Ali Saleeh, and the Saudi royal family gang?
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
^ It was definitely creepy. Body parts all around him, yet no emotion whatsoever. He's probably used to it, his father Hafez was responsible for 15,000-30,000 deaths in Hama in 1982.
Posted by anguishofbeing (Member # 16736) on :
How many is the current Israeli PM responsible for?
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
Friday March 25th Protests in Syria - Damascus, Homs, Hama, Daraa and even Latatika:
Thanks, this & Exiiled. Everyday I come to this thread to keep up with Syria.
Thanks for sharing.
Posted by czar (Member # 18729) on :
The Arab world is going through the greatest transition in our lifetime. Just like the 1990s in Eastern Europe, there are many similar themes.
Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, and many more to come.
Freedom is more important than bread for many of these nations. I wish them lots of luck!
Posted by MelaninKing (Member # 17444) on :
quote:Originally posted by anguishofbeing: i knew your dumbass was a zyonist.
LOL, you can always tell a Zionist. Even on the computer you can smell their stink through the internet. Their breath smells too. A rotting stink from drinking children's blood.
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
Protests are growing and growing. What started out with a couple hundred has now turned into thousands of people protesting in several Syrian cities, with major protests in Daraa, Talas and Latatika.
Reports are President Eye Doctor will make a televised address to the nation today, offering political reforms.
Posted by the lioness (Member # 17353) on :
quote:Originally posted by MelaninKing:
quote:Originally posted by anguishofbeing: i knew your dumbass was a zyonist.
LOL, you can always tell a Zionist. Even on the computer you can smell their stink through the internet. Their breath smells too. A rotting stink from drinking children's blood.
why are you guys crying about the Arabs? they have at least a hundred times more land than the Jews. And they have been stepping on blacks in North Africa for hundreds of years
Posted by Exiiled (Member # 17278) on :
Anger in Syria After Deadly Clash with Security Forces
The US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, has said the US will not intervene in Syria in the way it has in Libya.
-snip-
She said it was not yet clear how the situation in Syria would develop, and indicated that the violence was not at the same level as in Libya.
Clinton said the Syrian government's crackdown on protests had not yet engendered global condemnation or calls from the Arab League and others for a no-fly zone.
a.) End of Emergency Law which as been in place for ….guess......... 48 Years! How this will work - remains to be seen, especially when that's the only rule of law Syrian security apparatus have ever known.
b.) Modifying the Syrian Constitution (Code 8), which basically states: “Al-Baath Party is the Leader of Syrian Regime and Society" – Translation: Ba'aath and only Khara Ba'aath party.
I don't think this will be enough. The Syrian Youth have been empowered, the fear is gone.
Take a look at this awesome video, this would have been a death sentence a week or so ago:
Of course the U.S. will not intervene in Syria or bomb Assad. Come on now, we all know the reason. The U.S. palmed off a lot of torture jobs to Syria. You know, the kind of torture that makes you scream like an African buffalo with 2 lions on its neck. The vile U.S. calls those torture jobs "rendition". What a vile settler nation that is always looking for weak-kneed clients who will kill, torture and rape on its behalf.
Posted by this (Member # 17234) on :
(Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made no new announcement on Wednesday on lifting emergency law, in force since 1963, in his first comments since pro-democracy protests erupted nearly two weeks ago.
Adviser Bouthaina Shaaban said last week that Syrian authorities would lift emergency law in the country, but she did not give a timetable.
Posted by vwwvv (Member # 18359) on :
Syria's Assad blames unrest on Israeli plot
On one hand, of course, everything is a Zionist plot. But on the other hand, let's stop and think about that for a moment, Bashar. Why would Israel plot to potentially have an even more unstable and hostile regime next door?
But that's the handy thing about conspiracy paranoia: it doesn't have to make sense.
Defiant Assad blames country’s turmoil on ‘Israeli plot’ By OREN KESSLER 03/31/2011 00:51
Syrian ruler fails to announce reforms or lift emergency law; analysts: Opponents of regime should be careful what they wish for.
Addressing his people for the first time since popular unrest erupted nearly two weeks ago, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday blamed a foreign conspiracy for the unrest and made no substantive pledges on implementing much-awaited reform.
