Wednesday, March 30, 2011

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Assad is to address the nation Wednesday to announce a package of reforms, including a decision to lift emergency laws and to ease restrictions on civil liberties and political freedom, after nearly two weeks of pro-democracy protests.

Assad’s speech, the first since the outbreak of unrest, comes a day after Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri tendered his government’s resignation and was tasked with acting in a caretaker role until a new Cabinet is formed.

The Cabinet’s resignation came hours after hundreds of thousands of supporters of Assad poured into the streets Tuesday as the government tried to show it has mass support.
“The president will address the country tomorrow [Wednesday] from Parliament,” a senior official told AFP, without giving further details.

In addition to officially lifting the 50-year old state of emergency, Assad is expected to elaborate on a string of reforms announced last week which include the liberalization of laws on media, judiciary and political parties.
According to media reports, Assad will “sketch a turning point in Syria’s rule” and offer a “clear timetable” for the swift implementation of the reforms package as a prelude to “closing the door on the one-party” system.

The reform measures are also aimed at eradicating corruption in public and private institutions, with some sources saying that “prominent figures will be held accountable,” reports said. 
The new Cabinet, which is expected to be announced by the end of the week, will face the task of implementing the reforms.

The coming days will be key to determining whether Assad’s concessions will quiet the protest movement, which began more than a week ago after security forces arrested several teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a wall in the city of Daraa in the south.

The protests spread to other provinces and the government launched a swift crackdown, killing more than 60 people since March 18, according to Human Rights Watch.

Tensions are still high in Daraa, where several hundred people are still staging a sit-in, and in the Mediterranean port of Latakia.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned what she called “the Syrian government’s brutal repression of demonstrators, in particular the violence and killing of civilians in the hands of security forces.”
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe urged Syria to adopt political reform, but said it was not time for sanctions or intervention by the U.N.

The Syrian government mobilized hundreds of thousands of supporters who poured into the streets of Damascus and in the provinces of Aleppo and Hasakeh in the north and the central cities of Hama and Homs Tuesday.

“The people want Bashar Assad!” chanted supporters in a central Damascus square. Men, women and children gathered in front of a huge picture of Assad freshly put up on the central bank building.
“Breaking News: the conspiracy has failed!” declared one banner, echoing government accusations that foreign elements and armed gangs are behind the unrest. “With our blood and our souls we protect our national unity,” another read.

Many of the pro-regime demonstrators also emphasized national unity. “Sectarianism was never an issue before, this is a conspiracy targeting Syria,” said Jinane Adra, a 36-year-old Syrian who came from Saudi Arabia to express support for Assad. “The Syrian people are one, there is no place for religious divisions between us,” she said, flanked by her children, aged 3 and 5, carrying red roses and pictures of Assad.

Mohammad Ali, 40, said Assad was in touch with the Syrian people and aware of their need for reforms. “This dirty conspiracy will be short-lived, we are all behind him,” he said, cradling an Assad poster on his chest. – Agencies