Syria Activists: Assad Speech Deepens Crisis, Revolt Must Go On

Pro-democracy activists said the three-month-old "revolt" in Syria must go on after a speech by President Bashar al-Assad on Monday that they said only deepened the crisis.

The Coordination Committee, an umbrella group of activists calling for street protests, called for "the revolution to carry on until all its aims have been achieved."

"We consider any dialogue useless that does not turn the page on the current regime," it said in a statement received by Agence France Presse. Assad's speech on the three-month-old unrest only served to "deepen the crisis."

Witnesses and opposition activists said the speech was followed by protest marches in the northern city of Aleppo, in the flashpoint province of Idlib in the northwest, and in the central regions of Homs and Hama, as well as in the suburbs of Damascus.

"The protesters condemned the speech which branded them as saboteurs, extremists ... The demonstrators are calling for freedom and dignity," the head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman, told AFP by telephone.

An opposition figure said the speech failed to specify concrete steps such as the army's withdrawal from population centers.

"There were a lot of ideas in the speech. But the withdrawal of the army and security forces was not raised, which is not very reassuring and puts the emphasis on a military solution," said Hassan Abdul Azim, a lawyer.

The president "did not mention any dialogue with the Syrian opposition," said the 80-year-old Abdul Azim, spokesman for the National Democratic Gathering, a coalition of leftist opposition movements.

Prominent human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, who was freed from five years in prison last month, called Assad's speech "disappointing."

"The key demands made by the people were not mentioned and the existence of a political crisis has been ignored," Bunni told AFP.

"The president spoke of a military and security solution and reaffirmed the thesis of a conspiracy and armed men," blaming gunmen for sowing chaos in the country, said Bunni.

"A real political solution must be based on ... the army's withdrawal from cities and must respect the right to peacefully protest," he added.