“Our enemies work every day in an organized and public fashion to hurt Syria,” he told parliament. “Our enemies’ aim was to divide Syria as a country and force an Israeli agenda onto it, and they will continue to try and try again.”
Assad said Deraa, a southern city near the Golan Heights, where some of the bloodiest clashes with protesters have taken place, “is in the forefront in confronting the Israeli enemy and defending the nation.”
After the speech, hundreds took to the streets of the coastal city of Latakia – another hotbed of revolt in recent weeks – chanting “Freedom!” Several residents said they heard gunfire as security forces clashed with demonstrators.
Assad said he supported the principle of reform, but offered no specifics on changing Syria’s repressive one-party system.
“Implementing reforms is not a fad. When it’s just a reflection of a wave that the region is living, it is destructive,” he said.
“Syria today is being subjected to a big conspiracy, whose threads extend from countries near and far,” Assad added, without naming any countries.
Syria’s ambassador to Britain, Sami Khiyami, told BBC World News that he expected to see reforms – including ending the state of emergency and implementing multi-party rule – implemented within months, but he offered no additional details.
“We can sometimes postpone [dealing with] suffering that emergency law may cause,” Assad said in a speech frequently interrupted by applause. “But we cannot postpone the suffering of a child whose father does not have enough money to treat him.”
Assad said that a minority of people had tried to “spark chaos” in Deraa, but that their will would be thwarted by the majority. He said clear instructions had been issued to security forces not to harm anyone during the protests, in which at least 61 people are believed to have been killed.
In Israel, analysts tried to envision the shape Syria might take in a post-Assad era.
“The idea that these regimes will be replaced by liberal democracies is too good to be true,” Moshe Maoz, a Syria expert at Hebrew University told Reuters. “If he stays he might prove more pragmatic.
He wants the Golan Heights from Israel. His father lost it...
and the prestige involved is very important to him.”
“Any new regime is not going to be able to compromise its legitimacy by reaching any agreement with Israel,” said Gabriel Ben-Dor, of Haifa University.
Itamar Rabinovich, Israel’s former ambassador to Washington and chief negotiator with Syria from 1992 to 1995, wrote earlier this week that it’s unclear whether Assad’s ouster would help or harm Israel.
“Syria is the keystone of the pro-Iran axis. Weakening the Assad regime – to say nothing of its collapse – would be a blow to Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah,” he wrote in Yediot Aharonot, but added that instability in the country would also “create a temptation for Syria and Iran to ease the pressure on Syria by heating up the conflict with Israel.”
Rabinovich wrote that any plans Israeli decision-makers may have had to pursue peace with Damascus will now likely be shelved.
“There is no sense in making a deal like that with a regime whose stability is strongly in question,” he wrote. “Israeli policy requires a correct analysis of developments in Syria: security readiness, conversation and strong coordination with the United States and other allies – but also an open mind [to capitalize] on the opportunities presented.”
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said it was for the Syrian people to judge the speech, but dismissed Assad’s assertion that Syria was subject “to a big conspiracy, whose threads extend from countries near and far.”
“It’s far too easy to look for conspiracy theories [than to] respond in a meaningful way to the call for reform,” Toner said. “We expect they [the Syrian people] are going to be disappointed. We feel the speech fell short with respect to the kind of reforms that the Syrian people demanded and what President Assad’s own advisers suggested was coming.”
“It’s clear to us that it didn’t really have much substance to it and didn’t talk about specific reforms, as was... suggested in the run-up to the speech,” he said.
David W. Lesch, a Trinity University scholar who received unprecedented access to Assad in 2004 and 2005 while writing a book on him, wrote Wednesday in The New York Times that in recent years the Syrian president began “to equate his well-being with that of his country, and the sycophants around him reinforced the notion. It was obvious that he was president for life.”
Still, Lesch wrote, Syria, after Assad, could be even more destabilizing for the region than it was under the repressive Baathist regime.
“Anti-Assad elements should be careful what they wish for,” he cautioned. “Syria is ethnically and religiously diverse and, with the precipitous removal of central authority, it could very well implode like Iraq. That is why the Obama administration wants him to stay in power, even as it admonishes him to choose the path of reform.”
(Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday legislation to lift 48 years of emergency law would be enacted by next week but warned that new laws in the works would not be lenient towards what he called sabotage.
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