Syria Opposition plans new protests
Assad launches reforms:
SYRIA: Syrian Opposition movements readied for more rallies across
the country Friday after Muslim prayers even as authorities announced a
raft of measures aimed at meeting protesters’ demands.
“Our date is Friday, from all houses, all places of worship, every
citizen and every free man, to all squares, for a free Syria,” said a
statement posted Thursday on Facebook group The Syria Revolution 2011.
The group, which remains anonymous, has been a driving force behind
protests which erupted on March 15 and have taken root in the tribal
region of Daraa, south of the capital, and the multi-religious coastal
city of Latakia.
President Bashar al-Assad is facing domestic pressure unprecedented
in his 11-year rule as protests demanding greater freedoms in the
country, which has been in a state of emergency for close to 50 years,
enter their third week.
But the 45-year-old leader failed to announce the widely anticipated
end of the state of emergency in a speech Wednesday - his first
appearance since the dissent broke out.
State-run news agency SANA reported however Thursday a string of
reform measures, including plans to tackle the plight of 300,000 Kurds
who have been denied Syrian citizenship for close to half a century.
Assad has also ordered an immediate investigation into the Daraa and
Latakia killings and the formation of a committee to draft new laws on
national security and counter-terrorism, SANA said.
The committee will “pave the way for ending the state of emergency”
and should complete its work by April 25, according to the news agency.
Gunfire broke out in Latakia immediately after Assad’s speech
Wednesday, with conflicting reports of the source of the shooting and
unconfirmed reports of casualties.
Emboldened by the wave of dissent that has rocked the Arab world
since December, demonstrators have defied the state of emergency, which
has been in place since the Baath party seized power in 1963, with
street gatherings in the south and north, mainly after Friday prayers.
AFP |
